Winning solves everything.
Oregon lost both coordinators last offseason, a harsh reality that the program has to deal with. Oregon has proven over the past couple of years that it's arguably the best program in America, and at the very least, is the best team that hasn't won a national title.
Head coach Dan Lanning has done an excellent job building a great roster, but much of the Ducks' success has come from what his coordinators have done.
After the first couple of weeks of the season, Oregon seems to be under a lot of pressure over some of the decisions it made during the offseason. Lanning was put in a tough spot, but he has done what he needed to do to find replacements.
He can also be hands-on, so many of these decisions will come from him. While the first couple of weeks led to many questions, according to ESPN, a lot of those have quieted down after the win against USC.
“The heat on Oregon's new coordinators isn't as strong after last week's 14-point road win against USC. Lanning made continuity a theme of the offseason, both in retaining top players and not shaking things up schematically.
“He elevated co-coordinators Drew Mehringer (offense) and Chris Hampton (defense) to the primary coordinator roles. Both had been lead coordinators before -- Mehringer at Rutgers and Hampton at Tulane -- and knew the Ducks' personnel and the philosophies Lanning wanted to continue.
“But Oregon's Week 2 loss at Oklahoma State set off alarms about many things, including Lanning's coordinator decisions,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg wrote.
Oregon's win against USC felt personal, especially after Dante Moore was injured.
Oregon put up 41 points and didn't look like it missed a beat offensively without one of the best quarterbacks in America.
Part of that is because of how good Dylan Raiola is, undoubtedly the best backup quarterback in America.
However, the offense was really in its bag last Saturday, and that's a very promising sign, as USC was one of the toughest opponents that it could play all season.
The UCLA game will be a challenge, but one Oregon can handle.
