Oregon Ducks’ dominant defense hides shocking deficiencies on offense that Dan Lanning and Dante Moore must fix
Oregon’s offense could barely move the ball for most of College Football Playoff win over Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Oregon Ducks’ defense completely smothered the Texas Tech Red Raiders’ offense in their 23-0 shutout Orange Bowl victory on New Year’s Day.
Dan Lanning clearly had his team ready for anything that Texas Tech was going to bring to the table offensively, but when it came to the other side of the ball, the Ducks struggled immensely through shocking deficiencies. Quarterback Dante Moore and company have to clean a few things up if they want to win it all, but the elite defenders for the Ducks continue to dominate.
Oregon Ducks’ elite defenders like Brandon Finney destroy Texas Tech
The Ducks’ defensive success didn’t rely on just any one player, but the star of the day for Oregon was most definitely true freshman defensive back Brandon Finney. Finney finished the day with two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and a half dozen total tackles as he stifled any hopes Texas Tech had at victory in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup.
His first early interception demonstrated perfect “scooch” technique as he read Texas Tech QB Behren Morton all the way on an out-breaking route. Later in the second quarter, Finney jumped on a fumble from Cameron Dickey, ending an important drive where Texas Tech was actually starting to show signs of life. Finally, when Texas Tech was finally driving deep into Oregon Ducks’ territory in the 4th quarter, Finney called “game” with an interception in the end zone.
Brandon Finney’s performance might have been a surprise to those who don’t follow the Ducks closely, but Matayo Uiagalelei’s destruction along the defensive front didn’t catch anyone by surprise. He is still very much in the mix for first round NFL Draft capital next spring should he choose to declare.
Uiagalelei’s strip sack and fumble recovery of Behren Morton (as seen in post below) set up the most important touchdown of the game for the Oregon Ducks. His impact was felt throughout the entire game even when he wasn’t getting all the way home for sacks.
Beyond those two elite defenders, linebacker Bryce Boettcher forced the fumble recovered by Finney, and tallied a dozen tackles. Safety Dillon Thieneman tied the tackles lead with a dozen himself. Teitum Tuioti totaled two sacks. It was an unbelievable day by the entire defensive unit. If Oregon plays like that in both of their remaining possible games they will have a chance to win the championship. Unfortunately there are two sides of the ball to play, and the Ducks’ offense was much worse than the 23 final points suggests.
Dante Moore and Oregon Ducks offense struggles must get fixed
Dante Moore’s final passing yards total of 234 yards doesn’t look too bad on the day, but the Oregon Ducks had so many shocking problems against Texas Tech.
Yes, the Red Raiders defense was elite against the run all year, so struggling there was expected. However, 1.4 yards per carry is unfathomably terrible. The Ducks were forced to attempt eight fourth down conversions on the day, including three of them on one drive alone. Luckily enough for Dan Lanning and his Ducks, Dante Moore and company was able to convert four of the eight conversions to keep multiple drives alive. Still, that is not a sustainable method for success. Neither is averaging 3.8 yards per play for the entire game.
The good news for Oregon Ducks fans? They still have a first round quarterback at the helm in Dante Moore. He certainly wanted a few poor passes back on the day, and wasn’t always as accurate as college football fans have come to expect him to be, but when he’s on Moore is tough to stop. Moore made some phenomenal throws with pinpoint accuracy, including the beautiful back shoulder throw in the post below. Then, when it mattered most, he found ways to keep Oregon on the field converting on critical third and fourth downs.
Yes, the Oregon Ducks need to make sure their rushing offense is a bit more creative and consistent in future rounds of the College Football Playoff. The pass blocking has to get better at stopping speed rushers on the outside, and stunts on the inside. Moore needs to make sure he’s more consistent down to down so that Oregon doesn’t force themselves into eight fourth down situations. Still, the Ducks pulled off the victory against Texas Tech, and ultimately made it look too easy thanks to the defense in their 23-0 win.
We’ll be back with more Oregon Ducks coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
