Oregon daily emerald., September 29, 2000, Page 5B, Image 21

Ducks’ ‘D’ must stop all of
Huskies’ options
■ Oregon’s 11th-ranked defense must stay disciplined against
Washington’s option run
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
For the first time this season, the
Oregon defense will have to worry
about more than just one running
threat.
In quarterback Marques Tuia
sosopo, tailback Paul Arnold and
four other rushers, the No. 6
Huskies have one of the nation’s
most lethal backfields.
And Washington’s strongest of
fensive attack has been the option
run.
With the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Tu
iasosopo controlling the ball, the
Duck defense will have many op
tions to defend — perhaps too
many.
When the option is called, the
Husky senior quarterback, who
leads his team in rushing, will most
likely run to the right. He will ei
ther keep the ball or pitch it to
Arnold; many on the Oregon de
fense would probably prefer the lat
ter.
“Tuiasosopo is a great quarter
back and a great athlete,” Oregon
linebacker Matt Smith said. “The
option does throw us off a little be
cause it’s a different look. We are
somewhat concerned because we
don’t work at it and don’t see it a
Free safety Keith
J
Erin Swanson-Davies Emerald
Lewis (16) and linebacker Wesley Mallard (18) stop UCLA’s Tab Perry.
whole lot.”
One positive aspect for the Duck
defense is that the option run is
known for creating turnovers if the
quarterback tries to pitch the ball.
“If we can, on the option, try to
keep the ball out of Tuiasosopo’s
hands and make him pitch the
ball,” comerback Brian Johnson
said. “With the option, they tend to
fumble a lot. If we get it out of his
hands, it will help our defense out a
lot.”
Overall, however, strategies are
limited when a team tries to defend
the option, Oregon defensive coor
dinator Nick Aliotti said.
“The key to the option is to be a
very disciplined type of defense,”
Aliotti said. “One man has to stick
with the dive, another the quarter
back and one with the pitch. And
we’re not exclusively defending the
option because they’re not going to
play the option every down. We
just have to be disciplined.”
The Huskies are also deep at the
tailback position with junior Willie
Hurst, the team’s leading rusher last
season, providing a boost off the
bench. This season, Tuiasosopo,
Arnold and Hurst have combined
for nearly 125 yards per game.
“I think the option is a kind of of
fense that they’re depending on the
defense to make mistakes for it to
be successful,” Oregon defensive
lineman Saul Patu said. “And so
many people make mistakes when
they try to cover the option because
there’s so many different ways to
block with all the different blocking
schemes. And I think right now,
Marques is like the leading rusher
on the team, so we’re definitely go
ing to try and key in on him and
take him out of the game.”
Oregon’s llth-ranked defense in
the nation held then-No. 6 UCLA
to minus-nine yards rushing last
week and Nevada to minus-three
rushing yards on Sept. 2.
Not bad for a team that at the be
ginning of the season considered
defense its biggest uncertainty.
Coming into this season every
one knew that everyone was kind
of shaky on the defense. We didn’t
know how we were going to be,”
■ft
Johnson said. “But as a whole, we
knew we were going to be good. All
we have to do is come out and play
fast and that’s what we’ve been do
ing. Our defense has fun when we
play. And when we do that we pret
ty much shut the other team
down.”
Establishing the running game
Turn to UO Side, page 17B
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