Auburn-Oregon Preview: The Defensive Backs

Welcome to the seventh of 17 — yep, 17 — BCS National Championship Game preview pieces here on OGS. Each day until Jan. 10, we'll take a comparative look at Auburn and Oregon. Today's seventh topic examines each team's defensive backs.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

So far we've spent most of our time breaking down personnel, and we'll get to that later, but let's take a look at how Auburn's and Oregon's defensive backs compare statistically, because this disparity might be the biggest between the teams heading into the BCS National Championship Game:

Below are a few noteworthy numbers and/or rankings:

+ Interceptions: Auburn 10 (75th in the country), Oregon 20 (4th)
+ Passing Defense: Auburn 250 yards allowed per game (105th), Oregon 214 (56th)
+ Pass Efficiency Defense: Auburn (74th), Oregon (6th)
+ Pass TDs Allowed: Auburn 23, Oregon 13
+ Opponents' Completion Percentage: Auburn 62.66, Oregon 53.52
+ Opponents' Passing Yards/Attempt: Auburn 6.87, Oregon 5.66

As you can see, the Ducks have a far better passing defense than Auburn's. When your team-leader in interceptions is a linebacker (Josh Bynes), with three, you might have some concerns with your passing defense. The Tigers don't necessarily lack experience in the secondary, but they've been vulnerable all year against bigger wideouts. And while Oregon's receivers aren't blessed with great size, their speed and machine-like precision will no doubt give Auburn problems.

The Ducks, on the other hand, have cornerback Cliff Harris and safety John Boyett, a pair of sophomores. Each has five picks this year, and each also returned one for a touchdown. That's on top of four punts Harris brought back for touchdowns this season, so look for him to make a big play or two on Jan. 10.

Edge: Oregon

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More Auburn-Oregon Previews:

+ The Quarterbacks
+ The Running Backs
+ The Receivers
+ The Offensive Lines
+ The Defensive Lines
+ The Linebackers