Oregon defense faces one major challenge in White Out clash at Penn State

Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

Last year at the Big Ten Championship, the Oregon defense could not get off the field. The Ducks escaped Indianapolis with a victory in a 45-37 shootout, thanks to a brilliant game from Dillon Gabriel, Tez Johnson and Kenyon Sadiq and two timely interceptions.

The weaknesses exposed in Tosh Lupoi's defensive proved costly three weeks later when Ohio State raced to a 34-0 lead in the Rose Bowl, laying the Ducks D wide open with chunk plays, power and innovation.

In all, against postseason competition the defense gave up 1,038 yards and 78 points in two games. A 13-0 run, No. 1 ranking and perfect regular season were ground to dust. Oregon fans had to swallow a bitter narrative, the Quacks who roll up big scores against weak teams but choke in big games.

Defeat tastes like that. But go further back. In the era from 2009-2015, the Ducks had a familiar nemesis, the Stanford teams coached by Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw. They won some of those clashes and they lost some, but when they won Stanford employed a simple plan they used with lethal effectiveness.

They choked off Oregon's explosiveness with ball control and brute force.

Penn State is built like those old Stanford teams, a punishing running game and a physical defense. Saturday night in Beaver Stadium, they'll try to grind the Ducks down the way The Cardinal used to by compressing the game and keeping the ball with long, methodical drives, using their physicality and superiority in the trenches.

The big question for the Ducks defense is, can they get off the field? PSU offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki dazzles opponents with eye candy, formations and motion and shifts. He's crafty with the use of trick plays and deception, flea-flickers, double passes, play-action, counter plays, and he's saved all his tricks for the Ducks.

Kotelnicki didn't need to use many in three workmanlike victories over Nevada, Florida International and Villanova.

The Nittany Lions have four returning starters on the offensive line, led by All-American guard Vega Ione and center Nick Dawkins (son of the late Darryl Dawkins, the former NBA center, ) two 1,000-yard rushers in Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, another tough-to-cover tight end in the reliable Luke Reynolds, number 85, 6-4, 250, a sophomore from Westford, Massachusetts.

After softening up the Ducks with running plays, pounding them inside, breaking chunks off the edge, it sets up perfectly for Drew Allar to make long completions off the play-action pass, to Reynolds and their trio of transfer receivers, Kyron Hudson, Devonte Ross and Trebor Pena.

The Ducks have to be prepared but not over-prepared. They'll have to communicate silently in an atmosphere where they won't be able to hear themselves think and remember their rules when Kotelnicki employs all the distraction. Most of all they have to tackle.

Oregon's defensive tackles, Bear Alexander, A'Mauri Washington, Tionne Gray and Terrance Green, have to make a strong stand against Ione and Dawkins. Linebackers Bryce Boettcher and Jerry Mixon have to bring down Allen and Singleton cleanly.

The Ducks may try to crash a safety into the box to bust up those running plays, but they have to be careful in the secondary not to get caught of position, exploited for big plays. The goal is to make Allar beat them, but that won't work if PSU is getting big yards on first down, operating ahead of the chains where Kotelnicki can work his magic.

Oregon needs a few stops, an opportunity for its offense to break explosive plays. They don't want a low-scoring game with limited possessions, a slugfest where one or two special teams plays take on greater importance.

Otherwise, it will be another history lesson.

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