PERSONNEL NEWS

Strategy And Personnel

The Sports Xchange

October 16, 2018 at 8:33 pm.

GAME BREAKDOWN

KEY MATCHUP: The battle between great football minds in Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt and Washington State head coach/offensive guru Mike Leach is going to provide the most entertainment on Saturday.

Leach is renowned for his work in the Air Raid offense. Now in his seventh year with the Cougars, he has the right personnel running the scheme to perfection. Washington State averages 413.7 passing yards per game, tops in the nation — and 41.8 points per game, 15th in the nation.

Part of what makes the Cougars so difficult is that they use different drops to get defenses out of sync. By getting the ball out quick, it neutralizes the pass rush. And then when pass rushers feel dejected, that’s when the quarterback can take his time in the pocket and pick secondaries apart.

“The ball is out, the ball is gone now so the problem is if you allow (it) to lull your defensive line asleep, when he does drop back and does his quick five stuff or his shot stuff, he’s going to have a lot of time to throw the ball, so you got stay relentless to him,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said of Washington quarterback Gardner Minshew.

Minshew has thrown for 19 touchdowns and 2,422 yards, completing 68.7 percent of his passes. Eight players have at least 12 catches on the season, while six have more than 230 yards receiving.

How Leavitt handles this offense and disguises his coverages and blitzes will go a long way toward slowing down the Cougars. Because of the sheer volume that Washington State throws it, shutting the Cougars down is nearly impossible. But every stop and forced punt is a victory.

To be successful, Oregon must use its height on the outside to prevent those quick passes from going out to open receivers. That means that defensive end Jalen Jelks and outside linebacker Justin Hollins (both 6-foot-6) must get their hands up on times they don’t get to Minshew.

Also, Leavitt must have a plan for when the Cougars motion out the running backs, which often leads to mismatches for Washington State.

The good news is that the Ducks have athletic linebackers who can run with opposing offensive players. The problem with moving a linebacker to the outside though is that it takes away the blitz, leaving the middle of the field open.

These are all problems Leavitt faced, and failed against, in last year’s 33-10 loss. Saturday will determine how much Leavitt learned from last year and what he feels comfortable doing with this year’s group of players.

DRAFT SLANT

–S Ugochukwu Amadi: After a stellar start to the season, Amadi is getting recognition as someone who could potentially play on Sundays. He is rated as the No. 11 free safety by NFL Draft Scout.com.

Amadi has amassed 27 tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and five passes broken up. Already known for his coverage skills, he’s proven to be an “in-the-box” type of player this year. His sacks have often come on designed blitzes from the nickel position, and his tackles for loss show he’s capable of getting into opponents’ backfields to make the play.

“Just to see his improvement over the past couple years and him stepping up as a leader, taking over the defense, and it obviously shows on film,” defensive lineman Jalen Jelks said.

He has three interceptions — two taken back for touchdowns. The touchdowns, combined with his 19.2-yard average on punt returns, has shown off his athleticism that some scouts say he lacked entering the season.

Not the biggest safety (5-foot-10, 201 pounds), Amadi has shown good physicality when playing in the box and excellent hip flexibility to get out of his breaks and run with receivers. On the season, he’s constantly defended bigger tight ends and hasn’t been bullied out of the way.

“When you’re playing a big guy and he sees a little guy, he thinks he can just push you around,” Amadi said. “You have to be just as physical as he is, knock him off where he wants to go.”

ROSTER REPORT

–OG Dallas Warmack is a full-go in practice after leaving Saturday’s game against Washington.

–LT Penei Sewell, a starter, is expected to be out about six weeks with an ankle injury suffered against Washington, coach Mario Cristobal said Tuesday. That puts the rest of the true freshman’s regular season in doubt. “Penei is a relentless competitor and I have no doubt he’ll return better than ever,” Cristobal said in a release.

–QB Braxton Burmeister is now a full-go and will be challenging freshman Tyler Shough for the backup spot.

–WR Darrian Felix is still out with a foot injury.

–RB CJ Verdell was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning touchdown against Washington. He finished with 29 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Verdell has rushed for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games.

–RB Tony Brooks-James is fully healthy despite not getting carries in the previous two games.

–WR Dillon Mitchell is averaging 154.3 receiving yards per game in Pac-12 games.

–QB Justin Herbert has thrown a touchdown in 21 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in college football.

====

ALL  |  NFL  |  College Football  |  MLB  |  NBA