Stock Report: Dan Lanning, Camden Lewis face questions; Troy Franklin skyrockets

It turns out that a mediocre night’s sleep didn’t change the outcome. That a few consecutive hours of shut-eye, with your brain turned off to the world didn’t have the power to go back in time half a day and alter some decision-making.

The No. 8 Oregon Ducks’ gut-wrenching 36-33 loss to the No. 7 Washington Huskies, sailing wide right off the foot of Camden Lewis, was not in fact just a bad dream.

It was reality — a reality served even colder after the way that this rivalry game went down a year ago.

I mention Lewis, but he is nowhere near the top of the list in terms of potential scapegoats for this loss, the Ducks’ first of the 2023 season. He should have never been put into a position where a 43-yard field goal decided whether Oregon forced overtime or sulked to the busses. The Ducks should have put the game away with 2:11 left on the clock in the 4th quarter; with 3:35 left on the clock in the 3rd quarter; and with 5 seconds left in the 2nd quarter.

None of those things happened, though. None of those 4th down stops, incomplete passes, or questionable decisions were bad dreams worthy of jolting you awake at night. They were real, and they led us to this reality where Dan Lanning and the Ducks no longer have a safety net going forward. A trip to the Pac-12 Championship and a potential spot in the College Football Playoff is still attainable, but the margin for error is now zero, with a slate of games coming up that will likely feature at least three games against top-25 opponents.

It wasn’t all negative on Saturday, to be sure. The Ducks played an outstanding game and proved that they are an elite team capable of great things. The ball simply didn’t bounce their way a few too many times.

“That’s football,” Oregon quarterback Bo Nix said after the fact.

Football, indeed. A game where you celebrate the wins, and learn from the losses. Let’s attempt to parse through all that took place on Saturday afternoon in Seattle and try to learn, starting with the players who saw their stock rise the most, and the individuals who have some room to grow:

Stock Up: Troy Franklin

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

This game was billed as the Michael Penix and Rome Odunze show. The leading Heisman candidate and his No. 1 receiver — a favorite to win the Biletnikoff Award in 2023 — were the talk of the town.

However, it was Oregon’s Troy Franklin who ultimately had the biggest day on the biggest stage.

Once again, Franklin was spectacular, hauling in 8 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown. He was electric from start to finish, hauling in a 30-yard TD in the 3rd quarter to make it a one-score game, followed by a 49-yard catch-and-run that would set up a go-ahead score for Jordan James in the 4th quarter.

The most impressive play of all, though, came on the Ducks’ final drive of the game, when Oregon badly needed a 3rd down conversion to continue to drain the clock. On 3rd and 3, Nix put all of his trust in Franklin and floated it up on the left sideline. Franklin went up and hauled in a back-shoulder throw with all of the pressure in the world, getting the 25-yard completion for a first down.

Because of the loss, the conversation will continue to revolve around Odunze as the top receiver in the Pac-12. That’s understandable because he is an incredible player, finishing with 8 catches for 128 yards and 2 TD on Saturday. Don’t let that overshadow what Franklin did, though. He is right there in the same class of playmakers that deserves a long and hard look from NFL Draft scouts in the first round.

Stock Down: Camden Lewis

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I said it in the intro and I will say it again — this loss is not solely on the foot of Camden Lewis. He was put in a position to either be the hero or the scapegoat, and his path to rivalry game lore sailed wide-right as time expired. That said, though, the past couple of games have been tough for Lewis.

Two weeks ago against the Stanford Cardinal, Lewis missed a chip-shot FG before the half, while also starting the game with a kickoff that sailed out of bounds and put the Oregon defense in a tough position to start the drive. Twice on Saturday, Lewis again sailed kickoffs out of bounds, giving leading Heisman candidate QB Michael Penix a short field to work with — arguably the last thing that you want to do. Those two things, plus the missed FG to potentially send this game into overtime, and it’s a tough string of events for the Ducks’ kicker.

Lewis has been solid all year and is among one of the top kickers in the Pac-12. However, you have to wonder how this stuff plays on his psyche going forward. We’re all human, and after coming up short in multiple occasions, doubt can start to creep in.

The close and important games are not going to cease for the Ducks, and Lewis’ right foot is going to be needed again. We’ll see if he can turn things around in short order.

