Friday five: Players who will be key to Oregon’s success vs. Texas Tech

The No. 13 Oregon Ducks will have an opportunity to notch a marquee win on Saturday when they square off with Joey McGuire’s Texas Tech squad in Lubbock.

There are plenty of intriguing storylines corroding the matchup. Former Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough is the Red Raiders’ starting signal-caller, and former Ducks’ defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter now holds the same role on McGuire’s staff.

With kickoff a little over 24 hours away, here are five players who will be key to an Oregon victory in Week 2.

Khyree Jackson and Dontae Manning

If Oregon wants to slow down the Texas Tech offense, it’s going to need some big performances from its pair of staring cornerbacks.

Alabama transfer Khyree Jackson looked incredibly physical during his debut with the Ducks in Week 1 — albeit, against an overmatched Portland State squad. Dontae Manning surprised some by earning the starting nod over Trikeze Bridges. In all likelihood, Jackson, Manning, and Bridges will feature plenty this Saturday.

It will interesting to see how Oregon goes about utilizing its corners against Jerrand Bradley and the rest of Texas Tech’s talented receiver corps. Last week, Jackson played 14 snaps at left cornerback and 11 snaps on the right side, while Manning played 10 at left corner and 13 at right corner.

On paper, the 6-foot-3 Jackson would seem to be better suited to match up with the 6-foot-5 Bradley.

Nikko Reed

Bradley is far from Texas Tech’s lone threat in the passing game.

Myles Price, a 5-foot-10 burner, matched Bradley with a team-high 51 receptions last season. Price plays the majority of his snaps at slot receiver. He caught six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 and did most of his damage on short routes between the numbers, according to Pro Football Focus.

Additionally, 6-foot-9 tight end Mason Tharp poses a unique threat for the Ducks.

Nikko Reed is going to play the majority of Oregon’s snaps at STAR, and will likely match up with both Bradley and Tharp through the evening. Although, it wouldn’t be surprising if Khamari Terrell gets some snaps against Price.

Bucky Irving

Oregon is going to be up against a thin, unproven Texas Tech linebacker corps on Saturday.

The Red Raiders are working to replace their two starting linebackers from last season. One of the players they were counting on to step into a starting role, Jacob Rodriguez, suffered a sprained foot in the season opener and will not play against the Ducks.

Florida transfer Jesiah Pierre racked up 14 tackles in Week 1 but struggled badly in run defense at times.

With that in mind, Oregon star running back Bucky Irving — as well as the rest of the Ducks’ talented ball carriers — could be poised for big days on Saturday.

Irving is one of the best in the nation when it comes to making would-be tackles miss. It wouldn’t be surprising if he runs wild in Lubbock.

Casey Rogers

Saturday is going to provide the first real test for Oregon’s revamped defense and should help us get a sense of how the pass rush has progressed since last season.

Brandon Dorlus and Jordan Burch are going to do a lot of the heavy lifting for Tosh Lupoi’s group this season. They’re two of the most disruptive edge defenders in the Pac-12.

Red Raiders’ offensive coordinator Zach Kittley openly criticized his offensive line during his press conference this week, particularly starting center Rusty Staats who was “pretty erratic with his snaps at times.” Kittley also acknowledged that the batted passes have been an issue for quarterback Tyler Shough after the senior signal-caller had two passes knocked down in Week 1.

Senior defensive tackle will have an opportunity to exploit those issues on Saturday and could be key to the Ducks slowing down the Red Raiders. No Oregon player deflected more passes last season than Rogers, who looked really sharp during the Ducks’ season opener after a strong 2022 season.

“I think, in general, when you can impact the quarterback, everyone thinks of sacks immediately,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said on Monday. “But that’s not the only way you can impact in the passing game. It’s a lot easier to cover when you don’t have to because the ball got batted. So, as much as we can get our hands up, it certainly matters. Especially with a team that gets the ball out quickly, which these guys do. So that’s something we’ll definitely emphasize.”

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