There seems to be a misconception going around that the Oregon Ducks’ defense didn’t perform well this past weekend against the Washington Huskies in a 36-33 loss on the road.
It’s understandable why. Obviously, giving up 36 points isn’t great, especially when you allowed Washington to go 53 yards and 2 plays at the end of the game to score the go-ahead touchdown. However, when you compare the numbers that the Huskies — an elite offensive team — put up on Saturday and the numbers that they’ve been averaging so far this year, it’s fair to say that the Ducks game them a difficult test.
Washington averaged 46 points per game this year; Oregon held them to 36. Washington averaged 446 passing yards per game this year; Oregon held them to 316. Washington averaged 569 total yards per game this year; Oregon held them to 415.
I could go on and on with numbers that show the Ducks’ defense actually stood up really well to an impossibly difficult task on Saturday, but very few people want to talk about that. When you lose the game, you’re not always afforded the luxury of hindsight and moral victories.
However, we want to highlight Oregon’s defense — a unit that strung together a trio of defensive stop, including a goal-line stand in the 4th quarter, to give the Ducks a chance to win this game. While their national rankings may have dropped a little bit due to the level of competition they played, Oregon still has arguably the best defense in the Pac-12, and one of the top unites in the nation.
Here’s where they rank nationally in some key statistics after Week 7: