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After a hot start to the season that saw the Oregon Ducks go 5-0 and pick up a win over the Penn State Nittany Lions on the road in a white-out environment, Dan Lanning’s team took a step back over the weekend with a loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.
The defeat ended their 18-game home-winning streak and their 23-game regular-season winning streak, both of which led the nation. Now they will look to bounce back with a prime opportunity on the road against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this weekend, their first-ever meeting against the Big Ten opponent.
There are going to be a lot of things for the Ducks to clean up and improve upon after last week, but a game against the 3-3 Scarlet Knights will offer the chance to build some confidence before a tough stretch of games in the month of November.
After what we saw last week, there are a lot of questions to be answered. What will we see from this Oregon team on Saturday, and in particular, what kind of challenge will Rutgers present? Let’s dive in.
What do the Rutgers Scarlet Knights do well on defense?
To put things as simply as possible, the answer to this question is “not much.”
The Scarlet Knights’ pass defense ranks 122nd in the nation out of 136 teams, giving up over 280 yards per game through the air. On the ground, they allow 138 yards per game, ranking No. 56 in the nation, and overall, they allow an average of 31 points per game, ranking 99th in the nation.
There are a couple of players worth noting, including LB Dariel Djabome and DB Jett Elad, but in general, Rutgers’ defense won’t pose the same type of test that Penn State or Indiana did.
Who are the top players to know about?
LB Dariel Djabome
The Scarlet Knights’ returning tackler from a season ago, Djabome got off to a slow start this season but has picked up the pace in Big Ten play, amassing 22 tackles over the past three games. He has a nose for the football and uses his speed at the linebacker position to make a significant impact, evidenced by his performance against Washington: two forced fumbles and a pass defensed. Hailing from Quebec, Djabome figures to be around the ball plenty when facing the Ducks.
DB Jett Elad
Elad is far and away Rutgers’ top cover man and most sure tackler on the outside, as he’s the current leader in that category with 38 takedowns. The third prominent Canadian (Ontario) for the Scarlet Knights, Elad played two seasons at Ohio before transferring for two more at UNLV. His final year of eligibility (as he redshirted during his freshman season) is being played out with the Scarlet Knights, where he’s made an immediate impact. He has solid size (6-foot, 202-pounds) and the necessary speed to keep up with fast receivers.
Are the Oregon Ducks built to score on Rutgers?
Definitely.
How Oregon chooses to score is the real question here. Whether they want to run the ball or air it out is yet to be seen. Still, after scoring just 13 offensive points on Saturday vs. Indiana and managing only three touchdowns in the last eight quarters of football, you can feel confident that the Ducks are going to want to iron some things out on Saturday.
What should we expect on Saturday?
I think Oregon uses this as a get-right opportunity offensively and takes some shots early on. Dante Moore is a very good quarterback, and he’s going to want to get back in a rhythm early in this game, opening things up and pushing the ball down the field. I think Oregon will also work hard to get the running game back in order, so I do feel we will see a lot of both, but in general, it should be a pretty fun offensive day.
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