11-4-21 Emerald Media - Gameday

GAMEDAY 11.4.21

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Former safety Jeffrey Bassa’s versatility has helped shore up Oregon’s linebacking corps.

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GAMEDAY

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ON THE COVER

Jeffery Bassa (33) signals to his teammates after a play. The University of Oregon Ducks defeated the University of Colorado Buffaloes 52-29 at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 30, 2021. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

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OREGON

WASHINGTON

OREGON OFFENSE

WASHINGTON OFFENSE

Devon Williams No. 2 WR-X RS SO/TR

Terrell Bynum

Johnny Johnson III

Rome Odunze No. 16 WR FR

No. 3

WR-Z

SR

No. 1

WR

RS JR

Mycah Pittman No. 4 WR-H SO

Jalen McMillan No. 11 WR FR

George Moore

Troy Fautanu

No. 55

LT

RS FR

T.J. Bass No. 56 LG JR/TR

Ulumoo Ale

No. 68

LG

RS SO

Alex Forsyth

RS JR

Luke Wattenberg

No. 76

OC

RS SR

Ryan Walk No. 53 RG RS JR

Henry Bainivalu

No. 66

RG

RS JR

Steven Jones

No. 74

RT

RS SO

Victor Curne

No. 79

RT

RS SO

Terrance Ferguson

No. 19

TE-F

FR

Cade Otton

No. 87

TE

RS JR

No. 77

No. 78

LT

OC

RS SR/TR

Moliki Matavao No. 8 TE-Y FR

Jack Westover No. 37 TE RS SO

Anthony Brown No. 13 QB GR/TR

Dylan Morris

No. 9

QB

RS FR

Travis Dye No. 26 RB JR

Sean McGrew

No. 5

RB

RS SR

OREGON DEFENSE

WASHINGTON DEFENSE

Brandon Dorlus No. 3 DE SO

Tuli Letuligasenoa

Popo Aumavae

No. 50

NT

RS JR

Voi Tunuufi No. 90 DT FR

Keyon Ware-Hudson

No. 59

DT

RS FR

Zion Tupuola-Fetui

No. 58

OLB

RS SO

Kayvon Thibodeaux No. 5 JOKER SO

Jackson Sirmon

No. 43

ILB

RS SO

Jeffrey Bassa No. 33 WILL FR

Daniel Heimuli

No. 15

ILB

RS FR

Noah Sewell No. 1 MIKE FR

Ryan Bowman

No. 55

OLB

RS SR

Mase Funa No. 47 OLB SO

Trent McDuffie No. 22 CB SO

DJ James No. 00 BCB SO

Dominique Hampton

No. 21

S

RS SO

Steve Stephens IV

No. 7

BS

RS SO

Kamren Fabiculanan

No. 31

S

RS FR

Verone McKinley III

No. 23

FS

RS SO

Kyler Gordon

No. 2

CB

RS SO

Brendan Radley-Hiles

No. 44

NB

JR/TR

Mykael Wright No. 2 FCB SO

No. 91

NT

RS SO

Jamal Hill No. 19 STAR SO

WASHINGTON SPECIAL TEAMS

OREGON SPECIAL TEAMS Tom Snee

No. 38

PT/H

RS SO

Camden Lewis No. 49 PK/KO SO Karsten Battles No. 63 LS JR Mycah Pittman No. 4 PR SO Mykael Wright No. 2 KR SO PA G E 4

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Race Porter

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GAMEDAY

LOOKING FORWARD TO RIVALRY WEEK VS UW After a year off, the Ducks head to Seattle to face the rival Huskies.

BY: Dylan Conway @dconway_3 After meeting expectations with a 52-29 win over Colorado, Oregon (7-1) heads to Seattle for a road matchup with rival Washington.

At the start of the season, the Huskies were expected to be one of the better teams in the Pac-12, finding themselves at No. 20 in the preseason ranking. This quickly changed in their week one loss to Montana.

Since, they’ve gone 4-3 and have struggled to gain momentum throughout the season, let alone live up to the expectations they had heading into the year.

Besides Montana, the Huskies have dropped games to Michigan, Oregon State and UCLA. They’ve defeated Arkansas State, Cal, Arizona (last in Pac-12 South) and Stanford (last in Pac-12 North).

