No way around it.
Something’s ‘off’ in Eugene.
The University of Oregon football team scrambled around in the wee hours on Saturday night, tripping all over itself, looking woefully ordinary and poorly coached for a few hours. That is, until the final minutes, when understudy quarterback Dylan Raiola was finally and reluctantly summoned.
It was Oregon 17, Nebraska 14, on Saturday.
Jamari Johnson caught Raiola’s final pass of the night, tapping his toes down along the back of the end zone as if he were walking a tightrope stretched across the College Football Playoff canyon. The Autzen Stadium crowd and Ducks fans watching at home roared (and exhaled) off to bed. I doubt Huskers fans slept a wink.
So many questions for Oregon.
The marketing is there.
The payroll is there.
The talent is there.
But Dan Lanning’s team simply isn’t — there.