by
Brady Hoke
Last weekend, Brady Hoke’s toothless Oregon defense permitted a whopping 51 points in a loss to Washington State. One could safely assume that would be the low point of his season.
But as Lee Corso would say: “Not so fast, my friend.”
The Ducks hosted the conference-leading Washington Huskies on Saturday night and the scoreboard never got a break. With Hoke as defensive coordinator, his unit coughed up an almost-unfathomable 70 points.
70 -- seven zero.
This is not some punching bag like Rutgers, which predictably got obliterated to the tune of 78 points by Michigan that same evening. This is Oregon, one of the most productive and well-funded football programs in the country. They are Nike’s pride and joy.
But the sneaker conglomerate might have to find a new baby if this carnage is to continue.
Against Washington State last week, Hoke’s Oregon D permitted 651 yards. Against the Huskies on Saturday, that number jumped to 682.
And for a second consecutive game, the Duck defense failed to create a single turnover. Washington racked up over 300 yards both through the air and on the ground. Had they tried moving the ball via some yet-to-be-discovered mode of transportation, that likely would have been a success, too.
New Lows in Duckville
This 70-21 loss is not something the folks in Eugene are used to. Coming into this contest, Oregon had defeated neighboring Washington 12 consecutive times. Of course, in none of those previous affairs was Hoke a part of Oregon’s coaching staff.
Of course, not all of the blame can fall on Coach Hoke. Clearly Oregon is going through a bit of a transition this season and the talent level is not where it typically stacks up. But this was still a Top-25 team heading into the year. Now they’ll need a long-range telescope to even find those rankings.
Never much of a wordsmith, Hoke had this to say about his defense’s shocking ineffectiveness after Saturday’s demolition: “It’s like a broken record, but we just have to keep getting after it. That’s the only way to fix it.”
Well, maybe a few schematic changes couldn’t hurt either. But continuing to “get after it” sounds like a can’t-miss plan.
The headset-less wonder probably tries his best to avoid the aforementioned college football rankings every Monday. Not only is his new squad in a worse state than it’s been in decades (or ever), but his old place of employment, the University of Michigan, is flourishing on the field with an undefeated record and a spot in the top five.
The only saving grace in this whole mess for Brady Hoke is that his defense is almost guaranteed to pitch a shutout this coming Saturday. After all, the Ducks have a bye.
But if any defense is to do the impossible and somehow give up a half-dozen touchdowns during a week with no game scheduled, it would be this one.
