Oregon hands play-calling to former Michigan State coordinator Jay Johnson

Oregon has turned its struggling offense over to a coach Michigan State fans know well. On Monday, Dan Lanning named Jay Johnson, a former Spartans offensive coordinator, the Ducks' primary play-caller for the rest of the season. Spartans Wire noted that Johnson was a much-maligned figure during his time in East Lansing.

The move came about a day after Oregon fired first-year coordinator Drew Mehringer following a 21-10 loss at Illinois that left the Ducks 4-3. Johnson, 57, is listed on staff as an assistant quarterbacks coach. According to On3, he worked with Lanning at Georgia and spent last season at Wyoming, where he lost play-calling duties in October 2025 after a 24-21 loss to Air Force. Lanning told the outlet that Johnson is "going to head the efforts there with the offensive staff," though he described game planning as a group effort. FootballScoop listed Johnson's previous coordinator jobs at Southern Miss, Louisiana, Minnesota, Colorado, Michigan State and Wyoming.

Johnson takes over an offense in bad shape. Ducks Wire reported that Oregon averaged 24.7 points per game against FBS opponents under Mehringer, and that the Illinois loss ended a run of 61 straight games with more than 10 points. Things got worse the same night. Lanning said quarterback Dante Moore, who has not played since a late hit at USC on Sept. 26, is not expected back this season. ESPN reported that Oregon has scored fewer than 20 points in all three games Moore has missed.

For Michigan State, the story mostly brings back memories. The Spartans are 2-6 and have lost six in a row, most recently 28-10 at UCLA. They next play at Michigan on Nov. 7.

What it means against Northwestern

Johnson's first game calling plays is Saturday at Autzen Stadium against No. 20 Northwestern, on Peacock. Since Moore went down, Oregon has scored 15, 17 and 10 points. In that stretch the Ducks lost 17-15 to UCLA, beat Nebraska 17-14 and lost at Illinois. They are 2-2 in Big Ten play. The 84-0 win over Portland State and the 41-27 win at USC skew the season numbers. With a backup quarterback, this offense has been closer to the one that scored 10 in Champaign.

The market still has Oregon favored. On this site's board for the game, which tracks 11 venues, Novig has the Ducks at -163 on the moneyline and Northwestern at +153. Pinnacle's +154 is the best Wildcats price anywhere. The spread is Oregon -3.5 at -102 on Novig, and BetRivers has the same number at even money. The venues barely disagree on the side. The total varies a little more: Novig has it at 47.5, theScore Bet at 46.5 and Pinnacle at 48. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.5% to 6.6%.

A 3.5-point line means the market sees this as roughly a field goal plus the hook. It also suggests little confidence that a change in play-caller alone will turn the offense around in four days.