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For the better part of 20 years, Oregon and Nike have been known for bringing innovation into the college football world with futuristic uniforms and a changing style of play. It’s been a hit-and-miss endeavor to be sure with mostly hits and just a few misses.
That innovation ramped up on the field when the Ducks hired Chip Kelly and his offensive schemes and tempo were the talk of those inside the industry. Oregon did everything as quickly as possible. That plan brought the Ducks to the brink of two national championships.
When Mario Cristobal was at the helm, things slowed down a little, but he brought efficiency to the Oregon program. It was more calculating and the winning was nearly at the same level. Cristobal won a Rose Bowl and several conference titles.
The next logical step in the Ducks’ evolution is to combine the best of both worlds. That’s what new head coach Dan Lanning, along with offensive coordinator Kenny Willingham, hope to achieve. When asked if he wants the Ducks to run ramp up the speed of play on the offensive side of the ball, Lanning laid out his plan of attack.
“It has to be a weapon for us. I also think that sometimes those numbers get skewed a little bit just like if we’re in a game and we’re doing really well, that pace is going to change down the stretch,” he said. “If the game is in hand or you’re scoring quickly, that doesn’t always equate to 80 plays. But I know how uncomfortable it can make a defense, and we want to be able to do that in this league.
“There are two things that I think people don’t realize: It’s one thing to go fast, but it’s another thing to be fast and efficient. And we want to be fast and efficient. We don’t want to just be fast. That’s something obviously that Coach Dillingham has great experience in with his past as a coordinator in this system.”
It seems as if Lanning and Dillingham have a guy tabbed to run the show in Year 1 with former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix. As a freshman with Dillingham calling the plays, the five-star recruit experienced immediate success and was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2019. It also happened to be his one-and-only season with Dillingham and it was Nix’s best season as a Tiger.
Nix threw for 2,542 yards (196 ypg), completed 58 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Whether Dillingham’s departure for Florida State and Nix’s numbers dropping off some is a coincidence remains to be seen, but everyone will find out as the 2022 season goes along.
With USC hiring of Lincoln Riley, it’s obvious the Trojans are all in on recapturing past glory. In order to stay a step ahead, doing the same thing won’t benefit the Ducks. They’ll have to keep being innovative on the field as well as off the field.
Lanning seems to be a guy who gets that and has plans to implement to stay ahead of the curve.
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