Dan Lanning calls Portland State quarterback extremely dynamic

The Oregon Ducks are heavy favorites as they open up the 2023 college football season at home against Portland State. But the Vikings have one playmaker in particular that could make a strong impact on the game if the Ducks proceed without caution.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was asked what Portland State does offensively that challenges defenses, and immediately pointed toward quarterback Dante Chachere.

“The biggest thing is their quarterback is extremely dynamic,” Lanning said. “He’s a guy that’s really fast, it shows up, you can see it. You watch their explosive play tape really quick, you realize that he’s a guy that has the ball in his hands.”

Last season was Chachere’s first as a starter, and he sure did impress with his arm and his legs. He threw for 1,956 yards and 19 touchdowns in his 11 starts last season, also leading the team in rushing with 609 yards on the ground and a team-leading seven rushing scores.

Chachere was also efficient with the football last season, completing 59.7% of his passes for the Vikings offense, and he was especially potent in the deep passing game.

“They have one of the deeper target areas for as far as throws down the field, they throw it down the field quite a bit. I think average targets over 12 yards for them from a passing game standpoint. And then they have a couple dynamic players that they’ve done a good job using on that side of the ball,” Lanning explained.

Portland State had three wide receivers eclipse the 400-yard mark last season, but only one returns on this year’s roster.

And the Vikings out of the Big Sky may have a dynamic dual-threat quarterback coming to Autzen Stadium this Saturday, but the Ducks have one of their own in returning start Bo Nix.

Nix made a splash in Eugene last season in his first year with the Ducks after transferring from Auburn last offseason. He helped lead the Ducks to a 10-3 record behind his 3,593 passing yards and 29 touchdown passes, also proving himself as one of the nation’s most efficient passers with an impressive 71.9% completion percentage.

He also got it done with his legs rushing for 510 yards on the ground and 14 touchdowns to lead all Pac-12 quarterbacks last season.

Oregon has already gotten Nix’s 2023 Heisman Trophy campaign going, which will start this Saturday as he matches up with another dynamic quarterback at 3:00 p.m. ET in a game airing on Pac-12 Network.