Trav’s Ten Takeaways 2025

Trav’s Ten Takeaways: Montana State

1. Dante/QBs:

I left Saturday thinking that this is as deep a QB room as we’ve had since probably the Mariota/Bennett days. I thought Novosad looked plenty competent and Moga flashed the athletic ability that he brings to the position. As for Moore, he looked at ease and under control. The arm talent didn’t necessarily pop in terms of deep shots, but more so the ease in which he hit a few tight windows throws and intermediate routes. He really looked like a different player than the one we watched at UCLA two years ago, and a huge credit to Coach Stein for his development. You even saw him use his legs a few times, and it’s clear that he can be a true threat in the run game. I LOVED the emotion 

he showed after his first QB keeper, and that reminded me of what I loved about Bo. 

2. RB:
Obviously a lot of discussion postgame about the carry breakdown here. A small plug for Ducks Rising, as we reported leading up to this game that Mahki Hughes was likely running 4th or 5th at the position. I know a lot of people are speculating that it was disciplinary, but as far as we can gather, this was simply a play your best guy situation. Given that, I expect things to look relatively similar this week. We know what Noah Whittington is at this point, and he’s a solid number two back. Had hoped Mahki would be that #1 we needed, but maybe Dierre Hill turns into that. He certainly provides the most juice and explosiveness to the position. I also do believe Jordon Davison has earned that short distance/power back role and expect he will burn is redshirt early. 

3. WR:
Really liked what I saw from Malik Benson, and he was my big takeaway at the position. He has struggled with inconsistency at Alabama and Florida State, but he looked great on Saturday. He  is my prediction to have earned that 2nd outside WR role right now. I think the clear pecking order in the slot is GBJ -> Cooper Perry, and Dakorien is WR1 opposite Benson/McClellan. We also saw a lot of Sadiq being split out wide given his versatility. Heading into Penn State, my prediction is that we will continue to see a lot of 12 and 21 personnel, but when we do go to 3 WR sets, I think Benson, McClellan, Moore and GBJ have separated themselves a bit. 

4. OL:

Man, I love the physicality this group displayed on Saturday. Harkey is a freaking dog, and the edge he plays with was really noticeable in person. Pregnon left early with injury, but again, a really big physical player. While Pregnon and Rogers both left with injuries, neither is serious and I don’t expect either to miss more than a game, if any. Given the lead Bedford had at RG coming out of the spring, it was great to see Dave Iuli seemingly win that job given he offers more upside and another year after this. With Poncho healthier and a year older, I feel as confident as I’ve been saying we likely are upgrading at 4 of 4 spots from last season. As it was Saturday, I think that will result in a lot of consistency in the running game as the season goes. 

5. Washington/DL Dominance:

Amauri Washington is so damn good. He’s playing his way into 1st Round NFL discussion, which means ours odds of keeping him are probably sharply going down by the game. His size, quickness and power combination is truly elite, and I think he finishes this year as the best defensive linemen in the Big 10. He completely blew up two 3rd and short plays against Montana State, which act essentially as turnovers in terms of impact. Having a player like Washington that will change schemes and game plans is one of the most valuable assets a team can have. Beyond Washington, my big key going into this game was how well we would defend the run. It is clear that was a top priority of the staff and we did not disappoint. The best part about it was that we didn’t need to allocate a bunch of resources to the run game and could trust our front 6/7 guys to win. Blake Purchase looked really good on the edge, and I’d love to see Aydin Breland earn more snaps over the next couple of weeks because he brings another dimension that could take this unit up a level. 

6. DBs:

Crazy how different this room looks from the last three years. It’s also crazy that we have multiple players who have earned all-conference honors who probably aren’t in our top 4 at CB. Between Finney, Offord, Laulea and Ify, this top line has everything one could ask for except game experience. If those four are dialed on assignments, and grow into the season over the next few weeks, it can be a special unit for the next 2-3 years. Montana State didn’t test this unit much, but Okalhoma State will throw the ball around so I’m excited to watch this unit get a bit more tested this week. For those asking about Theran Johnson and Jahlil Florence, I do believe both are probably not at 100% health, but I also think neither are better than the aforementioned group. So excited to continue to watch these four grow. 

7. Depth of the Roster:

My number one takeaway from the game was the talent I watched on the field in the 4th quarter. I’ve never seen an Oregon team that is running out 3rd/4th string players in a blowout that would start for other teams in the same conference. We had offensive and defensive units on the field in a 52-6 game that had multiple players who probably start games for us in the last ten years. The talent profile and depth is a credit to Marshall and Dan, and to go from 13-0, and upgrade the talent rosterwide is something few programs could do. 

