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Can’t see the video? Watch it here Thanks to those who submitted questions for last week’s Oregon Ducks mailbag. If you have questions for next week, please submit them using the form below or email me at AFentress@Oregonian.com. Please include your first name and last initial, or your social media handle and platform. . . . Now on to this week’s questions: Suppose the Ducks play well and win decisively (28-14) in another hostile environment against a very good team. Will you admit that the Ducks can put together a run down the stretch and demonstrate they have a chance to win it all? - Anonymous. No. I believe the Ducks can go 11-1, but I don’t buy them as a national title-caliber team. As of right now, should the Ducks reach the playoffs, they would have to win four games against top-12 competition to capture the first national title in program history. I just don’t see that happening. This team is not better than last year’s Oregon team or other teams that failed to close the deal in the past. . . . Will the key to the game be when Oregon is on offense or when they are on defense? - Kyle K. I’d say when Oregon is on offense. I don’t see Iowa putting up many points against the Ducks. The best way for the Hawkeyes to win would be to eat clock and hold the Ducks to under 20 points. . . . What is causing the inconsistencies in both our offensive and defensive play? I tend to think it is play-calling because I believe we are very talented. - JTE Coaches must place talent in the best position to succeed. But the talent must also execute. If the players are struggling to execute, it’s the coaches’ responsibility to simplify schemes to help them play faster and with more confidence. . . . Saturday’s forecast calls for cool, rainy and windy conditions. How do you think the weather is going to affect the offense? - Anonymous. That plays right into Iowa’s hands. The Hawkeyes have a weak passing game. They want to make this a game won in the trenches. Oregon can also play that way, but the Ducks are at their best when they can let the ball fly. That proved to be a problem against Wisconsin under similar weather conditions. The worse the weather, the better it is for Iowa. . . . Why doesn’t the quarterback run more when he has an open field and no receivers are open? When they played Indiana, he had lots of green when the passing wasn’t open. - Anonymous. There is a fine line between bailing too soon and not getting out of the pocket at the right time. This is one of the aspects of playing quarterback that Moore is still learning. He is a pocket passer first and foremost. He trusts his offensive line to protect him and his receivers to get open. But yes, he must also learn when it’s time to give up on the play and take off. He did a good job of that at Penn State. . . . Why isn’t our defensive line getting to the quarterback? Why aren’t the Ducks getting more sacks, starting with Mateo Uiagalelei? Is this because of the defensive schemes? - Cameron B. They are being blocked well. Oregon ranks 105th in the country with 1.63 sacks per game (13 total). That’s a problem. Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti have not been winning their matchups very often. The Ducks must find creative ways to get to the quarterback. They have good enough defensive backs to commit more defenders to the pass rush. Well-timed safety and corner blitzes could also help. . . . If we lose to Iowa, USC, and Washington, would Indiana no longer have a signature win? - Johnny T. In that scenario, the Ducks would be 8-4, assuming they defeat Minnesota next week. I’d still call Indiana’s win at Oregon a big victory, but it would certainly lose some of its luster. . . . There is an abundance of second and third downs that are a yard or two short of the first down. I seem to remember that the last couple of years, a slant to Tez Johnson usually produced a first down. Is this something missing this year? And it also seems that Kenyon Sadiq is underutilized. - Barry R. The Ducks definitely have not been as good in the short passing game as they were last year with Johnson and quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Moore has not developed that same level of connection with any of the Ducks’ receivers, and none of them are as good as Johnson was at running short, quick-burst routes. As for Sadiq, yes, he has been underutilized. He started to pick up the pace in the four games before Wisconsin, catching 16 passes. He had just one against the Badgers, but the Ducks’ passing game was hindered by the weather and Moore’s nose injury. I had hoped to see Sadiq become a virtual first down waiting to happen on third downs this season. But that hasn’t happened. Yet. . . . Why don’t the Ducks start Jordan Davison over Noah Whittington? Lanning says they have confidence in Jordan and he’s done everything they have asked him to do. - Jim K. Davison has been great as a runner, but Whittington’s experience is pretty invaluable. He undoubtedly knows the playbook better and is more consistent in executing in the passing game as a route runner and pass protector. Given Whittington’s versatility and experience, it makes sense to start him and then see how the others fit in as the game goes along. . . . How is Oregon going to move the ball at Kinnick Stadium if they struggle with the run game? - W. Wells. Oregon’s rushing attack has been pretty good. The Ducks ran well against Wisconsin, which entered the game ranked 10th nationally against the run. I like the Ducks’ chances of at least getting close to 200 yards on the ground. . . . So happy to see the Ducks wearing school colors again instead of those non-school-colored black uniforms — Anonymous. That’s not a question, but I still have an answer: Yes. I agree. . . .
