Despite Oregon’s 48-27 victory over the explosive Houston Cougars, cranky fans were squirming after the game. Where were the heralded wide receivers and why did quarterback Dennis Dixon only throw 15 passes? In fact, Dixon had just as many rushes as pass attempts and made seven yards more rushing than he did through the air.

Enjoy the victory. It could have been worse, much worse. Just ask Michigan, Oregon’s next opponent, who lost at home to Appalachian State, of all teams!

David Faaeteete, senior defensive tackle, said after the game, “I don’t care what happened to Michigan. We made some mistakes out there and I know we’ll correct them.” He and the rest of his mates will be plenty busy, both in the film room and on the practice field this week. Both coaches and players mentioned breakdowns in alignment, assignment and tackling, all coming against a turbo-charged offense featuring the 325 all-purpose yards by All American candidate Anthony Alridge.

One of Alridge’s runs was set up in an overload formation that burned the Ducks four times before they were finally able to make the adjustment on the field to defend it. The Cougars lined up an offensive tackle as a tight end with a wingback (see diagram one) and ran a pitchout to the halfback who had the fullback lead blocking for him around the right side. On one play, a 29- yard gainer by Alridge, the fullback blocked the linebacker and the safety trying to come over and make the play. Houston’s outside receiver blocked the corner, securing a wide running lane for Alridge. Finally, on the fifth attempt, the Ducks were able to make the proper adjustment: the safety rotating over to the formation. The result? No gain. Nick Allioti will show the defense this play as an example of what you can do when you are properly aligned.

Michigan’s offense, although powerful in its own right, will not test the Ducks with the same kind of bizarre blend of formations, shifts and motion that the Cougars did in running up 545 yards of total offense. However, they have a big strong physical offensive line which presents big problems for Oregon, as their front seven doesn’t look very macho right now.

So, is there anything wrong with the passing game? Not so, according to offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. “Dennis made great decisions, I think he managed the game well,” observed Kelly, who has impressed me so far with the fundamentals and footwork he has coached with Dixon. In the past, Dixon has held on the ball and been sacked. Twice Saturday he managed to avoid sacks with throwaways. He also has been guilty of “happy feet” instead of stepping up and allowing outside rushers to run by him. Several times against Houston, Dixon scrambled up field for good gains and did not show the spotty footwork he had in the spring game.

Dixon was easily the offensive player of the game for Oregon. He completed 9-15 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns, but where he blew the game open was with his feet. Dixon was the leading rusher with 141 yards (counting 31 lost on three sacks), including an 80-yard touchdown in the third quarter which put the Ducks ahead 41-27 (see Diagram 1).

Dixon fakes to the halfback going back to his right, fooling the linebacker and influencing the safety. Offensive tackle Fenuki Tupou makes a “swoop” call which means he will put outside the end man on the line of scrimmage. In this case the defensive end looped outside, covering the pitch man on the option. Tupou stays with the end, blocking him. Because the linebacker followed the initial run fake, no one is in the area to take Dixon, who takes advantage and speeds to an 80- yard touchdown. The receivers on the outside blocked their men, securing the running lane for Dixon, who outran the safety who bit on the fake of the running back.

How should you judge the effectiveness of the passing game? You need to look at yards per attempt (8.9) and yards per completion (14.9), both of which are championship caliber in this situation. Dixon finally got the fans going with his 19-yard touchdown pass to Brian Paysinger which put the Ducks ahead for good 27-20 in the third quarter (see Diagram 2). Houston’s safety misplayed the route and gave up the inside to Paysinger. He was the only player who could help came from inside and he was too shallow to prevent the completion. The pass was one of the few thrown down the middle during the game. Dixon, who threw more interceptions than touchdowns last year, didn’t have any picked off. The offense, for that matter, was flawless: no turnovers and no penalties with the only blemishes the three sacks, which is uncharacteristic for Oregon’s veteran offensive line.

The Ducks have a lot of work to do to line up and play what will be an angry Michigan team that will try to outmuscle and intimidate the Duck defense. Look for late-night lights in Oregon’s war rooms this week as players and coaches work to iron out wrinkles that showed, but didn’t ruin the opening game party against Houston.

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