Oregon Football: 3 takeaways from clutch win over Cal in Week 6

2. Oregon’s speed kills

There were some runs by the Cal Bears this evening where it looked like there were holes, and the Ducks linebackers and safeties closed so quickly that what could have been a 5-7 yard gain ended up being a 1-3 yard gain.

The Oregon defensive line has such burst off the snap; they harassed Devon Modster all night long. True freshman Kayvon Thibodeaux got around whichever offensive tackle they threw at him tonight and got to the quarterback twice.

On offense, they have speed on the perimeter, and in the backfield. Cal did a good job most of the game containing Oregon’s big play abilities, but they still gave up chunk plays on defense.

However, the bend, but don’t break philosophy the Bears employed on defense this evening couldn’t stop the Ducks from converting first downs. Eventually, the Bears defense wore down, and the Ducks took the game over in the second half. The Ducks team speed is quite impressive.