Football: Offense In Shambles

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If you were highly encouraged by Dylan Raiola and the Oregon offense’s performance a couple weeks ago against USC and expecting something similar to be on display on a sunny afternoon at Autzen, well…you weren’t alone. 

After appearing to find a rhythm against Portland State and USC, it appears that so far this season Oregon’s offense is incredibly inept facing any decent defense. 

Not only did the same issue of the offensive line struggling to contain three rushers again rear its ugly head, but Raiola appeared to be in his own head to a degree hardly ever seen. 

Yes, a huge amount of the blame is and should be on Drew Merringer and the offensive coaches, but what happened with Raiola was essentially inexplicable, as he suddenly appeared incapable of throwing an accurate pass.

Speaking of Merringer, some blame needs to be put on the head honcho as well, as Lanning was the one who decided to hire internally. Not that it doesn’t ever work, but the bevy of  skilled and creative offensive coordinators across the nation who would be chomping at the bit to coach for a program like Oregon had to have been more than abundant. 

But we could play the blame game all day long. Bottom line is the situation the Ducks now find themselves in. Out of the Top 25 and .500 in conference before even midseason is a place few could have predicted for the 2025 squad. 

Oregon has been relegated to an 8pm kickoff at home against Nebraska, who certainly looked up to the task this past weekend against Top 10 Indiana. 

The defense, spotty at times this season, showed up and showed out Saturday. At least we’ve now seen they can play up to reasonable standards.

The offense can too, but so far it seems only against an FCS team and one of the more atrocious defenses in the Big Ten.

Who knows what kind of staffing changes, if any, will occur during the season itself, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious they have to happen. 

The Ducks could reestablish themselves the next three games, as the opponents are not necessarily powerhouses, or they could fall to pieces. 

Either way, the offense Oregon has presented in 2026 is not going to lead to anything special.

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