In the days leading up to the 2016 Alamo Bowl, the Emerald will take a unit-by-unit look at Oregon and TCU, determining which team has the edge going into the showdown on Jan. 2 in San Antonio. Today, we’ll look at each team’s offensive lines.
Oregon
Led by senior left tackle Tyler Johnstone and graduate transfer Matt Hegarty (center), the Oregon offensive line helped Royce Freeman and the Ducks rushing attack excel almost every week this season. Oregon ranked fifth in the nation in rushing yards, averaging 287.8 per game. In addition, Freeman powered his way to 1,706 yards on the ground and 14 touchdowns.
The unit ranked eighth in the Pac-12 in sacks given up, but became progressively better at protecting the quarterback as the season moved forward. And for a unit that lost the entire left side of the line last year, as well as All-American center Hroniss Grasu, the Ducks managed to become a formidable and experienced unit — all together, the line boasts 127 career starts heading into this game. Oregon running backs averaged 6.3 yards per carry in the team’s upset win over Stanford. Johnstone has also been rated as an All-American by certain publications.
TCU
Like Oregon, TCU can be known as a quick-strike offense, and it isn’t just because they have one of the nation’s most versatile athletes playing quarterback. TCU averaged 218.8 yards rushing per game on the season and despite key injuries, managed to rank eighth in points per game, averaging 41.7. In addition, the line ranked second in the Big 12 in sacks against, surrendering only 16.
TCU offensive line pass-protection stats pic.twitter.com/sVy7tU6BSK
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) October 16, 2015
But, like the defense, the injury bug caused TCU to mix and match throughout the latter weeks of the season. Starting tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai was named second-team All Big 12, but saw limited snaps in the Horned Frogs’ first loss of the season to Oklahoma State.Joseph Noteboom moved from right tackle to left when Vaitai was absent against Kansas, and TCU was forced to become a one dimensional offense after Boykin was injured. But, the Horned Frogs were able to be just that, helping TCU win two of its last three games on the year, including an overtime win over Baylor in a swamp-like field.
Advantage: TCU
After the month of September, the Oregon offensive line was giving up 2.75 sacks per game, good enough to rank them 101st in the nation, according to The Oregonian. Since then, the line has become a formidable unit, and helped the Ducks win six consecutive games to close the year. But, TCU’s balance — 218.8 rushing yards per game and only 16 sacks allowed, compared to the Ducks’ 35 — gives it the slight advantage. That is of course, if the unit can remain healthy next week.
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise
