Ifo may have torn ACL in today's practice

[greenyellow]

What we are going to miss is not his pass protection. It's his tackling and getting through blocks and making tackles on runs and short passes. WE have options, but damn this hurts.

Those are the things that make him much more valuable than just his cover skills. I have a feeling FSU is going to test Oregon's reconfigured secondary early, both in the passing and running games, to test how it'll react to not having Ifo. With his injury happening so early in bowl prep, I'm sure Pellum will have something figured out to minimize the loss of Ifo.

[KingofDucks]

I heard this rumor last night. I even messaged duck541 to see if he heard the same. Haven't heard back from him. It sounds like a legit source, but lips are tight right now. There is certainly an injury, the severity is the question. If it's an MCL only, he might not be done. If it's an ACL, forget it.

As for how this will impact the game, it really depends on how much pressure we can get. If we don't get pressure, we'll probably need to double Greene. But if Jameis doesn't have a ton of time, Troy Hill will be fine.

It sucks, because Ifo is a massive luxury and I feel for the guy. But if there is one position we can afford to lose a man, it’s WR or DB. Hill actually had a better year than Ifo, statistically, because people were forced to throw to Troy’s side. He was huge this year. I trust him on Greene. From what I've read on FSU boards, FSU’s other receivers have been subpar this year and have been a subject of complaint for many fans. Mathis and Seisay should do just fine on them with help from our safeties.

And honestly, FSU is going to score. They always were. They’re going to keep pace for a while until one team makes a mistake and turns the ball over. For Oregon, it’s whether they can get pressure and force Jamies to make that mistake. Oregon excels at ball security and FSU hasn’t. I expect a tight game and my hope, and my humble prediction, is that FSU turns the ball over in the 2nd half and Oregon wins by 7-10.

[GrandpaDuck]

First my heart breaks for Ifo. Though I didn't want him to come back for just this reason, I still feel a little bad about all the pleasure his return has brought me. As the MSU game showed us when Hill went out, we would have been lost early in the season without those 2.

I certainly hope this won't cost Ifo too much financially in the end.

Footballwise, after Mariota and tied with Hill, this is the worse guy on the team to get injured in terms of drop off.

This would be an interesting game to watch in person to see the All 22 view of what Oregon does defensively. Obviously we'll see a lot of Zone. but what kinds. Will we have Hill switching sides with "what's his name"? Not as important if you are in a zone but might be a big coverage "tell" if we don't and some man to man is required if you are going to effectively disguise coverages.

If we win I'll be rewatching the game on the endzone view to see what the coaches have come up with. If we lose I'll be pretending the game of football was never invented.

[Greenblood]

If we win I'll be rewatching the game on the endzone view to see what the coaches have come up with. If we lose I'll be pretending the game of football was never invented.

I relate . . . I relate . . . Actually, I consider myself pretty good at that in those rare occasions when things go bad for the Ducks. Thanks for putting a slight smile on my face given this context of such awful news.

[greenyellow]

From what I've read about FSU's WRs and what I've seen in 4-5 game I've watched, they've had a real case of the dropsies and a tendency to run poor routes, which only started getting better recently. They can be good blockers on the outside but more often than not, let their block go early or get called for holding when they know they're beaten. The most dangerous parts of their passing game are Greene, O'Leary, and the RBs coming out of the backfield. The immaturity from FSU's WRs is partially why I think Winston looks to have struggled so much with his INTs and completion percentage. We can't forget FSU has recruited 4-5 star players so the talent is there, but we have to hope they don't have it together mentally yet.

[pezsez1]

Well, this is awful news.

I feel mostly for Ifo. It takes guts to come back and play another year, and he'll end up paying the price right before the finish line. It's just terrible, and I'm sure we all wish him the speediest, fullest recovery.

That said, this is bad for Oregon, but not "sky-is-falling" bad. I really like what I've seen from our other corners during the second half of the season, now that Pellum has his schemes ironed out. I think what we'll miss most about Ifo isn't his coverage, but his physical play when attacking the ball. That said, I've seen similar skills from Seisay and am confident he'll play well given the additional reps.

Honestly, I'd feel worse about our playoff hopes if we lost Joe Walker or Arik Armstead. We have plenty of talent for covering the field, but Armstead and Walker of been crucial in stopping the run and clogging the middle of the field.

[DmoneyDuck]

Next Man Up is what it will have to be, but right now, in the moment, I'm sick to my stomach. Ifo put the team before his future and came back for his Senior season and to have this happen weeks before the Rose Bowl is heartbreaking and almost unthinkable. I feel for Ifo 10x more than I do for my fandom of the Ducks. I really hope this doesn't crush his draft stock.

[snapt]

Bralon, Johnstone, Pharaoh, Ifo. I've never seen a team that has lost so many key players for the season. I know injuries are part of sports but this is ridiculous.

2007:
Dennis Dixon
Nate Costa
Brady Leaf
JJ
Spencer Paysinger
Cam Colvin
Terrence Scott
John Bacon

Those are just the folks I can remember off the top of my head. I doubt any season will ever compare to how snakebit the ducks were in 07.

[snapt]

I think it was Brian Paysinger, not Spencer. 2007 was awful. It felt like we lost a player every game, but that WSU game was just turrible.

Yah, Brian, my bad.

[Greenblood]

And I think we all know that it isn't as if Ifo never got beat, even for TD passes, this year. The point just being that, even if Seisay (or whoever) gets beat here and there vs. FSU, it's not necessarily because Ifo's not out there.

[pezsez1]

Exactly.... really sucks to not have Ifo for the playoffs, but he isn't the lynchpin that holds this team (or the defense) together. He'll be missed, but we'll have to lose more than just Ifo to suffer a huge playoff setback.

[Duckattack7]

As long as Mariota is at the QB spot we will be fine. The sky isn't falling.

[KingofDucks]

Just got confirmation. Torn ACL in non-contact drill is the correct info. He's done.

[lukeyrid13]

Blah. Let's hope Seisay can bring it.

[GrandpaDuck]

Blah. Let's hope Seisay can bring it.

He'll certainly be tested. Picking on a cornerback is one of the easiest things to do in football. You can do it on the fly let alone with 2 weeks notice. It is also one of the hardest things to cover for and doing so often limits what you can do in terms of pressure packages.

Not the end of the world, particularly if Seisay holds up and we can get off the field so we dont have to sub much. Number 3 and/or number 4 matched up against a speedy WR on the outside is shudder inducing.

Of course laying down 63 on them would make it all inconsequential anyway.