The Oregon Ducks came into Saturday as massive favorites over Boise State, and almost instantly it felt like the game would instead be a battle. It took the Ducks until the very last season to fully put Boise State away, thanks to a late pass breakup by Na'eem Offord and Dante Moore throwing the ball out of bounds as time expired.
The entire day was a surprise, starting with learning which players were out with injuries to how close the game ended up being. Looking back at some of the stats, there's 5 big surprises that are worth noting heading into the Oklahoma State game.
These 5 surprises from Oregon's season opener against Boise State are worth noting
Brandon Finney Jr was Oregon's worst defender in coverage
The most shocking stat from the game may be the fact that Brandon Finney Jr struggled the most of any Oregon DB in coverage. Finney allowed the most targets (5), catches (4), and yards (54) of any defensive back while playing 34 coverage snaps. It's easy to believe in a bounce-back given what we saw from Finney last season, and the Ducks will need it if this team is going to match the hype.
Tommy Tofi and Immanuel Iheancho didn't play
Given that Dan Lanning said the Ducks were going to play more than just the starting 5 offensive linemen, it seemingly gave freshmen a chance to earn roles. Tommy Tofi was the star of the offseason, but Oregon opted for experience, leaving him on the bench. Immanuel Iheanacho was the Ducks' highest-ranked signee, but in a close game, Oregon didn't take any chances, likely because he was a Summer enrollee.
Nasir Wyatt only played 7 snaps
The biggest complaint that everyone should have about Oregon's defense was the fact that Nasir Wyatt only played 7 snaps. The club on Wyatt's hand may be part of the reason, but in the 7 snaps he played, he was the Ducks' most impactful defender. In just 7 snaps, Wyatt recorded two pressures, nearly taking Maddux Madsen's hand off on one. The best version of this defense includes Wyatt in some capacity, and the staff is going to have to find a way to give him a bigger role.
Oregon only played 4 wide receivers
Coming out of camp, Oregon's young wide receivers drew a ton of hype as Jalen Lott, Gatlin Bair, and Messiah Hampton all looked like they could make an impact as freshmen. Transfer Iverson Hooks and Jalen Lott missed the game with injury, which made it seem like the Ducks would be short handed at wide receiver. Instead, the Ducks played the starting trio the entire game, with Messiah Hampton getting just two snaps.
Oregon's battle for CB2 remains in a dead heat
One of the things that was clear on Saturday was that the Ducks were still letting Na'eem Offord and Ify Obidegwu battle for the role opposite Brandon Finney Jr. Both players rose to the occasion as Offord was targeted twice with a pass interference penalty, but he made up for it with the game winning PBU. Obidgewu didn't allow a single catch and was targeted just once in just 24 coverage snaps.
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