Oregon's Big Ten football season hinges on one critical matchup

The Big Ten put four teams in the College Football Playoff and two into the semi-final with a loaded Ohio State team claiming the national title.

A key to the Buckeye's resurgent season was an angry pressure defense, anchored by defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer. Tuimoloau finished his OSU career with 23 sacks, four in the 2024 playoff. Sawyer racked up nine sacks as a senior.

Those two are gone to the NFL, but no one survives in the Big Ten without winning one critical matchup: a team's offensive tackles against the opponent's outside rushers. Even with Sawyer and Tuimoloau graduated, the conference is chock full of dangerous disruptors on the edge.

It's a special concern for the Ducks this season, as they are breaking in a pair of transfer offensive tackles in Isaiah World and Alex Harkey. Dante Moore can't look good at quarterback unless Harkey and World can be consistent and reliable against the beasts of the east.

Both World and Harkey have to be up to speed as most defensive coordinators move their premier pass rushers around now, masking their intentions.

The supreme test comes September 27, when Oregon faces a packed house at the White Out game at Penn State, 106,500 loud and screaming fans. Harkey and World have to move their feet and strike the first blow against Dani Dennis-Sutton, 6-5, 266, 8.5 sacks last year, and North Carolina transfer Amare Campbell, 6-0, 230 from Manassas, Virginia, 6.5 sacks in 2024 with the Tarheels.

For the Ducks to move the ball, Harkey and World have to move the pile while contending with this fierce outside pressure. Bet that new Nittany Lion defensive coordinator Jim Knowles will dial up the blitz, twists and stunts to try and destroy the rhythm of Moore, a redshirt sophomore who threw nine interceptions while getting sacked 25 times at UCLA in 2023.

Knowles was at Ohio State last year. With Tuimoloau and Sawyer leading the charge, he destroyed the Oregon offense in the Rose Bowl, churning out eight sacks on their way to a 34-0 first half lead. The two edge-rushing terrors had two each.

Harkey and World have been good at their previous stops, but the physical demands of facing elite Big Ten pass rushers is another level of difficulty for them compared to what they encountered at Texas State and Nevada. They'll line up against future NFL talent, not only against PSU but throughout the schedule.

The Big Ten is chock-full of testing, quick-twitch dudes that ramp up the pressure.

In 2024 with the Bobcats, Harkey earned an 83.0 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus, named third-team All-Sun Belt Conference. He allowed four sacks last season, which is good, but not Big Ten-good.

So too with World, who has gotten lots of run as a potential first-round draft pick after meriting Honorable Mention All-Conference in the Mountain West last season for the Wolfpack. In 2024 World allowed zero sacks and just 13 total pressures in 458 pass snaps, but Group of Five edge rusher talent is different from the B1G.

World and Harkey have to improve their footwork and technique to survive Oregon's nine-game conference gauntlet. The offense doesn't run unless they do. They're replacing a first-round draft pick in Josh Conerly, a sixth-round pick in Ajani Cornelius.

Cornelius allowed three sacks in 497 pass-blocking opportunities a year ago. Conerly, first team All-Big-Ten and third team All-American gave up one in 494 snaps.

The Ducks were Joe Moore Award Finalists and rushed for 158 yards a game. That's the standard. With a new quarterback, they'll need even more from their offensive line.

Their faith in Harkey and World will be tested. Winning in Happy Valley will be a monumental challenge. Two weeks later they'll meet Indiana in Autzen Stadium. The Hoosiers boast Mikail Kamara, 6-1, 265 from Ashburn, Virginia, 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in 2024.

Saturday November 8 the Ducks have a tough road game at Iowa. Kinnick Stadium is a notoriously difficult place to play and the Hawkeyes boast a well-deserved reputation for physical defense.

A key matchup in that contest looks to be Harkey and World versus Iowa edge rusher Max Llewellyn, 6-5, 258 from Urbandale, Iowa. He piled up career highs last season in tackles for loss (8) and sacks (5.5).

Defensive coaches are like sharks: They smell blood in the water. If Harkey and World struggle in any of these matchups, USC and Washington will dial up the pressure late in the year. Oregon's potent offense won't maintain its explosiveness and consistency unless they're ready to win in the trenches.

Dan Lanning and A'lique Terry are staking a lot on their ability to do so while going up a level in competition.

The fortunate thing is that they will work every day in practice against Matayo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuioti, Blake Purchase and Elijah Rushing, another benefit of elite recruiting.

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