Before the 2023 college football season started, I don’t think many Oregon Duck fans thought they would enter the bye week raving about the defense, rather than the offense.
That’s not to say the offense has been bad at all — quite the contrary — but after it was the defense that ultimately let down the team a year ago in frustrating fashion, the fact that this unit has been among the best in the nation through five weeks is certainly something to celebrate.
We saw that dominant unit at work once again on Saturday in a 42-6 win over the Stanford Cardinal, racking up five sacks and holding the opponent to 222 total yards of offense.
Going into the bye, the Ducks should feel really good about where they stand on this side of the ball. Here’s a look at where their defense ranks nationally in some key statistics: