The Oregon Ducks and Dan Lanning went into the 2024 season with a lot of expectations. They started their opener with a well-deserved win over Idaho and followed it through for the whole season. Demolishing opponents of all kinds. Big teams, small teams, powerhouse teams, or rivals, Oregon didn’t discriminate in handing out losses. Ohio State? Defeated. Washington? Defeated. Penn State? Handed over another defeat. Oregon finished the season undefeated and won the Big 10 championship. However, fate had other plans for them in store.

After earning a bye week behind their Big 10 championship win over Penn State. Ohio State waited patiently for revenge in what would be the last game of the season for Oregon. Where were the faults? It’s hard to point fingers, but there were still some issues despite the season Oregon and Lanning had that need to be resolved quickly. Spencer McLaughlin of the ‘Locked on Ducks’ podcast provides an area where the Ducks need improvement and a player to do just that.

“Oregon’s running game quietly has regressed each of the last two years under Dan Lanning. I’d like to see it get back. I think Makhi Hughes can elevate Oregon’s offense with the ground game. He might be relied upon more than Oregon running backs were a season ago, or in 2023, for that matter. There are always going to be a lot of RPO options in Will Stein’s offense so maybe it winds up being the same. But you might see more straight runs called because they don’t want Dante Moore to be doing as much as Dillon Gabriel and Bo Nix were last few seasons.”

Well, Makhi Hughes can be a total beast in the running back room. A 2025 Tulane Green Wave transfer, the player had an incredible past two seasons for the team. In the 2023 season, he ran for 1,378 yards at an average of 5.3 yards per game, scoring 7 touchdowns. Then, in 2024, his yardage improved as he ran for 1,401 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. That doesn’t even include his 176 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Standing at 5’11” and 210 lbs, he sure looks to be the difference maker in the RB room for Will Stein. Moreover, he will also fit in the system like a glove.

Will Stein is undoubtedly a young mastermind of offense. His techniques in using relatively less used and unknown RPO schemes are his trademark offensive tactic. Take, for example, his ‘Razor Concept.’ This is an enhanced version of the ‘arrow’ RPO scheme used and incorporated by several coaches when it became popular in 2022. At its core, Will Stein’s ‘Razor concept’ utilizes down-the-field schematics and opportunities while incorporating an inside running game. That essentially creates mismatches and lapses in defense, especially in zonal markings. Will Stein, by combining Dante Moore’s offensive prowess and Makhi Hughes’s running explosiveness, can surely deliver some of the best and most lethal RPO plays for Oregon.

Oregon’s rushing woes overhyped?

Now, coming on to the running game that McLaughlin was talking about. It seems that the rushing prowess of the team has deteriorated, especially in the 2024 season. To put things in perspective, they are ranked 62nd nationally in rushing yards per game and 83rd in the percentage of running plays incorporated in offense, which is just 37.34%. And while all this doesn’t point to problems, the type of season Oregon had hid all that. But what would happen when you do not have Dillon Gabriel to run the offense?

Well, Spencer McLaughlin does provide the reasoning for the deteriorating running game in the season, and it’s looking quite positive for the future. “For them to have had lower rushing totals on a per-game basis each of the last two years. I don’t think it’s a testament to what Oregon’s been lacking in the running back room, lacking with the offensive line, or lacking with the offensive scheme specifically. I think it’s been a combination of the three. The O-line took a while to settle in Will Stein’s offense, as he ran a lot of RPO concepts, so maybe the running backs didn’t get as much of a chance.” 

Well, that may be correct, but even in the last three games of Oregon in the 2024 season, its incorporation of rushing plays declined even more than the season average. It fell from 37.34% to just 31.83%, and in the last game against Ohio State, they didn’t even manage to pull off a single yard. Since they were restricted to -23 yards in that game. However, it looks like, in home games, Oregon utilized the rushing offense a bit more. They had 41.47% rushing play involvement. The lack of a rushing offense may not have shown adverse effects in the regular season. However, it did show its effects in the most important game against Ohio State. So, maybe Dan Lanning and Will Stein may need to work in that department a little more.