Oregon’s 2024 transfer portal class consisted of 14 players and was ranked by 247Sports as the second-best class in the nation. Oregon’s 2024 team has newcomers starting at quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, defensive tackle and more. As a result, the Ducks’ season opener was expected to be a tune-up for a transfer-heavy team that might need a little gameplay to sync as a unit.
But could anyone have expected a result like this?
The University of Idaho Vandals were 44.5-point underdogs heading into its Aug. 31 clash with the Ducks. After Idaho quarterback Jack Layne crossed the goal line for a touchdown with 9:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Vandals were three points behind the No. 3-ranked team in the nation, and on the verge of one of the most shocking non-conference upsets in history.
Oregon held on to win 24-14, but its poor performance against a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team like Idaho served as a testament to the importance of non-conference games. These early-season contests provide a valuable opportunity for teams to identify and address their strengths and weaknesses.
“There’s certainly some things that we can clean up,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “Great teams are able to learn from tight matches, [and] this was a tight match.”
Oregon is 2-0 in previous FCS matchups under Lanning, winning by a combined score of 151-21. Had the Vandals pulled off a win, it would have been the first FCS victory over a top-5 opponent since Appalachian State University defeated the then fifth-ranked University of Michigan on Sept. 1, 2007.
While blowouts give schools a chance to game-test risky plays or promising young talent, early struggles like Oregon’s highlight clear ways the team can improve and grow. They also offer Oregon’s 14 transfers opportunities to master schemes and sync up with their new teammates, which will be crucial given Oregon’s transfer-heavy lineup.
Oregon’s defense looked solid. The offense, which struggled to establish a rhythm or score consistently, may need more time to coalesce.
Although transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel was accurate in his Oregon debut, he failed to reliably connect with wide receiver and fellow transfer Evan Stewart. Stewart, who was ranked the No. 2 overall player in this year’s portal, finished with three catches for only 15 yards.
“We didn’t create some of the explosive plays I was hoping we could create offensively,” Lanning said after the game.
The offensive line may have struggled the most of any group. Gabriel was sacked three times and fumbled once. For comparison, the 2022 and 2023 offensive lines each allowed five sacks all season.
Although three of last year’s starters returned for 2024, penalties and errors plagued the line against Idaho. Gabriel was consistently pressured and often forced to make checkdown throws instead of pushing the ball downfield.
“We have to go back and evaluate the film,” Lanning said of the offensive line. “We gotta figure out how to eliminate some of the pressures that showed up and some of the sacks that showed up.”
Lanning and the Ducks will face non-conference opponents Boise State University (1-0) and Oregon State University (1-0) – both of whom have stronger teams than Idaho — in the next two weeks before beginning conference play against UCLA on Sept. 28.
Oregon survived a scare against Idaho, but the team will need to make use of the lessons these next two non-conference games can provide if it wants to live up to this season’s lofty expectations.