The Mighty Oregon Ducks are coming off a monster Week 1 win over Montana State to begin the season. At home in front of a sold-out crowd in Eugene, the Ducks were able to win 59-13, allowing just one touchdown on the afternoon.
Their next opponent will be much better than the FCS school. Oklahoma State is coming off a 27-7 win over UT Martin last weekend. Their defense played very well, but the Ducks' head coach, Dan Lanning, expects the Cowboys' offense to be the story of the game.
“This will probably be the team that we play that takes the most vertical shots down the field to date that we've seen, and probably in my time here,” Lanning said of Oklahoma State. “They're going to push the ball down the field, a lot of quick passing game and a lot of shots down the field.”
He continued about OSU's passing game.
“If you leave somebody single cover, they're going to let their wideouts go have an opportunity to go win and compete downfield for the ball,” Lanning said.
The Cowboys don’t have a sure QB1 right now. Head coach Mike Gundy is using two freshmen at quarterback. Hauss Hejny and Zane Flores. Hejny rushed for a TD as well as passed for one early against UT Martin. He got the start. Flores came in and excelled more in the passing game, throwing for 136 yards on 13/20 passing.
Oklahoma State also has three dynamic pass catchers: Terrill Davis, Shamar Rigby, and Gavin Freeman. Freeman caught a touchdown in the win, as well as having five catches for 46 yards. Davis and Rigby are deep-ball catchers that Lanning was referring to. Davis is averaging 37.5 yards per catch so far, while Rigby is at 25 yards per catch.
This will be a good test for the Ducks. The contest is Saturday at 12:30 PT on CBS/Paramount+.
