The Oregon defense needs a new script, one with more mayhem and less suspense.
The lingering and potentially sticky question for the Ducks is just how effective and decisive Tosh Lupoi is as a defensive coordinator. Last year's numbers suggest the Ducks underperformed their talent. With even more talent in 2023, that can't be allowed to happen. The havoc rate and defensive efficiency have to improve, or it falls solidly on him.
In 2022 Bo Nix and the Oregon offense were stellar, 4th in the PAC-12 in scoring at 38.8 points per game, a full touchdown better than the Mario Cristobal offense of a year ago.
The defense, however, was another thing. Nationally, they fell solidly into the category of dismal and disappointing:
- 74th in scoring defense
- 31st in rushing defense
- 102nd in passing defense
- 71st in total defense
- 115th in sacks
- 123rd in 3rd down conversion %
Late-season losses to Washington and Oregon State cost the Ducks a shot at the conference title and the college football playoff. In each, a defensive collapse lost the game. Against UW, big breakdowns in pass coverage led to big plays, easy scores for Michael Penix and his receivers. In Corvallis, Oregon ran 17 straight times to fuel a 28-point comeback after trailing 31-10 late in the third quarter.
Prior to his stint with the Webfoots, Lupoi last called defensive plays at Alabama in 2018. Stephen M. Smith of Touchdown Alabama wrote:
Saban bumped Lupoi to defensive play caller for 2018 and he did a decent job, except getting the team prepared for Clemson in the CFP title game. Alabama fell 44-16 and according to sources, there was a “disconnect” at times between Lupoi and a few of the leaders on defense for Alabama.
Lupoi exited Bama for the NFL nine days later, spending the next three seasons as a defensive line coach at Cleveland, Atlanta and Jacksonville before Lanning coaxed him back into the college game.
He's renowned as an ace recruiter but the resume as a defensive coordinator is not long. His 2018 Tide squad finished third in the SEC in scoring defense at 18.1 points per game, put together a 13-0 regular season and topped Georgia 35-28 in the conference championship game before getting dismantled by Trevor Lawrence and the Tigers. Ten Alabama players were selected in the 2019 NFL Draft, five on defense. Defensive lineman Quinnen Williams went third overall to the New York Jets.
Interviewed after the fourth practice this spring, Lupoi told the media, "At the end of the day, (it was) awesome to be part of a 10-win season and to have that senior class go out the way they did, with the victory at the end. However, starting with me, we have tons of improvement and things that we can get better on, (that) we're really attacking."
They brought in 5-star Edge Rusher Matayo Uiagalelei and 4-star linebacker/defensive end Teitum Tuioti. They signed super-fast defensive backs Roderick Pleasant, Daylen Austin and Cole Martin.
From the transfer portal they grabbed Edge Rusher Jordan Burch, a former five-star from South Carolina, tackling machine safeties Tysheem Johnson and Evan Williams. To shore up pass coverage, they picked cornerbacks Nikko Reed from Colorado and Khyree Jackson from Alabama.
Last year's linebackers looked slow and too often out of position, too often caught in the wash. The Ducks got busy to address that issue by moving hard-hitting safety Jamal Hill to inside linebacker while nabbing Jestin Jacobs and Connor Soelle from the portal. Jeffrey Bassa is a returning starter who steadily improved last season, playing his best football at the end of the year.
Senior Mase Funa also returns--he saved the Washington State game last September with a 27-yard pick six late in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Devon "The Jet" Jackson returns; the Omaha, Nebraska native is 6-2, 214 with laser-timed 10.5 speed in the 100 meters.
Lupoi believes that a renewed daily commitment to competition remains the key to better results on game day. No one--returning starters, high-level recruits, high-profile transfers--has a guaranteed job. "We're gonna start completely clean and fresh," he said. "We're going to be competing every single day for it and try to improve every single day."
The emphasis is on going from good to great.
Expect a dramatic turnaround in 2023. Here's why: effective defense is all about players, and synergy. An improved pass rush improves coverage in the secondary and forces a quarterback to make more mistakes. Tighter coverage gives the pass rush an extra second or two to get to the quarterback. Better coverage underneath improves a defense's performance on third down, gets them off the field instead of backing up as the offense moves the chains again.
Great defense creates disruption and havoc, taking away the football, crashing the line of scrimmage, blowing up the opponent's running game. When you have better players, better defense just naturally follows.
Insiders say that Tuioti and Uiagalelei will quickly emerge as the best pass rushers in the program. In a league full of talented quarterbacks, getting pressure is the difference between 8-4 and a conference championship.
It's been noted previously on these pages that Lanning was hired to be the anti-Lincoln Riley. At Oklahoma and USC Riley has built a reputation for potent offense, fielding teams that averaged 43.2 points per game never finished lower than No. 8 in scoring offense nationally. At Georgia, Lanning had a defense that allowed just 10.2 points a game while winning a national championship.
The question remains, how hands-on should he be with the defense, and how much should he entrust it to Lupoi? Beginning with an early road game against pass-heavy Texas Tech and an October rematch with rival Washington, the results will provide the answer.
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