Freshman quarterback Dylan Morris has started every game for the Huskies. Morris has had bright spots throughout the year, but has also been disappointing at times. In eight games, he has 11 touchdown passes and eight interceptions off a 60.9 completion percentage.

Morris started the season in brutal fashion, throwing three picks and no touchdowns against Montana. As the season went on, Morris has gotten more comfortable, throwing at least one touchdown

in each game since. With a buzzing Ducks secondary, interceptions are something to watch out for since Morris is averaging one pick a game.

Other offensive standouts are senior running back Sean McGrew and junior wide receiver Terrell Bynum.

McGrew, in his fifth season with the Huskies, has 383 yards and six touchdowns in as many games played this year. He already has a career high in touchdowns. Bynum leads the Huskies in yards (427) and receiving touchdowns (four). Bynum has proven explosive this season, unleashing for 143 yards and a touchdown off five catches against Arizona.

Overall, the Huskies offense is subpar scoring 22.8 points per game — a measure that ranks 10th in the conference.

With an underwhelming offense, the Huskies defense has been a strong suit. They are first in the Pac-12 in points allowed per game (18.8), yards per game (324.9) and passing yards allowed (146.9). The next closest team is Cal with 196.1 passing yards allowed.

Defensive backs Kyler Gordon

Ducks outside linebacker Mase Funa (45) tackles the Husky’s tailback Salvon Ahmed (26). Oregon Ducks Football takes on the University of Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash. on Oct. 19, 2019. (DL Young/Emerald)

and Brendan Radley-Hiles have been major players in the excellent pass defense; the duo has 24 solo tackles each. Combined this season, they have three tackles for loss, three interceptions and 10 pass break ups.

Senior outside linebacker Ryan Bowman has been a standout, leading the defense in sacks (2) and is second in tackles for loss (3.5). Sophomore linebacker Jackson Sirmon has led the way tackling with 59 total tackles, 33 solo. He’s also tallied two tackles for loss.

Oregon’s passing game led by Anthony Brown has become a strong suit in the past few weeks.

With the Huskies’ top tier pass defense, the Ducks may focus on the run attack to secure a gritty win.

The Ducks will look to continue their dominance in the rivalry, attempting to win their 16th game against Washington in the last 20 years.

Ducks outside linebacker Mase Funa (45) tackles the Husky’s tailback Salvon Ahmed (26). Oregon Ducks Football takes on the University of Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash. on Oct. 19, 2019. (DL Young/Emerald)

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NEW YEAR, SAME PAC-12 BY: Jacob Hamre

A shirtless Duck fan in the student section looks towards the camera as the game begins. The University of Oregon Ducks defeated the University of Colorado Buffaloes 52-29 at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 30, 2021. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

With just four weeks left in the regular season, the Pac-12 conference continues to eat away at itself.

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GAMEDAY Travis Dye (26) is hoisted up by a teammate in celebration after scoring a touchdown. The University of Oregon Ducks defeated the University of Colorado Buffaloes 52-29 at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 30, 2021. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

The Pac-12 started with five teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll. That was tied for first, joining the SEC and the Big Ten. Now, 10 weeks later, only Oregon remains ranked.

The SEC and the Big Ten have a combined 11 teams still ranked in the AP Poll. The Pac-12, however, are down to one ranked team for the third week in a row. Last year only two teams from the Pac ended their seasons with a bowl game, partially due to COVID-19 implications.

This year trends in the same direction, only there are far fewer excuses.

A preview of week 10 Utah (5-3, 4-1 Pac-12) @ Stanford (3-5, 2-4 Pac-12) Don’t look now, but the Utes are starting to come back to life after a rocky start. Utah has now won four out of its last five games, including a victory over then-ranked Arizona State.

Sophomore running back Tavion Thomas is coming off a career game, where he tied the school record with four rushing touchdowns.

Utah will need to rely on his success again if it wants to maintain its spot at the top of the Pac12 South.

Stanford has not won a game since pulling off one of its biggest upsets in school history.

Beating top-five Oregon didn’t give the Cardinal the momentum they were expecting as they now sit at the bottom of the Pac-12 North.

