UCLA Football Preview: Oregon Offense Has a Familiar Feel to It

The Ducks' offense is eerily similar to the Bruins' offense in more ways than one.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix leads an offense that is remarkably similar to the Bruins in many offensive categories. (Photo Credit: goducks.com)

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Unlike the other teams the Bruins have faced this season, Oregon does not release a depth chart. That makes figuring out Oregon’s offense a little tougher but not impossible because OurLads.com has compiled an Oregon depth chart which goes as deep as four players in some cases. So, in that respect, it may say more than what an official depth chart might say since official depth charts usually only go two-deep.

By way of comparison, the site only goes two-deep on UCLA’s depth chart, probably because the Bruins provide a depth chart in their weekly game notes.

While the Ducks’ game notes don’t include a depth chart, they do list the past starters for each game which seems to at least provide the team’s starters as that has stayed pretty consistent through the first six weeks of the season.

In general, Oregon tends to play a spread option offense similar to what UCLA and so many other schools are running these days.

In fact, looking at the list of Oregon offensive starters shows that the Ducks will, at times, run a two-tight end set which is similar to what Chip Kelly likes to do. Meanwhile, other times, they will sub in a third receiver for the second tight end.

The similarities don’t end there.

Like the Bruins, the Ducks tend to run a little more often than they pass. In fact, Oregon has run the ball 53% of the time. By comparison, UCLA has run almost as many times (233 vs. 231). The reason the Bruins run 54.6% of the time is because UCLA has only thrown the ball 192 times this season. Even more interesting is that the Bruins and the Ducks have completed almost the same exact number of passes this season (143 for Oregon and 142 for the Bruins). So, UCLA’s tendency to run is likely only higher due to their higher pass completion rate.

In terms of results, the teams are eerily similar too. Oregon

has scored one more touchdown than the Bruins.

The bottom line is these are two high-powered offenses that will be on display Saturday.

Let’s look at the Ducks’ offensive personnel.

Quarterback

Senior Bo Nix will start at quarterback for the Ducks. Nix transferred to Oregon this season after spending his first three seasons at Auburn.

As I mentioned in our look at the coaching staff, Nix transferred to Oregon to reunite with Ducks’ OC Kenny Dillingham. Dillingham was Nix’s offensive coordinator at Auburn during Nix’s freshman year.

If you’re comparing Nix to DTR, their statistics are very similar but Thompson-Robinson has a higher completion percentage, more touchdowns and fewer interceptions.

Stopping Nix is likely to be the toughest test the Bruins have had yet, but UCLA’s defense was able to shut down Cameron Rising and Michael Penix, Jr. So, hopefully, Bill McGovern will be able to keep his defense rolling this weekend too.

Running Game

If there’s an area where there’s a difference between the Oregon and the UCLA offenses the running game may be it, but even with some differences, there are still some similarities.

Like Zach Charbonnet for the Bruins, the Ducks have a featured running back who is averaging more than seven yards per carry in sophomore back Bucky Irving. The big difference is that, unlike Charbonnet who has carried more than 20 times in three of UCLA’s games, Irving has not carried more than 14 times in any of Oregon’s games.

Another difference is that Irving only has two rushing touchdowns to Charbonnet’s six.

One of the reasons that Oregon hasn’t had to rely on Irving as much as the Bruins rely on Charbonnet is the presence of sophomore running back Noah Whittingham. Whittingham joined the Ducks this season after playing at Western Kentucky last season. Whittingham has carried 52 times for 336 yards, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. That’s 2.6 more yards per carry than Keegan Jones has averaged for UCLA. So, there isn’t as much of a dropoff in production from Irving to Whittingham as there is when the Bruins sub in Jones for Charbonnet.

Another difference in the rushing attacks between these teams is the efficacy of quarterback Bo Nix on the ground. To be sure, we all know how DTR can be a playmaker when he takes off, but DTR is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and he’s scored four touchdowns. In contrast, Nix, who has run only two fewer times than Thompson-Robinson, is averaging 8.3 yards per carry while scoring eight touchdowns. So, Nix plays a bigger role in the Oregon rushing attack than DTR does for the Bruins.

That could pose problems for the Bruin defense who will need to find a way to contain Nix and keep him from extending drives by running the ball for big gains.

Passing Game

Sophomore receiver Tony Franklin has been Bo Nix’s favorite guy to throw to this season. Franklin has 27 receptions for 429 yards and two touchdowns.

Nix’s second favorite target has been a familiar face. Former Bruin Chase Cota transferred to Oregon this year and he has already caught more balls than he did last season for UCLA. He has 19 receptions for 279 yards and, with Franklin and third starting receiver Kris Hutson, the Ducks have a trio of deep threats who have caught passes for 49 yards or more.

While Hutson is another deep threat for the Ducks, he isn’t Nix’s third most thrown to receiver. That goes to tight end Terrance Ferguson, who has caught 16 passes for 153 yards. While that’s just 9.53 yards per catch, Ferguson leads the team in receiving touchdowns with four.

In fact, Nix loves hitting his tight ends for touchdowns. Cam McCormick has only caught seven passes this season, but two of them have been touchdown catches. That means that half of Nix’s TD passes targeted one of the team’s tight ends.

Like much of the rest of the Ducks’ offense, it seems eerily familiar.

Analysis

The Bruin defense faces another tough test tomorrow. The good news is that the Ducks’ offense seems very similiar, at least on paper, to UCLA’s offense. So, there shouldn’t be a lot of surprises or unscouted looks.

UCLA needs to continue to perform well against the run while finding ways to stop Nix from getting the ball into the end zone through the air.

This game will likely turn into a shootout and could come down to the team that forces turnovers, especially with rain in the forecast. Barring that, it could come down to the last possession.


Go Bruins!!!

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