NCG Preview: Oregon Pass Offense vs. Auburn Pass Defense

Welcome to the 13th 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 13th topic examines the Oregon pass offense vs. the Auburn pass defense.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Most of the positional matchups are even or pretty close to it, but this is one area that could be a difference maker in the Jan. 10 BCS National Championship Game.

It's not as if Oregon's aerial attack is among the most dangerous in the country. But I liken it to what we're taught when we pick up a golf club for the first time: You don't have to kill the ball on the tee; you can get a good result just by using good, steady technique.

Oregon's passing game, like its offense overall, isn't terribly complex. What casual observers view as a sophisticated attack is in reality just a very different one. It's fast. Really fast.

The individual athletes who excel in it are fast, and the speed at which the offense moves is fast. But the philosophy of the passing game is hardly revolutionary. The Ducks are blessed with good wideouts, as well as a system that values angles and precision. It's a well-oiled machine whose efficiency, as a whole, is greater than the sum of its parts.

But that's not to say its parts are merely decent. Jeff Maehl is a great wideout. The senior caught 68 passes for 943 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's probably one of the top five or six receivers in the country.

D.J. Davis and Lavasier Tuinei are capable of making some big plays, as is tight end David Paulson, who averages 17.6 yards per catch. Josh Huff is a rising star.

Tuinei, a 6-foot-5 junior, could make an impact if he's healthy on Monday. He's recovering from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for Oregon's last two games, but he's got the type of big body that gave Auburn's secondary trouble during its SEC schedule.

And let's not forget the young man at the controls of this pinball machine. Sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas threw for 2,518 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2010, and suffered only seven interceptions. Many thought the adjustment period would have taken longer after he was thrust into the starting role following the dismissal of Jeremiah Masoli, but he picked up the offense quickly and has kept it humming smoothly all season.

Auburn's passing defense is ranked 106th in the country. The Tigers give up 250 yards a game through the air. They allowed 23 passing touchdowns and only recorded 10 interceptions in 13 games. And just five of those picks came from their defensive backs.

This is worth noting as well: Oregon isn't ranked 49th in passing offense (234 yards per game) because it's somehow deficient; it's because the Ducks are No. 4 in the country in rushing offense (304). They spend their time handing the ball off, but they've proven they can toss it around as well.

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
+ The Defensive Backs
+ Special Teams
+ The Coaches
+ Auburn Rush Offense vs. Oregon Rush Defense
+ Auburn Pass Offense vs. Oregon Pass Defense
+ Oregon Rush Offense vs. Auburn Rush Defense