EUGENE, Ore. -- It was not until Maddux Madsen's prayer of a pass on fourth-and-10 late in the fourth quarter fell short of its target that the collective sigh of relief from the crowd of 57,652 at Autzen Stadium could finally be heard.
With the weight of national championship expectations on its back and a roster teeming with talent, No. 2 Oregon failed to look the part in its season opener. Though there was no upset in Eugene on Saturday, the 34-27 win the Ducks were able to snag against Boise State is one coach Dan Lanning described as a "wake-up call" for his team.
"We didn't win the critical situations. We didn't start fast," Lanning said. "The performance and execution has to be better."
The Broncos put Lanning's team on notice from the first quarter, scoring on their initial possession and then stopping both of the Ducks' first two drives. A muffed punt in the second quarter led to another Boise State score and put the visitors in the driver's seat. The same program that had nearly beaten the Ducks in the 2024 opener (Oregon won 37-34 on a last-second field goal) was threatening to do it again, leading 17-7 at one point in the first half and 17-14 at the break.
At various moments during Saturday's game, Lanning's team looked disjointed and undisciplined. The Ducks had 10 penalties for 90 yards on the day, including two unsportsmanlike conduct calls. They lost the turnover battle and allowed the Broncos to possess the ball for over 31 minutes.
"A lot of it was self-inflicted," Lanning said.
"That's not winning football. Not good enough, not to our standard."
At halftime, the CBS broadcast reported that Lanning's response to Oregon's struggles was simple: "We need to turn it the F up and turn it the F on," he said.
"You've got to figure out what button you're going to push, right?" Lanning said of his approach to his team's struggles. "Is this one where you need to go ahead and ramp it up and change the energy and the juice, or is this one where you need to have patience?"
"Coach Lanning came in with this juice and screaming, you know, in a positive way," quarterback Dante Moore said, "saying, 'The score is 0-0, let's respond.'"
Oregon roared out of the half by scoring 17 unanswered points, but the Broncos did not relent. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the game was still tied. It was not until Moore found Dakorien Moore for a 62-yard touchdown pass that the Ducks secured the lead for good. Even though Oregon outgained Boise State by nearly 200 yards, the room for improvement by a team with lofty goals was evident.
"We've got a lot to learn," Dante Moore said. "Thank God it wasn't a 50-point blowout because this just shows us who we are right now and how we have to attack [the rest of the season]."
Postgame, Lanning and Moore were critical but also appreciative of being part of this kind of game as it pertains to the Ducks' future. In 2024, when Boise State last traveled to Eugene and gave Oregon a scare, it propelled Lanning's team to an undefeated regular season and a Big Ten title.
"You love having a challenge early," Lanning said. "At times you want to get a win in every situation. It's going to be a win that we can learn from, right? There are things that we can attack and improve coaches as well. I think that's what will show up."
