Oregon
Three Lessons From Oregon Ducks’ Upset Loss to Indiana
EUGENE – Week 7 marked the first loss of the No. 3 Oregon Ducks’ 2025 season. Despite the Indiana Hoosiers’ 30-20 win at Autzen Stadium, the Ducks still have plenty of season left to play.
The Ohio State Buckeyes won last season’s national championship even though they suffered two regular-season losses, and coach Dan Lanning was adamant about evaluating the loss and improving after the game.
“I don’t think anybody in the organization did the best that they’re capable of today, myself included,” Lanning said postgame. “It starts with me and, again, I thought their plan was better and ours wasn’t.”
Oregon has six regular-season games remaining and is still very much in the mix to make the College Football Playoff. The loss to the Hoosiers revealed three major takeaways that the Ducks can learn from to get back on track.
Oregon conceded 111 rushing yards to Indiana, including 37 in the fourth quarter.
“Ultimately, we didn’t stop the run when it mattered most,” Lanning said. “We have a better plan to stop the run there at the end of the game.”
Teams have been most successful against the Ducks this season when Oregon fails to defend the run game. In the Ducks’ sluggish first half against the Oregon State Beavers earlier in the season, the opposing team ran for 56 yards in the first half.
On the other hand, Oregon limited Penn State’s star backfield duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton to only one touchdown in week 5.
It wasn’t the same story against Indiana’s backfield. Two of the Hoosiers’ three touchdowns were scored by running back Roman Hemby.
MORE: Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti Doesn’t Hold Back After Upset Of Oregon Ducks
MORE: Oregon Coach Dan Lanning Take Share Of Blame For Indiana’s Historic Win Over Ducks
MORE: Oregon Ducks Quarterback Dante Moore Reveals What Went Wrong In Loss To Indiana
MORE: Biggest Winners, Losers From Oregon’s Loss Against Indiana
Oregon had a lot of doubters preseason due to it being a much younger team than last season. Time and time again, however, the Ducks’ true freshman have answered the call.
Even in the defeat, a pair of true freshmen starred – one on defense and one on offense. Running back Jordon Davison led the team in carries (eight) and rushing yards (59).
It may have been the freshman’s first game without a touchdown this season, but he was the lifeline of Oregon’s run game in a game where the running back room struggled.
“We felt like he had a hot hand at one point the game,” Lanning said. “Was running really well. Was falling forward for yards. A good job of doing positive yards. We have success with some of our duo plays, things like that, that he runs really well.”
On the other side, cornerback Brandon Finney Jr. recorded his first career pick six.
“That’s one of the harder routes to defend in man to man is a crossing route from the opposite side. He did a great job breaking on the ball,” Lanning said. “We had good pressure up front. Great job finishing the end zone and turn that into a touchdown for us.”
Finney tied the game with his pick-six six but the Ducks weren’t able to score again in the fourth quarter to pull ahead.
Oregon did an impressive job of minimizing mistakes in its first five games, including a zero-penalty showing against Northwestern in week 3.
The Ducks entered the week tied for the second-fewest penalties in the nation with 18. Against Indiana, the Ducks conceded seven penalties for a loss of 64 yards. Two of the flags were against Oregon’s offensive line.
Entering the week, the Ducks were also tied for the fewest sacks allowed in both the Big Ten and the nation. The Hoosiers set the tone for the game by sacking quarterback Dante Moore on the first snap.
“They had a good rush all day where our protection wasn’t clean,” Lanning said. “We can get better in that area.”
Oregon went on to concede six sacks in the game for a loss of 35 yards. As long as the Ducks can get back to protecting their quarterback and playing clean like they did in the first five games of the season, they’ll be a difficult offense to stop.
Lanning and his leaders made one thing clear after the game: the Ducks aren’t going to let one loss define them.
“Got a chip on our shoulder,” linebacker Bryce Boettcher said. “We can use it as fuel or be down on ourselves. So, we’ll go to the doctor tomorrow, learn from it, and then back to work.”
BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Detroit, MI1 minute agoWhy a Detroit family’s $300 brick repair job turned into a fraud investigation
-
San Francisco, CA13 minutes agoSea lion pup found in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset malnourished but ‘feisty’
-
Dallas, TX19 minutes agoDallas Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft debate heats up
-
Miami, FL25 minutes agoMan arrested in Miami for alleged sexual battery on 10-year-old girl – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
-
Boston, MA31 minutes agoFormer BYU star Clayton Young crushes lifetime best in Boston — on short notice
-
Denver, CO37 minutes agoColorado boasts two of the best coffee shops in the Americas, according to new ranking
-
Seattle, WA43 minutes agoDelta flight from Seoul to Atlanta diverted to Seattle after report of suspicious package
-
San Diego, CA49 minutes agoThe Best Things to Do in San Diego: May 2026 | San Diego Magazine