Oregon tough to stop on the ground

By Jesse Sowa
Albany Democrat-Herald

EUGENE — All good rushing offenses start with strength at the line of scrimmage.

Like running backs are wont to do, Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount and Jeremiah Johnson quickly point to their offensive line when asked about the reasons for the success of their team’s running game.

The Ducks’ “big guys” have helped the team lead the Pacific-10 Conference — and rank sixth nationally — in rushing at 268 yards per game.

Oregon, preparing for Saturday’s Civil War, also leads the conference in total offense and scoring offense and is 11th in the nation in both categories.

“With those five guys up front, pretty much any run play we call, they’re going to make it happen,” Blount said. “It’s all up to them.”

The Oregon line is led by senior center Max Unger, a first-team all-conference selection in 2007.

He was named to three pre-season lists for national awards.

“The front line breaks down, and that’s when the backfield breaks down,” Johnson said. “Our line has done a great job ... and this is a good time to keep that going.”

The Ducks use a variety of weapons to keep opponents off balance.

Blount and Johnson have provided the Ducks with one of the Pac-10’s best backfield tandems.

Blount has tied Saladin McCullough’s single-season school record for rushing touchdowns with 15.

He leads the conference in scoring with more than eight points per game.

Johnson has seven multiple-touchdown games in his Oregon career. He’s fifth in the conference in rushing (78.5) and Blount sixth (74.2).

Again, the credit goes back to the line.

“The front line breaks down, and that’s when the backfield breaks down,” Johnson said. “Our line has done a great job ... and this is a good time to keep that going.”

A proven necessity in Oregon’s spread offense is a quarterback who can run, and the Ducks have that in Jeremiah Masoli.

A junior college transfer in his first year with the program, Masoli, who has started the last seven games, averages 55.9 yards rushing per game.

He was named the Pac-10 player of the week for the second time this season after rushing for three touchdowns and throwing two more in the 55-45 home win against Arizona on Nov. 15.

With UCLA keying on the run, Masoli ran for 170 yards on 24 carries against the Bruins in Oregon’s 31-24 home win on Oct. 11.

“When players take the quarterback away, that’s a bigger lane for us,” Blount said. “If they take us away, like UCLA, that’s a bigger lane for the quarterback. That’s how our offense is designed to play ball against defenses.”

As Blount, Johnson and Masoli carry most of the load, the Ducks are 323 yards short of the single-season school record of 3,272 yards set in 2007.

Oregon rushed for more than 300 yards in six of 11 games, and twice without a single 100-yard rusher.

With Masoli’s running ability, it leaves the defense guessing where the ball is going when the quarterback takes the snap.

“When he goes to pull it, everybody’s going to key on him,” Johnson said. “That’s just a thumbs up for me and LeGarrette, so we can get through those holes.”