The bye week has come for Oregon football, and the general feeling around the program is that the timing couldn’t be any more, well, timely. With injuries riddling the offense, the running game in a current state of disrepair, and an emotional victory over Stanford squarely in the rear-view mirror, it truly does feel like the perfect opportunity to take a step back, take a deep breath, and re-assess everything before diving headlong back into the meat grinder.

With that, WFOD plans to do just that, as we’ll take a position-by-position look at who and what has stood out thus far, as well as offer up our thoughts on what should be expected once the Ducks return to action. Today, we turn our focus to the defensive side of the ball.

Defensive Line

It’s hard to think of a past defensive line unit at Oregon that was as deep and experienced as the current group in Eugene. It’s true that Oregon’s 2019 defensive line is light on proven star power, but the sum of the parts at the position combine to form a unit that is quite formidable. The headliner of the group is none other than nose guard Jordon Scott; a player who, despite being a three-year starter, probably still doesn’t get enough credit for what he does on the field. His ability to occupy blockers and cave in the interior of an offensive line allows guys like Gus Cumberlander, Austin Faoliu, and Drayton Carlberg to fly around and make plays of their own.

Those four, in particular, have been instrumental in helping the Ducks claim the Pac-12’s no. 2 rush defense (102.75 yards/game), in addition to helping produce one of the nation’s best overall defenses in terms of sacks, as the Ducks sit tied for seventh nationally in the category (15.0) through four games. With young, talented players such as Kayvon Thibodeaux, DJ Johnson, Andrew Faoliu, and Brandon Dorlus providing tremendous depth to Oregon’s aforementioned front line guys, it would come as no surprise to see this group continue humming once they return to the field.

Linebacker

Oregon’s group at linebacker has undergone quite the transformation from where they were in 2016. That year, Troy Dye, La’Mar Winston, and Bryson Young were freshmen garnering early playing time on one of the worst defensive units in school history. Fast forward to the present, and each has a role as a starter on what is shaping up to be perhaps Oregon’s best defense ever. Dye’s exploits, of course, are well known. After leading the team in tackles each of the past three years, Dye resides once again as the team leading tackler (25) through four games in 2019, though he’s currently off pace to break the career tackles record at Oregon held by Tom Graham.

That’s probably just fine by Dye, however, as he, Winston, and Young have combined with Isaac Slade-Matautia, Sampson Niu, and true freshman sensation Mase Funa to give the Ducks one of the steadiest linebacker units in the conference. Funa, specifically, has been perhaps the biggest impact freshman on the entire team through four games, as he leads the Ducks in both sacks (3.0) and tackles for loss (5.0).

Secondary

Before the season ever started, one could have safely predicted that the Ducks would have one of the better secondaries in the entire conference. After all, that’s a reasonable expectation to have where you return a pair of talented starting corners (see Thomas Graham and Deommodore Lenoir) and two safeties who have essentially performed as a starters for the bulk of their careers (Jevon Holland and Nick Pickett). However, it would have been a mild stretch to say that not only would this group be performing as the best secondary in the Pac-12, but also as one of the best secondaries in the entire country. Yet, that is the reality for this star-studded group, which ranks first in the Pac-12 in pass defense (160 yards/game) and second in interceptions (6) while also ranking 18th and tied for fifth nationally in those respective categories.

Holland, specifically, has proven to be a transcendent talent. Though he announced himself in emphatic fashion as a true freshman leading the Ducks in interceptions (5), his game has expanded even more as a sophomore. Holland not only leads the Ducks in picks (2), but is also the team’s second leading tackler (21) in addition to leading the conference in punt return yards (147) and punt return average (24.5 yards/return). Like Justin Herbert and Penei Sewell, Holland is a serious threat to earn All-America honors provided he continue producing at such a remarkably high level.

Bye Week Brush-Up: Reviewing the Oregon offense through four weeks