Oregon coach Mario Cristobal wants to talk about Auburn‘s cornerbacks and how long and athletic they are. He wants to talk about the safeties and linebackers, too, if we’d only give him a chance.
Twice in the past week he has been asked about the talent the Tigers have up front on defense, only to redirect the attention to the group as a whole, which tied for sixth nationally in touchdowns allowed last season.
“Collectively,” Cristobal told reporters in Eugene, “that defense is about as impressive as you’ll see.”
But there’s a reality that can’t be avoided here. Cristobal can build up lightning-quick cornerback Noah Igbinoghene or the experience of Javaris Davis, who can play a number of positions in the secondary, but they’re not the Tigers people will be buzzing about leading into Saturday night’s matchup of top 25 teams in Dallas.
No, that would be their three potential high-round draft picks on the defensive line, including Marlon Davidson and Derrick Brown, who clock in at 97 and 94, respectively, in the PlayStation Player Impact Ratings. Both were Preseason All-SEC picks, and they’re joined by Nick Coe, who became a starter last season and racked up 13.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
When that trio goes head-to-head with the stout Oregon offensive line, expect fireworks. This might just be the best position matchup of the first full weekend of the college football season.
The Ducks have one of the most talented tackles in the game, Penei Sewell, who has an impact rating of 96, not to mention Shane Lemieux, who has started 38 straight games and was named First Team All-Pac 12 during the preseason.
“Those are a lot of big bodies, a lot of big, talented guys,” Cristobal said of the impending battle up front. “And certainly those are going to be some unbelievable battles. The physicality on both sides is impressive to watch. I know that as competitors both sides are ready to get after it.”
Cristobal said he can’t recall a defensive line as good as Auburn’s in a “long, long time.” And it’s not as if he doesn’t have a wealth of experience to draw from when you consider the fact that he spent four seasons as an assistant at powerhouse Alabama.
“Aside from the fact that they’re massive human beings, they’re very explosive and they’re very, very technically sound,” he said. “I mean, they understand blocking schemes. They understand down blocks, they understand reach blocks, they understand double-teams on gap schemes vs. double-teams on zone schemes. They get it. And they play off each other really well.”
For Auburn, there’s no doubt that the more it can get into Oregon’s backfield, the better. The Ducks allowed 22 sacks last season, which ranked 33rd nationally and fourth in the Pac-12.
They tout a potential first-round draft pick at quarterback, Justin Herbert, but last season he showed how susceptible he is to pressure when his completion percentage dropped from 66.9 to 38.1 percent when under duress.
“He can make all the throws and he’s got really good receivers to throw to, so you’ve got to make him uncomfortable,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “I think that is going to be a big key. … You know we need to win the line of scrimmage. That’s really where it starts for us and that’s really where it starts for Auburn football.”