8. Crowd/Excitement Around Program:

The crowd at Autzen was great. I don’t see how there could be a complaint. It was full, and engaged into the 4th quarter, and there’s a clear level of excitement around the fan base. Given the struggles and coaching turnover we had from 2016-2021, it is becoming more clear by the day that Lanning was exactly what the fanbase needed. I know some are worried if Bama opens again, but given the $$ he has on the table in Eugene and the roots he’s built, we’re in a great spot. 

9. Oklahoma State Preview:

I think of Oklahoma State as more talented than Montana State but not as well-coached. They have P4 bodies on their roster so I think they will naturally test our lines more than Montana State did so it will be a different assignment for those units. They had a QB battle throughout fall camp, but the winner was hurt last week so they will start Zane Flores. They will air the ball out, and take some shots down the field. I’m not sure how bought in or well-coached they are, so I do expect the Ducks to get a lead early and roll. I consider this a true faceless opponent game meaning if we come out focused and dialed, this game will get ugly. However, if we are sloppy and coasting, Oklahoma State easily has enough talent to make this a game into the second half. 

10. What Else I Saw:
I’m going to focus this on the B10 each week, and go through some thoughts on conference implications from the past week. I was impressed with Bryce Underwood and believe that he’s a huge upgrade at QB from everything they had last year. If they are as good as they’ve been on defense, he provides enough for them to be a true threat to make the B10 Title Game. Good test this week at Oklahoma. I was unimpressed with Mark Gronowski at Iowa, and watching their offense made me a bit less worried about that trip to Iowa. It will be a tough game no matter what, but if they are still playing 1990’s offense, I like our chances in November. In terms of other Oregon opponents, Minnesota, Washington, Rutgers and Wisconsin all struggled to put away games against far inferior teams so I’m feeling good about where the Ducks sit heading into week 2. 

Mega Season Preview: Thursday August 28th

We’re back. If you are familiar with this column, it’s what technically got me started doing this work. Trav’s Ten Takeaways began with a 15 person email list, and I’m grateful it grew enough to get me this role. With that said, I’ve always started each season with a big season preview which is always one of my favorite pieces of the year. Enjoy!

Depth Chart Breakdown

OFFENSE:

QB: Moore, Novosad, Moga

Pretty straight forward and confident here. It says a lot about Dante Moore that he was willing to come here last year and sit for a year when there were plenty of big schools where he could have been the starter. Between that, his arm talent and the staff’s confidence to not bring in a portal player, I know he will be a great player for us. That said, Novosad will go into the year as one of the best backups in the country and there is a ton of optimism around him in the program. We have a nice two-year runway here with Moore for both years, or Moore then Novosad if Dante has a huge year and goes pro. 

RB: Hughes, Whittington, Riggs, Limar/Harris or Hill/Davison

Mahki Hughes was brought in from Tulane to be RB1, and brings a lot of similarities to Jordan James. I think he’s probably a hair better than James at his best, and with Whittington a year healthier and Riggs ready to play, this unit is deep and talented. Unlike the past two seasons, it sounds like we have three playable RBs at the level a contender should expect, and hopefully that pays dividends as the season turns to November. We have struggled to keep this room healthy late in the season the past two years, so the ability to rotate and keep this group healthy when games matter most will be huge. I touch on him below, but watch for true froshmen Dierre Hill, who brings a level of speed and big play ability that is different from the rest of the group. 

WR: Moore, Lowe

WR: Benson, Kasper

SLOT: Bryant Jr., J-Mac, Gresham

In this projection, I feel most confident in Moore, and fairly confident in GBJ. Beyond that, you could tell me a lot of different combinations that I would believe. Malik Benson, transfer from FSU, has every bit of ability in the world, and if he puts it all together, it takes this group to the next level. He is big and fast and would be a much needed deep threat with Stewart out. Kasper and GBJ have both battled injuries, but talent has never been the question and both have made the two-deep in prior years until injuries hit. Justius Lowe had a great second half of the season last year and can play inside and outside. Jeremiah McClellan has been talked about for a year straight as a guy that is going to be really good, and I would love to see him step up at WR2 by midseason. Lastly, I do think Dillon Gresham is in the mix for a two-deep spot, likely inside behind Bryant. Jr. 

TE: Sadiq, Johnson, Saleapaga

LOVE this group. Best TE room that I can remember at Oregon, led by as dynamic of a player as you can find in Kenyon Sadiq. See below, but he will be a national name this season, and I know there is a huge priority amongst the staff to get him more touches every game. Behind him, Jamari Johnson and Roger Saleapaga are both big enough to inline block, and athletic and fast enough to split out and win down the field. I expect a lot of 12 personnel this season, utilizing the versatility of all three players to be able to catch opposing defenses in advantageous matchups. 

