Marcus Mariota. Jameis Winston. Say those two names over and over again and you’ll be up to date on the primary narratives coming into the College Football Playoff showdown between the Oregon Ducks and the Florida State Seminoles. However, there are other intriguing matchups in this highly anticipated Rose Bowl that will have as much or more to do with what happens in the game. Let’s take a look at three of them below.
We’re going all in in our coverage of the College Football Playoff. You can read a full game preview of Oregon vs. Florida State here, or peruse our complete preview of Alabama vs. Ohio State here.
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Three Key Matchups in Oregon Ducks vs. Florida State Seminoles CFP Game
1. Oregon’s Secondary vs. Florida State’s Receivers
[sc:NCAA240banner ]We all know how overwhelming Oregon’s offense is. It’s been doing so great that the Ducks’ defense—a solid one—is being overlooked by a lot of people. To give you an idea how adept Oregon’s defensive unit is in limiting its opponents’ attacks, consider that the Ducks rank a respectable 58th in yards per play (5.40), 57th in yards per rush (4.12), and 25th in turnovers forced (25). But the one that will likely be the most crucial aspect of the Ducks’ defense against Florida State is how their secondary will fare against Winston’s receivers—Rashad Greene in particular.
Greene has been Winston’s favorite target, as the wide receiver leads the Seminoles in receptions (93), receiving yards (1306), and touchdowns (7). His 100.5 receiving yards per game rank 13th overall in the nation.
It won’t be an easy task to handcuff the Seminoles’ receivers but it also won’t be a a walk in the park for Green and company to get past Oregon’s defensive backs. For one, the Ducks have the Pac-12 conference’s leader in interceptions in safety Erick Dargan, who finished the regular season with six picks. There’s also cornerback Troy Hill who topped the conference with 17 passes defended.
2. Florida State’s Rush Defense vs. Oregon’s Rush Offense
The Ducks like to run. Marcus Mariota and company can beat teams by relying more on rushing the ball than tossing it, which is something they could use to the hilt against the Seminoles’ defense that has looked very vulnerable on the ground in their most recent game. Florida State—ranked 60th in the nation in rushing defense with 160.08 yards allowed per game—was thoroughly abused by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets’ backfield in the ACC Championship Game.
Georgia Tech made a mockery of the Seminoles’ defense, as the Yellow Jackets rushed for 331 yards and four touchdowns. Oregon probably will not go as hard on the ground as the Yellow Jackets against the Seminoles, but it looks like the opportunity is there for the likes of running back Royce Freeman (1,299 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns) and Mariota (669 yards, 14 touchdowns) to get their ground game going whenever they want to.
3. Florida State’s Pass Rush against Oregon’s Offensive Line
For all the havoc wreaked by Mariota on the field, he could have done even more had the Ducks’ offensive line played consistently throughout the season. Mariota was sacked 29 times this season, which tells a lot about the susceptibility of his protection unit.
Mariota was sacked seven times in the Ducks 38-31 win over the Washington State Cougars on September 20. That was followed by another discouraging performance by the Ducks’ offensive line in their 31-24 loss to the Arizona Wildcats on October 2, wherein Mariota was sacked five times and was held down to just 276 passing yards.
Granted that Mariota wasn’t 100 percent healthy against the Cougars and that in the Arizona game, the Ducks were up against the Wildcats’ pass rush fronted by Scooby Wright III—among the most effective linebackers in the nation—those were still not enough to be an excuse for Oregon’s offensive line’s shortcomings.
That being said, Oregon’s protection of Mariota has since seen improvement. When Oregon beat the Wildcats 51-13 in the Pac-12 Championship Game, Mariota was able to pass for 313 yards and two touchdowns. Furthermore, Mariota was also able to rush for 33 yards and three touchdowns. In the two teams’ first meeting, Mariota only had one yard rushing with no touchdowns.
All those improvements by the Ducks’ offensive line will have to show up against Florida State. Although the Seminoles have only 17 sacks in the regular season, the team nevertheless have two imposing linebackers in Mario Edwards Jr. and Eddie Goldman ready to pounce any chance they get. Both players have combined for seven sacks this season.
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