Defense Hopes To Build On Strong Fourth Quarter
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
EAST LANSING, Mich. — For three quarters Saturday night, it was Michigan State’s offense making timely plays to put up points on the Oregon defense.
A 68-yard run set up the Spartans’ first touchdown. They converted a fourth-and-one by surging at the line for a quarterback sneak, setting up their second score. Another fourth-down conversion put Michigan State in position to go up 21-14 in the third quarter, and their final TD of the night came courtesy of a 39-yard run.
For three quarters, it looked like those explosion plays and fourth-down conversions would spoil Oregon’s night defensively. But then came the fourth quarter, and perhaps something the Ducks can build on going forward.
With Michigan State leading 31-21, Oregon forced two straight three-and-outs. After the first, the Ducks scored to get within 31-28. The second kept alive hopes for a UO comeback, which sailed over the head of Byron Marshall on an incomplete pass in the last two minutes.
“It’s a loss; no matter how close it is, it always sucks,” UO senior defensive end DeForest Buckner said. “But I’m proud of all my guys, offense and defense, how they fought to the end against a really good Michigan State team. Being on the road, being in their house, the way we responded as a whole team, and responded as a defense, it made me really proud.”
Oregon’s outside linebackers played key roles in the strong finish. The Spartans had the ball and a second-and-five while they still led 31-21. Tyson Coleman and Christian French combined to stop running back L.J. Scott for a one-yard gain on the next play. Michigan State was forced to throw on third down, and it was incomplete.
With the Ducks within 31-28, French came up big again, teaming with Joe Walker to tackle Madre London for loss to open Michigan State’s next series. Two more incompletions followed, and not only did Oregon have the ball back but it had all three timeouts left thanks to the clock stoppages.
“You never want to give up,” Coleman said. “That’s something coaches preach every day. That’s our motto — finish — and I’m definitely proud of our team and how we battled and fought back.”
Early on, the Ducks suffered from a few of the issues that were of concern a week earlier in the win over Eastern Washington. There were missed assignments, and a few more missed tackles.
For the second straight game, a cornerback led the team in tackles, which isn’t typically ideal. On Saturday it was Arrion Springs, who made a game-high 13 stops.
“(MSU quarterback) Connor Cook is really smart,” Springs said. “Every time we were in Cover 3, he’d check to that quick pass. So that’s why you saw me having to make those tackles.”
Springs’ tackling was generally sound. Generally, the Ducks seemed to play better overall this week than in the opener — but when they did have breakdowns, on the explosion plays and fourth downs, they were painful
“That’s when you’ve got to execute the most,” Springs said. “So we’ve got to continue to get better, and not allow big plays.”
“They made us pay for those,” Buckner said. “But I’m proud of how the guys responded and how we came back — how the defense fought to the end. Everybody just did their jobs toward the end. That really looked like the defense that I know we can be.”