LT: World, Wilson

LG: Pregnon, Iuli/Rogers

C:  Laloulu, Iuli

RG: Bedford, Iuli/Rogers

RT: Harkey, Wilson

I feel very confident in this starting unit given Matthew Bedford is back to full health and has been working to lock down this spot since the spring. Remember, he was the starter here last fall until he got hurt. With Poncho a year more experienced and fully healthy at Center and clear upgrades at both Guard spots, the group comes down to Harkey/World vs Conerly/Cornelius. Most people I trust say they believe Harkey likely is a better RT than Cornelius so we are likely upgrading at 4 of 5 spots. That leaves Isaiah World, and if he can be even 80% of what Conerly was, we have a unit that should be improved from 2024. Even better, our depth is better than it has been in a while, especially on the interior. Rogers and Iuli have played a lot of football, and freshmen OL Utu and Addison (see below) look really good. 

DEFENSE:

DE: Uiagalelei, Porter/Breland/Rushing

DT: Washington, Gray/Green

DT: Alexander, Gray/Green/Breland

EDGE: Tuioti, Purchase

After losing three NFL draft picks along the DL, many teams in our position would be ready for a big step back. Not Oregon under Lanning. Matayo returns at DE and will be a 1st round pick in April. Alongside him on the edge you will have a combination of Tuioti, Porter, Purchase, Breland and Rushing. Of that group, Tuioti and Porter set a really nice floor of physical run defenders and dependable tacklers, while Purchase, Breland and Rushing are all elite recruits with big-time potential. I don’t expect much of a drop off at all at DE, and actually think our pass rush will be better. We need 1-2 guys to step up on run downs and provide the “setting of the edge” that Burch did so well. 

Inside, the unit will be led by Amauri Washington, who will be a national name this season. He is fast, powerful and should be a three-down player for us on the interior. Questions remain on who will start next to him, and my intel says it will be between Bear Alexander, Tionne Gray and Terrance Green. In reality, we need all three players to be “above the line” guys this year, as having 4 bodies that can play real game reps at DT is necessary with the longer season. 

OLB: Jackson/Mixon, Platt

MLB: Boettcher, Mothudi

Bryce is back to lead the defense in the middle of the field. Getting him to return was paramount given the youth and inexperience in the rest of the defense. Devon Jackson was the assumed starter next to him, but he’s been banged up, and I don't expect him to play against Montana State. Jerry Mixon will likely take his spot, and has made a lot of progress in his third year in the program. 

Behind those two, you have a trio of redshirt freshman and true freshmen Gavin Nix. Best I can gather, it feels like Brayden Platt and Kamar Mothudi are leading that battle and will serve as the backups to begin the season. 

CB: Obidegwu, Offord/Johnson/Finney, Fields

CB: Florence/Laulea, Offord/Finney/Johnson

S: Lopa/Flowers, McNutt

S: Theinemen, Woodyard

STAR: Austin/Canady/Finney

This is the hardest unit to predict alongside WR so forgive me for the lack of clarity. The clarity I do have is that Ify Obidegwu will start at one CB spot and Dillon Theienemen will start at one S spot. I would have said Kingston Lopa is the starter at the other S spot, but he’s been out with an ankle so I’m predicting Aaron Flowers to start there. 

CB2 and Star have been really fluid throughout the spring and fall so I really don’t have a good idea how things will look on the first drive against Montana State. More importantly, however they look then, who is playing when it matters at Penn State? As you can see above, there are 5 names battling at CB for that second starting rep, and 3 names in the mix at Star. For fans unfamiliar with some of the names, think of them in two buckets. Florence, Laulea, Johnson and Canady have all played a lot of college football, some of it here, some at other schools. They all set a very high floor for the unit as a whole, and have each shown they can be winning players at this level. Finney, Offord, Fields, Austin and McNutt are all young and inexperienced, but as talented as any DB group in the country. The three true freshmen specifically (Offord, Finney, McNutt) have been some of the talk of fall camp. 

Really interested to see how the staff navigates this battle knowing they have a few weeks to find their best five. 

P: Ferguson-Reynolds, James

K: Sappington, Hurych

PR: Bryant Jr. 

KR: Whittington/Limar

Pretty straight-forward here. I think Ferguson-Reynolds, a transfer from Boise State, wins the punting role. The rest of the guys are returning at their position and do a good job.

