Matayo Uiagalelei is Oregon's quiet warrior. In the 30-24 double overtime victory against Penn State he set the edge, harried Drew Allar and knocked down a pass early in the game to force a three-and-out.
The junior from St. John Bosco turned in four pressures and a sack. He made four tackles, two of them for losses. He balled out. He got in Allar's head, in a way that led to a 14-25 passing performance, for 137 yards.
In football, sacks are the equivalent of a three-run homer, Cal Raleigh depositing one into the upper deck in the ninth inning. But like Raleigh, Uiagalelei, the hip-hop music producer they call Young Concrete, impacts a game in so many ways.
They have to pitch to the guy in front of him, in a sense. The threat of pressure from Matayo U. causes quarterbacks to speed up their clock, rushing throws or darting like scared rabbits into the powerful arms of Teitum Tuioti, Bear Alexander or A'Mauri Washington.
The Oregon record for sacks in a season is 13, held by Air Force jet pilot Nick Reed in 2008 and Ernest Jones in 1993.
After five games Young Concrete is tied for 14th nationally in sacks with four, but the raw stats hide something important about his impact. Oregon's early opponents, Montana State, Oklahoma State, Northwestern and Oregon State, all restricted their offenses due to the threat of pressure, resorting to quick throws, running more than usual. hurrying any throws downfield.
It's a big part of why opponents this season have been pathetic trying to pass, another reason being the stellar play of the Ducks' two young cornerbacks true freshman Brandon Finney and redshirt freshman Ify Obidegwu. They are Oregon's best duo in a quite a while, maybe ever for two young players.
The Webfoots have held opponents to a passer rating of 92.8 and 123.4 yards per game, 5.2 yards per attempt. By contrast, Heisman Trophy favorite Dante Moore has posted a passer rating of 183.5, 9.0 yards per attempt.
The Ducks have allowed two passing touchdowns all season while intercepting five passes, two returned for touchdowns. Pressure induces bad decisions. Opposing quarterbacks have made a lot of them: They are 20-66 on third downs.
Uiagalelei's run defense has been outstanding too. As a team the Ducks have allowed 115 yards per game on the ground, and a good portion of that yardage has come in garbage time or after they've established control of the game. This is Tosh Lupoi's best defense.
Matayo Uiagalelei : 4 tackles, 2 for loss & a sack pic.twitter.com/UqkOAi5v7U
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) September 28, 2025
Last December after the Big Ten Championship, Lupoi called his 6-5, 272 junior edge rusher "a football junkie," devoted to film study, a player he often had to kick out of the building.
"I think he's rare in the sense, from a mental side of things, of understanding back-end and how certain things tie in with his technique, especially at that position," Lupoi said following a Friday practice. "He's a student of the game."
About that sack record: The future first-round draft pick still has a great shot at it with seven regular season games to play and the postseason. Several of the remaining Big Ten opponents are sack vulnerable.
Oregon remaining opponents, sacks allowed
Indiana 5
Rutgers 17
Wisconsin 13
Iowa 9
Minnesota 7
USC 4
UW 12
The Hoosiers' RPO-based attack hasn't allowed many sacks, but they throw over 27 times a game. They started the season with three overmatched opponents in Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State, something head coach Curt Cignetti called "an SEC schedule."
Facing a tougher defense at Iowa, the Hawkeyes held IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza to 233 yards and two touchdowns, sacking him twice in a 20-15 loss. The week before they shellacked Illinois 63-10 as Mendoza struck for 267 passing and five TDs, connecting on 21-23. The Illini got to him twice.