SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Both the Oregon Ducks and the Texas Longhorns have loads of talent but some of their players are dinged up or are out for the game completely with injuries or suspensions. Others will be playing the last games of their college careers, perhaps their entire football careers.

Below are the players to watch in Monday’s Alamo Bowl.

Oregon

Marcus Mariota (QB) – Mariota is always worth watching since he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country, but eyes should be especially focused on him because he’s played on a partially torn MCL since the Nov. 7 matchup against Stanford. Offensive coordinator Scott Frost said the redshirt sophomore quarterback is completely healthy and Mariota said, “Since the last month, I feel probably the healthiest I’ve been.” If that’s the case, the Ducks will be in great shape when they face Texas. They just have to make sure Mariota doesn’t give away any more of Oregon’s secrets.

Byron Marshall (RB) – The same concerns surrounding Mariota are surrounding Marshall, only moreso. The sophomore running back injured his ankle early in Oregon’s 42-16 loss to Arizona and was out for the entire Civil War game. Mariota at least never missed a game while hurt. But Marshall, like Mariota, doesn’t consider himself injured anymore, which will turn an already dynamic running game into a nearly unstoppable force. Marshall also needs just five rushing yards to reach 1,000 on the season, and he said on Saturday that the milestone “is going to happen.”

Tyler Johnstone (OT) – The redshirt sophomore offensive tackle will have what’s probably the toughest job of any player for the Ducks: blocking All-American defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat. Jeffcoat was tied for fourth with 12 sacks this season, so Johnstone will have his toughest test since facing UCLA’s Anthony Barr on Oct. 26. Johnstone won’t have any better time if he or Texas’ defensive line switch during the game. The Longhorns’ other defensive end is Cedric Reed, who had 9 sacks this season. If Johnstone can hold his own, Texas will have a hard time winning the game.

Texas

Jeffcoat and Reed (DEs) – In addition to being an first team All-American defensive end, Jeffcoat made the all-Big 12 first team and won the Hendricks’ Award as the nation’s best defensive end. Reed, as mentioned early, had 9 sacks and is far from an easy assignment compared to Jeffcoat. Oregon tackles Johnstone and Jake Fischer will have their hands full all game.

Malcolm Brown (RB) – The Longhorns are depleted at running back. Starter Jonathan Gray suffered a season-ending injury three games ago and back-ups Jalen Overstreet and Daje Johnson were ruled academically ineligible for the Alamo Bowl. So the onus is on Brown (Joe Bergeron will also be a key contributor). Brown hasn’t been too impressive this season (4.1 yards per carry) but Texas is a run-first team (530 rushing attempts compared to 408 passing in 2013), so he will need to perform in order for the Longhorns to play well against Oregon.

Carrington Byndon (CB) – The senior has rarely been picked on by opposing offenses this season due to his elite cover skills, but he will have one of his toughest matchups this season against Oregon. He’ll probably get a chance to cover both Josh Huff and Bralon Addison, but like Jeffcoat and Reed, both Oregon receivers are almost equally tough to face. Byndom hasn’t faced a quarterback on Mariota’s level, either, and if he can’t shut down one side of the field, the Longhorns will have a hard time stopping the Ducks from putting up a bunch of points.

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A reporter during Sunday’s press conference asked Texas head coach Mack Brown what he envisioned for himself after Monday’s Alamo Bowl, Brown’s last game at Texas. Would Brown want to continue coaching?

But before the reporter got to this question, he said, “Mack, since we’re not going to be able to see you on Tuesday …”

“We’re not hanging out?” Brown said, jokingly.

The room erupted with laughter. The reporter then asked the question about Brown’s future, and Brown dismissed it, saying he was just focused on beating Oregon on Monday. The reporter then jokingly asked if Brown wanted to get coffee on Tuesday.

“No,” Brown said. “I don’t drink coffee.”

Brown’s talked like this throughout the press conference and the proceeding Valero Alamo Bowl Kickoff Luncheon. Even when he was asked tough questions about his retirement, his answers didn’t sound bitter. Brown responded with in a sarcastic tone that brought smiles to people’s faces rather than an uncomfortable vibe.

