Oregon’s offensive looked anchorless in the first couple of weeks, giving up a total of seven sacks to Idaho and Boise State, just a year after being a finalist for the Joe Moore Award and allowing only five in entire 2023 season.
There seemed to be a big hole at center. The group lacked cohesion and at times, physicality. The Vandals and Broncos held the Duck running game to under three yards a carry.
Oregon squeaked out two narrow victories while the coaching staff tinkered with lineups. They seemed to find the winning combination in the second half of the BSU game when Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu took over at center.
The 6-2, 325-pound sophomore has been a rock in the middle. Just this week the Rimington Award Watch List, the top college football honor for centers, announced that the powerful lineman from Farrington High School in Honolulu, Hawaii has not allowed a sack across 270 pass blocking snaps and has not allowed more than 2 QB pressures in a single game so far this 2024 season. He has a 69.0 PFF pass blocking grade.