Quarterfinals Report Card: High defensive grades after dominant effort

The Oregon Ducks are onto the College Football Playoff semifinals after taking down the No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Orange Bowl, using a dominant shutout defensive effort and strong special teams day to push them over the top.

Coming into the game, both teams ranked highly nationally in various offense and defensive stat categories, potentially setting up a tightly-contested, highly-competitive matchup between two teams that appeared to be national championship contenders.

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That turned out to be false, as the Ducks completely dominated the Red Raiders' offense, holding them to just 215 total yards and zero points — precisely 42.5 points below their season average. It was a performance fueled by all three levels of their defense, with countless standouts plays being made across the field at all three levels.

The offense did enough to win the game, though there are certainly things to improve upon after scoring just six points in the first half and essentially 16 points all game before a late touchdown.

With that being said, we graded each position group as part of our quarterfinals report card, with the defense tallying excellent grades after an excellent performance.

Quarterbacks

Grade: B

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Dante Moore was slinging the ball around in the first half, effectively moving the ball up and down the field. However, he left some potential touchdowns on the field, namely an underthrown fade ball to Malik Benson on the Ducks' first drive and missing a streaking Kenyon Sadiq on a fourth down attempt. An interception is also on his stat line, but that's a moot point considering it was on fourth down. Besides those mishaps, Moore did everything that he needed to, ripping passes across the middle in the first half and not doing too much in the second half as Oregon nursed a lead. Moore certainly wasn't at his best, but he managed the game well, avoided costly mistakes and ultimately quarterbacked the Ducks to a win.

Running Backs

Grade: B-

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The Red Raiders' front seven is for real, as they held the Ducks to just 89 yards between the running backs on 36 carries and a lousy mark of 2.5 yards per carry. That's not to say that the backs didn't run hard, as Jordon Davison churned out 42 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and Noah Whittington, though totaling just 31 yards, ran hard as well, continuing to tire out and batter the opposing defensive line. If it were just the running game, this would be a C+ grade, but the receiving by the backs has to be accounted for here. Whittington converted on a fourth-down catch, Davison was the hot route on a blitz and turned it into a first down while Jayden Limar had a 27-yarder late. They can be better and more explosive, but the toughness stuck out for this group.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Grade: B

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It was tight end Jamari Johnson who led the team in receiving, turning four catches into 66 yards and making a tough catch in the seam on the Ducks' first drive. With so much attention paid to fellow tight end Sadiq (who finished with four grabs for 22 yards including a clutch fourth-down catch), other guys are sure to be open. Johnson capitalized as did Benson (five catches for 51 yards) and Dakorien Moore, who reemerged as a valuable playmaker with three receptions for 21 yards. The game script of Oregon holding a lead the entire game isn't kind to the pass catching stat lines, but this unit was opportunistic with the targets that came their way.

Offensive Line

Grade: C+

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It's difficult to give a higher grade than a C considering the Ducks amassed just 64 yards on the ground and two sacks with pressure rampant in the first half. But the offensive line settled down in the second half, giving Moore more time to throw and grinding out tough yards on the ground. Speaking of toughness, right tackle Alex Harkey went down with an ankle injury but didn't miss a single play, returning on Oregon's next offensive possession. Like the rest of the offense, there's things to improve and refine upon, but they fought and ultimately did enough to come away with the win.

Defensive Line

Grade: A+

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Coming into the game, there was much talk about the Texas Tech defensive line and how dominant they've been this season. But by game's end, it was the Ducks' defensive line that stole the show, finishing with four sacks including a game-changing strip sack that Matayo Uiagalelei nearly returned for a touchdown. Teitum Tuioti was a star with two sacks, routinely beating his man off the line. Both A'Mauri Washington and Bear Alexander didn't have gaudy stat lines, but their impact was felt on the interior as they weren't moved in the slightest, spearheading the rush defense and allowing the edge rushers to get home.

Linebackers

Grade: A+

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As he routinely does, Bryce Boettcher was flying around the field and had a strong effort in a big game. He tied safety Dillon Thieneman with a team-leading 12 tackles, six of which solo. He's been a constant performer, but it was also Jerry Mixon who was a playmaker, finishing with four tackles but registering two pass breakups — one that was nearly a game-changing pick-six in the first half — and a tackle for loss. In holding the Red Raiders to just 78 rushing yards and limiting big plays across the middle in the pass game, the linebackers were outstanding.

Secondary

Grade: A+

Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton came into this game averaging 267.7 pass yards per game in the contests that he started and finished, throwing only four interceptions all season. He wasn't same player on Thursday due to the pass rush and sticky coverage by the secondary, as he finished with just 137 yards, threw two interceptions and was strip sacked. True freshman cornerback Brandon Finney Jr., who'd been targeted heavily in recent weeks, picked off both of Morton's passes and recovered a fumble, making it easily the best game of his young career. Thieneman tied for the lead in tackles with 12 while cornerback Jadon Canady had a clutch fourth-down tackle for loss. The secondary had their best performance of the year on the biggest stage yet.

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Special Teams

Grade: A

Though kicker Atticus Sappington missed a field goal with just under five minutes left, his three converted field goals — plus a near career-high 50-yarder — more than makes up for it, as he contributed 11 of Oregon's 23 points. James Ferguson-Reynolds and the punting unit perfectly executed a fake, resulting in an 11-yard catch from edge rusher Tuioti. Though the drive ultimately ended on downs, the conversion extended the drive ten more plays, further tiring out the Texas Tech defensive front. With points at a premium and all three phases being needed to win the game, Oregon's special teams unit answered the bell.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Ducks' quarterfinals report card features high defensive grades