Oregon came into the season with the kind of roster that should have kept the Ducks in the National Championship picture from the jump. After a deep run in the College Football Playoff, Dante Moore, A'Mauri Washington and Matayo Uiagalelei all passed on the NFL Draft to chase a title.
The staff had no shortage of help, either. Between roster retention, recruiting and the Transfer Portal, the Ducks loaded up everywhere.
And yet here they are at 3-2 after an ugly home loss to UCLA, with the margin for error gone. The National Championship and Playoff path isn’t technically closed, but Oregon would have to run the table from here, and nothing on this team has suggested that’s realistic.
Talent hasn’t been the problem. That part is obvious. If Dan Lanning ends up looking back on a season that burned through the best roster he’s had, the first place the blame lands is on him.
The biggest swing this offseason came when both coordinators left for head coaching jobs. That kind of turnover is always tricky, and with this much invested in the roster, Oregon had the pull to go outside the building and land an established offensive coordinator for Dante Moore. Instead, Lanning chose to promote Drew Mehringer.
Promotions from within have worked for Lanning before, but this one hasn’t landed the same way the hires of Kenny Dillingham and Will Stein did. So far, it’s the clearest reason this group has underachieved.
The offense has looked slow out of the gate all season, and after the bye week that problem only got louder. Facing a UCLA team that can run the ball at will, Oregon needed a quick start from Mehringer.
Instead, the only early spark came when the defense recovered a fumble at the 1-yard line. Outside of that, Oregon went more than 49 minutes before it finally scored on offense.
The issue isn’t just pace. It’s usage.
Mehringer has not found a way to get the Ducks’ best weapons rolling early, or hasn’t shown the urgency to do it. Dakorien Moore is clearly Oregon’s best after-the-catch threat, but the Ducks made no real push to put the ball in his hands early and often.
Jamari Johnson has been a matchup problem defenses still haven’t sorted out, and Oregon didn’t target him until the 58th minute.
Even with all of that, the Ducks still had a shot to force overtime after a late touchdown with their third-string quarterback. But another self-inflicted problem had already boxed them in: Oregon had gone for a 2-point conversion earlier in the game, so it needed one again just to tie. Two bland play calls later, UCLA still had the lead.
Maybe Mehringer eventually finds a rhythm. At this point, though, that feels like a late-arriving fix for a team running out of season. Oregon is set to lose Dante Moore, A'Mauri Washington, Matayo Uiagalelei, Evan Stewart, Jamari Johnson and plenty of other stars after this year, and replacing that kind of talent won’t be simple.
In Other News...
Michael Penix Jr. Faces Another Injury Scare At The Worst Time
Michael Penix Jr. ran into another injury scare Sunday, this time in the closing moments of a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens. The former Washington quarterback left late with a rib injury after throwing for 240 yards and a touchdown, adding another tense chapter to a stretch that has already tested his durability at the worst possible times.
Penix was replaced in overtime by Tua Tagovailoa, who ended up throwing the game-ending interception, while the severity of the quarterbacks latest setback remained unclear with imaging still pending. For Washington fans still tracking one of the programs most prominent recent stars, it was the kind of update that instantly turns a routine box score into a waiting game. [Read more 🡒]