5 major takeaways from Oregon Ducks' 23-0 shutout over Texas Tech

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The Oregon Ducks waited patiently. It wasn't easy, and there were times when they felt like pressing would help matters. But ultimately, the calm and cool Dan Lanning held anticipation, nerves, and a whole host of other emotions in check not only for himself, but for his team, over the last 365 days, waiting to get back to this day.

Strike that. Waiting to get to this moment.

A full calendar year ago, the Oregon Ducks had a prime opportunity to get through the College Football Playoff quarterfinals and into a four-team bracket, with a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. A 41-21 drubbing acted as a shock to the system.

With a reset, an adjustment, and a lot of patience, Lanning knew that his team could get back to this day, with a chance to move on.

And move on they did, in dominant fashion, nonetheless.

The final scoreboard read 23-0, Oregon beating the No. 4 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders in the CFP quarterfinals at the Orange Bowl. Defensively, it was as dominant a performance as we've seen from an Oregon team in years, if not decades. Four turnovers broke open the game, but constant tackles for loss and havoc plays wore the Red Raiders' No. 3-ranked scoring offense over the course of four quarters.

While the offense wasn't perfect, it was good enough to stash another game in the win column and keep the season alive for eight more days, as the Ducks now prepare to head to Atlanta for a CFP semi-final game in the Peach Bowl.

Before that happens, though, Lanning says that the team will self-scout and find out how to improve. Let's look back at what we saw during this game and break down some of our biggest takeaways from the day:

Oregon's Defense Was Next-Level

They say that defense wins championships, and by all means, it appears that the Oregon Ducks have a unit capable of winning it all. While it has been Will Stein's group that garnered a majority of the headlines throughout the season, with the No. 9 scoring offense in the nation, the defense was responsible for this Orange Bowl victory.

Coming into this game, Texas Tech's offense was billed as one of the best in the nation, averaging 40.4 points (3rd) and 462.7 yards (9th) per game. The Ducks held them scoreless with just 215 yards of total offense.

Were the stats somewhat inflated because of a defensively weak Big 12 Conference that Tech was able to pad its stats against? That case can certainly be made, but what is clear as day is that the Ducks' defensive unit, against anyone, is good enough to carry a game for four quarters and completely swing the tide.

Oregon forced four punts, four turnovers, and held the Red Raiders to just 3.5 yards per play. They sacked QB Behren Morton four times, and held Texas Tech to 6-of-19 on third and fourth down conversions. On a day when the offense is struggling — understandably against a very good Red Raiders' defense — this proved to be imperative in Oregon's victory. On a day when Dante Moore and the rest of the Ducks can find a way to look more like themselves, it is a scary thought for opposing teams.

The Ducks are two wins away from a national championship, and this defense looks like it will be good enough to get them there.

The Turnovers Were the Difference

One of the biggest keys to the game on Thursday had to do with turnovers, and which team was able to be more opportunistic. Coming into this matchup, Texas Tech was among the top teams in the nation in terms of turnover margin, with a +17 mark in the 13-game season, or +1.31 per game, which was second-best in the nation.

So the simple question was: Could the Ducks manage to hold onto the ball and keep Tech from having a short field? If the answer was yes, then Lanning's team would have a good shot at winning.

The question that few of us asked, though, was about what would happen if the Ducks, in turn, became the turnover-dominant team and routinely stole possessions from Texas Tech. That's what ended up happening, and that's what gave us such a lopsided 23-0 score when all was said and done.

Oregon finished the game with four takeaways, intercepting Behren Morton twice — once in the endzone — and forcing a pair of fumbles which they were able to recover. Dante Moore had an interception of his own in this game, but the Ducks were routinely able to get the ball in plus-territory and offer Stein's offense a chance to get into advantageous positions.

It's not a complicated notion to say that the team that turns the other team over more has a better chance at winning, but that proved to be the case on Thursday. Oregon had an attacking mentality and was able to steal possessions multiple times in this game. When they can do that, it will be hard for anyone to stop them.

Dan Lanning's 4th Down Decisions

In general, I think it's fair to say that Oregon's offense wasn't clicking on Thursday. Dante Moore was accurate, completing 26-of-33 passes for 234 yards, but he didn't have a touchdown, and the Ducks were held to just 64 rushing yards in this game. It was a slog for the most part.

But when Oregon needed a few yards, they were largely able to get them, and most of the time that came on 4th down.

It's no secret that Dan Lanning is an aggressive coach with an aggressive mindset. Some call this reckless, but when his aggression pays off, fans rejoice. In the Orange Bowl, Lanning went for it a whopping eight times on 4th down, converting four of them, including a fake-punt at midfield.

"It worked sometimes and didn't work sometimes," Lanning said after the game. "So I assume all the times it didn't work, I'm stupid, and all the times it worked, I'm smart. That's kind of how it works."

When all was said and done, Lanning's aggressiveness paid off in this game. There were a couple of drives where kicking a field goal might have been the prudent play, but with the defense operating as well as it was, giving Tech's offense a long field to work with was never a bad plan.

Brandon Finney and Teitum Tuioti

It's always hard to project going into a season who the stars are going to be that make the biggest difference in the end. If you had told Oregon fans in September that a true freshman and an edge-rusher would be the most dominant duo in a CFP quarterfinal, many would believe.

They would not, however, believe that the true freshman was Brandon Finney, and the edge-rusher was Teitum Tuioti.

That pair of players was magnificent on Thursday, further showcasing the dominance they've put on throughout the year. Finney was responsible for a pair of interceptions in the game, one of which came in Tech's endzone, and he also recovered a fumble forced by Bryce Boettcher. Meanwhile, Tuioti was a menace off the edge, racking up six tackles and two sacks, both of which came in massive moments.

There are a lot of defensive players who have had big moments during this season, but time and again, both Finney and Tuioti have been chief among the biggest difference-makers. And to think, both will likely be back in 2026 as well.

Happy, But Not Satisfied

One of the best things about College Football Playoff games is that they provide greater access for media members. Not only is there media day leading up to it, when every player on the team is made available, but after the game, the locker room is open for 20 minutes, allowing us a chance to talk to players and coaches in a more conversational setting, sans podium and microphone.

After spending some time around the coaches following the game, it was clear that they were happy with the outcome. Smiles were plentiful, and jokes were cracked. Marshall Malchow was offering up fist-bumps. I chopped it up with Will Stein as he sipped a bottle of Corona, and we chatted about our kids. Overall, the mood was light.

However, I wouldn't consider it overly celebratory.

The Ducks expected to be here. They have structured their season in a way that saw them playing late into January. If a story comes out in a few weeks' time that Dan Lanning stashed something in that locker room to later retrieve during the national championship game — also played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami — I wouldn't be shocked.

This was a big win for Oregon, but it was by no means their Super Bowl. They will celebrate tonight, hop on a 5.5-hour plane ride home, and then get back into their prep work. When asked about that prep work, Dan Lanning joked about the plane's Wi-Fi, hoping it would allow him to watch the end of the Rose Bowl between Alabama and Indiana.

Deep down, though, it was evident that he was hoping, and more importantly, planning, to be back in the same room, 13 days from now. Ultimately, that's been the plan, all along.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: 5 takeaways from Oregon Ducks' Orange Bowl shutout over Texas Tech

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