While Montana State looked to test the Ducks on the ground and failed, Dan Lanning said Monday that he thinks Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State Cowboys will attack Oregon's young secondary.
"This will probably be the team that we play that takes the most vertical shots down the field to date that we've seen, and probably in my time here," Lanning said in his Monday presser. "They're going to push the ball down the field, a lot of quick passing game and a lot of shots down the field."
The Ducks young cornerbacks did a superb job in the opener against the Bobcats, but MSU looked mostly to get rid of the ball quickly. In their win over Tennessee-Martin last Thursday, OSU threw deep four times, connecting on two to 6-0, 195 senior wideout Terrill Davis, good for 34 and 41 yards.
The 34-yarder came on the fourth snap of the game. Starting quarterback Hauss Hejny rolled left and found Davis on a deep crosser.
Terrill Davis
— OState Daily (@Ostate_Daily) August 30, 2025
One of the best ways to open space for a run game is to be able to take the top off the defense in the pass game. Back the safeties up and make them play in a back peddle, then pound the rock.
That's where Davis needs to shine the most, IMO. He needs to use his… pic.twitter.com/OpSXXuDDUi
On the Cowboys' second touchdown drive he beat the coverage on a straight drop back, this time for 41 yards down to the Skyhawks 38.
One guy I really liked last night from the Oklahoma State Football game was UCO transfer Terrill Davis.
— Zachary Berger (@Zac_Berger_) August 29, 2025
Only had 2 catches but led the team with 75 receiving yards. Definitely a dude to keep an eye out for.#OKState #GoPokes #CowboyFB pic.twitter.com/hMKIvqfHqr
Davis transferred to the Pokes from Central Oklahoma, where last season he set a school record with 109 catches for 1609 yards and 15 touchdowns, a Division II All-American.
It's a good test for Oregon's young secondary, where the Ducks speed and length looked really promising in Week One, particularly true freshman cornerback Brandon Finney, an explosive athlete at 6-2, 203 who broad-jumped nearly 11 feet on the camp circuit and hits 21.5 mph on the GPS.
Finney sprinting across the field to make this tackle stood out. True freshman looked like he belonged https://t.co/Pfkc6aDjW7 pic.twitter.com/crvuNATFcG
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 2, 2025
One other thing to look for is that Finney, being a young player, is excitable and competitive. On a couple of plays like the one above, teammates had to pull him away from a potential taunting penalty.
The first-year starter from McDonough School in Owings Mills, Maryland does have impeccable work habits and technique. Redshirt freshman safety Aaron Flowers told Max Torres of On3 Sports, "His mindset for sure is different. He's always here first guy in, last guy out. Asks every question. In film, just asking every question he can. Asking what the safeties do, what the STARs do, just trying to learn the best. He knows the defense all throughout, so that's what he's playing."
— BRANDON FINNEY JR (@brandonfinneyjr) July 10, 2025
In Game One the coaches got a lot of snaps for their youthful secondary and they spread them around, which will only help in their depth and development as they prepare for the Big Ten's premier passing attacks like Penn State, Indiana, USC and Washington.
Snap Counts in the Oregon Secondary, Montana State
Safeties
Flowers 35
Dillon Thieneman 29
Kingston Lopa 24
Peyton Woodyard 20
Solomon Davis 10
Star
Jadon Canady 23
Daylen Austin 16
Cornerback
Na'eem Offord 32
Ify Obidegwu 31
Finney 24
Sione Laulea 21
Dakoda Fields 10
In addition, Lanning said yesterday that senior transfer Theran Johnson, 5-11, 195, second team All-Big Ten at Northwestern last season, would be available for the OSU game after missing the Montana State game with a knee injury.
The Ducks should have plenty of weapons at the back end, and their pass rush might make things uncomfortable for a redshirt freshman quarterback in his first start. Mayhem could ensue.