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QuickTake:
Oklahoma State’s pass-happy offense will give the Ducks’ revamped, taller defensive backfield a chance to prove itself Saturday. The Cowboys aren’t elite, but they love to try long throws downfield — a different kind of offense than the Ducks saw in Week 1.
Dan Lanning won’t sugarcoat it:
The Ducks are going to see something very different in Week 2 than they did against Montana State.
The Bobcats brought one of the best rushing attacks in the FCS to Autzen and left with a 59-13 loss — and just 46 rushing yards. But Oklahoma State (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) represents both a step up in competition and a much stiffer challenge for Oregon’s rebuilt secondary. This is an offense that had a pair of 41-yard completions in its 27-7 Week 1 win over University of Tennessee at Martin.
“This will probably be the team that we play that takes the most vertical shots down the field to date that we’ve seen, and probably in my time here,” Lanning said. “They’re going to push the ball down the field, a lot of quick passing game and a lot of shots down the field. They’re going to try to catch you off guard. If you leave somebody single cover, they’re going to let their wideouts go have an opportunity to go win and compete down the field for the ball.”
Oregon’s secondary is new in more ways than one. In Week 1, the four Ducks who took the most reps in passing situations — cornerbacks Na’eem Offord and Ify Obidegwu, and safeties Dillon Thieneman and Aaron Flowers, according to Pro Football Focus — combined for 81 snaps against Montana State. The same quartet played just 66 snaps for the Ducks in all of 2024.
It’s also a much bigger group than last season’s. Flowers and Thieneman are 6-feet tall. Offord, Obidegwu and Jahlil Florence are 6-1. Freshman Brandon Finney Jr. and Peyton Woodyard are 6-2. Sione Laulea is 6-4, and Kingston Lopa leads the group at 6-5. Not a single starter from Oregon’s 2024 secondary was taller than 5-11.
“Those guys were super quick and changed direction, and they were all vets,” Florence said of last year’s team. “But with us, we got about four or five guys in our group that are above 6-2 or so, and we’re all fast and long. With that, it’s so hard for quarterbacks to be able to throw the ball deep and complete passes over our heads. I feel like we got a super aggressive group.”
Over the last three seasons, Oregon’s biggest folly has been a pass defense that’s fallen apart on the biggest stages. Whether it was Washington’s Rome Odunze – multiple times – or Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith in the Rose Bowl, the Ducks just haven’t been able to stop athletic receivers with size.
“Our system is built around guys with length and, of course, speed,” Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi said. “It’s not necessarily doing a whole bunch of new stuff, but what we can do better probably caters to us, and maybe getting away from a little bit of smoke and mirrors to possibly hide some match-up issues.”
With Oregon’s size adjustment, its defensive backfield is now in line with some of the top programs from college to the pros. Let’s take a look:
Oklahoma State isn’t the best team Oregon will face in 2025. Nor is their quarterback going to find himself in New York for the Heisman ceremony – redshirt freshman Zane Flores is set to make his first-career start after Hauss Hejny was injured in the win over UT Martin.
But philosophies don’t change overnight. The Cowboys are likely going to chuck it.
“It’s a different viewpoint because [Montana State was] more run-first, and now we’re just trying to see where our weak points are against the pass because we’ve got to be ready for the pass for Oklahoma State,” Flowers said. “We’ve got to switch points. It’s a really young secondary. Everyone is just not sure about us, and we’re sure to go out there and play our best. I feel like we’re ready to get tested.”
