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Oregon Ducks @ Tennessee Volunteers Football Preview
Saturday, September 11th - 7:00PM ET
Part of the basis for winning football games is not just found in one’s starting lineup. A great deal of pigskin success comes from having quality depth on your roster and a two-deep which can absorb both injuries and suspensions. The Oregon Ducks would certainly appear to have the advantage over the Tennessee Volunteers in this regard, and that forms the backdrop to this Saturday’s contest in Knoxville, Tennessee.
With star performer LaMichael James – a dynamic starting running back – suspended for a game, Oregon backup Kenjon Barner – no longer just a special-teams force – made the most of his unexpected start this past Saturday to score five touchdowns, four on the ground and another via a pass from Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas. Barner ran for a career-high 147 yards as Oregon racked up a school-record 720 yards in total offense, as the Ducks humiliated New Mexico, 72-0.Thomas completed 13 of 23 passes for 220 yards and two scores in his Autzen Stadium debut as starter. Thomas’ ascension to the starting spot came after the dismissal of troubled former quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who is now playing for the Ole Miss Rebels.
The story of the New Mexico game was found in the fact that Oregon – despite the twin absences of both James and Masoli – didn’t miss a beat on offense. The Barner-Thomas combo made the Ducks’ spread-option attack hum under head coach and offensive guru Chip Kelly. Oregon had 16 possessions on Saturday against the Lobos and already-beleaguered head coach Mike Locksley. The Ducks never punted. Oregon scored three of its first four touchdowns within a span of 1 minute and 59 seconds. The Ducks then bundled together three more touchdowns within four minutes to establish a 49-0 lead with 6:51 left in the second quarter. The Ducks were on pace to score over 125 points at that point in the proceedings. Is this an indication of how scary Oregon will be in the Pac-10 this year, or is it a sign of just how brutal New Mexico will be? At any rate, Oregon looks pretty darn good… without the two players (Masoli and James) who made that offense hum in 2009. That’s quality depth.
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The Vols, for their part, did play fairly well against Tennessee-Martin. The Vols’ defense limited the Skyhawks to just 142 yards of total offense and only 2-of-17 third-down conversions (three first downs total for the game). Yes, this was an FCS cupcake, but Tennessee still possessed more crispness than a lot of people had a right to expect. Tennessee – due to suspensions, personal decisions to transfer, and injuries – is a very depleted team in 2010. The Vols are the consensus fifth-place pick in the six-team SEC East. Yet, the Vols looked pretty sharp in their home opener. Tennessee certainly looked a lot better, for instance, than rival Florida did against Miami of Ohio.
All in all, the Ducks have far more quality depth than the Vols do. More importantly, Oregon doesn’t have to throw the ball to win this game on the road. Oregon’s running game is more than sufficient against the Tennessee attack. As long as the Ducks don’t put the ball on the rug at least three or four times (much as Navy did against underdog Maryland, for instance), they should be fine.
It’s up to Tennessee to show something special and prove a lot of skeptics wrong.
By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer