Oregon Offensive Keys to the Game vs. Ohio State

Oregon will have to improve offensively this weekend in Columbus, and there’s a couple key areas they need to focus on.

Author:
John Rustik
Publish date:
Sep 10, 2021 11:38 AM EDT

Offense will be critical for the No. 12 Oregon Ducks as they prepare to face the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes. The Oregon offense was less than impressive against the Fresno State Bulldogs, so they will need to greatly improve in various aspects of their game.

Here are three keys for the Oregon offense to try and get a positive result against Ohio State.

1. 3rd down efficiency

The Ducks struggled on third down in their first game against Fresno State. They need to improve vastly in order to have a chance against the Buckeyes. In their first game, they were 7 for 16 on third down, making their third down efficiency percentage 43.75%.

The Ducks failed to convert on nine third downs against Fresno State, and five of them came with six or fewer yards to gain.

Minnesota went 8 for 14 on third down, and still were beaten by 14. Of their six third downs they failed to convert, three of them were short-yardage situations. Oregon needs to do better on those short-yardage situations.

A big player that needs to step up on these plays is Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown. Of the nine third downs the Ducks failed to convert last week, three were incomplete passes and three of them were completions short of the marker. Although not all those failures are on the quarterback, he has to lead the Ducks to convert on more 3rd downs.

2. Dominate the run game

CJ Verdell and Travis Dye are two great options at running back for the Ducks. The powerful one-two punch for Oregon has combined for just over 4,500 yards and 28 touchdowns through their careers.

In the first game of the season, the two combined for 138 rushing yards and each scored a touchdown on the ground.

In week 1, All-American running back Mohamed Ibrahim bowled over the Buckeyes defense, racking up 163 yards and two touchdowns until an injury removed him late in the third frame. The Buckeyes would go on to give up a total of 203 yards on the ground, certainly not something expected from a team that views the defensive trenches as a strength.

Anthony Brown proved he can move out of the pocket in week 1, running for 56 yards on the day against Fresno State and juking his way into the end zone for the game-winning 30-yard touchdown. His ability to run is something Ohio State did not have to worry about in their first game against the Gophers and Tanner Morgan, and the Ducks will need to use Brown's legs to their advantage.

3. Air it out

The Ducks played it safe against Fresno State when it came to throwing the long ball. The longest pass Anthony Brown completed was a 32-yard touchdown strike to Johnny Johnson III.

In all of Anthony Brown’s pass attempts for the Ducks in the past two seasons, the 32 yard pass was the longest pass he has completed. The pass was a well-delivered ball from Brown, so taking shots downfield is within his skillset.

The Ohio State defense did defend well against the deep ball against Minnesota however. The longest pass they allowed against the Gophers was 22 yards. Oregon could potentially unravel the Ohio State secondary by taking and completing some deep shots early and often.

Ohio State will most definitely take their shots downfield using their powerful play-action setup, and Oregon should respond with game breakers of their own.