Ducks face 4 opponents in Autzen Friday night

Etched against a rainy November night, the four opponents Oregon most overcome Friday are Minnesota, overconfidence, complacency and injuries. Dan Lanning is a master motivator and will likely have the Ducks ready for all four.

Minnesota is a sneaky-good team with a fiery coach. P.J. Fleck is known for his pep talks and motivational slogans but the Golden Gophers beat then-No. 25 Nebraska 24-6 in October and No. 24 Iowa last year. They topped No. 14 Wisconsin in 2021.

In fact, Fleck has been there nine seasons, and he's had a winning record in six of them, 11-2 in 2019. He has a 6-0 record in bowls as the head man in Minneapolis.

As he is wont to do, Lanning expressed respect for Fleck and the Gopher program. "Obviously, Coach Fleck does an unbelievable job. You look at his team, you recognize culture right away. They play really well on special teams. They play for each other," Lanning said.

The second and third pitfalls of a mid-November game on a Friday night are complacency and overconfidence. Under Lanning the Ducks haven't been a team that goes flat or loses focus, but there's a tremendous challenge in having to play a game six days after a tense, physical, emotional road win, flying home and missing a day of preparation while the opponent is coming off a bye.

The Ducks just got picked No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings. They play No. 17 USC next weekend. They're a 25.5-point favorite in what could be fowl weather, something that will demand a reliance on the run game and another conservative game plan.

The last great obstacle is injuries. Everybody has them and the Ducks have a strength-in-numbers philosophy, but the toll is high this year. Oregon has managed an enormous amount of adversity, currently down a starting right tackle in Alex Harkey, an All-American candidate and potential first-round draft pick in Kenyon Sadiq, two fast wide receivers in Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart.

Gary Bryant left the Iowa game in the second quarter after catching a 22-yard pass with an apparent ankle injury. On defense their fastest linebacker Devon Jackson missed the game. Dante Moore sat out the second half against Wisconsin with a broken nose.

The toll is a little ridiculous, even given that football is a collision sport. Surviving all that in Iowa was a minor miracle, a tribute to the offensive line, the running backs, receivers Malik Benson and Jeremiah McClellan, reserve tight ends Jamari Johnson and Roger Saleapaga, and the overall grit and resilience of the team.

Saleapaga blocked brilliantly, but he's had the hardest luck as a pass receiver. In the Badger game he had a touchdown taken off the board by a holding penalty, a poorly-executed assignment in the protection shield. At Kinnick Stadium he was coming free for what looked like a sure touchdown on a pop pass but Dante Moore got tripped up by one of his own blockers.