Bill Oram: Oregon football’s moment of truth has arrived

EUGENE – Oregon’s moment of truth has arrived.

The Ducks looked every bit like a national contender Friday night in a 31-10 win over Michigan State.

But the Spartans are in the early days of an institutional overhaul. Jonathan Smith has his work cut out for him in East Lansing. So the Ducks’ smothering victory was less of a statement than a launching pad for a long-simmering question.

“Finally,” Dan Lanning told reporters Friday night, “you can talk about it.” We are finally there.

Here we go …

Are the Ducks ready for Ohio State?

Will it be the Ducks?

Or the Bucks?

On Friday, Traeshon Holden caught a pass while lying on his back. Jordan James held off Spartan defenders for 166 yards. There’s an Aidan Chiles-shaped pullback in midfield after Jordan Burch repeatedly throws him to the turf.

OK, one of them is slightly embellished.

But only slightly.

The student section emptied out early in the fourth quarter of Oregon’s Big Ten home opener. The Ducks nearly doubled Michigan State’s offensive output, totaling 477 yards to the Spartans’ 250. Fans were pouring in before Michigan State was able to score midway through the final period.

The ducks supporters were certainly ready to turn the page.

And why wouldn’t they be?

Next weekend features one of the juiciest matchups in school history. The Ducks are No. 6 in the country and could be higher by next week. The Buckeyes, assuming a win against Iowa on Saturday, will be no worse than No. 3.

The game is not only a test of the 2024 Ducks and their aspirations to win a national championship, but also a test of what Lanning has built during his three years at Oregon. A test of his decision to put down roots in Eugene rather than use it as a springboard as his predecessors did.

A loss to the Buckeyes wouldn’t necessarily break all that. There could still be a rematch in the Big Ten championship game. And the Ducks have a long life ahead of them in the Big Ten.

But a victory…

This would be the ultimate validation of Oregon’s trajectory. From the hype that accompanied the Ducks’ move to the Big Ten.

So while it’s easy to overstate the importance of a single game, especially in the era of the 12-team playoff, when a team can overcome virtually any misstep to still have a path to a national title, that carries weight. match.

Ohio State is allowing just 196.5 yards per game. Only Tennessee was more stifling. The Buckeyes’ 48.5 points per game ranks fourth in the country.

The Ducks are coming off two dominant defensive performances. Over the past two weeks, Oregon has allowed just one offensive touchdown, and that only came when the Ducks had the game in control on Friday.

It was a common refrain in the press box Friday that the Ducks have truly arrived in the Big Ten: winning games by running the ball and playing stifling defense.

When Michigan State drove to the Ducks’ 2-yard line on its first drive, defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell relieved Chiles, the talented but raw quarterback who followed Smith to East Lansing, and forced a fumble which was recovered by Burch.

That fumble recovery came with 2 1/2 sacks for Burch, who was as dominant defensively as any Oregon player has been during Lanning’s tenure. The Spartans offensive line had no answer for Burch.

“He played with great violence,” Lanning said in praise.

When Dillon Gabriel faltered, throwing two mind-boggling interceptions inside the 10-yard line in the first half – his second and third of the year – the Ducks defense forced two punts out of a total of nine games.

When Gabriel was down, the defense picked him up.

It was enough against the Spartans. It will take more against the Buckeyes.

The brilliance came from this Ducks team in the first two weeks of the season. Getting past Idaho and Boise State — as good as the Broncos are — doesn’t inspire much confidence.

But if you didn’t know those games went the way they did and only knew that over the next three weeks the Ducks held Oregon State, UCLA and State of Michigan at total scores of 14, 13 and 10, you’d think they were ready for the biggest test of their season.

Or at least as ready as they could be.

— Bill Oram is a sports columnist at The Oregonian/OregonLive.