Chaos – a state of utter confusion and disorder.
That’s how Webster defines the word ‘chaos’.
It’s also the way Oregon head coach Dan Lanning likes to define the play of his team. Playing fast with chaotic intentions often brings positive results which is one of the areas where this Oregon football team has thrived and excelled this season.
Against USC on Saturday night, it was exactly that on both sides of the football.
On defense, the Ducks defensive front attacked Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams with reckless abandon forcing him to play, for the most part, schoolyard football.
Yes, that style of play is something Williams is extremely good at, but it also caused havoc at most every position.
The Ducks not only sacked Williams three times, but they also forced him into making poor and off-balance throws. The Ducks chaotic pursuit of Williams forced five tackles behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 34 yards and also hurried Williams four times in the backfield.
“Create chaos during the week” said Lanning a few weeks ago when asked about facing such incredible quarterback play in the Pac-12.
“Create the chaos during the week and try to make practice harder than the game,… so our guys have accepted that challenge. They’ve done a good job. We want to be the group that runs into it.”
And that’s the style of defensive play that has this Oregon team sitting at 9-1 and ranked No. 6 in the country.
The Ducks have faced some marquee quarterbacks this season,…Tyler Shough, Sheduer Sanders, Michael Penix Jr, Cameron Ward, and Caleb Williams, ( just to name a few ). Against each of these marquee signal callers, the Oregon defense has been able to implement a game plan that forced each of them to play outside of their comfort zone where hurried decisions often led them into mistakes.
Williams who is known to be a precision passer and had a completion percentage of 68% coming into the Oregon game was held to just 56% passing completion against the Ducks.
Creating havoc is exactly what Lanning did at Georgia and he brought the same style to Eugene.
On the offensive side of the ball, this Duck team is running like a well-oiled Maserati. Bo Nix continues to amaze completing 78% of his passes and has only thrown two interceptions in 332 attempts.
To complement Nix, the Ducks offense has speed, size, and agility at every position, including their offensive line.
Leading the way is receiver Troy Franklin who has now caught 60 passes and surpassed the 1,000 yard mark in ten games. Franklin has also caught 11 touchdown passes and continues to show the NFL his blazing speed and pristine route-running ability.
Some may not have been as impressed as others with the Ducks 9 point margin of victory over a struggling Trojan team.
It’s not always the margin of victory that shows the teams true character or makeup. It’s the teams toughness and ability to remain cool under severe pressure and strain.
Oregon has shown both of these traits, including playing up to a standard that Lanning has laid out and demands.
“I see our potential and I know what we can be,” said Oregon QB Bo Nix after Saturday’s win over the Trojans.
“I want to hit that point. The standard is the standard,…that’s what coach talks about all the time. We have a very high standard for ourselves. Each and every person in that locker room has a high standard. They know what they have to do to reach it. It’s the potential that we all have that I want to reach and I want to maximize. I know there’s a lot of guys who want to do the same”
Lanning has implemented a culture in Eugene that is working and attractive not just to his current players, but to new recruits as well.
The culture of ‘chaos’ and ‘havoc’ is working and has this Oregon team on the precipice of going from good to great.
BO NIX DISCUSSES THE WIN OVER USC