Oregon Offense Not Satisfied Despite Statistical Success
We continue to learn more about this Oregon team every week, but we know one thing is certain.
The new offensive staff has brought electricity, excitement and explosion back to the offense. Something that it's been missing for some time. When Dan Lanning was hired as head coach, he was tasked with finding that person who would change the whole dynamic of the offense.
Lanning tabbed Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham as his guy to lead the offensive overhaul while also utilizing the talent already on the roster. Bo Nix was waiting for his shot at redemption after an up-and-down career with the Auburn Tigers for four years.
Fast forward to this weekend and we have a program that is ranked third nationally in total offense with 525.8 yards a game, fourth in rushing yards per carry at 5.91, fifth in scoring per game with 42.4 points and eighth in passing efficiency at 169.7 Putting up numbers like that should make any team happy.
But that wasn't the case for Oregon following their 42-24 win over Cal, a game that saw them rattle off six touchdowns and 586 yards of total offense.
READ MORE: Oregon Running Backs Change the Game in Win Over Cal
A common theme continued with the Ducks this year, as Lanning expressed that his team has yet to play their best football this year and even specifically mentions the offense to an extent.
"I think if you ask Bo right now he'd say he can perform better," the head coach said following Saturday's game. "I think our entire team probably feels that way-- that there's some moments that we can play at a higher level."
Center Alex Forsyth has been at Oregon longer than anyone on this offense, so he's seen the highs and lows. As the leader of the offensive line he knows full well that the Ducks can take it up a notch with more consistency.
"We have a certain standard in terms of what we should be doing, and we felt going into the game we had a strong game plan," the veteran center noted. "We thought coach Dillingham really got us ready for the game. It's just the little things, enough to make you upset when you say if I just did those two or three things".
Nix is carving out a spot for himself in the Heisman conversation every week and also feels that he can be better after his six-touchdown performance. He was quick to credit his teammates in the win.
"This was a tough game just because of the kind of situations. I think we played okay offensively, but we just shot ourselves in the foot at times. I didn't play my best today but fortunately the guys around me played really good to put up some points. I think collectively, it's nice when you don't perform your best and miss a few opportunities in the red zone and still do what we do on offense."
Another note about the offense is that they've had almost perfect success when it came to fourth-down conversions going 12/15 before the Cal stopped them on a short-yardage fourth-down play this weekend.
Looking back on the win Lanning might even be happy that happened because the offense has been so dominant this season.
"It was probably good for that to happen to us," the head coach reflected. "We probably got humbled a little bit and that's an opportunity for us to go work at it and see if we can move the pile on the next team."
It's better to be humbled no in a game that was never really out of reach rather than in the postseason.
The offense will go back to the drawing board and figure out how they can scheme up more plans for success against a bottom-dwelling Colorado team this week.
READ MORE: Running backs change the game vs. Cal
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