Games are won and lost in the trenches, and if the grades from Pro Football Focus are to be trusted, No. 3 Penn State holds a significant edge on the offensive and defensive lines going into Saturday night's White Out game against No. 6 Oregon.
Oregon/Penn State Week 5 Roster Comparison🍿 pic.twitter.com/C1fLOUGdfT
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 25, 2025
While Oregon claims a sizable advantage at quarterback and receiver, the line grades suggest the Nittany Lions will be the team that will be able to run the football, stop the run and pressure the quarterback.
Coupled with an energized home crowd and two 1,000-yard running backs, it's a lot for the Ducks to overcome. To unpack this challenge, the Ducks need to achieve three things:
1. A fast start that mitigates the advantage of the White Out crowd and the running game.
Finding some rhythm early would allow the Ducks to settle down and avoid a cascade of errors while quieting the crowd.
In the Big Ten Championship Game last December the Ducks led 28-10 early in the second quarter after a one-yard touchdown run by Jordan James, set up by an interception by Dontae Manning, one of two picks thrown by Drew Allar in the game.
2. A scheme that reduces the impact of Penn State's pressure
Will Stein has to use a variety of chips, double teams, rollouts and quick throws to frustrate the PSU pressure. Running backs Noah Whittington, Jayden Limar, Makhi Hughes and Jordon Davison have to do a good job picking up the blitz, and Dante Moore must recognize where and when the pressure is coming.
Thus far this season Moore's pocket presence has been outstanding, vastly improved from his true freshman year at UCLA. He's gone through progressions and been on-time and accurate, but this defense is three levels better than anything he's seen from Northwestern and Oregon State.
Stein has to move the pocket, vary the protection and the offensive line has to have their best and most consistent execution of the year to allow Moore to take some shots and test this secondary, even though the Nittany Lions are very good on the back end.
3. Success on early downs
Offensively, the Ducks don't want a game where they are constantly behind the chains and facing third and long all night. Success on first down opens up the playbook. As much as possible they want to stay on schedule.
Defensively, putting more pressure on Drew Allar to beat them with the pass is their best opportunity. If Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton are ripping off chunks of yards, it's going to be a long and miserable night in the Willamette Valley, except in Corvallis.
Both teams want to make the other quarterback uncomfortable. It's important that Moore stays true to his even-keel temperament, even if he makes an early mistake. Playing a great team in their iconic stadium, it's crucial to stay in the present and keep composed.
"It's always about the next play," Dan Lanning said. The Ducks don't want to allow this game to be played in a phone booth. In that way it's a little like some of their classic confrontations with Stanford from 2010-2015. Oregon won them when they used their speed and skill position talent to stay explosive. When it became a physical inside game, they didn't.