It would have been difficult for anyone to replace Kenny Dillingham. Oregon’s former offensive coordinator led Oregon to the sixth-best total offense in the country in 2022. When Dillingham announced his decision to take the head coaching job at Arizona State, he left a hole in Oregon’s coaching staff. But new offensive coordinator Will Stein has been up to the challenge.
The Ducks’ offense has been near flawless thus far in 2023. Under Stein, Oregon is second nationally in total offense and is averaging 541 yards per game on the season.
“They’re probably the best offense since the Chip Kelly era, since the Mariota era,” Dillingham said to SunDevilSource Video. “This is the best Oregon’s been on offense in a long time, that’s including me last year.”
The adjustment to a new OC wasn’t immediately seamless for Stein’s offense. Oregon faced struggles in Week 2 against Texas Tech, and in the Ducks’ lone loss this season against Washington. After Oregon’s escape in Lubbock, Texas, its offense has skyrocketed to one of the best in the country even against tougher competition.
“I think coach Stein has done an unbelievable job,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “Will’s done a great job; I think he’s got a really good feel for the game, calling the game [and] being in sequence with the game. He does a really good job of listening to the people around him because he has some elite coaches on that side of the ball who can share their thoughts.”
Stein’s offense has been masterful in 2023. Stein and quarterback Bo Nix have led Oregon to scoring an astounding 46.3 points on average per game, good for first nationally.
Nix — now the betting favorite to win the Heisman trophy — used his vast offensive weapons to outduel reigning-Heisman trophy winner Caleb Williams in Oregon’s 36-27 victory over USC.
“[He’s] super smart, knows where to go with the ball before the ball is even snapped. He has a really good plan, a quick release [and] good pocket movement. He’s hard to sack,” Dillingham said of Nix to SunDevilSource video. “You combine all of those skill sets, he is really good.”
Essentially any positive attribute for a quarterback, Dillingham used to assess Nix’s play.
Nix’s teammates agree Oregon’s offense has been nearly unstoppable. “Who can guard me, Troy, Traeshon [Holden], [or] Gary Bryant? Who can tackle Bucky or Jordan James?” Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson said after the USC game. “And who can stop Bo Nix?”
The answer to that question has been no one. Nix has tallied 34 total touchdowns and just outmatched reigning Heisman Trophy-winning Williams, torching the USC defense for four touchdowns and 412 yards passing. Following Oregon’s win, an often circumspect Lanning didn’t hesitate to praise Nix.
“That was a Heisman trophy performance from Bo Nix,” Lanning said after the game.
Conversely, Dillingham’s offensive success in Eugene has struggled to translate to the desert, as his first year at the helm for Arizona State has been far from ideal. Five different quarterbacks have taken snaps under center for the Sun Devils, who have been plagued by various injuries.
Injuries as well as strength of schedule have led to the Sun Devils being ranked ninth of 12 teams in the Pac-12. 2023 is a terrible year to be lackluster in the “Conference of Champions.” Dillingham’s squad is no exception as the Sun Devils have gone a lowly 2-6 in conference play thus far. However, under Dillingham, Arizona State’s program could be on the rise in the near future.
“He’s doing exactly what I anticipated him to do,” Lanning said of Dillingham. “Bringing energy to a program, thinking of ways to win. Innovative ways.”
Dillingham, amid Arizona State’s disarray, just earned his first marquee victory of his head coaching tenure over UCLA and looks to have Arizona State trending in the right direction as the school joins the Big 12 Conference next year.
Lanning and Dillingham’s squads will face off for perhaps the final time in conference play on Nov. 18.
“We’ve certainly been in contact throughout the season,” Lanning said of Dillingham. “This week we’ll probably talk a little bit less.”