Breakout Players

Kenyon Sadiq:

Mentioned some of this above but Sadiq is the type of athlete we’ve never had at TE. You never want to apply the pressure of a comparison to Brock Bowers, but Sadiq possesses similar traits to what made Bowers such a special weapon for Georgia the last three seasons. A TE that can move like a running back, and catch like a receiver allows us to sub less, matchup better, and be more creative, and I’m excited to see how Will Stein uses his presence, alongside Johnson and Saleapaga, to create personnel mismatches within a drive. I think Kenyon has a massive year and is in the TE1/1st round discussion come the spring. 

Dakorien Moore:

Not exactly going out on a limb here but I think Moore will be WR1 against Montana State, and will remain our top target all season. He has every quality of an elite receiver, and I think a year similar to Ryan Williams is not out of the question. For Oregon fans who don’t follow recruiting, Moore is the best WR we’ve ever signed, and was the consensus best HS receiver in the country last year. I expect he will be our best consistent and reliable WR,, and allow Coach Douglas to focus his attention on who will be WR 2-4. 

Amauri Washington:

Despite playing behind two NFL DL last season, Washington popped on tape as often as anyone. He came in #4 on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List, and possesses extremely unique size, speed and power from a kid his size. He had a really good year last season, and his quickness really disrupted interior offensive linemen. With some questions lingering about which IDL will step up alongside him, I think Washington has an all-conference season and puts himself squarely in the mix early in the NFL Draft if he declares. 

Freshmen Who Won’t Redshirt

WR Dakorien Moore:

0% chance. See above. He will play from day one and will be our best WR. 

 CB Na’eem Offord:

10% chance. Talent is too  much to keep him off the field. My only question will be if they try to space out either Finney or Offord given the depth at the position, and losing Florence and Johnson after the season. 

CB Brandon Finney:

10% chance. He’s been the biggest story of fall camp. Giving him looks at Star tells me how much they believe in his talent. Similar to Offord, my question is class spacing and depth and how they’ll navigate that. 

S Trey McNutt:

50% chance. I would have listed McNutt at 10% if not for his broken leg in fall camp. The prognosis has been good and if he comes back midseason, they’ll give him every chance to earn back the two-deep reps he was getting. 

 RB Dierre Hill:

60% chance. The speed is a game-changer and I wonder how much the staff will value that dynamic this season. I would have had this number at 90% coming into camp, but his name has really come up a lot as an impact player. If Hughes, Whittington or Riggs get hurt at all, he’s probably next. 

 DE Nasir Wyatt:

60% chance. Another name that has consistently been mentioned by staff as a standout. He’s added 20-30 pounds since the winter and is probably our second best speed guy off the edge behind Blake Purchase. If we determine that he need more of that twitchy dynamic rush on passing downs, I think he’s right there. 

 OL Douglas Utu/Ziyarre Addision:

75% chance. This number is injury-related. I think both players probably make a lot of two-deep rotations over the past few seasons which says a lot about how physically-developed and ready to play each are. I expect both players to be firmly in the mix for meaningful roles next season. 

Roster Questions

Who steps up at WR:

I consider this to be the biggest question facing this team. It is not a lack of talent or potential, but moreso who will be those dependable guys in the 4th quarter in Happy Valley on 9/27? With Moore established on one side, Sadiq at TE and seemingly Bryant Jr. in the slot, who will step up? We need 1-2 more guys that are able to win one-on-one matchups consistently and become reliable targets for Dante Moore. 

New QB/OL:

I have a lot of belief in both of these units, but I also was in Eugene last year against Idaho and Boise State. Anytime you break in a new QB, and 4 out of 5 starters on the OL, you cannot just assume automatic success. The main difference this year is Dante has been here for two years, and Poncho is fully healthy and leading this unit from the Center position. If we can stay healthy and develop continuity over the first four weeks, I love our chance to go into Penn State and win. 

What does the starting DB look like?

This position is as much intrigue as question. As I mentioned above, this room is crazy deep, and blends both veterans and impressive freshmen. I am very confident that this unit will be in a really good place come November but I think it may take a bit to figure out who the best 5 players are. My predictions above are my best guess today, but I expect a lot of rotations and flexibility early in the season. There’s no doubt this group has the most potential of any group in a long time, and I think we will be better than last season by the time games start to truly matter. 

Conference Preview

Tier 1: Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State

Tier 2: Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois 

Tier 3: USC, Washington, 

Tier 4: Minnesota, Michigan State, Maryland, Rutgers, Wisconsin, UCLA

Tier 5: Northwestern,  Purdue

Tier 1 feels obvious. Oregon and Ohio State recruit at a different level than every other school and Penn State spent a ton of money to retain their best players. 

