Oregon’s football team has been piling up yards and points roughly at the same pace they have been giving them up. That was OK the first three games when the Ducks knocked off Stanford, Washington State and UCLA.
But Oregon State was able to survive the Ducks’ 468 total yards with 532 of its own and pulled out a 41-38 victory in Corvallis last weekend.
So the Ducks come into Berkeley Saturday confident in their ability to move the ball and a little worried about their chances of stopping the other guys.
Going into the season, the Ducks were pegged to win the Pac-12 North Division and coast into the league championship game. Now the Ducks, still ranked No. 21 in the country in the Associated Press poll. trail Washington which is 3-0. To make the showdown with the Huskies next week relevant, Oregon needs this one. .
The high-powered offense is led by Tyler Shough (12,above), a sophomore who has seamlessly taken over for All-American Justin Herbert, now doing his thing in the NFL.
Shough is not only a capable passer (77-for-117, 1,158 yards, 10 touchdowns, four interceptions and a passer rating of 173.1) but defenses have to keep an eye on him or he can take off. Even factoring in the yards lost via sacks, he is averaging 5.2 yards per carry, 50.8 per game on the ground.
“I think he’s doing a good job,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. “He’s a talented guy, we knew about him in the recruiting process. Tyler’s big and physical, he can throw the ball and makes plays with his feet.”
Unlike some quarterbacks, who run with the ball only when all else has failed, Shough is an integral part of offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead’s running game plans.
“Coach Moorhead does a nice job with some of the quarterback designed runs. Putting some defenders in some conflicts with speed options,” Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said. “Those are always challenges when they have designed quarterback runs. And he’s effective throwing the ball. One got loose against Oregon State on a middle open kind of concept and he threw a really good ball. He has good arm strength.”
CJ Verdell, who received some preseason All-Conference recognition is the Ducks’ leading rusher averaging 69.2 yards per game. He left the loss to Oregon State in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury.
Backup Travis Dye took over and showed some explosiveness as he gained 93 yards on 12 carries. Verdell is expected to play Saturday.
“The running backs are really good for what they are doing,”
Sirmon said. “Verdell and Dye and even 33 (Cyrus Habibi-Likio). They are all downhill, physical runners who attack the line of scrimmage.”
The wide receivers, one of the league’s better groups, will get even stronger this week with the return of Mycah Pittman, who has missed the last two games with an injury.
"He’s staying in great shape. He’s certainly doing everything physically possible to be prepared," Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said of Pittman. "Mycah is a great player and Mycah is a huge part of this offense”
“The wideouts, they all have good speed,” Sirmon said. “Devon (Williams_ obviously has good size. (6-5, 205) With Jaylon (Redd), Johnny Johnson, and Pittman coming back, there are four guys who can give you different size and speed matchup concerns.”
Tight end is another position that could get some additions this weekend. Cam McCormick, the projected starter going into the season, and Spencer Webb have yet to see the field. Cristobal indicated early in the week that both are close to returning.
In their stead, DJ Johnson (seven catches, 78 yards, two touchdowns) was the main man in the first two games. Hunter Kampmoyer (eight catches 112 yards, two touchdowns) has been the featured tight end in the passing game the past two.
"We feel comfortable in any personnel grouping with anybody on the field. That’s the great part about having a lot of these guys come back and be healthy and be fresh and ready to go," Shough said. "As a quarterback, you feel complete confidence in those guys."
Considering that none of the players who started in the offensive line this year had started a game prior to 2020, the unit has held up pretty well. A lot of credit goes to Moorhead’s offense. It relies as much on deception as it does on speed and strength. Plays that the defense swears are going left, suddenly are moving to the right. One of the better plays against the Beavers was an inside screen to Verdell, Shough throwing to him after selling the defense on the idea the ball was going the other way.
The difficulties the Ducks have been on defense, particularly against the run “They are allowing 208.5 yards on the ground per game. Oregon State gashed them for 269. Of those OSU’sJermar Jefferson accounted for 226, including a couple of long runs. Cal can certainly relate to that.
Based on players’ experience, the Ducks’ decline on defense makes little sense. The No. 1 defensive line returned intact with four-year starters Austin Faoliu and Jordon Scott and preseason All-American Kayvon Thibodeaux. Linebacker Troy Dye, the leading tackler the last four years is gone. Five-star recruit Noah Sewell has moved into that spot and certainly is not the problem. He leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks.
Tackling has been an issue all year (Cal understands that, too) Defensive coordinator Andy Avalos said tackling drills will be the primary focus in practice the rest of the season.
However, tackling wasn’t that big an issue against OSU. The holes in the line were sizable. "Just getting off blocks so we can make plays in the backfield is the main thing," Faoliu said.
Like the offense, reinforcements are headed to the defense. Safety Nick Pickett and nickel Jamal Hill, who both missed the Oregon State game with injuries, practiced this week and are expected to start. Less certain is the status of inside linebacker Dru Mathis and edge rusher Adrian Jackson Jr.
Notes
Cal leads the all-time series,41-39-2. ...- Cal is 27-17-2 all-time at home against the Ducks, the most recent victory was a 52-49 double-overtime win in 2016. ...- This is the latest in the calendar year Cal has ever played Oregon,,, Wilcox, Sirmon and Musgrave all played their college ball at Oregon.
