A large portion of the Oregon Ducksfan base entered the game on Saturday night against the Nebraska Cornhuskers hoping to see something from their team that would make them forget about what transpired a week ago against UCLA, and make that loss a distant memory.
I think they got their wish, but likely not in the form that they were hoping for.
Oregon one-upped its worst performance of the year — a 17-15 loss to the Bruins in Week 6 — at home against Nebraska on Saturday night, and while it ended with a comeback 17-14 win over the Cornhuskers, it wasn't quite enough to cover up the warts that have been on full display in the program over the past month.
The offense was worse than we've ever seen, and once again, the decision-making from a coaching
standpoint was at times questionable, to say the least. While the defense was lights out and deserving of all the credit that comes its way, the team as a whole still has a long way to go before it can prove that a page has been turned.
Here are our five biggest takeaways from the win:
About Those "Offensive Changes"
Less than a week ago, Lanning stated that there were "going to be some changes" with the offense and how it operated following an abysmal day against UCLA that presented seven turnovers. Lanning wouldn't describe exactly what those changes would be, but promised that things would not remain the status quo on that side of the ball going forward.
Less than a week later, and we're still waiting for that promise to bear fruit in Eugene.
The offense somehow looked even worse on Saturday night against Nebraska, this time with Brock Thomas under center rather than Dylan Raiola — for the first three quarters, at least. In the first half alone, the Ducks had more punts (7) than first downs (2) and produced just 50 yards of total offense, going into the break trailing 7-0. While the fan base at large was calling for a quarterback change coming out of the break, it was once again Thomas who led the offense, gaining 41 additional yards in the third quarter. He did see two drives end in field goals, but also threw an interception, which ultimately led to his benching at the end of the frame.
Once Dylan Raiola got into the game, things picked up, as the threat of his arm opened up the rushing attack a bit, but the whole-game numbers rest far below the standard for an Oregon offense: 242 total yards, 113 passing yards, 15 first downs, seven punts, and a 3-for-17 3rd down conversion rate.
Maybe the offensive changes are going to take some time to show themselves. It's also very fair not to expect the Ducks to light up the scoreboard with a walk-on quarterback under center. But if Oregon wants any chance of saving this season, things on that side of the ball are going to have to pick up, because the defense is playing at a championship level, but so far, the offense doesn't belong on the same field.
QB Roulette
At this point, I find great pity for anyone whose job it is to try and figure out the Oregon Ducks' quarterback position.
It's not enough that Dan Lanning doesn't have a set answer for who the QB will be going into the next game, but even once he chooses that guy — Brock Thomas or Dylan Raiola, assuming that Dante Moore is out once again, which is a different conversation entirely — he has no way of knowing which version of that quarterback will show up.
A week ago, Raiola went 6-for-19 for 43 yards and two interceptions, ultimately being replaced by Thomas, who threw for 156 yards and a touchdown, completing 11-of-15 passes. On Saturday night, Thomas earned the starting job and went 9-for-20 for 54 yards and one interception, ultimately being replaced by Raiola, who threw for 59 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, completing 11-of-18 passes.
Good luck making the right decision next week vs. Illinois!
The saving grace for this Ducks' offense would, obviously, be Dante Moore returning from his concussion and getting back in the lineup. He has been practicing over the past two weeks, but has not yet been publicly cleared to play. If he does sit for another week, Lanning and his staff are going to dive back into the tape and try to evaluate which of these two quarterbacks gives their team the best chance to win on the road against a struggling Illinois team, with their season on the line.
I don't envy the position that they're in.
A Championship-Caliber Defense
For the second game in a row, the defense deserves full credit for either winning the game or keeping the team in a position to win the game. Last week, Oregon was unable to come out on top, but that was not through any fault of Chris Hampton's unit. On Saturday night, they got a little bit more fortunate, thanks to a last-minute drive from Raiola.
While the defense may not have lived up to the astronomical expectations through the first couple of weeks of the season, they've absolutely grown into their own here as of late, and are playing some dominant ball here in October. Against Nebraska, Oregon allowed just 242 total yards, forcing nine punts while turning the Cornhuskers over once and holding them to just 7-of-17 on third downs. On a night when the Ducks' offense was largely incapable of moving the ball, the defense stepped up and time and again made plays to keep this thing close.
We will see where the offense goes from here, and who is under center over the next few weeks, but Dan Lanning and his staff have an incredible luxury of knowing that they likely don't need to score more than 20-24 points in order to win. At this point, the defense can assure you of that much.
The Timeout
Alright, let's talk about it.
Dan Lanning is not a perfect coach, and he will be the first to admit that he makes mistakes each and every week. On Saturday night, though, he made arguably one of the worst of his career, and it nearly cost his team the game.
Late in the second quarter, with just over a minute to go, Nebraska had the ball in their own territory, and the Ducks stuffed them on a run to make it 3rd and 23 with no timeouts. Instead of letting the clock run out and conceding a 0-0 half, Lanning used one of his timeouts, attempting to give the ball back to Brock Thomas and Co., who had fewer than 50 total yards in two quarters combined up to this point.
Instead, Nebraska converted that 3rd and 23, and drove down to score a touchdown right before the half, taking a 7-0 lead into the break.
To call that coaching malpractice from Lanning is completely justifiable. Had his offense shown any signs of life up to that point, it could be defensible, hoping to steal a possession and maybe get a field goal before half. However, it was all the Ducks could do to move the ball forward, rather than backward, and taking a risk like that was far too risky for a game where you, self-admittedly, were doing what you could to own the ball and not turn it over.
In the end, the Ducks were able to score enough points to make it a non-issue, but if you want to disect decisions and point to potential flaws in the team as a whole, this was certainly deserving.
It's All About Trust
The Oregon Ducks fanbase was in an interesting position after the game, understandably so. They just watched their team mount a fourth-quarter comeback and win an ugly game at home, keeping their season alive. However, they also watched that incredibly ugly game and had to be reminded endlessly over the first three quarters how far away they really are from competing for a championship.
After a week of Lanning telling the public that changes were being made, and that they were working "really hard" to fix things, nothing looked different.
I asked Lanning after the game if he had anything to say to the fans who were unwilling to allow this win to mask the warts of the program and felt more justified in booing rather than cheering. His answer was long, but it was thorough and well thought-out. Take a minute to listen:
Tonight, I asked Dan Lanning if he had a different message for fans who are still frustrated with the product the Oregon Ducks have put on the field over the past 2 weeks.
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) October 18, 2026
I appreciate his thorough answer and think it's worth a listen for fans who remain frustrated. pic.twitter.com/vFyV11WRQ8
Ultimately, Lanning and his staff are doing everything they can to try and fix this thing. They work behind closed doors, so we don't get to see what that looks like, but if you choose to believe that the Ducks can be a good football team this year, it means trusting Lanning and his staff.
He's worked under some of the best coaches in the history of the sport, and he says he's going to follow their lead in trying to turn this around. The boos won't sway his decision-making, just as the cheers wouldn't. He may not believe in public accountability because he trusts the guys in his room, just as he hopes his fans will trust him.
Lanning's answer on Saturday night may not be good enough for a number of fans who remain frustrated by the product they've watched over the past few weeks, and that's understandable. At the same time, just because those fans want accountability to be taken publicly and firings to happen doesn't mean that Lanning is going to oblige them. Oregon will continue to move forward, and Lanning will continue to operate in a manner that he sees fit at the head of the program. It may be good enough to turn things around, even if it's not good enough for some fans at this moment.
Whether or not you believe that can happen is based on your ability to trust Lanning and the program he's built in Eugene.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: 5 takeaways from Oregon's 17-14 comeback win over Nebraska
