I was trying to think last night about what the game we watched was teaching me—not just about the 2024 season, but about how our reactions don’t always align with reality. A long time ago, I would have used this space to try and tell people ‘how to be a fan’ in response to this kind of moment. However, it's not my job to tell you or anyone else how to be a fan. My role is to provide you with as much information as I can, as objectively as possible, and then share my thoughts and feelings when appropriate.
When I woke up this morning, I reflected on many unmet expectations in both football and life. There have undoubtedly been better opening games. But as I consider the Ducks’ offensive performance, the struggles were twofold: a lack of explosive plays and untimely errors.
The Ducks had a two-to-one time of possession advantage, nearly 500 yards of offense, and Dillon Gabriel completed 83.7% of his passes for 380 yards. Yet, there were no plays over 30 yards in this game, and the offensive line struggled. On the other hand, I thought the defense played even better than the numbers suggest.
While they did give up a couple of explosive plays, it felt like—for the first time in the Dan Lanning era—the defense knew the game was on their shoulders. There may have been a few overly aggressive play calls on defense that cost them, but they still held the Vandals to 41% completions for 168 yards and only allowed 49 yards on the ground.
I thought back to last season and the team to the north that seemed to win a bunch of games they probably shouldn’t have. They struggled with Arizona, likely should have lost to Arizona State, and also struggled to beat Utah, Oregon State, Washington State, and at least one game against Oregon. Yet, there they were in the national championship game against Michigan.
But that’s a different situation. Michael Penix was in his second season with the Huskies, and he had three NFL-caliber receivers to throw to. Yet, that doesn’t change my perspective—the Ducks still have all the talent and depth they had before this game. Does this game sober expectations? Absolutely. And it should. The offensive line has always been the centerpiece of how elite teams win games, and this game showed us that—despite a lot of returning players—the group is not as strong as a year ago. Much of that has to do with Bo Nix covering some of the flaws of the offense. The sobering reality is that the Rimington Award winner was like a second coach on the field, along with Nix.
Poncho Laloulu was a Freshman All-American at center mostly because he played very well as a reserve. But there’s a different level of play when you are the ‘man’ and don’t have someone like Jackson Powers-Johnson to lean on during the game. Add that he was playing guard yesterday with Charlie Pickard at center, and I think there were just a lot of things that didn’t mesh.
We will learn a lot more about this team next Saturday when they face Boise State at night. I still think this team has a very high ceiling. Dillon Gabriel played well—he just needs to find a way to make some explosive plays in the deep passing game, and he needs to use his legs when the opportunity arises. Jordan James was special yesterday, and his performance sort of got lost in the shuffle. His vision, cutbacks, and power when needed gave me a lot of hope for what the rushing attack could look like.
If the offensive line shifts some pieces around—and I think it should at least be considered—and uses this as a chance to learn and grow, everything is still in front of them. Did they play like the No. 3 team in the country? No. But with an expanded 12-team playoff, just get there and see how much you’ve grown as a team. That’s really the bigger picture. This team is better than they played last night, and I think there is still a chance for a very special season.
In life, as in football, our expectations often meet the harsh reality of setbacks, mistakes, and unforeseen challenges. The key isn’t to deny these moments or to let them dictate our entire perspective. Instead, it's about finding comfort in the understanding that growth often comes from the most uncomfortable places. Perspective-taking allows us to see beyond the immediate disappointment and recognize that every challenge is a stepping stone, not a stumbling block. Even when things don’t go as planned, there’s value in the journey—lessons to be learned, resilience to be built, and hope to be found in the process. Just as in life, the true measure of a season isn’t how it starts, but how it ends, and the growth that occurs along the way.
