In sports myths and assumptions have a life of their own, and no college football meme has become as persistent and cemented as the idea that the Ducks can’t win a game against a big, physical team.
While it’s true Oregon’s few losses of the last five years have come against their best opponents, it isn’t as simple as the knee-jerk analysis. Pundits are lazy. They want to get off a sensational sound bite and move to the next one.
Size does matter in football. It’s a collision sport. Big bodies make large collisions, and they’re harder to move in directions they don’t want to go (Alex Shoemaker, Eugene Daily News photo).
But Oregon isn’t doomed, and the model for Oregon football isn’t broken. They’ve won 44 games in three and a half years. They’re ranked sixth in the country. They’re an exciting team that has enjoyed a run of success that’s unprecedented in the school’s history.
When UCLA came to Autzen the end of October, they started a nose tackle, Ellis McCarthy, who tipped the scales at 6-4, 330. He’s the largest man the Ducks have faced all year. Down the line from McCarthy, the Bruins boasted 6-4, 305 defensive end Eddie Vanderdoes and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, 6-2, 305.
Against this mammoth front line the Ducks powered for 325 yards rushing in a 42-14 victory.
At the beginning of October the Washington Huskies felt they had their best chance to defeat Oregon in 10 years, and part of the reason why was the improvement in their defensive line, anchored by junior nose tackle Danny Shelton, 6-1, 327.
The Ducks rolled up 631 yards of offense, winning 45-24. Shelton had one tackle and one assist, lined up across from 6-3, 297-lb. Hroniss Grasu and 5-11, 287-lb. Mana Greig.
The same thing is true offensively. No one the Ducks have faced in the last few years had a bigger offensive line than the Tennessee Volunteers. The group featured five veteran players with a combined 152 starts over the past four seasons. A couple of weeks ago Alabama coach Nick Saban, a magna cum laude graduate from the Lou Holtz school of coach speak, told the SEC media during the weekly teleconference, “This is probably the best overall offensive line we’ve had to play against this year. They’re very good at run blocking, they’ve done a good job in the run game.” The Vols boasted:
Antonio Richardson 6-6 327
Ja’Wuan James 6-6 318
James Stone, who has 34 starts over four seasons 6-3 291
Right guard Zach Fulton has been a starter since his true freshman season 6-5 323
Alex Bullard, who transferred from Notre Dame in 2011 6-2 302
The Vols also had a couple of decent tailbacks, and good size on the defensive line as well. Yet in week three the undersized men of Oregon reeled off 59 unanswered points, outgaining them 687-316.
The Ducks have beaten plenty of teams with massive size on the offensive and defensive lines. And they’ve beaten Top-Ten teams in big games. In the last two years, they’ve rolled up 730 yards on USC, manhandled Kansas State, dispatched Wisconsin, the last two in BCS bowls.
The model of Oregon football isn’t irretrievably broken. While another loss to Stanford is painful and frustrating, there isn’t a quick fix or a simple explanation. The Ducks aren’t going to go to the Power-I, and they are not going to find three 320-pound nose tackles on their next trip to Florida or Texas.
The pattern in Oregon’s losses is that they have been outplayed by 8 good teams over a five-year span. Their victims have included teams that are just as large and just as physical. To succeed against teams of equal talent with matchup advantages, Oregon has to execute and play their game with greater efficiency. Wishing for a change of identity or a fundamental restructuring of the roster is fruitless and foolish.
A great deal of winning and losing in college football comes down to recruiting. The Ducks offered McCarthy and Vanderdoes. They also recruited Joshua Garnett, Kyle Murphy, Andrus Peat and Alex Redmond, four powerful linemen who are now on the rosters of Stanford and UCLA.
The Oregon staff are superb talent evaluators, and the facilities and success at Oregon have raised the profile of Duck recruiting. Adding size and strength to the roster is both a process and a commitment, something fans will follow closely in the 83 days until Signing Day. So far, the Ducks have a verbal pledge from 6-4, 298-lb. offensive tackle Tyrell Crosby. Chris Brown, a 6-6, 285-lb. tackle from Los Angeles, visits this Saturday.
For the defensive line, the Ducks have identified three mammoth junior college defensive linemen that they’re actively seeking to bring in for a visit. Alfonso Hampton, Terrell Clinkscales and Sam Schwab are all high on their wish list. Tua Talia, a player who has already committed, from Mount Diablo Community College in Pleasant Hill, California, is quick and superbly conditioned, 6-5 275 and likely to play in the 285-290 range.
Raw size is not only elusive, it’s often misunderstood: the best, most disruptive defensive lineman in the conference is Will Sutton of Arizona State, who plays at 6-1, 288. Nick Fairley’s measurements at the NFL combine? 6-4, 291. It’s strength, quickness and power, attitude and desire. When Ricky Heimuli came to Oregon as a four-star prospect in 2010, fans were ecstatic about him. 6-4, 314! A Samoan from Utah, like Haloti Ngata.
Hemuli has given great effort in his Duck career and fought through injuries, but in four seasons, he has 71 total tackles and two sacks for his career.
Oregon’s problem against elite teams isn’t as simple as the aggregate poundage on the plane. Against Stanford, one of the biggest issues was linebacker play. The group is still developing, and after graduating Kiko Alonso and Michael Clay, the Ducks aren’t getting the productivity and physicality they need from the corps. Safeties and cornerbacks are making too many of the tackles.
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