Indiana played a good game and manhandled Oregon in every phase Saturday afternoon in Autzen Stadium, a signature win for the Hoosier program, an embarrassing return to earth for the Ducks.
In their last two starts, Will Stein's offense has produced 17 and 14 points in regulation. Against a tough, disciplined, aggressive Hoosier defense they were outgained in the fourth quarter 104-15. They suffered six sacks and eight tackles for loss altogether.
Dante Moore, so poised and composed over the first five games, looked harried and overwhelmed. On three of the sacks he ran out of room after scrambling right to the sideline, with an easy opportunity to throw the ball away and save yards.
The Ducks converted 3-14 on third downs and managed only 267 yards on 51 plays from scrimmage.
Stein has to make adjustments. He has to recognize the flaws of this roster and do what he can to compensate for them. He has to help his young quarterback and give him a clearer picture.
What Moore does best is throw the ball downfield. The deep pass to Malik Benson was a thing of beauty. Indiana's pressure had a lot to do with it, but this was the most careful, pedestrian game plan in history. The Hoosiers were completely prepared for everything the Ducks tried to do, and all of UO's talented weapons, Dakorien Moore, Kenyon Sadiq, Dierre Hill, were reduced to bit roles.
In his last two games against top competition, IU and in January in the Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State, the Stein attack has produced 35 total points while suffering 14 quarterback sacks. Max protect? Blitz pickup? The Ducks need to identify some better options in their offense.
Their next two games are easily winnable, 3-3 Rutgers in Piscataway and Big Ten also-ran Wisconsin at home. It's time to regroup, reassess and get better. At 5-1 they're still in position to make the playoffs, though it's hard to see this team going very far against physical defenses.
Reporters asked Dan Lanning after the game what he said to Dante Moore.
Lanning answered, "Adversity is real. You’re going to face it at some point in your career. It’s about how you respond to it. We didn’t have our fastball today. They did a great job. In this game everybody wants to look at players and say, ‘oh, this is the reason.’ That was a team effort and that was a team loss. Their team played better than us."
By that measure, it isn't Dante Moore's fault and it isn't Will Stein's but everyone has to get better and make adjustments. The Ducks soar when they have a talent advantage. Against an opponent that can punch back, they've looked badly overrated in two big games.