These Ducks are different: Dak is not DAT

Because college football has regional character, history and tradition, and these are the best parts of the game, people like to compare eras, coaches and players. It's natural and understandable, this way we have of describing the present with a bow to the past, something that happens on discussion boards or the tailgate.

Lately there's been a lot of talk comparing Will Stein's burst of creativity to the Chip Kelly offense, and Dakorien Moore as the new De'Anthony Thomas.

While Thomas is among the most SENSATIONAL of Oregon players and beloved for his ability to create moments, Dakorien Moore is a better and more well-rounded football player with superior discipline and work habits. Moore blocks for his teammates. DAT missed one that cost the Ducks a shot at a national championship.

The Black Momba (his spelling) was a firefly in a jar. He could do amazing things and put defenders in the spin cycle. In two New Year's Six bowl games he was utterly and completely breathtaking. Other times he completely disappeared.

The second highlight remains one of the most stunning moments in Oregon football history, but it's also instructive to remember that Thomas accounted for 1,208 yards from scrimmage as a freshman (595 rushing, 605 receiving) and steadily declined in production as a sophomore and junior.

He posted 983 yards in kick returns in 2011, his first year out Crenshaw High in Los Angeles, 389 and 513 in the years that followed.

It might surprise some fans to know that Moore is actually faster than Thomas was as a Duck. Thomas' best time in the 100 meters was 10.52. Moore ran a 10.4 as a prep. He's bigger, too. Dakorien is listed at 5-11, 195. Thomas was 5-8, 176.

Moore shares Thomas' gift for the sensational but he also has cultivated a love of the mundane.

In fall camp Dan Lanning said, "I think he's a perfectionist. He wants to do things the right way, and he's hard on himself. But part of that means that you spend a lot of time in preparation, and preparation is going to create confidence.”

Moore can make the big plays, but he's also committed to the grind. Thomas once said about returning to the Rose Bowl-- the Rose Bowl!-- "It's like, whatever."

The comparison of the two is egregiously superficial. Moore will have a better Oregon career, and be more consistent.

In a similar way the comparison of Will Stein's avalanche of creativity to the Chip Kelly offense is terribly shallow. The Blur Offense from the Win The Day era, while a nostalgic feast, was built around a gimmick. playing as fast as the rules allowed, in a way the rules no longer allow. That team had eight basic plays and a little window dressing.. They overwhelmed teams with tempo.

In the first two games of 2025 Stein has flipped the script. Instead of the "plain vanilla," simplify-the-playbook conventional approach he has gone full Jackson Pollock, furiously throwing paint and complementary plays at opponents and the defensive coordinators of the future.

He's had his quarterback under center. He's lined up three tight ends, two backs. He's run flea-flickers and counters and Jailbreak Screens. It's been dazzling and inventive. He's used twelve ball carriers and 10 receivers. The Ducks scored 18 touchdowns in two games, by 11 different players (two by the defense, Jerrry Mixon and Peyton Woodyard.)

The Ducks have gone with a fullhouse backfield and a Wishbone look. They've gone empty. They've used shifts and motion, and they've even sent Kenyon Sadiq in motion and had him peel back to throw a lead block on a reverse.

On Stein's part, it's a burst of creativity and variety that the Kelly era never approached. Those teams cranked out 45 points a game, but they did it being fast and furious rather than being multiple, deep and lethal.

The two are not the same. To suggest so is just lazy.

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