Oregon Ducks football head coach Dan Lanning was brought in to bring in skilled players and a tough line on both sides of the ball.
Those traits were fully on display Saturday afternoon as the Ducks bullied No. 12 BYU for a big 41-20 win over the Cougars in front of 54,463 fans inside Autzen Stadium.
BYU came to Eugene riding a high as they were coming off an upset of Baylor, but the Ducks’ offensive line pushed the Cougars back nearly all day. Oregon rushed for 212 yards and quarterback Bo Nix accounted for three rushing touchdowns and two through the air.
The defense held BYU to 366 yards total yards with the majority of those yards coming when the game was out of hand and Cougar quarterback Jaren Hall was left looking for open receivers.
He may still be looking for someone to be open. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez locked down whatever receiver he was matched up with.
The Oregon defensive line dominated, making it nearly impossible for the Cougars to muster up any kind of run game. BYU was held to just 61 yards on 24 carries or 2.5 yards per attempt.
It was everything Lanning and his staff could have asked for and then some. The first-year coach wanted more explosive plays and his wish was granted. Oregon’s first offensive play was a 26-yard pass play to Kris Hutson and it just rolled from there.
If the Ducks play that well the rest of the way, the 2022 season could be a special one after all.