Ducks Clear First Hurdle of 2025

EUGENE, Ore. — Whether 2025 will find yourself nearly as good or higher than the 2024 Oregon soccer season is to be decided. What’s sure is that the brand new season for the Ducks bought off to a superior begin.

The No. 7 Ducks have been remarkably balanced on offense, stopped the run on protection and minimized vital errors in a 59-13 victory Saturday over Montana State earlier than 57,257 followers in Autzen Stadium. A 12 months after opening the 2024 season with a 24-14 win over Idaho — the primary of 13 straight wins — the UO soccer workforce took a extra spectacular first step Saturday.

“There’s still a lot for us to be able to clean up and still give ourselves an opportunity to assess exactly where we’re at,” fourth-year head coach Dan Lanning mentioned. “But overall, proud of the compete, proud of the guys never looking at the scoreboard and continuing to just work and focus, and overall, proud of the product.”

Oregon had excellent stability with 253 yards each speeding and receiving, within the first begin with this system for sophomore quarterback Dante Moore. The Ducks by no means needed to punt, they dedicated simply three penalties and so they restricted Montana State’s speeding offense — which led the nation on the FCS degree final season — to 46 yards.

That allowed Lanning and his workers to make use of almost 80 gamers, together with a dozen true freshmen — two of which, receiver Dakorien Moore and cornerback Brandon Finney, began the sport. The Ducks prolonged their FBS-leading nonconference residence win streak to 35 video games, earlier than an appreciative Autzen crowd.

“It’s just a blessing to be able to play here at the University of Oregon in front of a great crowd and great fans,” Dante Moore mentioned. “The best thing was just the way we moved the ball as a whole unit. Offense did a great job protection-wise, got a great run game first play (a 35-yard rush by Noah Whittington); we have a good run game, gonna have a good pass game. Did a great job as a unit, coaches prepared us the right way and we’re excited for it next week.”

Whittington had 68 yards to guide the Ducks on the bottom — of their 39 carries as a workforce, the one one which misplaced yardage got here when the offense took a knee to finish the sport — and Jordon Davison ran for 3 scores. Moore completed the sport 18-of-23 passing for 213 yards and three scores, together with his 18 completions unfold round to 10 receivers. 

“He was sharp,” Lanning mentioned. “He knew where to go with the ball, was decisive with his reads, was able to make some checks. I thought we had a simple plan and a plan that we could execute at a high level. He went out there and executed it really well.”

Stream-lining the sport plan was a technique coaches carried out after believing the playbook was too thick for the 2024 opener in opposition to Idaho. Saturday, maybe as a result of that change, the Ducks have been quick and environment friendly — whereas additionally taking part in with relentless effort.

They swarmed the ball on protection, bottling up Montana State’s speeding assault. Tackle A’Mauri Washington was a game-wrecker in the midst of the protection, ending with 5 tackles to tie for the workforce lead on the day.

“It’s really the goal every time we step on the field, is to stop the run,” Washington mentioned. “This will always be the standard. We get these guys to stop running the ball, we can make them one-dimensional.”

The Ducks have been bodily on offense as properly. Not solely did Davison thrive in short-yardage speeding conditions, however the freshman receiver Dakorien Moore offered one of many day’s highlights with a pancake block on a third-quarter landing reception by Gary Bryant Jr.

It turned out, Lanning revealed postgame, that Moore was blocking the unsuitable defender. But project errors could be corrected; the relentless physicality Moore displayed on the play is more durable to show.

“From wideout to wideout, seeing him block somebody into the ground on that touchdown run, it’s amazing,” Bryant mentioned. “And we preach that — like, man, let’s be physical in the perimeter. I know we can make explosive plays down the field, but if we could be a wideout team that can block on the perimeter and put guys in the ground and pancake, oh man, that’s an amazing feeling right there.”

The 2025 workforce could have gotten off to a extra spectacular begin than the 2024 Ducks. But final 12 months’s model may grasp its hat on enhancing all through the common season, on the way in which to a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth. Now, the present Ducks need to show they will do the identical.

“Sometimes adversity is really good for a team,” Lanning mentioned. “I don’t know exactly how we’re going to look in adverse moments right now, and that’s something that we’ve got to be prepared for. And there’s a lot for us to be able to clean up.

“But it is a new season. It’s a brand new workforce. We’re going to assault in new methods. This subsequent opponent has just a little bit extra time, Oklahoma State coming in (subsequent week). They’re having just a little bit extra time to arrange for us; which may look just a little totally different. So it is someday at a time. How can we be the very best model of us at the moment?”

Saturday’s model, at the very least, was fairly darn good.