As the game was getting underway on Saturday afternoon, the lack of energy in Autzen was palpable. I noticed it right away, as the student section sat at about 80% capacity, and the buzz felt different than it did a couple of weeks ago against Illinois and way different than it did a month ago against Ohio State.

It didn’t help that the Ducks got off to a slow start, and struggled to get out of first gear until the second quarter. But was the lack of energy and an absence of history against Maryland the culprit for the strangeness in the air?

“We didn’t play as well as we could, right? There’s no doubt about that,” Dan Lanning said after the game. “I don’t think our guys had a lack of prep, you know, but we didn’t play as well as we can.”

Oregon was missing the explosivity that Tez Johnson brings to the offense, and without starting RG Marcus Harper on the field, their rushing attack felt muffled. The final result was a victory, though, and in a week where the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 4 Miami Hurricanes suffered upset losses, that feels like it counts for a lot.

“Every time you step out there, it’s tough. You have to bring your A-game every week,” quarterback Dillon Gabriel said after the game. “I kind of like it for us though. We need to get better and continue to dial in. Adversity is real. You’ve got to find ways to win when things aren’t going your way.”

The Ducks didn’t need style points on Saturday night against Maryland, so there was nothing hurt in a 21-point win at home that felt like it could have been more lopsided. It was notable, though, to see the lack of juice that this conference matchup possessed. Going forward, that will be something to monitor in other low-stakes Big Ten games as well.