Oregon's Defense in Question Entering Touch Game Against UCLA

After an interesting first couple of weeks for Oregon, a lot of the noise seems to have quieted down. Oregon has continued to prove that it's one of the better teams in America over the past few seasons, despite the first few weeks not going exactly as planned. 

It's interesting that Oregon has been playing some of the best teams in the country and still getting the panic button pressed because it hasn't played perfect football, yet the Ducks are still among the top 15 teams and sit at 3-1 entering the bulk of Big Ten play. 

After an impressive win over rival USC, Oregon now takes on UCLA in what should be one of the most interesting games on the college football slate this Saturday. 

UCLA is much better than it has been the past couple of years, and Dan Lanning knows it, recently comparing the Bruins to last year's Indiana team.

As for how Oregon benefited from this bye week, having a week off to fix some of its defensive issues should have been at the top of the priority list. 

Oregon has played well on the offensive side of things, but the defensive problems have been an issue, something ESPN recently pointed out after ranking the Ducks number 12 in America entering this week.

“The Ducks had a week off to decompress from their win over USC. Coach Dan Lanning dropped in on Seattle Seahawks practice, and quarterback Dante Moore posted on Instagram that he will "be back soon" after sustaining a concussion. Lanning made it clear that he's done with the USC talk, adding that Oregon's next opponent, UCLA, reminds him of Indiana. 

“The Ducks are still looking for improvement from a veteran-laden defense that has allowed 93 points in three games against FBS competition. Oregon surrendered a combined 643 passing yards and four touchdowns against Oklahoma State and USC,” Adam Rittenberg wrote.

Entering the season, expectations were that Oregon's defense would be among the best in college football. 

Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case through the first four games. That's why we should view things a bit differently than many have. It's only been four games, so Oregon has plenty of time to figure things out. The defense will be put to the test on Saturday, but I expect it to be ready for the challenge.