One reporter asked Brown to address a story that retiring was not his choice.

“I can address that after watching Oregon’s video, we have been totally focused on Oregon and nothing else,” Brown said with a grin.

Brown replied almost identically to a question about reaching terms on his buy-out agreement. Asked what he would have done differently this this season, Brown said, “I would have won all the games.”

Helfrich talked about the contributions retiring defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti has provided to Oregon’s football program. Helfrich said Aliotti is happy and healthy at this point in his life, jokingly saying that Aliotti needs to “go play golf.” Brown chimed in.

“Nick told me he was a 20 handicap,” Brown said.

“24,” Helfrich said.

“Oh, there’s no question,” Brown said. “I didn’t buy any of it.”

The press conference ended around 11:30 Central Time. The two head coaches shook hands and headed across the street to the Mariott Rivercenter Grand Ballroom for the luncheon. Many people spoke, including ESPN’s Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe and players from both teams. Helfrich and Brown also spoke, with Brown being the last person to take the microphone. The large crowd in the ballroom gave Brown a standing ovation when he was introduced. After the applause subsided, Brown said, ”I think it’s obvious y’all needed to stretch.”

Brown later told a story about the last time Oregon and Texas played — the 2000 Holiday Bowl. He remembered seeing Nike chairman and Oregon alum Phil Knight.

“I thought he was for us,” Brown said. “He wasn’t.”

Knight was decked out in Oregon gear from head-to-toe, and even though Brown knew Knight was from Oregon, he expected him to at least be neutral.

Before Brown finished talking, he presented Mark Helfrich some spurs with Helfrich’s name on it. Helfrich thanked Brown, the two shook hands and the coaches left the ballroom with their teams. A couple of reporters from the Longhorn Network were in attendance, and they said they’ve never seen Brown this consistently loose. He’s only had moments like that, they said.

Very few people know for certain what Brown plans to do after the Alamo Bowl. Even he might be unsure. But if Monday’s Alamo Bowl is in fact his final game as a coach, he sounds content with how his 16-year career at Texas — and his entire coaching career — has turned out.

“I mean 16 years is a long time,” Brown said, “and it’s been a wonderful ride.”

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — One of the biggest reasons Stanford has beaten Oregon each of the past two seasons is its physical defense. The Cardinal rarely miss tackles in space, so it’s no surprise Oregon struggled against them since the Ducks thrive on spreading the field and hoping defenders whiff.

The Texas Longhorns realize how important tackling in space will be come Monday when they face the Ducks in the Alamo Bowl. All-American defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat said several times during Saturday’s press conference that the Texas defense needs to have all 11 defenders swarm towards the football on Monday.

“Physical and flying around, that’s the most important thing,” Jeffcoat said.

Defensive end Cedric Reed noticed how good Stanford was at rushing the quarterback and said the biggest focus against the Oregon offense should be on making Marcus Mariota uncomfortable throughout the game.

“The Stanford d-line, they got to the quarterback,” Cedric Reed said. “They put Mariota in situations where he was very uncomfortable.”

Jeffcoat said it was important to make the entire offense uncomfortable, not just Mariota.

“You have to make them do things they don’t want to do,” Jeffcoat said. “As far as Marcus Mariota being in the pocket, you have to move him around. He’s comfortable in the pocket. If you leave him in the pocket, he’ll slide around and he’ll make plays, so we have to get him out of the pocket.”

Reed said it would be just as important for the Longhorns to shut down Oregon’s running game. If they can make the Ducks one-dimensional on offense, he said, Texas will have an excellent chance of winning.

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson said Stanford’s defense didn’t deserve complete credit for their overall performance against Oregon this season. Stanford ran 21 more plays than the Ducks and possessed the ball for 25 minutes and eight seconds longer. When a defense is able to rest on the sidelines for that much during a game, they’ll be that much more likely to play well.

“Controlling the ball on the other side by Stanford’s offense I think is a plus for Stanford’s defense,” Robinson said.

