[d4cohn]

I went back and watched film from Boise State's dismantling of Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl (only formidable opponent that the Ducks have faced since the start of the Cristobal era, and return of Herbert at the end of last year). I focused on the offensive side of the ball for Oregon (so our defense) only. Here were my thoughts:

1) Oregon's young backs have a lot of speed on bubble screens and fly sweeps. Yes, we have seen the formula from Oregon for years now, but even the best plans fail if we cannot execute the gameplan. Boise State had a ton of speed in their ILB, which gave Oregon fits in several aspects throughout that game. Not sure we have the same level of speed in LB core.

2) Oregon could not execute an inside run (aside from one out of six or seven tries) against BSU. Just could not get push, and the D-line for Boise had great penetration throughout. In that regard, I expect Mike Williams to have another big game.

3) Herbert makes terrible decisions (Browning-esque) when under pressure to avoid sacks. Led to a pick-six for Boise, among other bad throws.

4) Herbert is not Mariota in terms of QB speed, but could cause problems if our pass rush breaks down enough. Otherwise, he didn't appear to be that great of a runner.

5) Oregon commits a ton of penalties, and didn't have a lot of discipline in that department all of last year (let's see if they have really improved since)

6) RT was a major liability, and multiple edge blitzes rounding RT got home for sacks. Oregon OL seemed more stout on pressure up the middle (only one blitz in garbage time at end of the game got home), but the outside pressure consistently forced premature throws, incompletions and otherwise strained the Oregon offense. In that regard, that matches up well with the great play we have seen from Alferi and Toohill at OLB so far.

[d4cohn]

I went back and watched film from Boise State's dismantling of Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl (only formidable opponent that the Ducks have faced since the start of the Cristobal era, and return of Herbert at the end of last year). I focused on the offensive side of the ball for Oregon (so our defense) only. Here were my thoughts:

1) Oregon's young backs have a lot of speed on bubble screens and fly sweeps. Yes, we have seen the formula from Oregon for years now, but even the best plans fail if we cannot execute the gameplan. Boise State had a ton of speed in their ILB, which gave Oregon fits in several aspects throughout that game. Not sure we have the same level of speed in LB core.

2) Oregon could not execute an inside run (aside from one out of six or seven tries) against BSU. Just could not get push, and the D-line for Boise had great penetration throughout. In that regard, I expect Mike Williams to have another big game.

3) Herbert makes terrible decisions (Browning-esque) when under pressure to avoid sacks. Led to a pick-six for Boise, among other bad throws.

4) Herbert is not Mariota in terms of QB speed, but could cause problems if our pass rush breaks down enough. Otherwise, he didn't appear to be that great of a runner.

5) Oregon commits a ton of penalties, and didn't have a lot of discipline in that department all of last year (let's see if they have really improved since)

6) RT was a major liability, and multiple edge blitzes rounding RT got home for sacks. Oregon OL seemed more stout on pressure up the middle (only one blitz in garbage time at end of the game got home), but the outside pressure consistently forced premature throws, incompletions and otherwise strained the Oregon offense. In that regard, that matches up well with the great play we have seen from Alferi and Toohill at OLB so far.