Stock Up: Jordan James

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Bucky Irving put up the numbers on Saturday, rushing 22 times for 127 yards and a touchdown, but it was Jordan James who I left the game most impressed with. We knew that Irving was capable of games like this, but we’re still learning that James has what it takes to be a dynamic runner, and the perfect power combo to Irving’s shifty evadablity.

James finished the day with 11 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown. He gave Oregon their go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, refusing to go down after first contact and powering through half of the Washington defense into the endzone. It was a sight to behold.

He may not hold the crown as the best RB on the roster, but James has quickly made a name for himself and is now established as one of the biggest threats in the Pac-12, and a perfect combo runner alongside Irving.

Stock Down: Terrance Ferguson

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I’m going to need to choose my words carefully here. I’m simply speaking from an outside perspective, and not someone who has any inside information on the matter. I only know what I saw.

Terrance Ferguson had a solid game on Saturday, hauling in 5 catches for 50 yards. One of his most important plays came on the Ducks’ final drive in the fourth quarter, a 15-yard catch that got Oregon into field goal range. After the play, though, Ferguson went down with no contact and started screaming in pain, holding his knee. This injury timeout stopped the clock and gave the Ducks a chance to catch their breath and set up the next play without burning their final real timeout.

Washington fans were incredibly upset, especially after what happened a year ago when WR Kris Hutson went down with an “apparent” injury late in the game, giving the Ducks yet another free timeout. Hutson’s absolutely bone-headed explanation that the injury was “part of the gameplan” led to more questions and ire from the football world.

So when Ferguson went down late in the game, there was an immediate assumption that he wasn’t as hurt as his agony would lead you to believe. After the game, I watched as Ferguson walked off the field. He appeared to be fine, and not someone who looked as if they blew their knee out just minutes earlier.

I’m not saying that Ferguson faked an injury to give the Ducks an extra timeout. Maybe he did tweak his knee and think that he was seriously hurt. Maybe further examination will show that he will miss some time going forward. I just know what I saw, and if I’m a Washington fan, I feel justified in being upset. It’s an ugly grey area of the game, and something that players at times routinely do across the nation in order to give their team an edge. That doesn’t make it right, but it’s just a reality. Ferguson is now the face of it again for the Ducks.

Stock Up: Patrick Herbert

Patrick Herbert’s ascension this season continues. He had a great game on Saturday, hauling in 2 catches for 15 yards and 1 TD, while also punching in a 2-point conversion for the Ducks.

It’s not just the blocking from Herbert that is so good, but he has really broken out as a great pass-catcher and play-maker. Here is his touchdown catch in the first half, where the younger Herbert brother went up and got a somewhat errant pass from Bo Nix in the endzone.

With some uncertainty about Terrance Ferguson going forward after the end of the Washington game, I think that Duck fans can at least feel confident that they have a really solid player in Herbert to turn to if needed.

Stock Down: Dan Lanning

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

I don’t hate Dan Lanning’s decision-making; I think that his aggressiveness is largely what makes him a successful coach. It’s just tough when it comes back to bite him in big situations like this.

Three times on Saturday, Lanning decided to go for it on 4th down instead of either taking free points or punting it and pinning Michael Penix and the Washington offense deep in their own territory. Three times it blew up in his face. In a game where Oregon lost by 3, it’s incredibly easy to look back and say that hindsight would call for a different decision.

I personally don’t think that Lanning is any less of a coach than I previously did, I just think that he got burned once again by his own ambition. Again, though, it is that ambition that makes him great in the first place. I see the arguments for what Lanning did on every one of those 4th down calls — Oregon had a chance to take the lead into the half on a 4th and 3 from Washington’s 3; the Ducks could make it a 3-point game with a 4th and 3 conversion on Washington’s 8-yard line in the 3rd quarter; and Lanning could have iced the game on the road with a 4th and 2 conversion on Washington’s 47-yard line with 2 minutes left in the game.

The decisions to go for all of those are justifiable. What I have a problem with is the play-calling, which falls on offensive coordinator Will Stein — more on him later.

Lanning is good because he is aggressive. That aggressiveness sometimes leaves you exposed, and the second-year head coach learned that the hard way once again on Saturday. Nationally, his decision-making is going to be questioned, and a faction of Oregon fans is growing weary of the late-game heartbreak that has come as a result. I don’t think that should change the way in which Lanning plays things going forward, but until his aggressiveness ends up being the difference in a win, rather than a loss, it’s going to be a spot on his resume.

