Oregon’s ground game isn’t what it used to be. See, in 2022, under Kenny Dillingham, the Ducks pounded out 211.6 rushing yards per game. Then that number dipped to 184 in 2023 and sank to 152 in 2024 under Will Stein’s RPO-heavy approach. But sure, they still produced 1,000-yard rushers like Bucky Irving and Jordan James, but the big-play threat just wasn’t there. See, James didn’t even break a 20-yard run until Week 5. As of now, with the rushing attack losing its edge, pressure is mounting on Dan Lanning. And according to an Oregon insider, the concerns are real.
Looks like Oregon’s rushing attack isn’t the powerhouse it once was. And following that in a recent episode of Locked On Ducks, the Oregon insider didn’t hold back. He said, “Oregon’s running game has declined each year under Dan Lanning. While the Ducks have had a 1,000-yard rusher each season—Bucky Irving in 2023 and Jordan James with nearly 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns last year—the overall rushing attack has room for improvement.” And the man behind the shift? Will Stein.
And as the insider put it, “Part of this may be due to the hire of Will Stein. Now, I’m not going to sit here and dog on him for the next eight minutes because I think Will Stein is really good. The list of coordinators, not just in the last five years but in all of college football history, who have produced back-to-back Heisman Trophy finalists at quarterback is incredibly small. Will Stein has accomplished that.” But he didn’t stop there.
Moreover, the insider stated, “However, we have seen a pullback in the rushing game, which I believe is a byproduct of Will Stein’s RPO-heavy attack. When you have a lot of RPOs, you give the quarterback the ability to not hand the ball off, whereas other teams might just go with a straight handoff. That’s what a team like Michigan would do, or what a team like Georgia Tech would do, for instance. They’re not going to necessarily build in a ton of options to a play—they’re just going to line up and run the football.” Safe to say, Stein’s system prioritizes flexibility, but Oregon’s ground-and-pound dominance has taken a hit.
See, James didn’t break a run longer than 20 yards until the Michigan State game. And that was his first true explosive play—just 15 or 20 yards. However, despite that, he still delivered, racking up 1,184 yards at 5.4 yards per carry with 15 TDs. So, you get that fact that Oregon’s ground game has weakened considerably. And even the insider pointed out, “I touched on this throughout the season because I kept noticing that Oregon really didn’t run the ball as much. There weren’t as many games where they controlled the ground game or were as explosive on the ground.” But now, with a 1,401-yard revelation, the Ducks have a golden opportunity to bring back their ground-and-pound dominance.
Here, enter Makai Hughes. The former Tulane star dominated in 2024, racking up 1,401 yards and 17 total TDs on 265 carries. And that followed an impressive freshman campaign where he totaled 1,378 rushing yards. Now, he’s ready for the next challenge. As the insider put it, “Now, Oregon is bringing in Makai Hughes, a third-year player from Tulane via the portal. This past year at Tulane in the American Conference—which I’d say was probably the second-best Group of Five league—he went up against strong competition. He will undoubtedly face a higher level of play in the Big Ten. However, the jump isn’t as drastic as some guys who move from the MAC to the Big Ten.”
With Hughes in the backfield, Oregon’s run game could roar back to life. But in reshaping the ground attack, Lanning seems to be following Nick Saban’s blueprint.
Has Dan Lanning of Oregon copied Nick Saban’s style?
Dan Lanning took his time finding a replacement coach after Junior Adams left the Dallas Cowboys. Rather, he waited a week or two and carefully considered his options. He has hired a new coach who might be equally as good at his job as Adams. He’s none other than Ross Douglas, the former wide receiver coach for Orange.
And recently, the hosts of the SMI CFB Show didn’t hold back on their praise for Ross Douglas. They said, “I think that Oregon Ducks here (Ross Douglas) are getting just one of the great assets in college football and a rising star coach that quickly will outgrow his position. I think in a year or two, he will be just like Adams (a co-offensive coordinator). He may end up being the offensive coordinator one day for the Ducks, but he will be a superstar coach, and Oregon fans, you got yourselves a great one here.” As of now, with his impressive resume, the sky’s the limit for Douglas. But the conversation didn’t stop there. And the hosts also drew comparisons between Lanning and a young Nick Saban at Bama.
And following that, one host stated, “What Dan Lanning is doing here is kind of analogous to what Nick Saban did in Alabama in a way where he would hire fired head coaches to be assistants and kind of rejuvenate their careers, and a lot of former head coaches wanted to go to Alabama.” To be honest, that is quite appropriate, given that we seen such great coaches as Steve Sarkisian, Lane Kiffin, and Kirby Smart during the Nick Saban era. And they’re all past students of the greatest of all time, Saban.
But how does that connect to Oregon? We’re getting there. Look at former Ducks coaches like Tosh Lupoi—he stuck around after leaving the NFL. Meanwhile, Adams just took off for the Cowboys. So, it’s a pattern we’ve seen before. And through it all, Dan Lanning keeps reloading. As of now, there’s a certain Saban-esque feel to how he’s building this program—next man up, no slowing down.
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