2026 Oregon Spring Game (Apr. 25, Sat 1 PM Big Ten Network)

[UOducksTK1]

Traveling today and tomorrow so will watch the replay later! Sounds like some exciting performances, can’t wait to watch it.

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[SuperDuck]

The one thing that really stood out to me were the two consecutive "sacks" of Dante to put the offense in 3rd and 4th and long.

The Ducks have to find a way to seal the edges and strengthen the middle. Pancho also got manhandled by Indiana last year. That was shocking to me that they were able to bring pressure from everywhere almost at will.

The Tackles were good last year, but not elite. I hope the coaches can find a way to help Dante this year, including plays where he can get rid of the ball faster.

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For those who missed the game or want to rewatch it, here's a full replay of the game:

[buckmarkduck]

A very low scoring affair today with how dominant the DL have been today. The QBs have had no time to throw and there haven't been many running lanes for the RBs.

I’d say the DL got pressure, but 1/3 of the sacks wouldn’t be a sack in a real game. I saw a couple the dl didn’t even touch the qb. That said the OL has work to do, but I really wish they would play the 5 starters together so we the fans could get an actual gage on how they look as a unit. Having guys that won’t play in a big 10 game, with starters is always iffy at best.

[spacefrog13x]

Matthew Johnson is going to be a terror on pass rushing downs. cant wait.

[rsbgduck]

The one thing that really stood out to me were the two consecutive "sacks" of Dante to put the offense in 3rd and 4th and long.

The Ducks have to find a way to seal the edges and strengthen the middle. Pancho also got manhandled by Indiana last year. That was shocking to me that they were able to bring pressure from everywhere almost at will.

The Tackles were good last year, but not elite. I hope the coaches can find a way to help Dante this year, including plays where he can get rid of the ball faster.

It’s not just an OL problem. DM did the same thing he did last year, not recognizing a D and figuring out where the pressure is coming from, holding onto the ball to long, in ability to read the pocket and at this point I believe a flat out refusal to move up in the pocket or is to late in the decision to move up which falls back to reading the pocket. He also needs to learn that a zero net gain is better than a negative.

[OregonFan4Life]

The one thing that really stood out to me were the two consecutive "sacks" of Dante to put the offense in 3rd and 4th and long.

The Ducks have to find a way to seal the edges and strengthen the middle. Pancho also got manhandled by Indiana last year. That was shocking to me that they were able to bring pressure from everywhere almost at will.

The Tackles were good last year, but not elite. I hope the coaches can find a way to help Dante this year, including plays where he can get rid of the ball faster.

It’s not just an OL problem. DM did the same thing he did last year, not recognizing a D and figuring out where the pressure is coming from, holding onto the ball to long, in ability to read the pocket and at this point I believe a flat out refusal to move up in the pocket or is to late in the decision to move up which falls back to reading the pocket. He also needs to learn that a zero net gain is better than a negative.

It was a spring game and I don’t think it’s fair to judge 2026 Dante until at least the Boise State game, BUT, I have the same concerns but for different reasons.

I think the 2026 season will feel a lot like the 2019 season, super talented QB with generational arm talent, dominant defense, and the talent to compete for a natty, but ultimately the offensive coaching staff let that team down that season, and I fully expect the same for 2026. I know Dan is great, if anyone speaks ill of him duck fans will curse you, BUT I think he botched the OC and QB coach positions and when I look at the offensive coaching staff I see a bunch of young and inexperienced hires that will get exposed against the smart and savvy vets out there. So far in 3 of 4 years Dan has gotten spanked in rematches and I think a large reason for that is inexperience, and when I thought it would be a good time to go with experience for an OC and QB coach hire, Dan did the complete opposite and found even more inexperience to replace Stein.

I certainly didn’t keep it hidden that I thought Stein was an overrated playcaller, but I think Mehringer will be even worse. I’ve been very unimpressed with his interviews and he sounds desperate to prove himself. One quote that concerned me was when asked about how he worked with Stein, he said he (Mehringer) was the more analytical one and sometimes Stein had to stop and say “no let’s just feed the talent”. To me the biggest flaw in the 2025 Oregon football team was the offense’s inability to get out of their own way, all season long they kept tripping over themselves and I think that was because instead of utilizing the talent, the offense as so focused on random formations and schemes to try and fool defenders that sometimes they fooled themselves. We don’t need some super analytical offense or some amazing scheme, what we need is to use our superior receivers to run their routes and let Dante’s elite arm get them the ball, but I’m afraid we’re going to see a double dosage of screens and similar sort of playcalls because “analytics.”

And I also struggle to have confidence in Koa Ka’ai, talk about someone else that hasn’t been impressive in interviews. No, his ice cream comment was a joke, probably hyperbole to an extent, but I think there is some truth in what he was saying, not that it’s a good way to determine a good QB but he actually thinks this “conviction”, is important. Dante’s biggest issue in 2025 was not scanning the field and forcing throws to his first read. I attended a couple games and had seats higher up and you could see so many times where Dante didn’t even notice open receivers, and I think it’s cause of this “conviction” to make pre snap judgements and stick with that and not scan the field. I personally don’t want a QB with this “conviction” but one that will analyze the options and make the best choice, not one that automatically goes with their first instinct. Indiana is sure glad that Dante had this “conviction” after the opening play of the Peach Bowl.

Ultimately, my concern is that due to a weak and inexperienced offensive coaching staff, 2026 will feel like 2019 and will go down as the most disappointing season in Oregon football history. I personally think they’ll go 9-3 and miss the playoffs but I sure hope that I’m wrong! If I’m way off and the ducks make a deep playoff run I’ll be the first one to say I was wrong and will be extremely happy to be wrong and I’ll welcome all the insults and flack.


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