College football Week 7 buzz: Oregon-Washington, USC's defense

Dinich: Washington defensive coordinator William Inge also said one-on-one tackling in space will be critical because Oregon has been excellent at turning a short burst into an explosive play. "Especially with the running back [Bucky [Irving] making you miss, where you could have stopped him at the line of scrimmage and all of a sudden you miss a tackle and now it's a 15-yard gain," Inge said. "A high-percentage throw by Bo Nix that's within five to seven yards at the line of scrimmage and someone misses a tackle and now it's a 14-yard gain. You miss a tackle with a secondary guy, and it's a 50-yard gain."

Rittenberg: The prevailing theme with Oregon in Year 2 under Lanning is depth. Although Nix, Irving and wide receiver Troy Franklin jump out, others have contributed to the nation's No. 2 scoring offense. Lanning said he likes Oregon's receiver group "as much as any I've ever been around," noting that Traeshon Holden has been coming on lately, and Gary Bryant Jr. and Tez Johnson also are good options for Nix. He also likes Jordan James, averaging 8.7 yards per carry, as a complement to Irving. "They could both be the only back for a lot of teams," Lanning said. "Again, strength in numbers. When we get in there, we can be fresh because we've got two really good ones."

What does North Carolina need to do to win the ACC?

Rittenberg: Continue to play great complementary football. When I spoke with UNC coach Mack Brown, he had the key stats ready, including this one: The Tar Heels ran 97 plays to only 51 for Syracuse in last week's win. Here's another from Brown: UNC has allowed only 20 second-half points in four games against Power 5 opponents. "The narrative's changed," Brown told me. "The guys are expecting to play great defense, we're starting to force some turnovers. We're two-deep on defense and in some places three-deep, so we're rotating a lot of people and we're staying fresh." If the defense can continue to ascend alongside quarterback Drake Maye, who Brown said is "actually playing better than he did last year," then the Heels are a bona fide ACC title contender.

Dinich: One coach who faced UNC this season noted the defense as well, saying he thinks the Tar Heels will wind up facing Florida State for the ACC title because of it. "You go back to last year, and there was a perception and a bad rap about them defensively, and they did have some poor defensive games -- particularly early in the season -- but watch them late in the year, they played pretty good defense in the bowl game against Oregon," the coach said. "They brought back most of those guys. You knew they were talented on the defensive line -- some of those defensive linemen, most of the teams in the country recruited."

Rittenberg: Brown talked more about the lighter-recruited players on defense who are standing out, including linebacker Cedric Gray -- who leads the Heels in tackles (42) and quarterback hurries (six) while ranking second in tackles for loss (4.5) -- and senior Kaimon Rucker, who plays the "Jack" position and leads UNC in both sacks (four) and tackles for loss (7.5). "Ced Gray would have been maybe a second-round [NFL] draft choice and decided to come back was a strong message -- he wanted to win more games," Brown said. "He was not very highly recruited. He was a three-star that was not offered a Power 5 scholarship when we offered him. And the same with Kaimon Rucker: Kaimon was undersized, did not have a Power 5 offer, he was a three-star. And they're two of our best players on defense. They play with an edge."

Dinich: They're going to need it Saturday against Miami and quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, but it will be interesting to see how the Canes respond after Saturday's befuddling loss to Georgia Tech. According to ESPN Analytics, UNC has at least a 50% chance to win every remaining game except Nov. 18 at Clemson, which has a 53.9% chance to beat the Tar Heels in Death Valley.

We've talked about USC's defense before, but it's not getting better. Is there a path to the Trojans improving on that side of the ball this season?

Dinich: I've spoken with multiple coaches who have faced USC and said that yes, the scheme is complicated, but it's a good one when properly executed. The Trojans' offense is 118th in time of possession, which causes their defense to be on the field a lot. Because they run a lot of combo coverages that teams have found ways to attack by using different formations, shifts and motions, their defensive backs have been forced to adjust and figure out who is fitting the run on the fly.

One coach noticed they move their defensive linemen post-snap fairly often, so their run fits for their linebackers and support defenders aren't clearly defined, and that causes them to be out of position sometimes. "They are an athletic and twitchy defense, but when individual guys are put at the point of attack to make tackles, they aren't consistent with making them," one coach said. "They usually have guys there, but they have missed quite a few tackles, which also could be due to fatigue."

