Credit to Oregon. It’s not the lopsided Utah losses or the abysmal first half of Wednesday’s 47-32 Alamo Bowl loss I’ll remember.
It’s that offensive explosion in the second. That brief salute to more potent Ducks’ offenses of years past, which sticks.
For the first time this season, there was a true aura of confidence. Just get the ball back to the offense. No shred of a doubt that each offensive drive would end in seven points.
“We just needed one stop,” All-American safety Verone McKinley III, who is still undecided on whether to return for his final season, said. “We needed more time. And that’s just how football is… That feeling after the Pac-12 championship –– we didn’t like it,” McKinley III said. “And this one is a little different because we didn’t give up in the second half.”
That’s the taste left in my mouth, the prevailing memory as Oregon enters the offseason — the first of the Dan Lanning era.
“We’ve come too far to let a bad half define us,” interim head coach Bryan McClendon said.
Those final 30 minutes felt different. Looked different too.
It was a pleasure to watch.
I’ve found myself circling back to one answer Lanning gave in his introductory press conference some days back. He was asked about the philosophy which he hopes to use when constructing his team’s identity. Without hesitation, he detailed his No. 1 focus.
“The No. 1 indicator right now in college football in wins and losses is explosive plays,” he said. “We’re going to be a team that’s built off explosive plays on offense, defense and special teams. You have to be able to push the ball down the field; you have to be able to attack in the air and on the ground.”
After the Alamo Bowl, Oregon has a tried and true blueprint. And while you’d be hard pressed to find an explosive play from its defense Wednesday — which allowed Oklahoma to score on eight straight possessions — many of the 30-plus Ducks absent hailed from that side of the ball. The decimated unit — starting a tight end and offensive guard along the defensive line — had glimpses early before understandably wearing down.
I’m willing to bet Lanning’s defensive mind can construct a formidable unit with the resources and personnel the Ducks return. Noah Sewell, Justin Flowe, Jeffrey Bassa, Brandon Dorlus, Popo Aumavae, Dontae Manning, Bennett Williams –– that’s a sturdy foundation.
That’s why that second half fight the Ducks lacked in both losses to Utah, but displayed in those final 30 minutes in San Antonio, is key. It was the first time all season the Ducks looked like an offensive force capable of consistently pushing the ball down field through the air.
There was an aggressiveness, both in play calling and decision making, nowhere to be found in the blowout losses to Utah. The offense played its most inspired ball all season.
“Truly you have everything right now telling these guys not to go out there during this time and give it all that they have,” McClendon said. “They were able to block out everything.”
That wide receiver group looks special. Ninety yards for true freshman Dont’e Thornton, 65 for fellow freshman Troy Franklin and 55 for sophomore Kris Hutson. A touchdown bomb to each.
It’s a young trio and, at times Wednesday, that showed. But the speed is a recipe for the explosive offense Lanning envisions. The unit offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham has the keys to, and the offseason with which to find the heir apparent to quarterback Anthony Brown.
That’s really all that matters at this point, right?
The offensive line enters 2022 virtually unchanged. The stable of running backs is deep enough and plenty talented to withstand possible departures from CJ Verdell and Travis Dye. The receiving corps, and tight end room for that matter, are built to play down the field. Rearing to open things up and assault the scoreboard with a daunting defense on the sideline.
Whoever finds themselves under center next year must reignite that brief stint of second half magic discovered in the closing moments of the 2021 season.
