In December 2014, weeks after the Ducks had secured their entry into the College Football Playoff, redshirt sophomore cornerback Chris Seisay’s role took a substantial leap.
Oregon senior Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, the anchor of the defense’s secondary, had torn his ACL. Seisay would now start in the Rose Bowl. He’d also start in the national championship, and his confidence, thanks to a supporting cast of what he called “brothers” in the secondary, continued to soar.
“They helped me grow up, one play at a time,” Seisay said at the national championship media day, two days before Oregon’s 42-20 loss to Ohio State. 
Nine months later, Seisay has shaped into a leader on a secondary now searching for a new identity. In those nine months, a lot has changed. For one, the individuals who helped him grow as a player – defensive backs Troy Hill, Dior Mathis, Ekpre-Olomu and Erick Dargan – have all departed.
In addition, the defensive backs he’s lining up alongside are not nearly as experienced as they were a year ago. It became painfully obvious in Oregon’s home opener against FCS opponent Eastern Washington, in which the defense surrendered 438 passing yards and 42 points.
With a date against then-No. 5 Michigan State and its stout quarterback Connor Cook looming, the defensive backs looked like potential fresh meat. But, Seisay wasn’t fazed.
“We need to be staying confident, knowing we’re great athletes,” Seisay said the Thursday before the Ducks’ game with the Spartans. “Just because you’re young, it doesn’t matter. It all depends on how you play.”
Which is why Saturday’s loss may have been one of the more encouraging ones for Oregon’s defense in years. Michigan State defeated Oregon last Saturday, 31-28. But the way the Ducks played – only allowing 192 passing yards from Cook, forcing a turnover on their own side of the field and holding the Spartans to a 25 percent third-down conversion rate – is why both the veterans and underclassmen are finding positives from its first loss in September since 2011.