9 Comments
Oct 15, 2021Liked by Christopher Helling

Another excellent preview from Christopher. Just throwing in my two cents again with an Oregon POV.

The injuries have been a killer at LB as mentioned. You'll see former walk-on Nate Heaukulani (will be in the right spot but lacks athleticism), and Jeffrey Bassa (a freshman safety who's filling in at LB for the time being). The spots to exploit are definitely here as they are slow to diagnose plays when they're asked to play zone coverage.

DBs have been solid all things considered. Without Bennett, Jamal Hill will slide into that spot. He had a couple INTs in the Pac 12 Championship Game last season and is more of a thumper than a true coverage safety. Stanford exploited his coverage skills a lot on those quick slants as he was slow to diagnose those plays. Jordan Happle (former Boise State starting S) will also see some snaps. He lacks elite athleticism and makes Oregon fans groan when he's on the field. He's above average at best. I will add that any more injuries here and we're talking about playing true freshmen and converted receivers.

The DL has been another group killed by injuries. Bradyn Swinson is terrific on the edge and he'll be back to bolster this group and will see a lot of snaps with KT missing the first half. Speaking of KT, he should be all the way as healthy as he could possibly be now. All in all, this front 7 will be the healthiest they've been in terms of bodies available since the Fresno State game.

Will throw in some special teams info while I'm here.

Camden Lewis at K has been great. Freshman season he was really bad at times but seems to have turned the corner. KRs are Mykael Wright who is dynamic and Kris Hutson who has a lot of potential but has yet to pop. PR is Mycah Pittman who is a tough, fearless returner. If he gets a crease he'll go for a big gain. P is Tom Snee. Best thing I can say is that I don't think of him much so he's been getting the job done.

Expand full comment

Good point , it sure worked well against us.

Expand full comment

More great information about the Oregon team, thanks! I agree that long sustained drives are going to be necessary to have a chance to beat these guys. That means the OL has got to have improved their play since the WSU experience. I sure hope they have. Go Bears!

Expand full comment

Nice write-up and analysis. With everything I've read above the depth and speed will be tough to overcome when we are on offense, yet Oregon statistically is in the middle of the pack defensively. Hopefully we'll be able to keep it close and we win in the last minute.

Expand full comment

Oregon doesn’t babe Bama/Georgia levels of depth quite yet. They’ll need a few more years of recruiting like they are to get there. So, maybe Musgraves can take advantage of the youth Oregon is putting out there.

OTOH dang Oregon has a lot of great players.

Expand full comment