After nearly a decade of dizzying success and flirtation with national titles, Oregon is in uncharted waters.
Fresh off a crushing loss to the No. 5 Washington Huskies, the Ducks have now dropped four-straight games. They are 2-4 on the season, winless in Pac-12 play and on track for their worst finish since 2004.
Oregon hasn’t missed out on a bowl game since that 2004 season, but the program is veering in the direction of a losing season as it searches for an identity.
“I think people really need to evaluate if they want to play,” Oregon offensive lineman Cameron Hunt told reporters following Oregon’s loss to Washington. “As a coach, figure out what guys want to play and what guys don’t want to play, and if they don’t want to play, they can leave.”
Less than three years removed from a Rose Bowl victory, the sudden drop in performance has fans wondering where it all went so wrong for Oregon.
Oregon’s offense isn’t turning heads and gassing opponents like it did when the Ducks were a national powerhouse, but it’s far from the problem. In fact, the offense has been above-average statistically.
The defensive numbers, though, tell a different story.
Oregon’s defense is hemorrhaging yards at a staggering rate. The Ducks (522 yards per game) own the third-worst total defense in the country; only Texas State and Rice are worse in that category. The Ducks have surrendered more first downs than any team in the country, and rank 114th out of 128 teams when it comes to stopping opponents on third down.
The stale defense lacks playmakers and ranks 114th nationally in forced turnovers. It has allowed opposing quarterbacks to operate without fear and expose holes in the Ducks’ secondary and linebacker corps.
During the peak of Oregon’s run, it forced more turnovers than any team in the country. The Ducks led the nation in forced turnovers in 2010 (40) and finished third in 2014 (34); both of those seasons ended with trips to the national championship game.
“When [former defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti] was there, they had good players and they came from everywhere,” an anonymous Pac-12 coach told ESPN.com in August. “They’d line up and you’re like, ‘OK, they’re susceptible here,’ and they’d have someone end up there. They did some unique things alignment-wise, coming from different places. You never could get a beat on it.
“[Pellum] tried to keep doing that, and they just lost a little bit of that creativity every year. Almost too much.”
When defensive coordinator Brady Hoke arrived at Oregon, his shift from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme was intended to help Oregon create a more effective pass rush. But injuries have picked apart an Oregon front-seven that was extremely young to begin with. Hoke has unleashed more blitzes on pass attempts than last year, but the results haven’t been positive.
Washington quarterback Jake Browning dropped back to pass 33 times in the Huskies’ win over Oregon, and the Ducks brought the blitz on 20 of those attempts. In those instances, Browning went 14-for-18, threw for 188 yards and was sacked just once.
The problem could be that Hoke doesn’t yet have the type of physical players needed to succeed in a 4-3 scheme. Michigan, his former team, also runs a 4-3 scheme and owns the best total defense in the nation this season. It relies on a rotation of front-seven players who weigh an average of 260 pounds. Oregon’s group of regular front-seven players averages 244 pounds.
“These kids are working hard. They’re listening; they’re learning,” Hoke said following the Washington loss. “We all wish we were maybe a little more ahead, but there’s nothing I can tell you. These kids are doing everything we want them to do.”
Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney
Why Oregon’s defense has been one of the worst in the country
Jarrid Denney
October 12, 2016
After nearly a decade of dizzying success and flirtation with national titles, Oregon is in uncharted waters. Fresh off a crushing loss to the No. 5 Washington Huskies, the Ducks have now dropped four-straight games. They are 2-4 on the season, winless in Pac-12 play and on track for their …
0
More to Discover