Coming off the program’s third straight appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game, 11th-ranked Oregon opens the 2022 season with a premier nonconference matchup against defending national champion Georgia — for which Lanning was defensive coordinator on the way to last season’s College Football Playoff title.
The Bulldogs enter this season ranked No. 3 nationally. The Ducks have faced Georgia once previously, a 27-16 victory for the Bulldogs in Oregon’s 1977 season opener.
Some factors to watch when the game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. PT on ABC …
1. The UO football program has been energized since the arrival of Lanning, following his national championship run in January with Georgia. The 35th head coach in Oregon’s history combines youthful vigor with a culture of accountability and brotherhood, bolstered by the credibility of his success working for some of the most formidable names in the college football coaching ranks.
One of those names is Kirby Smart, the current head coach at Georgia. Presumably, both head coaches will see some familiar elements in each team’s defensive scheme Saturday. But, Lanning pointed out this week, “ultimately, Kirby Smart’s not going to play a single snap, and neither is Dan Lanning. It doesn’t really matter what I know. It matters what my players know, and what they can execute.”
Adding to the familiarity this week is the presence of Bryan McClendon on Georgia’s staff. McClendon was Oregon’s receivers coach the past two seasons, and he served as interim head coach for the Alamo Bowl loss to Oklahoma in December. After briefly following Mario Cristobal to Miami, McClendon instead opted to join the Bulldogs’ staff in February.
2. Offensively, Oregon led the Pac-12 in explosive plays of 20 or more yards in 2021. But also, the Ducks’ total of 67 was the program’s lowest in more than a decade. Enter new offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham.
A year ago at Florida State, Dillingham helped the Seminoles average five plays per game of 20 or more yards. That was a tick better than Oregon’s average per game. The desire among the Ducks’ skill position players is for Oregon to more consistently create explosive plays the way they did in the Alamo Bowl, when they had touchdown pass plays of 66, 34 and 30 yards in the second half alone.
The players who caught those passes — Dont’e Thornton, Kris Hutson and Troy…
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