Rittenberg: Some coaches wonder if USC's larger program philosophies could be hurting the defense's ability to perform in games. A Power 5 coach noted how USC has made several of its major NIL investments at wide receiver -- Jordan Addison, Dorian Singer, Mario Williams, Zachariah Branch -- rather than at defensive line or cornerback, like Georgia and other national contenders do. "It's a different model," the coach said. "It's [Riley's] philosophy -- he's going to outscore you." A Pac-12 coach wondered if USC's defense sees enough varied offensive looks in practice. Although facing Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the nation's top scoring offense in practice has its preparation advantages, there are also drawbacks.

"Their offense runs like five passing concepts from 10 and 11 personnel," the coach said. "How do you ever get better at fitting runs and aligning to multiple formations? You don't, and then you bust."

Dinich: It's possible that USC has also been used to playing with a lead, and its game against Arizona was really the first test where every defensive snap truly mattered. One coach who faced USC this season told me he thinks the Trojans' defense is "taking too much heat." He was the second coach who pointed out some injuries, and said the Trojans have a good scheme and talented players. "They do a lot of things, which might cause them to have some missed assignments here or there, but for the most part, they get after the QB," he said. "They have difficult coverage schemes."

Rittenberg: The hard thing to square with USC is the production plays -- 57 tackles for loss (tied for first nationally), 22 sacks (tied for fifth nationally), eight forced fumbles (tied for fourth nationally) -- and the breakdowns with assignments and tackling. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch's analogy to me a few weeks ago about the baseball pitcher with high strikeouts, low walks and a bad ERA continues to fit this unit. Maybe it is the lack of adversity.

"You're like, 'Hey, go after the quarterback, have a tackle for loss, have a sack, don't worry about giving up a completion play,'" a Pac-12 coach said. "The amount of plays a team would have to make to get back in the game is pretty high. When they're up 35-7 against Colorado and Colorado's going to go as fast as they can and throw hitches and throw screens, you're going to get some plays out of it, but you're not going to get enough plays that are going to cause you to lose."

The point the coach made about USC doing so much -- maybe too much -- has been echoed by others. You wonder if USC should mimic what coordinator Jim Knowles has done with Ohio State, which seems to be taking fewer chances this season but is limiting points (10.2 ppg allowed).

Which conference has been most impressive so far?

Rittenberg: Let's use the process of elimination. The Big 12 and Big Ten are out -- far too top heavy. The SEC's depth doesn't seem as solid as usual, although Georgia remains the team to beat nationally. So it's down to the ACC vs. the Pac-12. "The league is the most balanced it's ever been since I've been watching it," Mack Brown told me of the ACC, where he first coached North Carolina from 1988 to 1997, before returning in 2019. "Everybody's talking about Florida State being a playoff team, but if Clemson makes a short field goal, they beat Florida State. Louisville beats Notre Dame, Duke nearly beats Notre Dame. Teams in the ACC haven't beaten Notre Dame for 30 games. So there's a lot of things happening right now in this league that I haven't seen happen before." That being said, I'm going with the Pac-12. Too many heavyweights at the top.

Dinich: The Pac-12 is the strongest because it has the deepest field of legitimate playoff contenders, starting with the showdown Saturday between Washington and Oregon. Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer told me this week he sees a direct correlation between the elite quarterback play and the success of the entire conference. "I think it's huge," he said. "Especially in those nonconference games as you build the reputation of what is this year's Pac-12 quality, because you know you're going to end up going after each other." He's right in that the toughest competition from the Pac-12 will come from within, but as long as the selection committee values the league in its final CFP top 25 as it did last year (six ranked teams), strength of schedule won't be an issue for the league champ.

Rittenberg: The Pac-12's nonconference performance stands out, especially because its best teams have often fallen short in those games (hello, 2022 Utah and 2019 Oregon). That's why USC's ability to win at Notre Dame -- when neither team is playing particularly well -- matters so much. But the depth at the top is overwhelming. "The Pac-12 is unreal right now," a coach in the league told me. "The top six teams are really, really, really good. A lot of the coaching staffs have been here for a while, so their culture is in place. You have such consistency in the top programs, and you have Oregon and Washington and USC, who are in the NIL space at the highest level."

Dinich: Oregon's Lanning said this week it's partly a combination of the transfer portal and the elite quarterback play, which in some cases like the Ducks' are intertwined. "Guys that were maybe good players at other places have come here and become premier players, or vice versa, but I think that it's leveled out the playing field a little bit," he said. "But the quarterback play in this conference this year, I've never been in a conference that's had the quarterbacks this league has."

