Drew Mehringer Inherits an Oregon Offense That Works Until January

Oregon has lost its last two playoff games by a combined 98-43. Neither was close at halftime. Indiana led 35-7 at the break in the Peach Bowl semifinal before winning 56-22, and Ohio State had done something similar a year earlier. That is what Dew Mehringer took over this winter.

The Ducks opened fall practice Wednesday, ranked No. 2 in the coaches’ poll. Dante Moore came back for his junior season instead of turning pro. Eight defensive starters return from a unit that finished seventh nationally. The talent is not the problem here, and it has never been one for over the last 24 months. (Oregon has gone 48-8 under Dan Lanning – the same record Ohio State has posted over those four seasons. But Ohio State already has a national championship).

Why Oregon Calls Drew Mehringer a Scientist

Mehringer is not a stranger who arrived with a binder. He joined Lannings’s first staff in 2022 and coached tight ends for four seasons as co-offensive coordinator. Before Eugene, he ran offenses at James Madison and Rutgers, where he became the youngest play-caller in the Power Five at 28, and then coached receivers at Texas. He played quarterback at Rice and began as a graduate assistant at Iowa State and Ohio State.

His players landed on a nickname. “Coach Stein did on hell of a job here,” Moore said of the coordinator who left to become Kentucky’s head coach. “I hope he does great things at Kentucky, but Coach Mehringer is a scientist. He’s really smart and does a great job dissecting defenses and making sure we have the right play called.” Moore doubled down on that praise at Big Ten media days. “He’s the one that puts everything together in the pot and then makes us go out there during practice to go ball out,” Moore said.

The metaphor is on point; Mehringer spent four years studying the ingredients (motion packages, protection schemes, RPO progressions) before he got to run his own kitchen. What comes out of that pot in January is the only question that matters right now.

Tight end Jamari Johnson, who played under Mehringer last season, expressed his own confidence. “That was my guy, and just seeing him come back with a bigger role, it makes me smile,” Johnson said. “He’s a smart guy, he has a great plan for us, and I’m just ready to get after it.”

Meanwhile, Mehringer himself sounds less certain about it. “This is new to me,” He told reporters in Eugene. “I think it’s nice that players have respect for what you know.”

The Line That Has to Hold Up

Whatever Drew Mehringer draws up works only if the quarterback stays upright. Moore fumbled twice and took three sacks in the second quarter alone against Indiana, and one fumble came when the ball struck running back Dierre Hill Jr. as Moore started his throwing motion. The scheme was not the issue in that quarter. Protection was.

Iapani Laloulu turned down the NFL to fix it. The senior center allowed one sack and 11 pressures in 442 pass-blocking snaps last season, started all 15 games, and has now started 30 in a row. He was a Rimington Trophy finalist and a first-team FWAA All-American. Guard Dave Luli returns beside him after starting every game.

Both tackle spots remain open. Yale transfer Michael Bennett III and redshirt sophomore Fox Crader lead the competition, and neither has started a full season in the Big Ten. Oregon’s line has been a Joe Moore Award finalist three years running, which raises the bar rather than settling anything. Mehringer also has a new counterpart across the hall in defensive coordinator Chris Hampton, so Lanning replaced both coordinators in the same offseason.

The Sophomores Who Change the Math

Jordon Davison scored 15 touchdowns as a true freshman. He and Hill combined for 1,323 yards and 20 rushing scores on 188 carries, which works out to seven yards per carry from two teenagers. Dakorien Moore caught 34 passes for 497 yards while missing four games hurt, and he returns for a sophomore season with a full offseason behind him. Jeremiah McClellan and Johnson give Moore two more targets he already trusts.

The math they are changing is really simple: Oregon’s offense averaged 36.9points per game last season, top-10 nationally, but became one-dimensional against elite defenses. When the paybook shrinks in January, you need a run game that punishes defenses for selling out to stop the pass. Davison and Hill are that variable.

Those numbers matter because of what November holds. Oregon plays at Ohio State on Nov. 7, hosts Michigan the following week, then travels to Michigan State. Mehringer gets Boise State, Oklahoma State, and Portland State to work out the wrinkles, and none of those defenses will tell anyone much.

Davison never played in the Peach Bowl. he watched the 56-22 loss with a broken clavicle while Oregon ran for almost nothing against the best defense it faced. The sophomore who is supposed to change the math was unavailable for the game that created the question. And Oregon learned exactly what the offense looks like without him.