For the No. 10 Oregon Ducks (6-1, 4-0 Pacific-10 Conference), this weekend’s matchup with the No. 4 USC Trojans will be the season’s biggest test of character in every aspect of the game. The offense has shown that it can put points on the board at will, but going toe-to-toe with some of the top athletes in all of college football will present a much larger challenge.
And in order for the Ducks to be in the right position come the final moments of the game, it will take a huge 60-minute effort from the Oregon defense. While the Ducks feature the second-ranked scoring defense in the Pac-10, allowing just 16.7 points per game on the year, they are second to none other than USC at 15.1 points per game.
“The key is to always stop the run,” Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said. “Keep the coverage in disguise.”
Stopping the run was somewhat of a challenge against Washington last weekend, as the Ducks let Husky running back Chris Polk carry the ball 18 times for 104 yards and a touchdown. But several weeks prior, Oregon held former Heisman Trophy-hopeful Jahvid Best to a minuscule 52 yards on the ground with no scores.
“We have a lot of good athletes, too,” Aliotti continued. “But it all comes down to matchups.”
The Ducks’ strongest and most consistent unit this year has been the defensive secondary, which leads the Pac-10 in pass defense, giving up 178.3 yards per game through the air and just five touchdowns overall. And despite losing seniors Walter Thurmond III and Willie Glasper to season-ending knee injuries, Oregon has still been able to all but eliminate opposing passing threats.
“This is truly a team,” first-year head coach Chip Kelly said. “There’s a lot of people that are contributing to this success and it’s all over the board.”
Sophomore Javes Lewis, redshirt freshman John Boyett and junior Talmadge Jackson III have each pulled down two interceptions on the year to lead the Ducks, while junior Casey Matthews, sophomore Eddie Pleasant, Thurmond III and freshman Cliff Harris have each recorded an interception as well.
But a large part of the secondary’s success has because of the play of junior defensive end Kenny Rowe. Through seven games, Rowe has averaged one sack per game, ranking him eighth in the nation in the category. He has also broken up four passes, forced three fumbles and recovered one.
Yet Kelly’s message this week reiterated the significance of being a team, and not a group of individuals. “There are very few, in fact, there are no individuals on this football team,” he said.
Junior center Jordan Holmes said there is only one way beat the Trojans, and that is to play hard-nosed, smash-mouth football.
“They’re a solid group,” Holmes said. “They fly around to the ball. They come out and lay the wood.”
Holmes, one of the four Oregon team captains, feels that the Ducks will have to “beat them right at the point of attack,” and flat-out “run right at them.”
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Our guys love to practice and our guys love to play,” Kelly said. “I think you lose sight of how much fun today is, and the whole motto of this program and the whole goal and the whole brand of this football program is to ‘win the day.’”
With that in mind and the Autzen faithful behind them, the Ducks will face a big task come Saturday.
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Oregon led through injuries by lockdown pass defense
Daily Emerald
October 28, 2009
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