Oregon At First Glance: Defensive Players USC Fans Need To Know

The USC Trojans will take on the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship, Friday, December 18th. Although the Trojans are undefeated this season (5-0) and the Ducks have two loses (3-2) there is no denying the amount of talent on Oregon's roster.

The Duck's defense has leaned on numerous underclassmen for the majority of their 2020 season. The Ducks have gotten over 50% of their production from freshmen and sophomores in five major categories while eight different underclassmen have started a game on defense this year. The Ducks currently rank 75th nationally for overall defense among the NCAA.

Here are three players on Oregons defense that USC fans need to know.

(LB) Isaac Slade Matautia

Junior Isaac Slade-Matautia leads the Ducks defense with 33 tackles this season including two for loss and one sack. He is the only returning FBS linebacker to have at least 60 tackles and double-digit pass breakups in 2019.

Quotable:

"With USC everyone knows they look like the best team in the Pac-12. They have threats everywhere on the field. We’re just gonna have to come out and play with that chip on our shoulder. We have the saying get on edge and stay on edge." (Slade Matautia)

(ILB) Noah Sewell

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Freshman Noah Sewell, stormed into the Ducks program and made immediate impacts on defense. To date this season he has 32 tackles, five for loss, and two sacks. Sewell is the only true freshman to start on defense for the Ducks through five games and is tied for the team lead in sacks. He leads the Pac-12 freshmen in tackles (32) and TFLs (5.0) and tied for the lead in sacks (2.0).

[How To Watch: Pac-12 Championship: Oregon Ducks vs USC Trojans]

(DE) Kayvon Thibodeaux

Sophomore defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux has 27 tackles, team-leading 5.5 for loss, two sacks on the 2020 season. The Pac-12 Conference Freshman Defensive Player of the Year also set a record for the Ducks with a team-high 9.0 sacks last season.

Thibodeaux is the Oregon Ducks' top-ranked recruit, and continues to make impressive plays for Mario Cristobal's team this season.

[READ: Oregon At First Glance: Offensive Players USC Fans Need To Know]

[READ: Vavae Malepeai Doubtful for Pac-12 Championship]

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