Dan Lanning, Oregon players react to 'strenuous' win against Idaho

The stage was set Saturday for Oregon to make a bang in its Big Ten Conference debut, with a Football Championship Subdivision team in Autzen Stadium for the No. 3 Ducks ’ anticipated season opener.

But a showcase of offensive weaponry and big-play potential never materialized for Oregon in its 24-14 victory against Idaho in what was a one-touchdown game until late in the fourth quarter.

“It was strenuous when it didn’t have to be,” said quarterback Dillon Gabriel, whose first game as a Duck looked spectacular on the stat sheet but less so in the final score.

Gabriel was 41-for-49 passing for 380 yards and two touchdowns — both to wide receiver Tez Johnson — though the sixth-year senior took very few deep shots down the field and was also sacked three times.

“I think ultimately Dillon operated within the offense well,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “I thought he understood what we were trying to accomplish and made some good decisions. I think we have to figure out how to eliminate some of the pressure that showed up and some of the sacks that showed up.”

Both coach and quarterback lamented the offense’s inability to capitalize on opportunities as well as several pre-snap mistakes that hindered drives.

The Ducks went 1-for-3 on fourth-down attempts, missing on their first two when running back Jordan James was stuffed on a run play on a fourth-and-1, and another when tight end Kenyon Sadiq was stopped on a fake punt try. Right tackle Ajani Cornelious was flagged twice for illegal formation and both left tackle Josh Conerly Jr. and Iapani Laloulu had false-start penalties.

“Obviously it was good to have a win but we have to go back to the (doctor) on Monday and fix our mistakes,” said Johnson, who had 12 catches for 81 yards, in a reference to returning to practice. “Never gonna be mad about a win. A win is a win, but we know this is not our standard and we’re gonna try our best to uphold that standard.”

Lanning had a similar take.

“Different than what we thought it might look like,” he said. “On the same note, we gotta give a lot of credit to Idaho, they played really a good game. They didn’t give us anything for free.”

Defensively, the Ducks held the Vandals to 217 yards, 10 first downs and just 2-for-12 on third down.

But there were also some breakdowns on Idaho’s two scoring drives, including leaving tight end Jake Cox alone and open for a 36-yard touchdown catch.

“I think there’s some really good positives,” Lanning said. “I think think there’s also some growth moments there. We were poor against the screen sometimes, some of our situational play that we knew would come up did and we didn’t execute properly in those situations.”

Still, Lanning said, the Ducks are 1-0 to start the season, even if there several areas that need improvement,

“We’re always going to celebrate a victory,” he said. “But there’s some opportunities for us to get better for sure.”

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Dan Lanning, Oregon players react to 'strenuous' win against Idaho