But Robinson and Texas’ defenders can’t control what their offense does. They have to focus on sticking to their assignments, making the Ducks uncomfortable and attacking the ball-carrier every play. Against the run, Jeffcoat said, the Longhorns need to plug up the middle, forcing Byron Marshall, De’Anthony Thomas and Thomas Tyner to run outside.

“We have to make sure that we’re physical like we like to play, make sure we’re in our gaps making plays, causing them to go east-and-west instead of north-and-south,” Jeffcoat said.

Forcing the running backs to go east-and-west will also make the Longhorns more likely to get tackles for loss. A ripple effect occurs if that happens because the Ducks will become one-dimensional, just like Reed and his teammates hope to do.

Robinson said getting tackles for loss will make Oregon a passing team. While Mariota is one of the nation’s best passers, Robinson is confident in his defense when offenses throw the ball. After all, their biggest strength on defense is probably their pass rush, led by Jeffcoat and Reed.

“If you can get them (the Ducks) in long yardage, you can be more aggressive in rushing the passer,” Robinson said.

If Texas can force Oregon to become a pass-first team, the Ducks might be in for another Stanford-esque grind during the Alamo Bowl.

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

SAN ANTONIO — The night before Nick Aliotti announced he would retire after the Alamo Bowl, sources said cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was expected to return to Oregon for the 2014 season. Ekpre-Olomu, however, didn’t give a black-and-white answer during Friday’s press conference.

“At this time, I still haven’t made a decision about what I’m going to do,” Ekpre-Olomu said. “I feel that I’m going to wait probably until I have the time to sit down with my family and actually think things through.”

Ekpre-Olomu’s parents are in their native Nigeria right now visiting family. After the Alamo Bowl, he’ll have a little over two weeks to make his decision (The deadline for underclassmen to enter the 2014 NFL draft is Jan. 15.)

The junior from Chino Hill, Calif., is projected to be a first-second round pick in May’s draft by several draft experts. Ekpre-Olomu, though, said he simply wants to focus on Monday’s game versus Texas at the moment.

“I’m really worried about the Alamo Bowl right now and that’s pretty much it,” he said.

Aliotti introduced Taylor Hart, Tony Washington, Brian Jackson, Derrick Malone and Ekpre-Olomu at the start of the press conference. He used full names and positions for the first four players, but when he got to Ekpre-Olomu, Aliotti said, “That’s just Ifo.”

Later, Aliotti was asked what he’d tell Ekpre-Olomu about the decision to stay or go.

“Ifo’s ready to do whatever he wants to do,” Aliotti said. “I respect that young man enough that whatever he chooses to do, I’m 100 percent behind it. Whether I stayed here or not, I’d still be 100 percent behind Ifo because the young man has to do what’s best for him and his family and when it’s all said and done, when you listen to him talk, he’s pretty intelligent. He’ll figure it out, and I support him in whatever he chooses to do.”

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

Former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla pleaded guilty to cocaine possession on Friday. The plea resulted in two years probation for Lyerla, as well as 10 days in jail and another 10 days suspended.

Lyerla, 21, will be allowed to move to Nevada to train for February’s scouting combine. In the two most recent hearings, his lawyer, Stephen Houze, requested a relocation to Las Vegas for Lyerla so he can train with Dwight Ross of Performance Athletics. However, Lane County Circuit Court judge Jay McAlpin denied their request in the latest hearing on Dec. 17.

Lyera was arrested on Oct. 23 for cocaine possession and interfering with a police officer. During his arraignment the next day, he was given the choice to enter a drug treatment program, which potentially could have cleared him of his charges. However, Lyerla decided not to enter the program.

The former Duck withdrew from the University of Oregon on Oct. 6. He was in his junior year.

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, who will retire after the Alamo Bowl, will be remembered for many things in his Oregon career, and not all of the memories will be positive.

One of his biggest criticisms this season has been his defense’s struggles versus the run, especially late in the season. In the 26-20 loss to Stanford, the Ducks gave up 274 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. In the 42-16 loss to Arizona, 304 yards and four touchdowns. Against Oregon State, who isn’t known for being a running team, 231 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Aliotti talked about all of those games in Friday’s press conference, and he agreed that his team played poorly against the Wildcats.

“I didn’t have them ready,” Aliotti said, “We didn’t play great. It’s probably one of the worst games that we’ve played that I can remember.”

However, Aliotti defended Oregon’s defensive performances against the run versus Stanford and Oregon State.

“Stanford, I don’t think we played that bad against the run, contrary to what everybody else might think,” Aliotti said. “But they ran the ball 66 times. They didn’t have to throw it.”

The defensive coordinator also said that some of the struggles on the defensive side of the ball against the Cardinal could be explained by the other side.

“Tough to answer this way, but we didn’t play very well on offense,” Aliotti said. “So, the fact that we didn’t play very well on offense, they didn’t have to throw the ball.”

Aliotti added that giving up nearly 300 yards is “the nature of the beast” when a team runs the ball 66 times like Stanford did. Arizona, for instance, ran it 65 times against Oregon and only averaged 4.7 yards per carry, far from an elite figure in college football (UAB averages exactly 4.7 yards per carry this season, ranking 40th in the FBS). Stanford averaged even less yards per carry (4.2) against the Ducks.

Oregon State arguably had a better rushing performance than both Stanford and Arizona in its 36-35 loss to the Ducks. The Beavers’ 231-yard performance included negative-28 yards (mostly on sacks) from quarterback Sean Mannion, and they still rushed for 5.9 yards per carry.

Aliotti also said that because Oregon State is a pass-first team, making them run the ball wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Didn’t want them to run for that many yards but they throw the ball, so we wanted to make sure they didn’t throw the ball all over the place,” Aliotti said. “Maybe to some degree, the fact that they ran the ball helped us win.”

Mannion threw for 314 yards in the Civil War (he averaged 358 yards per game in 2013) with two touchdowns and one interception.

The Ducks will face another solid run game in Texas during the Alamo Bowl. The Longhorns average 197.6 rushing yards per game (35th in the FBS), 4.47 yards per carry (T-53rd) and have scored 24 rushing touchdowns (T-50th). However, they lost leading rusher Jonathan Gray for the season against West Virginia and they’ll be without contributing rushers Daje Johnson and Jalen Overstreet due to academic ineligibility.

Aliotti expects Texas to be another tough test, like Stanford, Arizona or Oregon State. He’s confident, though, that his defense can step up against the run, and he points to Oregon’s performances in past big games as proof.

“I have no idea what the (Alamo Bowl) outcome’s going to be or how it’s going to turn out,” Aliotti said, “but in every game that we’ve played where there was a big time run team that we weren’t going to stop the run, and they were going to run all over the place, and they were going to score a lot of points — Colorado, Kansas State (2012 Fiesta Bowl), Auburn (2010 national championship) — we stopped the run.”

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Eight players from both Oregon and Texas had what might be the highlight of their Alamo Bowl trip on Friday morning.

The eight Oregon players were instructed to meet in their hotel lobby at 8:30 Friday morning to drive about 17 miles west in the rainy San Antonio weather to SeaWorld, where they’d interact with several sea mammals. They rode to the amusement park in a white Hummer limousine. Texas arrived in a Daisy Tours charter bus.

The eight Oregon players were freshman wide receiver Devon Allen, freshman defensive lineman Jason Sloan, redshirt sophomore defensive back Bronson Yim, freshman punter Ian Wheeler, sophomore defensive back Bobby Dunn, redshirt freshman kicker Hayden Crook, redshirt junior kicker Eric Solis and former Ducks linebacker Carlyle Garrick.

The eight Texas players were senior linebacker Demarco Cobbs, freshman linebacker Deoundrei Davis, junior wide receiver Bryant Jackson, freshman wide receiver Michael Zaring, junior cornerback Sheriod Evans, freshman offensive guard Rami Hammad, freshman safety Eric Huhn and junior fullback Chet Moss.

Sloan, Yim, Solis and Garrick split up from the other four Ducks to go to the walrus/sea lion exhibit. First, they fed a large group of sea lions, dropping fish from several feet up into the animals’ mouths. They then headed over to the walrus exhibit, where they would participate in a sit-up contest with Takena, a 26 year-old, 2,000-pound female walrus.

Yim decided not to go with his teammates into the exhibit. The redshirt sophomore tore his labrum and was wearing a cast on his left arm. He said he didn’t want to risk hurting it more, “in case something happens” with Takena.

Yim wasn’t the only one worried about a potential attack from the walrus. Garrick, with a somewhat frightened look on his face, pushed Sloan forward to be the first Duck to do the sit-up contest. When asked if he was scared of Takena, Garrick scoffed.

“C’mon man, I’m a football player,” Garrick said.

Garrick paused for a second, then said, “I was a little scared.”

Sloan and Hammad both lay on their backs with their heads turned away from Takena. They were the only players to do sit-ups with her, too, because she wasn’t initially following directions from trainer Joe Miller.

“I was scared out of my mind,” Sloan said. “And then after I got down there, I started getting close to (Takena) and wasn’t that nervous. But then she started not listening to the trainer and that freaked me out a little bit because if she’s not listening to the trainer, I don’t know what she’s going to do.”

Sloan eventually calmed down and the three did three sit-ups.

Everyone then headed to the beluga whale tanks, where the other four players from each team were getting ready to go in the water with two whales. Dunn, Allen, Crook and Wheeler — all wearing wet suits — interacted with the heavier one (it weighed about 2,000 pounds). Before they headed into the pool, Garrick wished his four teammates luck with the intimidating whale.

“Hopefully we’ll see you later,” Garrick said.

The players played games with the whale, spinning around with it, splashing it, hugging it and much more.

“They’re really squishy,” Wheeler said of the whales. “It’s kind of crazy how it felt.”

Allen said the pool felt like one of their bi-weekly ice baths after practice. His teeth were jittering after the whale splashed them all.

Despite the cool, wet conditions, the players raved about their experience. Several of them said it’s the best thing they’ve done so far in their two days in San Antonio.

At 11:00, the players got back in their limo and headed back to their downtown hotel. While SeaWorld might be their best experience so far, not all of them expect it to remain on the top of the list.

“The game’s definitely going to be my highlight,” Wheeler said.

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

Former Oregon basketball player and current Houston Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks played against the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night as the Oregon football team watched from the upper deck at the AT&T Center. Brooks finished with six points and one rebound and Houston won 111-98. After the game, the Emerald and other Oregon media members interviewed Brooks, who talked about Oregon athletics this season and his time as a Duck.

Have you been paying much attention to the Ducks lately?

Always. I always follow up on how they’re doing in football and basketball.

Have you watched the Oregon men’s basketball team much this season?

Sometimes. Most of the time we’re playing at the same time. One of my best friends (Brandon Lincoln) is a coach on the team, so he always keeps me informed of how they’re doing. They’re playing very well. … B.J. Young (Joseph Young) was a great pick-up. He’s leading the team and now they’ve got D.A. (Dominic Artis) back.

The 2007 men’s basketball team (Brooks’ senior season) was the last Oregon team to make an NCAA tournament run until last season. How impressed have you been with the Ducks’ improvement the last few years?

Coaching. He (Dana Altman) has always been able to coach and now he has better talent. He’s gotten the guys to buy into their system and they’re playing very well. Hopefully they can keep it up. I’m proud to say I’m a Duck.

Do you follow the Oregon football team at all? They were at the Spurs-Rockets game tonight, if you didn’t know.

“I didn’t know that. I probably would’ve played better if I knew they were here. But they’ve got a big game coming up against Texas. I think it might be a little lopsided, the crowd. What was it, the coach’s (Mack Brown) last game coaching? It’s going to be a big, big night, so hopefully they (the Ducks) can come in and steal their joy.

Does it feel different this year playing on a team with such a big spotlight on it?

This is our first game on Christmas and it’s awkward (laughs). A little bit awkward. But you live for experiences like this and we wouldn’t trade this for the world. Having Dwight (Howard) has definitely brought some popularity to this team. We were 18-10 before tonight and 18-10 is bad. If we had that last year, we’d be excited. We need to continue to continue to get better playing basketball.

What’s it like playing spotlight game on Christmas when you might prefer being with your family?

You’ve just got to block everything out. With this career, there are no weekends. Like I don’t even know what day it is. It’s just a constant, every day is the same. Your weekends are your off days.

Do you talk with Altman at all?

I talk to him when I go down. Normally I go there once a year for a week and workout, so I talk to him when I’m down there. Other than that, I talk to Brandon Lincoln, Josh (Jamieson), Stubbs (assistant coach Tony Stubbefield) calls me whenever. He’s always recruiting, always in Houston or Seattle (Brooks’ hometown), so I’ll take him out to dinner or whatever. I keep in contact with pretty much everybody.

Did he call you about Joseph Young or Damyean Dotson, those Houston guys?

He didn’t. Actually, my barber told me about Dotson before he signed. I didn’t know who he was. I was like, hopefully he’s good. You can only look at the rankings and he was like a three-star, so I gave him a hard time. But he’s really good.

What did you do today for Christmas besides game prep?

I slept all day. It’s Christmas. I wasn’t feeling too well, so I just relaxed and played the game. I’m ready to go home.

Do you look back on your Oregon career much?

It was up-and-down, career-wise. Freshman year was decent, sophomore year was great, junior year was horrible and senior year was amazing. We almost didn’t make it to the NCAA tournament my senior year, so to leave on that note, to leave the program in the right direction, I had a good time.

Do you still have your camps around Eugene?

I’m going to have a camp this year in Eugene. I don’t have the exact date. Last year we cancelled it but I’m going to have one this year.

Your Rockets’ teammate Chandler Parsons came up to Eugene for an Oregon football game over the summer. Did you tell him about that?

He called me. He said he was at Taylor’s (laughs). He said he had an amazing time. That’s my guy, Chandler. He had a good time. He said it’s not like Florida football but we’re actually winning now, unlike them.

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

Oregon center Hroniss Grasu arrived earlier than most of his team in San Antonia on Wednesday in preparation for the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30. When the rest of his team showed up at their hotel, Grasu spoke with the media about what he did earlier on Christmas Day, his team’s offensive weapons and Oregon’s motivation for their first non-BCS bowl game since 2008.

Does it feel different arriving to a non-BCS bowl game?

“It felt different for me because I came here early,” Grasu said. “I was at the hotel before pretty much anyone that’s here, so that’s the only difference for me. But the Alamo Bowl, we’re very honored. It’s a blessing to play in this bowl game and play against Texas. It’s still a big game.”

What did you do while you waited for your team today?

“I walked around with Hamani (Stevens) trying to find some place to eat,” Grasu said. “I didn’t realize it was Christmas until I saw McDonald’s was closed.”

Did you find anything to eat?

“I got something the restaurant down here (in the hotel),” Grasu said.

Is motivation an issue for this team?

“Not at all,” Grasu said. “We understand that it’s their head coach’s last game. It’s going to be very emotional. We’re in their home state. It’s going to be a home game for them but that just makes us want to be more focused. Just go there and execute our own game plan and not worry about what’s going on outside of the program. If we can take care of that, we’ll take care of business.”

On Oregon’s offensive weapons

“We have a lot of weapons on this team,” Grasu said. “We’ve known that all year long and now a lot of guys are back and healthy. On the offensive line, we have to do a great job of opening the running lanes and giving Marcus (Mariota) a lot of protection and everyone knows what those guys in the backfield can do for us.”

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415

In the days leading up to the 2013 Alamo Bowl, the Emerald will take a unit-by-unit look at Oregon and Texas, determining which team has the edge going into the showdown on Dec. 30 in San Antonio. In the final article of this series, we’ll look at each team’s special teams, with thoughts on Texas from Wescott Eberts of Burnt Orange Nation.

