Los Angeles, Calif. – Defensive coordinator Don Pellum described  Oregon’s trip down to Southern California as “fabulous.” Addressing the media at the LA Hotel Downtown Sunday as part of the lead up to the Ducks’ semifinal matchup with Florida State, he recounted the flight as “smooth” and the transition from the airport to hotel, with the back and forth of practice, as “wonderful.”
When asked what the trip has been like, his answer contained a large dose of positive adjectives – which in a lot of senses, identifies with the type of journey Pellum has taken since assuming his new position back in January. With the Ducks set to play third-ranked Florida State in the inaugural College Football Playoff, a deciding factor for why they are in this position has been the consistent improvement of the first-year coordinator’s unit.
“Right now everything is right on track where we need to be,” Pellum said.
It shows the type of turnaround the defense has had in 2014. While this year hasn’t maybe been as smooth as the flight from Eugene to Los Angeles may’ve been, it’s certainly written a different script than the preceding season.
Pellum was tasked with answering a number of questions a horde of media members had on Sunday. Yet none of them carried as much weight as the one he had to solve heading into the season. The more physical offenses, the Stanford’s of the world, had their way with Oregon’s defense in 2013. In the Ducks’ two losses that year, Stanford and Arizona tallied 115 combined rushes while free-willingly moving down the field.
A number of things had to change, but the way Oregon managed to battle with more physically minded offensive attacks seemed to be the most important. It was simple for Pellum too. The defense needed to get “bigger and stronger.”
13 games into the season and it is evident why Pellum said that his group of players is right where they need to be. A firm example: In Oregon’s last game versus Arizona, the defense allowed just 111 yards of rushing as part of a 51-13 rout that secured its spot in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
With a defensive line whose average weight is 296-pounds, no one is calling this unit one that lacks in size anymore. Yet for linebacker Tony Washington the difference has stemmed from so much more.
“I just think its a different mindset,” Washington said. “I think that’s what (Pellum) and the rest of the staff has kind of harped on this year, that we got to be tough guys out there. I just think a lot of guys changed the way they were thinking and just came out and played.”
It is one of the dominant reasons why Pellum’s transition has been smooth. Teams like Michigan State and Stanford, who he says remind him of the way the Seminoles offense work, were games in which the Ducks’ defense held firm this season. Both teams averaged just 3.4 yards yards per carry.
Guys like defensive lineman Deforest Buckner and linebacker Derrick Malone, the same guys having issues last year, are now the ones having success. They’ll just need to do the same thing they’ve been doing.
“If everybody does their job and we all try to not do too much and we all communicate really well like we did in those past games, we’ll come out successful,” Buckner said.
“As long as we have our head on straight and play our game and do what we do I don’t think we should have a problem,” Malone said.
Those type of phrases are often used when speaking about an opponent. Yet, just days before its matchup with the reigning National Champions, its evidence for just how competitive the group has become this year.
The more pressing questions for Pellum throughout the press conference seemed to be about the other Heisman winning quarterback, Jameis Winston. The quarterback, as Pellum says, is “fun to watch on film.”
But as for the matchup between Oregon’s 3-4 defense and Florida State’s two-back offense, it appears to be one that will clash two headstrong opponents. No doubt a place much different than where Pellum and Oregon was almost 12 months to date.
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise