Oregon Football: Three Cougars on Defense
The Oregon Ducks are on the road for the first time this season when they take on the Washington State Cougars (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12) this coming Saturday at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. CenturyLink Field is home to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. The Cougars have defeated Eastern Washington and UNLV while dropping games to BYU and Colorado.
Head Coach Mike Leach (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE)
The Cougars are currently last in the Pac-12 in total defense. They are fifth in rushing defense (127 yards a game) but last in pass defense (346 yards a game). Mike Leach’s team does have some playmakers that Oregon will have to pay strict attention to.
The leading tackler on the team is junior safety Deone Bucannon. Bucannon stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs 192 pounds and he will come up and hit. He leads the team in tackles with 32 (19 solo). His 32 tackles also places him tied for third in the Pac-12. Bucannon had a big game in the opener against BYU where he had a team-high twelve tackles. Bucannon also has one interception and four passes broken up on the season.
The biggest threat to get to the quarterback is senior linebacker Travis Long. Long is 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds. Long currently leads the Pac-12 in sacks with 6.5, 2.5 came last week against Colorado. He is second on the team and tied for 15th in the Pac-12 with 27 tackles (18 solo). Long leads the Cougars with seven tackles for loss while adding two quarterback hits and one forced fumble through four games. He made second team All-Pac 12 last season.
Redshirt freshman Darryl Monroe plays the mike linebacker position in the 3-4 defense. He is 6-foot-1, 228 pounds, and currently tied for fifth place in the Pac-12 with two forced fumbles on the season. Monroe places third on the team in tackles with 26, has three tackles for loss and has picked up two sacks so far.
The game against Washington State is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.
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