After leading the nation in total offense and points per game last season, expectations for the Oregon offense remain high despite the way it sputtered against Southeastern Conference power LSU during week one.
Though the Ducks won’t see the same SEC-caliber athletes when they welcome the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday, they still expect to be tested against an experienced and talented Nevada defense that allowed just 363.6 yards of total offense per game a year ago.
“They’re outstanding,” Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. “They play really, really, really hard. They’re relentless in their attack and running to the ball.
“You see guys across the field getting in on plays, and that’s the hallmark of a good defense and a really good program.”
The majority of the attention this week has gone to Nevada’s quirky pistol offense, and despite being chosen as 27-point underdogs this week, the Wolf Pack’s defense has been preparing all offseason for its season-opener at Autzen Stadium.
Among those expected to cause the most problems for the Oregon running game is senior middle linebacker James-Michael Johnson. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound product of Fairfield, Calif., is considered to be one of the best linebackers in the nation.
As a junior in 2010, Johnson led the team with 88 tackles to go along with eight tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks, while breaking up two passes and forcing three fumbles. For his efforts in helping Nevada finish 12-1 last season with major wins over Boise State in Reno and a bowl victory over Boston College, Johnson earned second-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors for the second year in a row.
After recording no fewer than four tackles in any game last season, Johnson was chosen to the watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Award for the nation’s top defensive player and the Butkus Award for the nation’s top linebacker.
“He can run around,” Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. “He’s very, very active.”
Nevada also features an extremely talented defensive back in senior Isaiah Frey, who joined Johnson on the second-team all-WAC squad as a cornerback last season. Frey saw action in all 14 games in 2010 and recorded 52 tackles with one interception and 15 pass deflections. He also forced one fumble and tallied two tackles for loss.
Frey cracked the starting lineup in the latter half of his true freshman year, and has started 25 games in his career since then. At 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, Frey has the physical tools to match up well with Oregon’s young receivers.
“Isaiah Frey is one of the better corners that we’ll face,” Kelly said. “So they’ve got a real good corps of guys, I think it’s seven returning starters on defense, that will present some problems.
“They’re an active front, everything kind of gets funneled to their linebackers, and their linebackers can really run and make a lot of plays, and they’ve been doing it for a couple years.”
Oregon figures to have more success this week after being thoroughly tested against a top-notch defense like the Tigers, but no one is taking this Nevada team lightly. Both Kelly and Helfrich were quick to praise the Wolf Pack’s defensive line play, as well as the experience at linebacker.
“They’re a team that’s had the whole offseason to prepare for us,” Helfrich said, “so we definitely have to strap it up.”