Running a score-guessing contest on another board, I find about a third of the prognosticators are looking for the Ducks to roll up 48 or more points and almost half 44 or more. Even versus a FCS team, especially one that likes to run the ball most of the time, that seems a bit of a reach. The guessers are living in the past, albeit a recent one. 44 might now be the ceiling unless a rash of turnovers makes more tallies likely.
It's not that the Ducks couldn’t roll up a win like that, It’s more “why should they?"
With Chip Kelly and his hurry up offense, now often called tempo because the announcers can, it more frequently happened on the field, not just in fans’ dreams. At the outset it was the best shot for a victory before opponents had adapted to his revolutionary attack. Yes heavy passing teams and faster paced offenses do get there most weeks even now but we’re talking Oregon.
5 ⭐️ Oregon commit Dakorien Moore might be him 😮💨 @thereal_kori2x pic.twitter.com/RcggfY5Y7j
— League Ready (@LeagueRDY) September 12, 2024
Things have changed. Aside from defensive adjustments, the clock runs more which shortens the game. More important, Oregon doesn’t need to run a fast-paced offense. None of the rosters from those explosive scoring days would be more talented than what Dan Lanning will put on the field during his 4th season.
Players, sure, but not the starting lineups .. on either side of the ball.
The quicker the Ducks score, the more time their defense will need to be working on the field. Conversely, the less time the opponent’s will. They are not getting as winded as they used to. That’s OK if you score most of the time but it’s probably not a wise plan. More time on the field, more mistakes, more injuries.
While the guys on the other side of the line from Oregon seldom approached what the Ducks put up, sometimes they did and sometimes they won. Since DL’s arrival it has become quite rare and it probably won’t happen more than a couple of time this season When it does it won’t because the opponent surpassed the half century mark. I’ll be surprised if any foe this season hits the 40 mark but the results on the field are sometimes different what than we expect.
Gone is the surprise Kelly flashed. Gone is Kelly who flashed it. Gone is the NEED to pile up the points to win. Gone are notching up 80 or more offensive plays by the team in green and yellow, or whatever color the weekly uni color is. Gone are the 50’s on the scoreboard.