5 Things To Watch: PSU

EUGENE, Ore. — The 2023 Oregon football season gets underway Saturday when the Ducks host Portland State in Autzen Stadium at noon.

The Ducks are coming off a 10-3 season in their inaugural campaign under head coach Dan Lanning. The Vikings are 30-50 in nine seasons under head coach Bruce Barnum.

Oregon leads the all-time series between the two, 5-0, all at Autzen Stadium. Most recently, the Ducks beat the Viks in 2018, 62-14.

Saturday's game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network, with play by play from Roxy Bernstein and analysis from Lincoln Kennedy.

Some storylines to watch Saturday afternoon …

1. On an Oregon team with 63 newcomers, there will be many new faces to track Saturday, perhaps none as vital to the upcoming season as those on the offensive line. After leading the country in sacks allowed with just five in 2022, the Ducks had to replace four departed seniors, three of which — Alex Forsyth, TJ Bass and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu — made 53-man NFL rosters as rookies.

The Ducks do return some veteran contributors, notably 19-game starter Steven Jones and the fifth starter for much of last season, Marcus Harper II. Jackson Powers-Johnson and Josh Conerly Jr. are two younger vets looking to earn roles as full-time contributors in 2023.

But the program also added experience via the transfer portal, in tackle Ajani Cornelius and guards Nishad Strother and Junior Angilau. The task for the entire offensive line group this offseason was to build chemistry to protect quarterback Bo Nix and pave the way for a deep stable of running backs. Saturday's game brings the first test of that chemistry.

2. A clean pocket from the offensive line would contribute to what Lanning hopes is a clean performance top to bottom by the Ducks.

Two of the biggest determining factors in college football are explosion plays and turnovers. The Ducks want to take care of the ball and create big plays on offense, while getting takeaways and tackling well to avoid allowing big plays on defense.

"One of the things that we've shown our players," Lanning said, "there's more turnovers in college football in week one and the bowl week than there is in any other time of season; there's more missed tackles in week one and then the bowl game than there is any other time of season. That's because of the long vacancy between games."

3. Saturday's game could progress a little quicker than you're used to, due to a new rule implemented for major college football this season.

In years past, the game clock stopped after each first down so officials could move the first-down marker on the sideline, with play resuming once the marker was in place. This fall, the clock will continue to run after a first down, except in the last 2 minutes of each half.

"I think it just prioritizes points per possession offensively," Lanning said. "It's not necessarily about points per game as much as it is, when you get the ball do you score? And do you stop teams from scoring? Because there are going to be a few less snaps in games."

Also new this season, teams cannot call consecutive timeouts, which most notably would come into play as coaches tried to "ice" placekickers before important kicks.

4. An Oregon defense looking to show improvement will be tested by a dynamic dual-threat quarterback Saturday.

Junior Dante Chachere is coming off a 2022 season in which he accumulated 2,565 yards of total offense with 26 total touchdowns.

"The biggest thing is, their quarterback is extremely dynamic," Lanning said. "He's a guy that's really fast. It shows up, you can see it — you watch their explosive-play tape and really quickly realize that he's a guy that (is dangerous with) the ball in his hands."

Playing the role of Chachere this week for the UO scout-team offense has been Brock Thomas, a newly enrolled freshman from Eugene's Sheldon High — alma mater of legendary Oregon quarterbacks Chris Miller and Justin Herbert.

5. Though Oregon is a heavy favorite Saturday, Lanning isn't taking anything for granted. Asked this week if he hoped to get reps for a host of different players this week — the question assumed a comfortable UO margin, and the chance to get experience for depth players — Lanning demurred.

"I'm hoping to win the game," he said. "We've gotta go win the game; the rest kind of takes care of itself. We've got enough players that can play at a high level, that we'll make sure we get them in the game."