Ducks See Opportunities For Growth After Season-Opening Win Over Idaho

Saturday, August 31

Eugene, Ore.

4:30 PM

University of Oregon

1-0 , 0-0

Idaho

0-1 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Idaho

Oregon

Photo by: Isaac Wasserman

Ducks See Opportunities For Growth After Season-Opening Win Over Idaho

08/31/24 | Football

Box Score Final Stats: No. 3 Oregon 24, Idaho 14 2024 Football Career Stats Postgame Notes Dan Lanning Postgame Quotes Photo Gallery

Oregon survived some harrowing moments late in Saturday's game to beat the Vandals, 24-14.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon opened its season with a win and also found much to learn from Saturday, when the No. 3 Ducks beat Idaho, 24-14, before 57,453 fans in sold-out Autzen Stadium.

In the debut for UO football as a member of the Big Ten Conference, the Ducks were inconsistent on offense and suffered a couple of defensive breakdowns that led to touchdowns for the Vandals. In the end, Oregon gutted out its 20th straight home-opening win, extending the nation's longest nonconference home winning streak to 33 games.

"Never going to be mad about a win; a win is a win," said receiver Tez Johnson, who caught 12 passes for 81 yards. "But we know that's not our standard we're going to play to. We're going to try our best to uphold that standard."

Senior transfer Dillon Gabriel was 41-of-49 for 380 yards in his debut as Oregon's starting quarterback, with a pair of touchdown passes to Johnson. Jordan James rushed for 95 yards and added 40 as a receiver, while sophomore edge defender Matayo Uiagalelei had two sacks and two quarterback hurries to lead the UO defense.

Eugene native and two-sport UO standout Bryce Boettcher tied for the team lead in tackles with five. Defensive lineman Derrick Harmon also had five tackles, including 1.5 sacks.

"Different than what we thought it might look like," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "On the same note, we've got to give credit to Idaho. They didn't give us anything for free. A lot of learning moments for us."

Oregon's offensive line, which had to replace two starters including Rimington Trophy winner Jackson Powers-Johnson, allowed three sacks and also contributed to the Ducks' team total of eight penalties.

Overall the Ducks outgained Idaho, 487 yards to 217, running nearly twice as many plays, 87 to 47. But Oregon's untimely breakdowns on each side of the ball made for some dramatic moments in the fourth quarter, before Johnson's second touchdown of the night with 5:36 to play got the UO lead back to double digits.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Idaho Vandals at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on August 31, 2024 (Isaac Wasserman/Eric Evans Photo)

The Oregon Ducks take on the Idaho Vandals at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on August 31, 2024 (Isaac Wasserman/Eric Evans Photo)

"Stats are one thing, but we're focused on winning," Gabriel said. "And a win is a win, we'll say that. But there's a lot we need to improve on."

Johnson also scored the first touchdown of the day, making it 7-0 midway through the first quarter. James rushed for a score midway through the second, and Oregon took a 14-0 lead into halftime.

James' touchdown was set up by an interception in the end zone from defensive back Brandon Johnson, who was running with a receiver, got his head turned back to find the ball and then secured the pick while keeping his feet in bounds. It was one of the best highlights of the day for the Ducks.

"There were some highs, there were some lows," Johnson said. "It was good and bad. We'll just go to the doctor, get back to work."

Idaho had the only score of the third quarter. It came after Oregon was stopped on fourth-and-one in its own territory.

"I thought they did a good job of stopping our interior run game, and we struggled at times to get the ball to the perimeter and be able to move it down the field," Lanning said. "I think they did a really good job of staying on top defensively as well, to stop us from creating explosive plays down the field. And they did a good job generating some pressure. So we have to evaluate some of those looks."

On the next play after the turnover on downs, the Vandals scored on a reverse flea flicker. That was one of a couple breakdowns that marred what mostly was a strong performance by the UO defense.

"I think there's some really good positives, but I think there's also some growth moments there," Lanning said. "You know, we were poor against the screen at times. Some of our situational play where we knew tricks would come up, they did, and we didn't execute properly in those situations. So we're going to look at it to figure out, what can we improve and how can we learn? Great teams do that."

After Atticus Sappington made a field goal for the Ducks early in the fourth, the Vandals scored again with 9:45 left to get within 17-14. Oregon responded by driving to the final touchdown of the night, however, holding on to win its debut in the Big Ten.