EUGENE — If there's still any notion that Oregon likes to shy away from hefty opponents, go talk to Rodney Hardrick.
A week ago, he was strung across the field. Defending against an Eastern Washington team that threw the ball 55 times in Oregon's 61-42 win, Hardrick and his fellow inside linebackers were outside of their comfort zone. Defending the pass is doable, he said, but as the Ducks head east toward Michigan later this week, Hardrick is salivating at the thought of one of Michigan State's backs bursting up the middle.
"These are the type of games that I excel in," said Hardrick, a fifth-year senior. "These are the types of games I would rather play in."
Plenty has been made out of Oregon's preparation for the Spartans' passing attack. The Ducks' secondary looked suspect against the Eagles, allowing 438 yards and five touchdowns, and it will certainly be a pivotal matchup against a Michigan State team that harbors one of the better quarterbacks in the country in Connor Cook.
But the Spartans are versatile and strong in the trenches. One of the biggest keys to the game will be limiting MSU on first down, and the Ducks are looking to guys like Hardrick and Joe Walker to clog the gaps when the Spartans' trio of LJ Scott, Madre London and Gerald Holmes come running.
"You have to get these guys in second-and-bad," Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said. "You don't want second-and-five, second-and-four. It's a long day."
One of the biggest reasons the Ducks came away with the win in Eugene last year against the Spartans was the emergence of Walker. After a quiet year with the Ducks as a sophomore, Walker emerged as Oregon's top run-stopper in the win over the Spartans. Walker had nine tackles that game, including two for a loss, in his first start of the season in place of Derrick Malone.
Never one to speak excessively before game day, Walker doesn't have too many memories of the game that sparked his strong play for the rest of 2014. He played more than he had before, the Ducks won and he was happy. A repeat performance would go a long way toward an Oregon win.
"I remember winning," Walker said. "I don't really know. I had a great time last year. It was fun. It was my first time really playing a lot, playing well."
While Cook hit his marks with 343 yards and two scores against the Ducks last year, the run defense kept the Ducks in the game. Michigan State averaged more than 235 yards per game on the ground last season, though the Ducks kept them at bay with just 123 and a lone touchdown. And despite the apparent weaknesses in the secondary against Eastern Washington, the Ducks allowed just 111 yards on the ground last week — compared to the Ducks' 485 rushing yards.
Eastern isn't know for its ground attack, though, and the Ducks did have some noticeable missed tackles in the midfield. According to Pro Football Focus, the Ducks had 11 missed tackles against the Eagles, with Hardrick accounting for two himself. Walker had none. Mistakes like that can be multiplied in this big of a game. The winner automatically jumps into front-runner status for inclusion in the College Football Playoff. The loser will play catch-up the rest of the season.
The Spartans may very well be the toughest team on the Ducks' schedule this year, and it's because of that versatility. Not many teams can run and throw like they do, and Hardrick can't wait to try his best to make them one-dimensional.
"We are inside linebackers," he said. "Not many want to go out and cover All-America receivers, which we do all the time ... but these are the type of games, as linebackers, that we like to play."
— Tyson Alger
talger@oregonian.com
@tysonalger
