In most of Oregon’s games this season, all the Ducks’ defense has to do is make a few stops and the offense would soar past that week’s opponent. When an offense averages more than 40 points and 500 yards of offense per game, there typically isn’t much of a need for a suffocating defense.
While it’s a strategy that’s worked in every game but the California loss this season, the Ducks’ victory over USC showed everyone that there’s reason to fear Oregon’s defense too.
They’re vicious, they’re opportunistic and they’ll win the game, if need be. That was the case Saturday, and it gave the nation reason to believe that the Oregon can, in fact, win a national championship, even if the defense isn’t as reputable or fun to watch as it is on the offensive side.
It’s hard to believe for me that Oregon’s in this position now, considering where they were at the beginning of the season and how maligned the defense was at the time. The cliché has always been that defense wins championships and that hasn’t always been Oregon’s strength this season. Sure, it’s been impressive, holding both Michigan and Washington State to seven points apiece, but they’ve certainly caved in at times as well – look to the Washington and Stanford games as evidence of that.
Even as the season progressed and Oregon moved up in the standings, questions still surrounded the defense. It would cause a turnover on one series and then give up a long touchdown on the next.
The most important thing, however, is that they make stops when it counts the most. If anything, they can be best described as spectacularly inconsistent. They will either make that game-saving interception, or will have a long touchdown thrown over their head.
Both of those instances happened Saturday in the final minutes. Standing on the sideline with five minutes to go, I witnessed what I considered the inevitable Trojan comeback come to fruition when quarterback Mark Sanchez needed five plays to drive 85 yards in 48 seconds and lifted a 14-yard touchdown pass just out of Oregon cornerback Walter Thurmond III’s reach. Thurmond tried to swat it down at the final moment, but it fell into David Ausberry’s outstretched arms.
And when the Trojans began what became their final march, Sanchez was running out of time after he made several short-yardage passes that chipped away at the clock. Desperate to get a long gain to a receiver near the sidelines, he threw to tight end Fred Davis when safety Matt Harper jumped out in front of the pass and sent Autzen Stadium into a frenzy.
On the sideline, former Emerald sports reporter Scott Adams likened it to Kenny Wheaton’s game-winning interception against Washington in 1994, jokingly giving his rendition of calling the play during a broadcast: “Harper’s going to score! And … he runs out of bounds.”
While there are still four games left to determine whether Harper’s interception(s) will have that same type of significance, Oregon’s defense showed everyone that they can carry the load when the offense can’t put up its usual numbers.
It’s doubtful the defense will have to make those type of stops in its remaining regular-season games, but the Oregon offense should be ecstatic to know the defense has its back. The combination of what the two are capable of is indeed national championship-caliber. That’s for certain.
If the same effort’s given in their final games, the rest of the Ducks’ season should be a breeze.
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