Oregon Football: 3 Takeaways from Ducks’ win over Southern Utah in season opener

3. Ducks defense should be much better under Jim Leavitt’s watch

The one knock against Oregon, even when it was putting together a string of double-digit winning seasons in Eugene, was that it never really had a championship-level defense. Things are still coalescing, and there is plenty that still needs to improve. After all, the Ducks did allow 21 points and nearly 400 offensive yards to a middleweight from the FCS.

But there was plenty to like about how Oregon looked in new defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt’s system. After moving from defending Pac-12 South champ, Leavitt is one of three former head coaches bolstering the coaching staff in the Willamette Valley. His experience helped build the Buffaloes into a dominant unit over the past few years, and he should soon see positive results with the Ducks.

Those positive results already started to manifest against Southern Utah on Saturday. The secondary picked off two Patrick Tyler passes, and late in the game linebacker La’Mar Winston Jr. nearly picked off a third Thunderbird throw by backup Aaron Zwahlen. The Ducks racked up five sacks against Southern Utah’s quarterbacks, keeping the pressure up in the backfield all night long.

Next: Game by game predictions for Oregon in 2017

There will be much stiffer tests for Leavitt’s unit in the coming months. But the Ducks took a major step toward developing into a better defense this year than they were in 2017. If they can continue to grow as a group, Oregon’s defenders could potentially put the Ducks in position to contend for bigger goals this season.