Tanner McKee will need to return to his earlyseason play if there will be any chance of an upset. Stanford’s Pac-12 chances might already be out of the picture at this point, but if it wants to at least get a bowl game, it needs this win at home.

Cal (3-5, 2-3 Pac-12) @ Arizona (0-8, 0-5 Pac12) Not many teams in the conference have been playing as well as Cal lately. After just missing out on an upset in Eugene, the Golden Bears have won two straight against who?

Much of the success is due to the play of quarterback Chase Garbers. Garbers has not thrown an interception in three weeks while the Cal defense had two interceptions of their own last week. Playing on the road is never easy, but Cal aims to make it three victories in a row against a winless Wildcat team.

The Wildcats’ season is one to forget. This team has nothing to lose since they are already out of bowl contention and are without a win.

The only thing left to play for is a chance to bounce back next year.

After having their highest-scoring outing of the season last week, the Wildcats look to bring a win to their home crowd in Tucson. The

chances of victory are still slim for Arizona on Saturday. But, if the defense can create some turnovers, they could erase that zero.

Oregon State (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) @ Colorado (2-6, 1-4 Pac-12) The Beavers are looking to put together their first winning season in eight years. This season might just be the one. The run game has surprisingly been one of the strong points for this team. After losing Jermar Jefferson to the NFL Draft last season, B.J. Baylor has taken over the role and leads the conference in rushing yards (872). Away games have been the Beavers’ weakness this season, so an improved performance is a must if they want to keep up their impressive year.

Colorado has had one of the stranger seasons this conference has seen, almost upsetting a top-five opponent earlier this year, but not keeping up to the standard. The Buffs return home after a blowout loss in Eugene the week prior. Colorado doesn’t have much left to play for this season, but with a similar offensive performance to the one a week ago, they could add a win to their total.

USC (4-4, 3-3 Pac-12) @ Arizona State (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) USC started the season as one of the Pac-12 favorites, but have not lived up to the hype.

The Trojans fired their head coach in hopes of righting the ship. Looking to win their first backto-back games of the season, the Trojans will need to have another big game from running back Keaontay Ingram, as he comes off a 200yard rushing performance.

The Sun Devils were one of the best teams in the conference earlier this year. Back-toback losses have derailed their momentum, however. Bowl season and a chance at a Pac-12 championship appearance are more than obtainable for Arizona State, but not without improvement on the defensive side.

Bye Weeks - UCLA (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12), Washington State (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12) UCLA hopes a bye week will help them after losing in back-to-back games. Utah has a large lead in the South, but bowl eligibility is still in sight for the Bruins. In a year of a balanced mix of ups and downs, UCLA will try to finish out strong in what may likely be Chip Kelly’s final season.

The Cougars are chasing the Ducks for the North title and will likely need to win out for a real chance. Coming off a big road win, Washington State looks to utilize the week off to prepare for a big matchup in Eugene.

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JEFFREY BASSA’S BASSA’S JEFFREY VERSATILITY IS VITAL TO OREGON DEFENSE

BY: Eric Berniker

Former high school do-it-all star’s ability to play multiple positions has made him invaluable.

Jeffrey Bassa is a quick learner.

The lone true freshman starter for the Oregon Ducks has been shape shifting throughout his sports career, starting at Kearns High School in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In his first high school state track meet as a freshman, Bassa, an unfavored sprinter, qualified for finals in the long jump — an event he had only practiced a handful of times.

“He wasn’t a jumper,” Emily Williams, Bassa’s high school track coach and athletic director, said. “My favorite part about it is that he didn’t even realize that he made it… he didn’t brag; he wasn’t showy.”

For the Kearns Cougars football team, Bassa was everything. He returned punts and kicks, played both wide and slot receiver and led the Cougars on defense, where he played safety, corner and linebacker based on what his opponent did.

“I’m not going to take him off the field,” Bassa’s high school football coach Matt Rickards said. “He is the best player on our team… being versatile and moving around the field is essentially what he did for us.”

It’s that same versatility that has led Bassa to vitality in his role on the Oregon defense.

Bassa was recruited to Oregon to play safety — a position which requires tremendous speed and IQ. However, because of his size, mobility and experience playing all over the defensive side of the ball, Bassa has stepped up in the absence of linebackers Justin Flowe (foot injury and out for season), Isaac Slade-Matautia (transfer) and Dru Mathis (knee injury) and become an integral part of the Ducks defense, complementing All-Conference Noah Sewell.

Bassa understands how important his versatility has been to finding snaps with the first team.

It is unclear what the future holds for Bassa. With his mix of size, speed and knowledge of every position on the defensive side of the ball, there are a multitude of ways he can affect the game. In seven games this season, Bassa

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GAMEDAY has started as linebacker twice, splitting reps with fellow true freshman Keith Brown.

Both Brown and Sewell have 25-plus pounds on Bassa, making them more well suited on paper for linebacker duties. But Bassa has continuously forced his way onto the field despite it, earning playing time in practice by making prominent the difference in athleticism between himself and the rest of the linebacker core. He covers the entire field, doing what coaches ask of him.

“He has made tremendous growth,” Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal said.

“For a guy that’s new at that position, he passed the test.”

Bassa has started in both of the last two games and thrived posting six tackles in each game while increasingly showing more comfort and poise diagnosing plays.

For the lone true freshman starter for the Oregon Ducks, there is still ample room to grow — especially at a position as nuanced as linebacker.

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel like he is playing at his full speed,” Rickards said about where he needs to improve. “Maybe he’s a little hesitant on what he should be doing. It’s just gonna come with experience and trusting the process and his coaches.”

With the Ducks slated at No. 4 in College Football Playoff Rankings, there is little room for error for Oregon.

By optimizing his versatility, Bassa has found a temporary home among one of the most ferocious defensive fronts in college football. The question now is if he can sustain his early growth and continue to adapt to his vital role as Oregon makes its postseason push.

(Photos courtesy of Scott Boldt and Ducks Digest)

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GAMEDAY

Oregon vs. Colorado Oct. 30, 2021

PHOTOS BY: Will Geschke

The University of Oregon Ducks defeated the University of Colorado Buffaloes 52-29 at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 30, 2021.

Troy Franklin (11) catches a ball to score a touchdown for Oregon.

Steven Jones (74) celebrates a touchdown scored by the Oregon Ducks.

Jaylon Redd (6) waits for the play to begin.

Final Score:

Oregon: 52 Colorado: 29

Travis Dye (26) is tackled by a Colorado player.

Ducks fans in the student section celebrate the touchdown.

Handel’s Ice Cream 47554 Oregon cheerleaders perform in front of the student section.

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GAMEDAY

FROM THE SIDELINE TO THE GAME-WINNING INTERCEPTION

DJ James has seen the highs and lows of college football this season and continues to improve his game for Oregon’s defense.

BY: John Rustik

(Courtesy of Scott Boldt and Ducks Digest)

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(Courtesy of Scott Boldt and Ducks Digest)

GAMEDAY With the Duck crowd in Pasadena exploding, DJ James blew a kiss to the audience. He had made the gamesaving interception for the first time in his career. All the work he put in this season came together perfectly as his teammates ran past the UCLA offense to celebrate with him.

While at this moment he was the most important player for Oregon, the journey wasn’t so easy for the sophomore.

After an incident in August, he and teammate Jamal Hill were suspended throughout the entirety of fall training camp. Prior to the Fresno State game, the two were reinstated on the team.

When he returned, he battled for a starting role. After playing behind current NFL cornerback Deommodore Lenoir last season, he found himself behind boundary cornerbacks Trikweze Bridges and Dontae Manning.

His first performance of the season against the Buckeyes solidified his place within the Oregon defense.

His five tackles helped the Ducks pull off a monumental 35-28 upset in the second week of the season.

Following the upset in Columbus, James earned his starting position again. Although he fought for his spot, there has been plenty of adversity to overcome since his first start of the season. Since he has started, he’s been one of Oregon’s strongest defenders in the secondary.

In the Ducks’ 31-24 defeat against Stanford, James was unable to beat Stanford receiver Elijah Higgins to the ball on the final play of the game, allowing the Cardinal to tie the game and force overtime in their eventual loss.

“It’s part of the game,” James said of the loss at Stanford. “Just having that next play mentality in your head. Knowing that my teammates got my back, [and] I got their back.”

While losing like that was particularly poignant, it motivated James to improve.

Weeks after the loss came the biggest game of the Ducks’ season since the win against the Buckeyes: UCLA. As the Ducks nursed a narrow 34-31 lead late in the fourth quarter, the Bruins offense started to drive down the field. With 54 seconds left on a second-down play, James jumped in front of UCLA receiver Kam Brown and made the game-sealing interception.

It was his first collegiate interception, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I had seen the exact formation before, so I was just thinking ‘I’m gonna show a different look’ and hopefully get a different outcome,“ he said. “I knew we needed a play so I put it on the line.”

He had eight tackles against the Bruins, second to only Noah Sewell and Kayvon Thibodeaux, who tied with nine apiece. When the Ducks needed a player to step up in an important moment, James provided a bright spark.

“Going back a couple of games ago, at the end of the Stanford game, he was disappointed in how he played,” Oregon defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said. “He committed himself to correcting that, to make the big plays at the right time — particularly that last drive, our corners had to make plays.”

With four games left in conference play for the Ducks, there is still plenty of room for James to make valuable plays for the Oregon defense.

(Courtesy of Scott Boldt and Ducks Digest)

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GAMEDAY

Anthony Brown (13) waits for the snap. The University of Oregon Ducks defeated the University of Colorado Buffaloes 52-29 at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 30, 2021. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

PEAKING AT THE

RIGHT TIME

Anthony Brown’s explosive performance against Colorado is a show of growth and momentum in the latter half of the 2021 season.

BY: Charles Gearing @GearingCharlie Two weeks ago, Anthony Brown took the field in the second half to the tune of a booing home crowd. The offense’s inability to pull away from a struggling Cal team and a lack of explosive plays from scrimmage were particularly bitter pills for the sold out Autzen crowd.

Brown and the offense appeared out of sync, a shell of the team that took down Ohio State in early September. They’d go on to win, albeit

unconvincingly.

Two weeks later, the booing has ceased.

Oregon flexed its muscles last week, taking down a sputtering Colorado squad 52-29 in front of the faithful. Brown reached career highs in passing yards (307) and completion percentage (80.6), and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Efficiency, consistency and just making the right reads,” Brown said. “It came from a lot of things,

but just staying in the groove and continuing to do what I do throughout the week, watching extra film and doing extra things.”

The offense clicked from the get-go on Saturday, jumping out to a two-score lead by the end of the first quarter by way of back-to-back touchdown passes from Brown. He’d go on to add another through the air before the end of the day — a marked improvement from the last few weeks.

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GAMEDAY

Anthony Brown (13) throws a pass to a teammate. The University of Oregon Ducks defeated the University of Colorado Buffaloes 52-29 at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 30, 2021. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

Brown led the Pac-12 in total offense for the month of October, passing an average 308.8 yards per game, a significant upgrade from his September average (231.8). He leads the conference in completion percentage as well, at 71%.

“We have been getting better in the last couple weeks in the passing game,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “I know that Anthony has invested the world into that, and into his receivers and his offensive line, and the running backs as well.”

Brown and the offense have taken it upon themselves to improve, and it shows.

“Well, I mean time, reps, extra time invested,” Cristobal said of the unit’s leaps and bounds.

“Certainly those guys spend a lot of time after practice, and then they get together at other times, I think. I don’t know, but I see them all the time getting in the facility late in there, getting reps. That is the kind of guys that they are.”

As the Ducks march into Husky Stadium on Saturday, they’ll face off with the No. 1 passing defense in the Pac-12. Despite their struggling record, the Huskies allow the fewest passing yards per game (146.9) in the conference.

With four games to go in the 2021 season, the Oregon offense seems to finally have hit its groove. As the Ducks, ranked fourth in the College Football Playoff ranking, seek to win out and continue their case for a playoff berth, they’ll need to continue to rely on Brown and the flourishing passing game to capitalize.

The Oregon Ducks celebrate after scoring a touchdown that would later be disallowed. The University of Oregon Ducks defeated the University of Colorado Buffaloes 52-29 at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 30, 2021. (Will Geschke/Emerald) PA G E 1 6

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