Coming to Eugene after leading the University of Georgia defense to a national championship in 2021, Dan Lanning had high hopes of delivering that same marquee defense at the University of Oregon last season.
While the Ducks defense did show signs of improvement last season, it was nowhere near where Lanning wanted it to be, or where he expected it to be.
With the improvement in size and talent, Lanning has much higher expectations this season and hopes to make that jump to a championship level.
PREVIEWING THE OREGON DEFENSE
THE DEFENSE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE PRODUCTIVE WITH THE TALENT IT HAD – No pass rush, the third-round stops weren’t there, a few disastrous meltdowns – and now Lanning will give it another shot thanks to the transfer portal. Oregon lost a ton through the portal, but it’s bringing in some fantastic new parts for what should be an overall upgrade.
IT BEGINS IN THE SECONDARY AFTER LOSING CB CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ TO THE NFL. Losing a player like NFL first-round pick Christian Gonzalez will be tough to replace,…both in production and skill. However, Trikweze Bridges is back after making 49 tackles with three picks at the opposite corner spot. The transfers will take care of the rest . Kyhree Jackson (Alabama) and Nikko Reed (Colorado) will fill in at corner, and safeties Evan Williams (Fresno State) and Tysheem Johnson (Ole Miss) are going to be statistical stars.
THE DUCKS DEFENSIVE LINE LACKED PRODUCTION AND AN EXPLOSIVE ATTACK – Last season the Oregon defensive line was extremely average in stopping the run. And in some cases, Oregon State for example, their lack of production led to a regular season loss that kept the Ducks out of the conference championship game. This year there’s no excuse with All-Pac-12 performer Brandon Dorlus on one side and South Carolina transfer Jordan Burch about to be a terror on the other. Popo Aumavae and Taki Taimani will hold their own on the nose, and Casey Rogers is a big veteran who’ll be great again returning to his tackle spot.
NOAH SEWALL’S LOSS TO THE NFL COULD HAVE AN IMPACT – Yes, Noah Sewell is now in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, but the Ducks do get back Jeffrey Bassa on the inside and Mase Fun on the outside at the linebacker position. On top of Bassa and Funa, Oregon also gets Iowa transfer Jestin Jacobs through the transfer portal who has shown himself to be another NFL-caliber linebacker. The NFL talent is definitely there, but Jacobs wasn’t able to stay healthy for the Hawkeyes last season. If he remains healthy, the Ducks seem poised to have a very good corps of linebackers.
Oregon Ducks Top Transfer, Biggest Loss
DE JORDAN BURCH IS IN FROM SOUTH CAROLINA WHILE LB JUSTIN FLOWE MOVED ON TO ARIZONA Burch is more of a big end than a pure pass rusher, but for a team that needs both, he might be exactly what the D needs. He made 105 stops with 12.5 sacks in his three years at South Carolina, and now it’s his job to shine on the other side of Brandon Dorlus.
A whole lot of former Ducks are about to play big roles on a whole lot of other teams, but none of them have the intriguing upside of Flowe. The one-time super-recruit had injury problems early on and was never able to put it together, making 50 tackles in three seasons. There’s a shot it doesn’t work at Arizona, but if he’s healthy and finds his game, he could be an All-Pac-12 star with a limitless ceiling.
CAN THE DUCKS SURPASS 10 WINS
It took a bowl win – and a really ugly one – to get to nine wins in 2018. That 7-6 victory over Michigan State didn’t count to the win total for investors – it’s based on the regular season – but it made the final count look better.
Last year the Ducks finished with ten wins – a terrific bar to clear, no matter what – but it needed the 28-27 Holiday Bowl win over North Carolina to do it.
Why does that matter? Because Oregon should push for nine or more wins again, but it might need a bowl victory to make the final record look great. Again, that doesn’t help you if you care about the win total for your own needs, but the fan base and programs like to look at consistently great seasons.
Yes, the offensive line should be fine, but that’s a huge assumption that this thing comes together in time for a dangerous date at Texas Tech in Week 2. The secondary had better hope and pray those transfers come through, a pass rush has to emerge, and if Bo Nix gets dinged up and tries to play through a, say, ankle injury like he did in the loss to Oregon State, the dynamic certainly changes.
There might be a whiff somewhere along the way, but realistically, the season comes down to at Texas Tech, at Washington, at Utah, USC. Oregon State. There’s no UCLA or Arizona – that’s not too awful – and getting USC and Oregon State at home should matter. But there will likely be two losses on the road against Texas Tech, Washington, and Utah. If there’s just one, everything changes.
Three of the last four games are at home, but … oh great, Oregon and a second half of the season road game against an Arizona team. Nothing bad ever happens with that – 2018 blowout loss at Arizona, 2019 loss at Arizona State, 2013 annihilation at Arizona, 2007 8-1 team loses in Tucson, 2003 59-14 at ASU – and the Ducks have to go to Arizona State in between dates against USC and Oregon State.