Oregon o
pened Pac-12 play Saturday night with a resounding win in Tucson by running around, over and through the Arizona Wildcats. Some observations: Oregon’s offense is a combination of the wishbone, the single wing and the shotgun. All. Mixed. Together. THREE of the best offenses in the history of the college game at once. Throw a little motion in there and some formations to cause adjustments and all heck breaks loose. If you only have one week to prepare for the Ducks’ offense, you are in serious trouble. They virtually cannot be stopped! Maybe slowed down, maybe contained some, but not stopped. Their pace of play, play design and all-out approach to offensive football has “revolutionized the game,” as so many have said before me. I have seen a lot of offensive football over the years, but none so creative or dangerous to a defense as Oregon.
All that said, if a team has two weeks or more to prepare for Oregon, watch out Ducks. You’ll be served for dinner. Just look at the results against Ohio State, Auburn and LSU. The key to good defense, among other things, is recognition and reaction. With two weeks or more of preparation the defense becomes “comfortable” with what the offense throws at them. But with just a week of prep against this type of offense, the defense is at a huge disadvantage because it’s very hard for defenders to find the ball. And if you can’t find the ball, you don’t team tackle because you can’t pursue, as it’s hard to pursue if you don’t know where the ball is. It’s hard enough to figure out on paper – imagine being a linebacker and having to decide which way to run at the snap!
By the time a defense figures out what’s going on, it’s too late. Oregon gained over 500 yards Saturday night – including 415 rushing yards – and only ran 6 plays in the entire 3rd quarter. What would have happened if they had a normal 3rd quarter? I’m sure glad that when I was coaching in the Pac-10 nobody had yet designed this kind of offense. Of course, that is, unless it was me!
Last note: Flew down to the game on a JETSUITE Phenom 100. What a treat!! Go to their Facebook page and check it out. Really something!!
–Terry Donahue
Terry and John Tautges will be jetting to Boise this weekend, for Boise State-Nevada on the blue turf. Coverage begins Saturday at 2 PM Eastern on Westwood One.
The Extra Point Archive
TD’s Extra Point: The SEC Championship Game
Well, the long-awaited SEC Championship Game is finally here. The best overall conference in America will put its two best teams out on the field and pound on each other for four hours Saturday night. There will… Read More »
TD’s Extra Point: What a weekend!
It was another great weekend of college football. Numbers 1 and 2 went down to defeat, leaving Notre Dame as the only undefeated FBS team that has a chance to play for a national title. But what if the Irish go down this weekend against USC? Then who should play… Read More »
TD’s Extra Point: A monster weekend in college football
It’s going to be a monster weekend in college football on the eve of Halloween. My advice to all you huge fans out there is to get to your favorite bar early, settle in, and get ready for an entire day of great games. This weekend we have the largest… Read More »
TD’s Extra Point: A Trip Gone Bad
I was excited to broadcast the Oregon-Arizona game this past weekend. I had studied all the facts and was convinced that it would be a close game. After all, Arizona had beaten Oklahoma State and put 59 points — yes, that’s right, 59 points — on the Cowboys! On the… Read More »
Terry Donahue’s Extra Point: UCLA back in the Top 25
Saturday night will see the return of UCLA to the top 25 for the first time in a LONG, LONG time. The Bruins, ranked 22nd in the AP poll and 23rd in the coaches poll, are fresh off a significant win over Nebraska and will host the Houston Cougars at… Read More »
Terry Donahue’s Extra Point: The Kickoff Classic
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic was once again an outstanding event to open the college football season. This year, the game’s promoters brought in four teams instead of two and produced a highly successful weekend for the city of Atlanta and college football. Westwood One’s game that I called between Clemson… Read More »
TD’s Extra Point: A Wounded Duck
First a 35-game home winning streak goes down in Boise. Now a 21-game Pac-12 home winning streak is ended by the Trojans of USC against the Oregon Ducks!! And all broadcast over Westwood One Sports. I simply can’t take these kinds of games anymore. As I said last week, “Why… Read More »
TD’s Extra Point: Something Had to Give… and It Did
Well, it finally came to an end! Boise State’s 35-game home winning streak was snapped by a TCU team that had a 21-game Mountain West winning streak of its own on the line. It was a great game by two talented and well-coached teams. When it was all said and… Read More »
