Diving into the numbers from the Oregon Ducks' 30-20 loss to Indiana in Week 7 and seeing what the snap counts tell us.
Coming off the high from beating the Penn State Nittany Lions in double overtime during a thrilling Week 5 double-overtime showdown, the Oregon Ducks are now back to the drawing board and looking to get things back on the right track, having suffered their first loss of the year to the Indiana Hoosiers in Week 7.
It was a 30-20 loss for the Ducks, who now have to regroup and reset going into the back half of the season, which starts with a long road trip to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on the East Coast this coming weekend. While the loss hurts Oregon's chances of getting back to the Big Ten Championship game and repeating, it doesn't significantly diminish their ability to return to the College Football Playoff at the end of the year.
After seeing who the starters and impact players would be in the first big game of the year, a couple of weeks ago at Penn State, it's time to once again dive into the snap counts and identify who the guys were that Oregon leaned on in this top-10 matchup.
Let's look at the usage report and see what we can learn from the numbers.
Quarterback
- Dante Moore — 65
Running Back
- Noah Whittington — 26
- Jordon Davison — 25
- Jayden Limar — 14
- Dierre Hill — 7
- Jay Harris — 1
Wide Receiver
- Gary Bryant Jr. — 57
- Dakorien Moore — 56
- Jeremiah McClellan — 36
- Malik Benson — 15
- Justius Lowe — 3
Tight End
- Kenyon Sadiq — 54
- Jamari Johnson — 25
- Roger Saleapaga — 2
- Zach Grace — 1
Offensive Line
- Iapani Laloulu — 65
- Dave Iuli — 65
- Isaiah World — 65
- Alex Harkey — 65
- Emmanuel Pregnon — 65
- Gernorris Wilson — 2
Defensive Line
- Matayo Uiagalelei — 68
- A'Mauri Washington — 67
- Teitum Tuioti —65
- Bear Alexander — 50
- Blake Purchase — 24
- Terrance Green — 12
- Tionne Gray — 7
- Ashton Porter — 3
- Nasir Wyatt — 2
- Aydin Breland — 2
Linebackers
- Bryce Boettcher — 65
- Devon Jackson — 40
- Jerry Mixon — 36
Cornerbacks
- Brandon Finney Jr. — 63
- Jadon Canady — 60
- Theran Johnson — 45
- Ify Obidegwu — 22
- Sione Laulea — 14
Safeties
- Aaron Flowers — 72
- Dillon Thieneman — 72
- Peyton Woodyard — 3
Takeaway: The RB Snap Split
Once again, we're looking at the running back rotation at the top for the Ducks. Following his great game against the Penn State Nittany Lions, many expected true freshman Dierre Hill to be the top guy for Oregon here against Indiana, but that wasn't the case. In fact, Hill only had seven snaps on the day, while guys like Noah Whittington, Jordon Davison, and Jayden Limar all out-snapped him.
This leads to a more glaring issue that Oregon has with Hill at the moment. While he is undoubtedly the most talented back they have in the room, his limited scope of abilities makes it hard to play him as much as they should. As a true freshman, Hill still struggles in pass protection, and defenses have picked up on that, keying on the run whenever he is on the field. If Oregon is going to get the most out of him, they're going to need to find new ways to scheme Hill and get him on the field, without taking a step back in protection.
Takeaway: A Slight Change at WR Reps
Against Penn State, we saw a group of four receivers take the reins for the Ducks, led by Dakorien Moore, Gary Bryant Jr., Malik Benson, and Jeremiah McClellan. We saw that same quartet in this game against Indiana, but Benson took a step back in terms of usage, surpassed by McClellan. The reasoning is unclear at the moment, but Oregon must have liked what McClellan was able to do a bit more in this matchup.
Takeaway: The CB Rotation
Brandon Finney Jr. had a great game on Saturday, but I was surprised to see how little Ify Obidegwu played in this game, rotating a lot with Theran Johnson and Sione Laulea. We came into the year thinking that Obidegwu was the No. 1 CB on this roster, but so far, Finney has taken that crown. Oregon rotated a lot throughout the game, and for the most part, players held up well, but we will continue to see how this develops over the next few weeks.
Takeaway: No Kingston, No Daylen
The safety rotation was pared down more than we've seen yet this year, with only Flowers, Theineman, and Woodyard getting snaps. That means no Lopa back deep, and no Austin at the STAR. That may not be a big deal, but it will be worth paying attention to over the next few weeks.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Duck snap count takeaways: Notes from Week 7 vs. Indiana
Category: General Sports
