More Tales From the Stat Sheet--Tenacious D

The Duck defense is ramping up the pressure and getting better every game. It isn’t always evident statistically, because they defend so many plays and the offense is so high scoring, but the pride, confidence and effectiveness of this unit is growing every game.

Consider these numbers from the last four games:
WSU: 12 TFL -50 yards. Total offense - 336 yards, 23 points, 5 pass breakups
UCLA: 10 TFL -38 yards. Total offense - 290 yards, 13 points, 1 pass breakup
USC: 9 TFL -36 yards. Total offense - 377 yards, 32 points, 8 pass breakups
Washington: 6 TFL -36 yards. Total offense - 263 yards, 16 points, 6 pass breakups

In addition, after some hiccups earlier in the year against the run, Oregon has clamped down on the running game in the last four contests. They haven’t allowed a breakaway run, or a 100-yard rusher in four games. Here are the leading rushers in the last four:
WSU: Mitz - 17 carries, 77 yards
UCLA: Franklin - 21 carries, 69 yards
USC: Tyler - 17 carries, 69 yards
UW: Polk - 17 carries, 77 yards

If they have this same kind of success versus Shane Vereen, they won’t have any trouble with Cal.

That is some swarming team defense, particularly when you consider that Oregon’s offense pumps out 567 yards and 54.7 points a game. It’s like the Doug Moe, Alex English, Dan Issel, Fat Lever, Kiki Vandeweghe Denver Nuggets. They’d score 120 points a game, so the stats always looked like they couldn’t play defense.

Factor in the 28 turnovers, and this defense has been far more effective than critics have given them credit for. They have limited explosion plays, been tough in the red zone, and held opponents to just 3 conversions in 17 attempts on fourth down, the third-lowest percentage in the country. On third down they’ve held opponents to a 30.1% conversion rate, 8th best in the nation. They’ve been very good at getting the ball back to the offense.

Equally impressive is their second half dominance. They’ve allowed a total of 7 points in the fourth quarter all season. In all, Oregon has outscored opponents 215-48 in the second half, 87-7 in the fourth quarter.

Giving up 4.45 yards per play, the defense is far from a fraud. In fact, it’s seriously underrated, and improving. The second-unit guys, who have enjoyed a large volume of work this year, have risen up to become serious contributors. Dion Jordan, Taylor Hart and Brandon Hanna each had four total tackles in the Husky game.

Junior Terrell Turner is emerging as another defensive playmaker, complimenting Kenny Rowe and Brandon Bair on the defensive line. He has a tackle for loss in five of Oregon’s last six games.