The Oregon Ducks come off a loss to Oklahoma State with the perfect soft landing spot as Portland State comes to Eugene on Friday Night. Saturday's game showed some major flaws for the Ducks, and a game where the team should face little resistance should help work through some of the problems that have plagued the team early in the year.
This is the final and best chance for the coaching staff to experiment with different lineups and getting the team more experience with two new coordinators calling the plays. From simple fixes and tweaks to questions that needed to be answered before the start of Big Ten play, Oregon has to leave Friday Night with answers.
The 3 problems that must be solved in a tune-up for the Ducks
Dante Moore can't tip plays
After the Oklahoma State post game interviews and Aiden Fischer calling out Oregon plays last year in the Indiana game, internet sleuths quickly looked to try and find the "tell" in the Ducks' offense. It turns out that Dante Moore's stance has differed on running and passing plays which defenses certainly may be picking up on.
While defenses could very well just be looking at Oregon's tendencies, if there's a chance that Moore's stance is giving defenses an advantage, it has to change. Changing Moore's stance to be more consistent seems like an easy fix, and it's something that should be drilled in throughout practice this weekend.
Cutting out the drops
Dante Moore certainly didn't have his best performance on Saturday, but his wide receivers didn't exactly help the struggles. The Ducks had 3 clear drops on Saturday, with Jeremiah McClellan, Dakorien Moore, and Jordon Davison each dropping a pass. If the Ducks are going to go out and win big games in Big Ten play, you can't afford to waste opportunities as Oregon did against Oklahoma State.
Finding the set offensive line
Oregon's first two games have been billed as games the Ducks should win with ease, and they haven't, but if they struggle this week against Portland State, then there are much bigger issues. Given that the Ducks are coming off a loss, Dan Lanning is going to be even more intense than normal, this should be a blowout.
Since the Ducks should have a lead early, this game should serve as a great opportunity to finally lock down the starting offensive line so the group can gel together for the rest of the way. Trent Ferguson was lost for the season after starting at left guard, and the staff should look to get film on plenty of different combinations and see what sticks.
Immanuel Iheanacho and Tommy Tofi are incredibly talented freshmen, and this would be a great time to get them both a ton of experience. The tackle duo of Fox Crader and Ziyare Addison should only benefit from continuing to gain experience after a rocky game. The biggest question has been at guard, and the Ducks have to find a duo that can play at the Big Ten duo.
Giving Dante Moore confidence in his offensive line will go a long way, as he's struggled at times this season. Whether Oregon lands on experienced players or the most talented group, there eventually has to be a set unit that can gel together.
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