Oregon Ducks Offense Resembling Chip Kelly Era With Explosive Plays

Ducks coach Dan Lanning was previously Georgia's defensive coordinator before being hired by Oregon, yet the offenses on Lanning's teams have always produced in Eugene. Against Oklahoma State, the Ducks scored quickly and early with a number of explosive plays.

The blowout win in early September brought back feelings of when Chip Kelly led Oregon's offenses starting in 2007 and then became the program's coach before the 2009 season.

The shades of Chip Kelly don't end there for Oregon. Freshman wide receiver Dakorien Moore became the first Oregon true freshman since Ducks legend De'Anthony Thomas in September of 2011 to score his first rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game.

The Ducks are led by quarterback Dante Moore who finished the Oklahoma State game with 266 passing yards and three touchdowns, completing 76.2 percent of his passes. Moore has seemingly unlocked the deep ball for the Ducks as wide receivers Malik Benson and Dakorien Moore showed off their potential as deep threats.

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein also presents a unique rushing attack, thanks in part to the Ducks' depth at the running back position. In the first minute of Saturday's game, Oregon running back Noah Whittington rushed for a 59-yard touchdown. Ducks running back Jayden Limar also had a rush over 50 yards while Dakorien Moore rushed for a 25-yard touchdown on a jet sweep.

Oregon's Offenses Under Dan Lanning

When Oregon hired Lanning in 2022, he brought on Kenny Dillingham as his offensive coordinator, and current Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix transferred to play for the Ducks. In That season, Oregon scored an average 38.8 points per game, good for 10th-most in the nation. Nix threw for 3,593 yards, 29 touchdowns, and completed 71.9 percent of his passes with Dillingham in charge of the offense.

Nix stayed in college for one more year, but Dillingham was hired by Arizona State to be the Sun Devils' coach. So, Lanning hired former UTSA offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Will Stein in 2023.

Stein had immediate success working with Nix, who completed 77.4 percent of his passes for 4,508 yards and 45 passing touchdowns with six rushing touchdowns as well. The Ducks quarterback ultimately finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting and played his way into the first round of the NFL Draft, selected No. 12 overall by the Denver Broncos.

In 2024, another veteran college quarterback in Dillon Gabriel transferred to Oregon, and he too became a finalist for the Heisman Trophy after playing for Stein and Lanning. In his fifth ful season Gabriel threw for 30 touchdowns and rushed for another seven.

He led the Ducks to an undefeated regular season and a Big Ten Championship, but Gabriel and Oregon's College Football Playoff hopes came crashing down with a loss to Ohio State (with none other than Chip Kelly as Buckeyes offensive coordinator) in the Rose Bowl.