On his Sunday Late Kick show 247/CBS Sports host Josh Pate ripped Oregon for their continued problems in execution and sustaining drives.
"Oregon? Oh man. Okay." Pate leaned back and put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes in exasperation as he began the segment.
"Oregon had a field goal as time expired to beat Boise yesterday, 37-34. We have 'sad lock stats,'" he said, popping his paper.
"Sad lock stats are something like this: Boise doubled up Oregon in rushing. It's not a padlock stat, because Oregon won the game. It's not a bad lock stat-- it didn't necessarily mislead you. It just makes you sad as an Oregon fan. Because last week they couldn't run the ball, and people like me expected a big-time flip this week."
"I expected that, I just did not get it. They got outrushed 221-109. And it was on about the same amount of carries too: 6.7 yards per carry versus three yards per carry."
Pate continued, "So Boise, granted, I mean they may have the best tailback in the country. They outrush them. I don't care what their guy did-- your guy didn't do. That's what I'm more focused on here."
In that the Late Kick pundit was a little unfair. Jordan James led the Ducks with 17 carries for 102 yards, 6.0 per carry. The sacks drove down the team average, and Oregon "lost" two possessions on offense returning kicks for touchdowns. But he's absolutely right that they have to be able to run the ball more consistently, as well as protecting the passer better.
Pate said, "You didn't like what you saw in Week One, fair enough. I believed we'd see an emphatic response, and we really didn't. The offensive line has not figured it out. They're still mixing and matching combinations in the game."
"Maybe my biggest concern with Oregon right now is through two weeks, they've shown no ability to control the game. They've WON both the games, but the state of Idaho is out of teams to send you to play now. You've played Idaho; you've played Boise State. Eventually you're going to hop into games against better competition."
"That doesn't mean Oregon couldn't figure things out. It just means they better figure things out. There are way too many negative plays with this offense. They had 7 sacks through two games-- they had FIVE the last two seasons."
"So through two games Gabriel's already been sacked more than they were last year in the entire season. They had 9 penalties last night. They had 8 the week before. They can't sustain drives that way."
"They can't run the ball and they're continually putting themselves behind the chains. Their scoring plays were 34 yards, 59 yards. They had a punt return for a touchdown and they had a 69-yard pass that set up a one-yard score. That's how they're having to score right now."
"That's good that you can score through the explosive play. Here's the problem: When you face a good defense and you're still mistake-prone, the mistakes will still show up, but those explosive plays probably won't be there."
"That is the classic recipe, for someone who is leaning on explosive plays, to have the crowbar thrown in the bicycle spokes. There is a world where if Oregon doesn't get this straightened out, they get shut down when they play Ohio State, point-blank.
"That's still a ways down the road. They've got a lot of time to figure that out. They've got really good football players on this team. But they've got to figure that out because they are RIPE to be shut down."
Pate noted that Boise State was not a dominant defense, having surrendered 46 to Georgia Southern in Week One. The expectation would be that Oregon shouldn't have so much trouble with them. That discounts how fired-up the Bronco defense was for their opportunity to prove themselves against a Group of Four opponent, a team they had history with.
Another point not discussed here is that the problems in pass protection don't rest solely on the offensive line and their coach A'lique Terry. The quarterback is responsible for checking out of bad matchups, reading the defense, recognizing the blitz, changing protections and getting the ball to his hot read. Dillon Gabriel was accurate with the football and hit some big passes, but his pocket awareness has to improve, especially with some imposing defensive lines on the schedule, like the Buckeyes.
The team seems to miss the steadying veteran presence of the tandem of quarterback Bo Nix and center Jackson Powers-Johnson. Their ability to adjust and counter defensive moves covered up many issues with this offense. Nix bailed them out of some bad situations, often feeling pressure and escaping to create improvised plays.
Thus far that element is missing in the 2024 offense. Offensive coordinator Will Stein will have to find ways to compensate while exploiting what this group can do best.
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