Oregon

Other than Stanford, Oregon probably didn’t face a team better on offense or defense the entire year. For any other opponent to beat the Ducks, they had to make fewer mistakes (see: Stanford and Arizona), have career days from several players (Arizona again) or take advantage on special teams. The Ducks almost never made any costly errors on special teams, so even if they weren’t quite right in the other two areas, opponents could almost never gain an edge when the defenses and offenses were on the sidelines.

One clear advantage for the Ducks this season has been in both return games. De’Anthony Thomas is the only Duck to return a kickoff for a touchdown and it was a momentous one. On Nov. 16 against Utah, the score was 17-14 Oregon with 10:09 to go in the third quarter when Thomas returned the kickoff 86 yards for a score. That kick-started a run of 27 unanswered points for the Ducks, turning a potential upset into a blowout.

Oregon’s opponents never found the end zone on kick returns despite having 21 more attempts than the Ducks. The longest return Oregon gave up was 57 yards to Stanford’s Ty Montgomery, one of the best returners in the nation.

Punt returns were even more drastic. Bralon Addison returned two punts for touchdowns against California on Sept. 28 and nearly returned another one against Utah.

Oregon’s punt return coverage never came close to giving up a big return, although it helps that opponents only attempted eight returns. In those limited tries, opposing returners averaged just over three yards per attempt and their longest return was 12 yards.

The Oregon kicking game wasn’t nearly as consistent. Alejandro Maldonado did a solid job punting but, like he had the previous two years, struggled on field goal attempts (he made three of five).

Maldonado was replaced by Matt Wogan after the 26-20 loss to Stanford. The freshman did somewhat better in limited time, making four of five field goals. He also showed off his strong leg on kickoffs, netting 19 touchbacks.

Unlike the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Oregon couldn’t blame missed field goals for its losses. In fact, Wogan made the only field goal attempt in the 42-16 loss to Arizona and Maldonado kicked three brilliant onside kicks (one recovered) that helped the Ducks come back against Stanford.

Texas

Kicking hasn’t been a worry for Texas. Senior Anthony Fera made the all-Big 12 first team for his brilliance as a place kicker. He’s connected on 20 of 22 field goals, including five from at least 40 yards out (one from 50). He also served as the punter, and Eberts said he was good at pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line, often the 10.

“I think there was a definite case for Fera as the (team) MVP,” Eberts said.

The Longhorns have also excelled on punt returns, as both Daje Johnson and Jaxon Shipley have averaged more than 10 yards per return. Against Oklahoma, Johnson returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown. However, Texas will miss Johnson’s explosiveness against Oregon. The sophomore wide receiver/running back was ruled academically ineligible for the Alamo Bowl.

Texas’ special teams take a steep fall after that, according to Eberts.

“They’re just not disciplined on kickoff coverage and they just don’t make blocks on kickoff returns,” Eberts said.

Eberts lumped punt coverage in with those other areas, too. He even said the punt return groups have struggled to produce explosive plays, save Johnson’s touchdown on Oct. 12.

“It’s kind of ridiculous that a team as talented as Texas can’t find better production from those areas,” Eberts said.

Texas’ opponents have averaged nearly five more yards per kickoff return than the Longhorns in just five more attempts. Texas also has less than a two-yard advantage in yards per punt return this season, and they’ve given up one touchdown (in their loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 14).

Advantage – Oregon. Texas’ major kicking advantage can’t make up for its deficiencies in every other area. Losing Johnson only solidifies Oregon’s edge on special teams.

Monday 12/16: Offensive line (Advantage: Texas)

Tuesday 12/17: Tight ends (Oregon)

Wednesday 12/18: Linebackers (Oregon)

Thursday 12/19: Defensive line (Texas)

Friday 12/20: Secondary (Oregon)

Saturday 12/21: Wide receivers (Oregon)

Sunday 12/22: Running backs (Oregon)

Monday 12/23: Quarterbacks (Oregon)

Overall Advantage: Oregon (7-2)

Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415