Tier 2 is a fluid one, and schedules play a huge role in how this will shake out. Nebraska has the easiest schedule of the group, and I definitely see a scenario where they finish 4th in the conference. Indiana and Illinois are similar teams; veteran-laden, experienced QBs, established coaching and I consider both as high-floor but lower ceiling teams. Their game in September will tell us a lot. I think Michigan and Iowa both have a lot of institutional factors that are positive for them, but their ability to be in playoff contention will depend on how good Underwood and Gronowski actually are at QB. 

Tier 3 is for hated rivals only. My questions about both teams ultimately come down to depth, physicality and line of scrimmage talent. Both have #1 WRs that I like in Boston and Lane, and QBs with potential to be exciting. We’ll see how healthy they can stay, and how well they can block on offense and defend the run on defense. 

In Tier 4, I honestly like Minnesota the most. I think Fleck does a good job, and as you’ll see below, I think the game at Autzen could be closer than expected. I expect Michigan State and UCLA to be improved this year, while I really hate the trendline at Wisconsin and Maryland.

Schedule Predictions

Week 1 Montana State: W 42-10

Week 2 Oklahoma State: W 41-20

Week 3 AT Northwestern: W 34-13

Week 4 Oregon State W 45-14

Week 5 AT Penn State L 31-28

Week 6 BYE 

Week 7 Indiana W 34-20

Week 8 AT Rutgers: W 35- 17

Week 9 Wisconsin: W 41-14

Week 10  BYE: 

Week 11 AT Iowa: W 27-17

Week 12 Minnesota: W 31-21

Week 13 USC  W 41- 24

Week 14  AT Washington: W 38- 24

Explanation

I picked Oregon to go 11-1 on this same column last year, with a loss to Michigan. In this section, I wrote “ I genuinely think we can go 12-0, but I can’t make myself go full homer mode. If you asked me to bet right now on who wins the Oregon vs Michigan game, I’d honestly take Oregon”. I kind of feel the same this year. I know people are worried about USC and Indiana at home, but I simply believe in Autzen and don’t see a way we aren’t focused and dialed for those games. 

For me, the season comes down to 3 road games; Penn State, Iowa and Washington. Penn State is obvious, and Washington and Iowa are both November games in challenging environments with much-improved QBs. I hear all of that. At the same time, looking at both rosters, there are maybe 4-5 guys combined that would start for us. Honestly probably less. I assume both games will be competitive, but if we are going into November with one loss or less, I expect Moore will be confident and our young defense will be developed enough to win both games. 

That leaves Penn State, which I’ll go ahead and say we lose a close one. To truly fear Penn State, like in a playoff game or something down the line, I’ll need to see it this year. Drew Allar is fine, he played the best game of his life against us last year and we still should have won by 14. Their defense either stayed the same or got worse and we hung an easy 45 on them. I really like both coordinators and credit to their OC for running circles around us last season. Singleton and Allen are both good RBs and their OL is good. They lost by far their best player in Tyler Warren, and although they like their backup, it’s a clean downgrade. At WR, their Achilles heel for years, they brought in three players from the portal in Ware-Hudson, Ross and Pena. It’s an upgrade from last year, but they are essentially three slot receivers with little dynamic ability. They also play the sisters of the poor three times and have a bye week before we travel there on 9/27. 

I think that’s a competitive game in Happy Valley, and maybe the environment and crowd gets them over the hump. I like that we will have some competitive game reps before that trip, and can’t wait to be there and check it out. 

We’ve said it three straight years, but again, this is the most talented team in Oregon history. We had a record ten players drafted last season, and have a great chance to break that this year. We also have a bunch of 1st and 2nd year players that are going to hear their name called very early one day. We touched on the roster questions above, but we’re going to be right there in the conversation again. In Dan’s first two years, we harped on the fact that we lost too many big moments, and it cost us a few games. Last year, against Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State, we won those and it led to a special season. How will things shake out this year when it comes to injury-luck, a bounce here and there, and can we execute in those 8-10 massive plays a year that change the result of a game?

Overall, it really shouldn’t be less than 10-2. We’ve recruited too well, spent too much and worked too hard to not make the playoff every season. 11-1 has you almost surely in the B10 Title Game, where even a loss puts you in the top 5 seeds nationally in the CFP. As far as what’s acceptable, I really think we need to make the quarters again at the absolute minimum. Even that, especially if it doesn’t even result in winning a playoff game, feels light. No more speculation, it’s game time now. See everyone in Autzen Saturday!