Blueprint to beating Oregon


After watching this week’s college football playoff national championship game in which Ohio State defeated Oregon, it became clear to me that a blueprint on how to derail the Oregon juggernaut emerged. This is big news for USC, which plays the Ducks in Eugene next year. What Ohio State did to an Oregon team that destroyed nearly every team they encountered this season was impressive. The fact that the buckeyes did it with ten days of preparation makes the feat even more remarkable.

How did Ohio State manage to slow down the warp speed Oregon attack? It was a combination of offensive and defensive strategies.

Offensively, the Buckeyes were excellent on third and fourth down, thereby extending drives. Additionally, they were extremely successful at establishing the running game. The combination of both strategies contributed to Oregon’s potent offense staying on the sideline. As the adage goes, the best defense is a good offense.

Defensively, the Buckeyes were able to pressure Heisman winner Marcus Mariota with a variety of blitzes. Teams that have success against Oregon’s system are able to dominate the line of scrimmage. In order to do so, the defensive lineman must be able to push Oregon’s offensive lineman behind the line of scrimmage very quickly. Elite defensive lineman, athletes who often weigh over 300 pounds yet still maintain enough agility to brush off blocks, are needed.

Recruiting elite defensive lineman is difficult since the combination of size and speed is rare. Furthermore, data suggests those elite defensive linemen are concentrated, overwhelmingly, in the South.

The teams that have given Oregon trouble in recent years: Ohio State, LSU, USC, Auburn. The one thing all these schools have in common is their ability to recruit elite defensive lineman due to a combination of their location and prestige in the mind of recruits. As a result, part of the success of Oregon’s offense can be contributed to the relative lack of defensive line depth and talent in the West Coast.

In order for USC to reassert its dominance over Oregon, it needs to be able to recruit and develop top-notch defensive lineman.

Neeraj Koduri is a sophomore majoring in business administration. His column, “Koduri’s Korner,” runs Fridays.