When Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, Jeffrey Bassa and Terrance Ferguson traveled to Indianapolis for July’s Big Ten Media Days, they prophesied they’d be back for the conference championship game in December. But until Saturday afternoon, they likely couldn’t have predicted facing Penn State, which needed a improbable Michigan upset over Ohio State to earn a bid.
The stage is now set. The Ducks are exactly where they anticipated they’d be: undefeated and top-ranked entering the Big Ten Championship. They’ll serve as the Nittany Lions’ toughest opponent to date this season. But that doesn’t mean Oregon is taking preparation lightly for Penn State, an 11-1 team waiting eagerly for another shot at a powerhouse program.
“Our guys know we’re going to be playing a damn good team,” Gabriel said. “It’s a championship. Two teams that have done their due diligence to get to this point.”
Gabriel, Bassa and Ferguson met with the media on Monday. It appears they have four players and a high-profile coordinator on their watch only two days into film study. Here’s what they discussed.
PREPARING FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ WARREN
Andy Kotelnicki’s Nittany Lion offense is gimmicky and creative. It can fool the eyes and force defenses out of their personnel. They can prepare for that, but stopping tight end Tyler Warren is another issue that all 12 of Penn State’s regular season opponents couldn’t do. He can catch, run, throw, snap and block. The Ducks can only guess where he’ll line up on a given play.
Bassa has faced great tight ends before, like Georgia’s Brock Bowers in 2022. But despite Bowers’ greatness, even he didn’t have the versatility that Warren possesses. There’s no question about it. Figuring out a plan to stall Warren should be at the very top of head coach Dan Lanning’s notes.
“I have to compare him up there with Brock for what he does for their offense. Just like you saw in 2022, Brock was a guy who was catching tunnel screens,” Bassa said. “They didn’t really do much quarterback wildcat with Brock, but he was a major part of their offense. Can run the whole route tree, can block really well in the C area and him receiving the snap, he’s dangerous on that level, as well.”
CARTER IS THE DEFENSIVE FOCUS
As for the Nittany Lions’ defense, there’s one player that immediately stood out when Oregon began studying film on Sunday: defensive end Abdul Carter. The potential top-10 NFL Draft pick currently has 10 sacks on the year and ranks second nationally with 20 tackles for loss.
“He wrecks havoc. He’s a disruptive player, extremely physical,” Gabriel said. “But also, I think his ability to go from extremely physical to finesse and speed, I think it’s pretty impressive.”
A FAMILIAR FACE IN JAYLEN REED
He may have flown under radar nationally, but safety Jaylen Reed has all the focus from the Ducks. Despite Carter’s dominance, Ferguson called Reed the “head” of Penn State’s defense, with an ability to get people “aligned” while maintaining strong presence in coverage and at attacking the ball.
Oregon backup quarterback Dante Moore has helped his teammates learn quickly of Reed’s production. Moore and Reed were high school teammates at Detroit’s Martin Luther King High School, where they led their team to an 11-3 record and a Michigan Division II state runner-up finish in 2019.
“I have watched him and, of course, Dante playing with him, I don’t know for how long, but that has been talked about,” Gabriel said. “I just know he’s been a great player and has done really good for himself thus far. Excited for the challenge, but he’s definitely a ball hawk. Is always around the ball and a really good tackler.”
SINGLETON ‘ONE OF THE BEST’
Bad news for the Ducks — running back Nick Singleton said on Monday he feels he’s back to “100%” health. This proved evident against Maryland on Saturday, his best game in two months, in which he took 13 carries for 87 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Bassa appears to be looking forward to the test Singleton presents.
“Nick Singleton is one of the best backs in the country,” Bassa said. “Very excited for this matchup. Especially me as a linebacker, going up against a top running back, that’s always something that you dream for and look up to, as well. I’m really excited for this matchup. I’m going to be playing my heart out. I know that for sure.”
WATCHING FOR KOTELNICKI’S QUIRKS
With all the quirks Kotelnicki’s offense can present, keeping a lookout for the smoke and mirrors has been stressed a “whole lot” from Oregon’s coaching staff.
“This is, for sure, a game we’re gonna have to stick to our rules,” Bassa said. “They’re a team that’s gonna get you to check to a different personnel, so you can’t be worried about this or that. They’re gonna try to get you out of your game, try to test your eyes, try to test your eye discipline, try to test if you’re going to stick to your leverage or not.”
“We got to force turnovers on this team. They’re a big, explosive team, so we’re gonna have to force a lot of turnovers.”
