Indiana Loss a Mixed Bag for Oregon's Youth

This is a tough loss for the young Oregon Ducks. It’s always hard to lose on your home turf, and this was a big game against a top 10 opponent. While it’s easy to focus on the negatives in this defeat, there were some very positive outcomes to take away from the young players. Now Head Coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon staff need to take what they have learned and use it in their next game against Rutgers.

Who played well and who struggled against the Hoosiers? Who rose to the occasion and who seemed to disappear? How can Oregon get more out of their freshmen going forward?

The young players who stood out

There were two true freshmen who really stood out in this game. One on each side of the ball. Brandon Finney Jr cemented himself as a top corner in the country and a player that Lanning and his staff can count on, regardless of the opponent. He had a huge pick six in the 4th quarter when things were looking bleak, and his defense was stellar all game long. He also had 4 tackles and 2 passes broken up. 

Despite being a true freshman, the Hoosiers opted not to throw at Finney for most of the game and when they did they were punished for it. Indiana instead chose to throw at redshirt freshman Ify Obidegwu, where they had significantly more success. Finney has been extremely reliable as a lockdown corner for the Ducks, and that has proven to be true against Penn State and now Indiana. Oregon should take a huge positive from that after the game.

The other true freshman that really had an impact, and should have been given more opportunities on offense, was Jordon Davison. He finished the game with 8 carries for 59 yards and an average of 7.4 yards per carry. It didn’t seem like Indiana had an answer for him when he went up the gut, but mysteriously Oregon stopped going to him. In the second quarter Davison had 6 carries for 55 yards and 9.2 yards per carry. In the third quarter he only had 1 carry for 4 yards and zero carries in the 4th. 

Oregon needs to do a better job of getting Davison the ball, especially if he’s having as much success as he had against Indiana. He has been a consistent bright spot for the Ducks through all six games. 

The young players who struggled

While some of the young freshmen showed up in this game, others had a much more difficult time delivering. Dierre Hill Jr had been electric for the Ducks, especially in the game against Penn State, but he struggled to find any room to run against Indiana. He was only able to get 3 carries for -3 yards in this game, and was most likely kept off the field because Oregon was struggling to block the pass rush. This has been the major hole in his game so far this season, and it’s a primary reason why Jayden Limar, Noah Whittington, and Jordon Davison have been on the field more for their blocking. 

This will present a challenge for offensive coordinator Will Stein to find other ways to get their electric freshman involved. This includes freshman phenom Dakorien Moore, who was kept relatively in check in this game. He finished with 4 catches for 39 yards and 1 carry for 7 yards. He had 5 total targets in the second half. Part of that is a product of the inability to block the pass rush and give Dante Moore time to throw, but the Ducks have to find ways to get their star wide receiver involved in the offense. 

While I have mostly focused on the true freshmen in this game, I will also add that redshirt freshman Ify Obidegwu had a very rough game against the Hoosiers. He was flagged twice for pass interference and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was clearly picking on him when they were looking for a completion. It will be interesting to see how many times he was targeted when more stats are available for this game. 

Final Thoughts

There were some very positive takeaways from this game for the young freshmen on the Ducks. Finney and Davison played great when they were given the opportunity. Finney is going to be a cornerstone of this defense for many years to come. The Ducks need to find a second corner, or develop Na’eem Offord so that both sides of the field are locked down. The future is very bright in the Oregon secondary.

Davison was having success all night and it’s odd that Oregon went away from the run so quickly. That decision is one of the biggest head scratchers from this game and it had shades of the 2023 PAC12 championship against Washington when Jordan James was having great success against the Huskies and the Ducks opted to keep feeding Bucky Irving. 

One of the things that should stand out to the coaching staff after this game is that they need to get their skill players the ball in a position to succeed. Hill and Moore did not have the impact that they have had in the past five games, and some of that… or a lot of that…. Is on the coaches. Oregon cannot give Moore 7 total targets in a game, and they clearly need to figure out a way to give Dante Moore enough time to throw the football.

While this loss stings, the season is far from over and the Ducks still have a great opportunity to make it to the college football playoff. These freshmen are going to be a big reason why they get there.