What You Need To Know: Oregon Preview

By: Kris Wright |


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Game Essentials

Game Nuggets

  • Oregon is just the third top 3-ranked non-conference team to play in Charlottesville. The last, No. 3 USC in 2008, rolled to a 52-7 win over Virginia.
  • Oregon, ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll this week, is the highest ranked non-league opponent for Virginia since No. 2 Notre Dame in the 1989 Kickoff Classic. The Irish won that game 36-13.
  • Oregon is making its first appearance in the state of Virginia and its first trip to an ACC stadium on Saturday. (The Ducks played at Miami and Pitt before their entrance into the league.)
  • Virginia is 2-17-1 all-time vs. top 5 teams. UVa is 2-6-1 at home in those games. The Hoos last beat a top 5 team on Oct. 15, 2004 when they took down Florida State 26-21.
  • This is the first meeting between the schools. Virginia has faced Pac-12 opponents just three times previously and it owns an 0-3 mark in those games.

Match-ups To Watch

  • Virginia’s Eli Harold vs. Oregon’s Jake Fisher. Harold had a monster game last week against BYU and that had a lot to do with the Cougars’ struggles in their version of the hurry-up spread option offense. Rest assured, Oregon noticed. Coach Mark Helfrich has been talking up UVa’s D-Line and Harold all week long. The match-up with Fisher (assuming he plays after leaving the opener with an injury) could be a good one as the junior tackle is considered an NFL prospect. Harold had a lot of success with speed rushes around the outside last week so we’ll see if that move is as effective against the Ducks.
  • Virginia’s Khalek Shepherd and Taquan Mizzell vs. Oregon’s linebackers. I talked about the potential use of the tight end in the Wednesday Watch List article, but I think the Cavaliers can create some favorable match-ups for the running backs too. The Ducks like to bring pressure and that often means a linebacker will be responsible for a receiver out of the backfield in either man or zone coverage. If the O-Line can pick up the pressure, that’s a match-up that should favor Virginia with the speed of both Khalek Shepherd and Taquan Mizzell on the table. Look for the angle route for the backs out of the backfield and then over the middle that we discussed frequently last season as a possibility in this game.
  • Virginia’s punt coverage team vs. Oregon’s return star De’Anthony Thomas. On the surface, it appeared that UVa did a good job in punt coverage last week as it allowed just 5 returns on 13 punts. Those 5 returns averaged just 6.8 yards per return. However, BYU’s JD Falslev did break off a 17-yard return at one point and at least one other return had a hold-your-breath moment. Thomas is dangerous in a big way in the return game for Oregon. He averaged 17.1 yards per return on 13 attempts last season, which included a 73-yard touchdown. Of note, the Ducks’ team average on punt returns ranked 13th in the nation last season at 13.5 yards per return but opponents didn’t give them many chances as Oregon’s 20 total returns tied for 65th in the country.
  • Oregon’s Marcus Mariota vs. Virginia defensive tackles Brent Urban and David Dean . This will be interesting to watch when the Ducks go to their tackle read concept (More in the Wednesday Watch List). The Ducks don’t always just release a backside defensive end in their version of the spread option. Sometimes, they let the inside tackles go unblocked instead. It will be important for Urban and Dean to execute their responsibilities or Mariota could make them pay.
  • Oregon receiver Josh Huff vs. Virginia defensive back Demetrious Nicholson . I think fans could see some man-to-man coverage on both sides of the ball this week, which lends itself to big play potential. On defense for the Cavaliers, that could lead to a match-up of Nicholson vs. Huff, who had 493 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns last season for Oregon. It also means guys like Bralon Addison and Chance Allen could be facing players like DreQuan Hoskey and Maurice Canady . Don’t be surprised to see a deep ball thrown into one-on-one coverage at some point in this contest.

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