Oregon Ducks snap count takeaways: Diving into the numbers from Week 11 vs. Iowa
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Throughout the season, we've gotten a sense of what the Oregon Ducks' depth chart looks like in big games, and who the guys are that Dan Lanning feels comfortable leaning on in high-pressure moments. However, the game on Saturday night against the Iowa Hawkeyes was a bit different, just in the sense that it was a more physical matchup than Oregon has had yet this season.
The Ducks adapted well, beating Iowa at their own game and winning the game in the trenches. Oregon rushed for 261 yards, the most allowed by the Hawkeyes since 2022, and the most yards per carry (7.3) since 2014 in Iowa City. It was thanks to Atticus Sappington that the Ducks were able to escape with the two-point victory, after he drilled three field goals, including the game-winner with three seconds left on the clock.
So in this physical matchup, how did Oregon's rotation differ from what we've seen in typical games? That's a question that is answered using the snap counts, where we can get a sense for which players Lanning and Co. wanted to lean on in this game.
Let's look at the usage report and see what we can learn from the numbers.
Quarterback
- Dante Moore — 59
Running Back
- Noah Whittington — 35
- Jordon Davison — 21
- Dierre Hill Jr. — 14
Wide Receiver
- Jeremiah McClellan — 58
- Malik Benson — 31
- Cooper Perry — 28
- Justius Lowe — 20
- Gary Bryant Jr. — 9
Tight End
- Jamari Johnson — 53
- Roger Saleapaga — 20
- Zach Grace — 5
Offensive Line
- Isaiah World — 59
- Iapani Laloulu — 59
- Gernorris Wilson — 59
- Emmanuel Pregnon — 59
- Dave Iuli — 59
- Trent Ferguson — 1
Defensive Line
- A'Mauri Washington — 58
- Matayo Uiagalelei — 58
- Teitum Tuioti — 57
- Bear Alexander — 50
- Ashton Porter — 15
- Tionne Gray — 14
- Terrance Green — 14
- Blake Purchase — 10
- Jericho Johnson — 6
- Aydin Breland — 2
- Nasir Wyatt — 1
Linebackers
- Bryce Boettcher — 62
- Jerry Mixon — 53
- Brayden Platt — 4
- Dylan Williams — 2
- Will Straton — 1
Cornerbacks
- Brandon Finney Jr. — 55
- Theran Johnson — 41
- Jadon Canaday — 29
- Ify Obidegwu — 20
- Na'eem Offord — 10
- Daylen Austin — 2
Safeties
- Dillon Thieneman — 62
- Aaron Flowers — 62
- Peyton Woodyard — 1
Takeaway: It's All About Trust, Babe
In these big games, it's fair to believe that a coaching staff is going to constrain the rotation and keep their horses on the field, going with the players whom they know they can trust. That's just what the Ducks did, playing a total of 18 players on the offensive side of the ball. Part of that was, of course, because Oregon was relatively thin on that side of the ball thanks to injuries to Dakorien Moore, Kenyon Sadiq, and Alex Harkey, but even had those guys been healthy, I think this would have been a game where only a handful of substitutions took place.
Takeaway: The WR Rotation
Without Dakorien Moore on the field, and eventually without Gary Bryant Jr., the WR1 role was wide open for Oregon, and Jeremiah McClelland stepped up and took it. I was surprised to see that McClellan had 58 snaps, and the next closest WR was Malik Benson with 31 snaps. That shows you how much the Ducks trust this redshirt freshman, and he stepped up to the plate.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Duck snap count takeaways: Notes from Week 11 vs. Iowa
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