Oregon Ducks Tez Johnson: 'We Believe' In Quarterback Dillon Gabriel

The start of the 2024 college football campaign for the Oregon Ducks didn't live up to the high expectations. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel was representing Oregon for the first time but barely came away with the victory over the Idaho Vandals in front of a hesitant Autzen Stadium crowd, 24-14.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel walks off the field after the game as the Oregon Ducks host the Idaho Vandals Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Far from the ideal start to the season for the Oregon Ducks to say the least. For all the offseason chatter about national championship potential with this group, the performance against an FCS program like the Idaho Vandals to open the Big Ten Conference era was discouraging.

Despite being a 49.5-point favorite, the Ducks struggled to capitalize on the shots in the end zone. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning knows his team has a lot of room to grow at this early stage and discussed what he expects out of his offense each week when speaking to the media postgame.

"We have to be a team that can create some explosive plays. We didn't generate enough of those today. We had to be a team that can run in and pass the ball. We weren't running the ball effectively, so we had to pass the ball to get first downs."

- Dan Lanning

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and Idaho head coach Jason Eck shake hands after the game as the Oregon Ducks host the Idaho Vandals Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Oregon's running game only put together a total of 107 yards and running back Jordan James led the way with 95 of those plus a touchdown. Part of the struggles on the ground have to do with the offensive line looking very different compared to last season.

In 2023, the Ducks allowed just five sacks in 14 games. In the first game alone of 2024, the Vandals collected a total of three sacks. Lanning was asked postgame about the offensive line being a strength in the past but today, the right side of the trench having some gaps.

I wouldn't pick a side in general other than there's certainly some truth to that. We have to go back and evaluate the film... That's something that we can we can attack and improve for sure."

- Dan Lanning

Not many positive takeaways from the too close for comfort Oregon victory but some flashes of potential from the tandem between quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Tez Johnson were definitely seen. Gabriel looked like the knowledgeable veteran that he is in the debut for the green and yellow while throwing for 380 passing yards on 41-for-49 completions. His two passing touchdowns were both caught by Johnson who led the Ducks in receptions with 12 to go along with 81 yards.

“We connected really good. I told (Gabriel) every drive that I believe in him. I could just see on his face that he was hesitant, but we all believe in him. And come next week, we’ll be dialed in.”

- Tez Johnson

Tez Johnson on win versus Idaho. pic.twitter.com/vuFcAm6783

— Oregon Ducks On SI (@OregonDucks_SI) September 1, 2024

As Johnson said above, a win is a win. Refinement across the board is of course needed during practices next week, especially in the red zone execution.

“We (Gabriel and Johnson) had a really good rhythm, we just have to finish in the red zone. We got there and most of the time just didn’t finish. That’s something we’ll take, go to the doctor and fix.”

- Tez Johnson

Lanning whole-heartedly agreed with his star wideout. The jitters are out and much more is expected out of the offense going forward.

"There's areas for improvement for us right now. You celebrate wins in our program when that happens but there's some areas for improvement. We have high expectations for ourselves, for sure. But every single game, we're finding things that we can go clean out."

- Dan Lanning

Oregon should only go up from this learning experience against Idaho. The next opportunity will be a much larger test at Autzen Stadium against the Boise State Broncos who are the favorites to win the Mountain West Conference and expected to end up seeded in the revamped College Football Playoff picture. You can catch the action between the two Pacific Northwest foes on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. PT.

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