Stock Up: Tez Johnson

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The battle for Oregon’s WR2 spot continues, and Tez Johnson looked really good in that role on Saturday. Johnson finished with 7 catches for 71 yards, and he was a popular target for Bo Nix all day long.

Meanwhile, Gary Bryant Jr. went without a single catch on Saturday despite playing 29 snaps on the day. I think that Johnson stepped up and was a major part of the offense, which is what we need to see more of if the Ducks are going to contend late into the season.

Stock Down: Will Stein

We talked about Lanning and his decision-making, now we need to talk about Will Stein and his play-calling.

As I said before, I have no problem with the Ducks going for it on 4th and 3, 4th and 3, and 4th and 2. This Oregon offense is really good, and they should be able to pick up that yardage and convert far more often than they’re stopped. They averaged 6.4 yards per play on the day, but couldn’t muster anything up when it mattered the most.

That’s on the play-calling, in my opinion.

Why did the Ducks routinely scramble out to one side of the field in these situations, cutting down the area that Washington had to cover? Why were there not several options for Nix to go to, rather than a single receiver streaking on a dig route over the middle? Why did Will Stein not give his Heisman-candidate QB an opportunity to do what he does best — sit in the pocket, read the defense, and find the open receiver?

Execution has a lot to do with it, obviously, and if the Ducks convert even a single one of those 4th downs, then we are likely having a very different conversation. However, all three passes fell incomplete, and the play-calling in those situations left a lot to be desired.

Stock Up: Crunch Time Defense

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It’s going to be overshadowed because of the late-game TD that Washington scored to go ahead 36-33, but I was incredibly impressed with how Oregon’s defense performed in the second half of this game. Multiple times, there was an opportunity for Washington to put this game out of reach, but the Ducks’ defense stepped up.

With Oregon down 11 in the 3rd quarter, the defense forced a 3-and-out. With Oregon down 3 in the 3rd quarter, they forced another 3-and-out. Finally, with the team up 4 in the 4th quarter, the Ducks’ defense had a goal line stand, stoping three-straight rushing plays from the 1-yard line to keep Washington from taking the lead and giving the ball back to Bo Nix in a kill the clock and win the game scenario.

If things went differently down the stretch, and Oregon either punted the ball or converted that final 4th down, then we’re talking about that goal line stand as the moment of the game. The fact that it didn’t work out in this manor doesn’t change the fact that the Ducks’ defense came to play when it really mattered on Saturday.

Stock Neutral: Bo Nix

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

I’m a bit unsure how to view Bo Nix leaving this game. He performed very well, and put up some great numbers in an instant classic that will go down as one of the best games in the history of this rivalry. He went toe-to-toe with Michael Penix and had his team in a position to win the game.

I’m still left wanting a little bit more from him, and I think that’s fair.

There were a few occasions in this game where the Ducks, and Bo Nix in particular, could have put this game away. We talked about Dan Lanning and the decision-making, we talked about Will Stein and the play-calling; now we need to talk about Bo Nix and the execution.

Had Nix been just a fraction better, then Oregon could have won this game comfortably. It feels strange to ask for a QB who completed 33-of-44 passes for 337 yards, 2 TD, and zero turnovers to do more, but Nix had a few misses that swung the game on Saturday. We talk about the 4th down failure in the first half that pulled momentum away from the Ducks, but had Nix not thrown the ball at Traeshon Holden’s feet on 3rd down, taking away what would have been a walk-in touchdown, then we aren’t having this conversation.

On both 4th-down conversion attempts in the second half, Nix had a part to play as well. Blame the play-calling, and blame the situation in the first place. However, I think you can also blame the execution of the play when all is said and done, and that comes down to the quarterback.

I don’t want this to seem as if I’m taking anything away from Nix’s performance, because he did have a great game and is the reason Oregon was even competitive when all was said and done. He should be the No. 2 Heisman candidate after this week, and could very well lead the Ducks into a rematch vs. Washington in the conference title game. On Saturday, though, he had a chance to take the college football world by storm and plant his flag on Husky Stadium. In the end, he couldn’t get it done.

Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire