Oregon Receiver Says Team is Changing Mindset for Season After Second Loss
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The Oregon Ducks locker room is on notice after losing their second game of the season before the middle of October.
The Ducks entered the season as a favorite to win the national championship and with a No. 2 ranking. Like Penn State, who had the exact scenario above for the 2025 campaign, Oregon has underperformed up to this point in the first six weeks.
Following Oregon's 17-15 loss to UCLA at home, the Ducks are unranked with a 3-2 record. Their hopes of making the College Football Playoff aren't over, but the odds are unlikely.
On Tuesday, Ducks wide receiver Dakorien Moore noted that changes are coming for the offense before the team prepares to play Nebraska on Saturday.
Per Matt Prehm of 247 Sports, Moore said the offense is changing up aspects of its operation and adding new plays. Oregon is changing their mindset, going from an “outcome-focused" team to a "process-focused" team.
Oregon must do the little things right to make a turnaround this season. Outside of the Ducks' 41-27 win over USC on the road, Oregon has not played good football for the majority of the season, at least not the expectations for the program going into the season.
The offense had a catastrophic day against UCLA. Evan Stewart, Dylan Raiola, Jordon Davison, and Brock Thomas all lost fumbles. Raiola threw two interceptions. Six turnovers is a recipe for disaster.
First-year offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer is at least trying to do something different. It's clear that Oregon is having some issues on that side of the ball after Will Stein left to become the head coach of Kentucky.
Oregon had a strong rushing attack last season, averaging 5.4 yards per rush. The Ducks are only averaging 4.3 yards per attempt this season. Ducks head coach Dan Lanning prides his teams on being able to run the football. That's where the turnaround needs to start.
Oregon needs to gain confidence.
The Ducks have two games to gain some confidence before playing No. 25 Northwestern and No. 4 Ohio State. The Ducks will host a scrappy 5-1 Nebraska program on Saturday that nearly beat Indiana in Week 6. On Oct. 24, Oregon will travel to play a 3-3 Illinois squad.
The Ducks don't need to worry about the CFP when playing Nebraska and Illinois. They need to find out what works for the offense and build on that before playing better teams in the Big Ten.
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