Oregon
5 things we learned from Minnesota’s beatdown loss at Oregon
Minnesota entered its matchup with Oregon having lost its first three road games of the season by an averaging of 30.0 points. It was much of the same story on Friday night with a 42-13 beatdown loss. Here’s what we learned.
After it took Oregon only nine plays and 4:13 to score a touchdown on the first drive of the game, Minnesota responded with one of the most baffling offensive drives you’ll ever see. After a false start on the first play, they went into wildcat formation, Darius Taylor pitched it to Drake Lindsey, who proceeded to complete a four-yard pass. They proceeded to fail a screen attempt, and then Lindsey was sacked for seven yards. It felt like it set the tone for the whole game.
When Minnesota returned Koi Perich and Kerry Brown at the safety position, it seemed like they would lead one of the better secondaries in the Big Ten. But the Gophers had to replace Justin Walley and Ethan Robinson at the cornerback position, and it has not gone well. Oregon QB Dante Moore was 18 of 20 for 200 yards and one touchdown in the first half, and it looked like the Ducks’ offense could get whatever they wanted.
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Minnesota’s best offensive drive in the first half resulted in a 26-yard field goal from Brady Denaburg. P.J. Fleck opted to settle for three points on a 4th and eight with 2:25 left in the first half, and a 21-3 deficit. That decision exemplifies his strategy in these games perfectly. Anyone who watches this team and watches college football, knew the Gophers weren’t going to have many trips in the red zone. If they wanted to play to win this game, that was an opportunity to make things interesting with a touchdown. Fleck opted to make the scoreboard look better, rather than try to win a football game.
After suffering a 27-14 nonconference loss at California, Minnesota failed to score a single touchdown in back-to-back blowout losses at Ohio State and Iowa. The Gophers settled for two field goals in the second half, but Lindsey found Javon Tracy in the third quarter to break a streak of 10 straight quarters without a touchdown.
You don’t have to be a sports betting expert, but point spreads often provide context for games like we saw on Friday night in Eugene. With another blowout loss, the Gophers move to 2-8-1 against the spread this season, which is tied for the second-worst mark in all of FBS. Fleck might point towards Minnesota’s touchdown, but they were not competitive in this game, and they weren’t competitive against Iowa and Ohio State. The Gophers obviously face a lot of challenges in terms of remaining competitive against programs like the Buckeyes and Ducks, but they aren’t even close.
Gov. Tina Kotek’s commitment to boosting prosperity through economic development is encouraging, and I hope her efforts are successful, (“Oregon’s governor unveiled a ‘roadmap’ to business prosperity. Here’s what’s at stake,” Dec. 2). Too often, Oregon’s leading industries and businesses hear platitudes on the importance of economic development only to witness actions that dilute economic development funds, which provide high returns on investment.
Oregon hospitality and leisure is the third-largest private employer sector, creating more than 200,000 jobs and generating $14 billion in annual economic activity – driven in part by state and local lodging taxes.
The state’s 1.5% lodging tax raises approximately $40 million a year and is reinvested in economic development, including tourism promotion and related infrastructure. But some state lawmakers are trying to increase the tax and divert the additional revenue for things without economic benefits – things which should be paid for with general funds. Worse yet, there are efforts to change how county and city lodging taxes are distributed.
State and local lodging taxes are designed to be an economic development tool, and the current system has proven itself – a $40 million investment at the state level and hundreds of millions at local levels for a $14 billion return.
The economic headwinds facing Oregon’s economy are fierce. We should be laser focused on creating the strongest multiplier effect we can with these finite economic development resources. If lawmakers care about Oregon’s economic prosperity, they will abandon these harmful proposals in the upcoming session, and the governor should rebuke any efforts contrary to the goals of her economic development roadmap.
Jason Brandt
Brandt is president and CEO of the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association
To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
The No. 5 Oregon Ducks thrive on establishing the run before unveiling their explosive plays, and this season is no different with an offensive line that’s a finalist for the coveted Joe Moore Award given to the nation’s best offensive front.
When it comes to creating gaps to run the rock, protecting quarterback Dante Moore, and leading the Oregon trenches once again filled with mostly transfer starters, center Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu is the go-to guy who’s getting major awards nods.
With his first start occurring during Oregon’s Vrbo Fiesta Bowl game against Liberty at the end of the 2023 season as a freshman, the junior from Honolulu, Hawaii is continuing to impress during his junior year as the Ducks prepare to enter the first round of the College Football Playoff against No. 12 James Madison.
Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu Recognized For Multiple Awards
The originator of Oregon’s offensive line nickname “The Law Firm”, Laloulu is currently a finalist for the Rimington Trophy and the Polynesian Player of the Year Award. The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the nation’s best center selected by a group of four different prestigious groups.
Only one Oregon offensive lineman has earned the honor since it began in 2000, with Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson receiving the Rimington Trophy in 2023. Laloulu succeeded Powers-Johnson as Oregon’s starting center.
The other centers in the running include Iowa’s Logan Jones and Florida’s Jake Slaughter.
Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu Could Join Elite Group
The Polynesian Player of the Year Award is given to the most impressive player of Polynesian descent and is presented by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. Past Oregon winners include Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (the first ever winner) and Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell.
Mariota and Sewell also won the professional level version of this award along with Indianapolis Colt and fellow former Duck, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
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Consistency Amid Offensive Line Changes
One of the primary arguments for Laloulu winning the Rimington Trophy is his ability to work with three entirely different squads throughout his time with the Ducks. Throughout transfer portal deals and recruitment additions, Laloulu is a consistent leader.
Entering his sophomore year, Laloulu led an entirely new look like with guard Nishad Strother, guard Marcus Harper II, tackle Ajani Cornelius, and tackle Josh Conerly Jr. That 2024-2025 offensive line, after a fair amount of struggles in the start of the season, employed Laloulu as the starting center in the Oregon State and UCLA game to end the season as a Joe Moore finalist for the second year straight.
Then, when all but Laloulu departed the team due to draft declarations and eligibility, Laloulu once again helmed a Joe Moore Award finalist line, the third in a row for Oregon and the fourth finalist placing since 2019.
“To see the difference that Poncho is, like there’s a confidence in his game that I think we’ve all known he was going to be a really good player, but to see him now match that maturity and match that confidence in his game because he knows he’s a really good player,” said Oregon offensive line coach A’lique Terry. “I think our whole team is feeling it. He’s a clear leader. He helps us in every single aspect, as far as communication. You can see the player he’s grown into.”
Strength Throughout Challenges
Another factor in Laloulu’s strong performance this season is persistence through injury. During Oregon’s final regular season home game against the USC Trojans, Laloulu exited the game in the first quarter after a left foot/ankle injury. Though second string center Charlie Pickard filled in the gaps fairly well for Laloulu to help secure an Oregon victory.
Laloulu, though not appearing again during the game and evidently limping, appeared the very next week on the road against Washington, showing the grit he possesses as Oregon’s starting center.
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Tens of thousands of Aetna members in Oregon will have easier, cheaper access to Providence Oregon hospitals and clinics after the large insurer and heath system reached a deal.
As part of a multi-year agreement, Providence Health & Services recently announced that its facilities in Portland and around the state were back in-network as of Dec. 1 for members of Aetna’s commercial plans.
This comes nearly a year after Aetna, a large health insurer owned by industry behemoth CVS Health, dropped Providence Oregon from its network when negotiations broke down due to a conflict over rate increases—the sort that have been roiling the health care industry as costs skyrocket.
“Providence will once again be a valued partner in our efforts to serve Aetna members in Oregon with access to high-quality, convenient care,” says Cathy Hughes, an executive for Aetna’s western region, in a written statement.
Still, the deal will take different forms in different parts of the state. Providence facilities will be in-network for Aetna’s commercial plans throughout the state. But only in Southern Oregon will Aetna’s Medicare Advantage have in-network access to Providence facilities.
An Aetna spokesman declined to share company membership data for Oregon, but government databases make some details available, and indicate Aetna’s Medicare Advantage market in Oregon is only a fraction of the size of its commercial market.
According to a federal dataset, about 5,000 people in the Tri-County area around Portland—and 14,000 in Oregon overall—are members of an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan.
Meanwhile, a state database indicates about 50,000 Oregon residents were as of Sept. 30 enrolled in one of Aetna’s commercial insurance plans. And more than 250,000 Oregon residents were members of self-insured plans—the sort run by large employers—of which Aetna is the administrator.
Aetna says the deal will be a boon for these members, too. “Self-insured customers fall under our Aetna commercial plans,” CVS Health spokesman Phillip Blando tells WW. “So Oregon residents on Aetna self-insured plans will now have in-network access to Providence.”
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