What's your upset pick for Week 7?

Rittenberg: Missouri (+2.5) over Kentucky. I was burned by picking against a home favorite last week (UCLA), and Kentucky stormed out to a 23-0 lead over Florida in its last home game. But I'm a Brady Cook believer -- he's one of the nation's most improved quarterbacks with 1,879 pass yards and 13 touchdowns, and wide receiver Luther Burden III (793 receiving yards) will give UK some trouble. "I would think Kentucky will struggle to keep up with them," an SEC assistant told me. "They're pretty good on offense, and Kentucky can't throw it."

Dinich: UCLA (+3.5) over Oregon State. You can have the SEC this week. You won't see me pick against Bama in this space again this season. I'm still going bold, though. UCLA -- yes that UCLA -- is playing elite defense. No. 2 nationally in rushing defense, No. 5 in total defense and tied for No. 8 in scoring defense (12.2 points per game). That's exactly what they'll need to slow down D.J. Uiagalelei and the Beavers.

Let's empty your notebooks. What else are you hearing this week?

Dinich:

• Florida quarterback Graham Mertz has made a stunning improvement in his accuracy, and coach Billy Napier attributed at least some of it to how smart Mertz is. Florida uses S2 Cognition, which, among other things, measures a player's cognitive abilities and decision-making skills.

Napier said Mertz scored a 98% on his evaluation.

"He's a relentless worker and has a renewed emphasis on fundamentals," Napier said.

As the Gators prepare to travel to South Carolina on Saturday, Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer has taken note of Mertz' improvement. The Wisconsin transfer arrived in Gainesville as a career 59.5% passer but has hit on 80% of his passes through five games -- trailing only Oregon's Bo Nix nationally.

"He's protecting the ball, and they're doing a good job of running the ball and protecting him," Beamer said, "keeping guys in protection, sending two or three receivers on a route where it's a deep shot, and he's able to connect on it and the guy's open because of their run game -- it opens up the downfield passing game. If the receiver is not open downfield, he does a really good job of getting rid of the ball and checking it down to a running back."

Rittenberg:

• Pac-12 offenses and quarterbacks are a huge story, but as Heather referenced, a Pac-12 defense is also reaching milestones. Under first-year coordinator D'Anton Lynn, UCLA leads the nation in fewest yards allowed per play at 3.74 -- on pace for its first season giving up fewer than four yards per play since 1969 (3.5 YPP). The Bruins have held five straight opponents to fewer than 20 points for the first time since 2001. The defense allowed only one touchdown to Utah in the team's lone loss and has given up just one rushing touchdown all fall.

Lynn, the 33-year-old son of former Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, had never coached in college and streamlined his approach, since players have less time for meetings and walkthroughs. He also credited coach Chip Kelly for having the defensive line and outside linebackers meet together. UCLA has 18 sacks, 44 tackles for loss and 26 QB hurries.

"For this team and this staff, in this system, that was a big move," Lynn told me of combining the line and outside linebackers. "It just allows us to do more up front because some of our guys are interchangeable."

Six defenders have at least two tackles for loss, but Laiatu Latu, a first-team All-Pac-12 pick in 2022, leads the way with 5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, an interception and 2 forced fumbles.

"He makes everyone's job a lot easier," Lynn said. "The thing that surprises a lot of people is how athletic he is when he drops. We obviously don't drop him a lot because of what he does when he attacks the quarterback, but when he does, he moves very well in space, has smooth hips, good change of direction."

• Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman was a productive player on an average defense in 2022. He has maintained his production for an upgraded unit -- 58 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery -- while improving in several areas, especially away from the field.

"It's one thing to practice hard and to go full speed, and another thing to learn the details and the depths and the layers, not only of defense but to learn offense," OU defensive coordinator Ted Roof told me. "To learn conceptually, he's done that and he's playing fast because he knows what to do, how to do it and can anticipate offensively what may happen.

"I've seen as much growth from him off the field in one year as probably any other player I've coached."

• Lanning was transparent about the things he could have done differently in the team's rivalry losses to Washington and Oregon State last year. The 37-year-old said his approach as a coach "continues to reshape and adapt" as Oregon begins a stretch run that includes not only the Huskies and Beavers, but USC and Utah.

"I'm certainly doing things different this time than I did last time," Lanning said. "The rivalry is awesome, it's a big deal, it means a lot to a lot of people. But the best way that we can execute well in the rivalries is to be prepared."