Saturday's loss to Illinois drops Oregon to 4-3 on the season, far from what any fan would've expected heading into the season. The year started with such promise for the Ducks with Dante Moore returning after a deep playoff run, but now Oregon's hopes of making the College Football Playoff have been dashed.
It would be easy to make excuses for Oregon and the state of the offense with Dante Moore out with a concussion since the first half of the USC game. Adding to the woes have been injuries to Jeremiah McClellan and Evan Stewart, along with the latter and two other receivers seemingly being suspended for Saturday's game.
While there are certainly excuses to be made for the offense's struggles, and how the Ducks reached this point, they shouldn't be made available to Drew Mehringer.
Drew Mehringer can't return to Oregon after abysmal season
Has Drew Mehringer been dealt a tough hand with Dante Moore's injury, the struggles of the offensive line, and some of the other injuries the team has dealt with? Sure. Has Mehringer done anything to help the Ducks overcome these issues? No.
This season, Drew Mehringer hasn't been the victim of Oregon's shortcomings, but he's instead been one of the key sources of their issues. Before Dante Moore was injured, Oregon's offense already had problems, and the rest of the season, the lack of a superstar quarterback has only exposed some of his critical flaws as a play caller.
Saturday's game was the perfect example of where Mehringer falls short as a play caller, and points to why he can't be the offensive coordinator if Oregon is going to contend for championships. Once again Oregon was without Dante Moore, but the Ducks were also missing Jeremiah McClellan, Evan Stewart, Messiah Hampton, and Jalen Lott.
Given how limited the passing attack was, you would think that Mehringer would lean on the running backs and try to grind out a win. Jordon Davison averaged 6.6 yards per carry, Dierre Hill Jr. averaged 6.4 yards per carry, and Brandon Smith picked up 5.5 yards per attempt, but the trio only got 29 carries while Dylan Raiola attempted 41 passes.
Countless times in the game, Oregon would show promise with the rushing attack, but would then stall drives by getting too cute with play calls or by letting Raiola pass. The moment from the Illinois game that everyone will point to is the bizarre decision Mehringer made late in the 3rd quarter, leaving the entire offensive line to watch on a strange jet sweep to Dakorien Moore.
A fantastic way to derail your momentum and kill the drive... pic.twitter.com/93UWJjINWL
— Nate Bishop (@NateBish) October 24, 2026
It hasn't been the greatest set of circumstances given to Drew Mehringer, but good playcallers find a way to create explosive plays, and score points even when things are bad. Mehringer has proven that he's not capable of scheming up points, or elevating the talent, and it should be the reason that Dan Lanning decides to make a change. Mehringer could be a fine coordinator at some schools, but if the goal at Oregon is to win a championship, then he's never going to reach that point.
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