Dan Lanning may be making a familiar mistake starting Brock Thomas

The Oregon Ducks enter Week 7 in a tricky place with a 3-2 record, and injuries piling up across the board. The schedule never provides a break in Big Ten play, and the Ducks are tasked with trying to hold off a dangerous Nebraska team that just pushed the defending National Champions to the brink. As if the challenge isn't tough enough for Dan Lanning without Dante Moore, the players haven't made his job much easier.

Oregon's decision to add Dylan Raiola looked genius during the USC game when he came in and looked flawless leading the Ducks to victory. Last weekend, that decision looked like a mistake as the Ducks benched Raiola for Brock Thomas as the Ducks struggled to get anything going.

Coming into the week, Dan Lanning told the media that the Ducks would be holding a quarterback competition to fill the role, even including Akili Smith Jr. in the mix. While nothing is official until the team takes the field, it looks like Dan Lanning may be making the same mistake that plagued the Ducks last weekend.

Starting Brock Thomas may be buying into what hurt Oregon

As of Saturday Morning, all reports point toward Oregon starting Brock Thomas in Saturday Night's clash against the Huskers.

The decision comes off of a solid 4th quarter for Brock Thomas who finished 11-15 for 156 yards and a touchdown in the loss to UCLA. The issue for Oregon is that the sample size with Thomas is incredibly limited, and it may be a case of the Ducks buying into the same mistake everyone made evaluating Dylan Raiola.

Coming off the bench unexpectedly is much different than being the starting quarterback is far tougher, and given that Nebraska saw what everyone else did last weekend, they likely prepared for Thomas.

Given the fact that Brock Thomas outplayed Dylan Raiola, the Ducks had to roll with the Oregon native, but the leash should be incredibly short. The Ducks can't afford to make the same mistake as last week where they dug themselves a deep hole before switching QBs. If the offense struggles early, it shouldn't matter that Raiola struggled last week, the team should go with whoever gives them the best chance to win.

The best part of making the switch from Dylan Raiola to Brock Thomas is the element that the latter can bring to the offense. The offensive line play has been up and down throughout the season, and Thomas is able to create more with his legs, which can help take pressure off the unit.

Oregon should know quickly in this game if they made the right decision, and given where the team sits at 3-2, it can't afford another abysmal showing.

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