After a 38-17 win against Michigan Wolverines in the historical “Casa Mare”, the No. 1 Oregon Ducks they are three fairly winnable games toward a 12-0 season and a playoff berth. Although Oregon coach Dan Lanning insists there are no weaknesses, only opportunities for the Ducks, acknowledged a negative trend seen so far throughout the 2024 season: third-quarter slumps.

“Yeah, there’s a trend, right?” Lanning said during the post-match press conference. “There’s something we’re definitely aware of and we’re attacking. You know, again, they came out and got a three, I think, on the very first drive of the third quarter. So that’s something we want to look at and improve on.”

Against the WolverinesThe Ducks only managed a field goal in the third quarter. In seven of Oregon’s nine wins, the Ducks haven’t scored a touchdown in the second half until the fourth quarter. During their contests against Idaho, UCLA, Ohio State, Purdue and Illinois, the Ducks were completely scoreless in the third quarter. To many, it seems like the Ducks haven’t put a “complete” game on the court, and that trend is due in part to their performance coming out of the locker room at halftime.

When breaking down the stats against Michigan, this trend becomes even stronger. Oregon’s offense averaged 3.7 yards per play during the third quarter, while they picked up 6.4 yards per play in the first and fourth quarters and 9.2 yards per play in the performance their stellar second quarter.

For the seven passing plays the Ducks ran in the third quarter, they gave up just 12 yards. Compare that stat to the previous stretch, when the Ducks dominated the Wolverines with 13 passing plays for 146 yards. These numbers can be assigned to the quarterback Dillon Gabriel having at least a quarter of his game, going 3-7 in pass attempts and short runs from the likes of Jordan James and Noah Whittington, which were shut down pretty quickly.

Against Michigan, Purdue and Illinois, Oregon had its worst third-down conversion stats during the third quarter. This led to shorter drives at times, giving the opposing team more time on the ball and less time for Oregon to rack up the usual dominant yardage it racks up the rest of the game.

On longer drives, like their second in the third quarter against Michigan around the seven-minute mark, penalties against the Wolverines pushed Oregon down the field despite Oregon’s short drives and incomplete field goals. to Gabriel, eventually leading to a 26-yard field goal from Atticus Sappington.

When asked if the Ducks’ third-quarter slump was a problem for the team, Lanning focused on the positives.

“No. We won 38 to 17. I’d say it’s not a problem. It’s something we want to address though,” Lanning said.

Third quarter woes for the Ducks are currently at the meme stage in the online Oregon fan community. While the Ducks have met this final stretch of the regular season with decidedly impressive performances, it will be interesting to see how Lanning addresses this “trend” to bring the spark and momentum back to the start of the second half. With a postseason ahead filled with incredibly competitive teams, putting a “complete game” on the board to advance will require re-evaluating that third-quarter slump.