EUGENE -- Stat sheets? Jim Leavitt doesn't need 'em.



"I look at wins, losses," Oregon's defensive coordinator said. "You start looking at the other stuff, you got issues."



But here's one statistic that even Leavitt acknowledges will determine how many issues Oregon's defense has Saturday in Autzen Stadium, when Nebraska comes to town: The production of Huskers back Tre Bryant.

Bryant, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound sophomore from St. Louis, ran for a career-high 192 of Nebraska's 234 total rushing yards in the Huskers' season-opening 43-36 win against Arkansas State. His talent, combined with UO's three-headed backfield of Royce Freeman, Kani Benoit and Tony Brooks-James, will put a spotlight on running backs Saturday (1:30 p.m., FOX).

"They set everything up with the run game," Leavitt said. "If they can run on you you're not going to have much chance to win, everybody knows that. Then they go to play-action off that and they do it very, very well. They've got a quarterback who can throw the heck out of the ball."



The pro-style offense at Nebraska is similar to what Nebraska offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf and Riley ran at Oregon State, with linemen pulling downfield.



"Big bodies coming downhill," said defensive line coach Joe Salave'a said, who faced Riley while at Washington State. "You wouldn't want it any other way."

Bryant gained 80 yards in the first half against Arkansas State before adding 86 in the third quarter alone. He carried the ball on five consecutive plays to open the quarter, with the fourth turning into a 35-yard gain that later set up a 1-yard touchdown dive. Eleven of his 31 carries gained between five and nine yards; six went for 10 yards or more.

Slowing Bryant takes an entire defense, but Salave'a's line will be in the spotlight after working out "first-game jitters" against Southern Utah. A positive was the activity of senior end Henry Mondeaux, whose sack against the Thunderbirds equals his sack total from all of 2016.



Clemson graduate transfer nose guard Scott Pagano could make his UO debut, after missing last week while recovering from offseason foot surgery. During practice Wednesday, Pagano ran half-speed through cone drills with a strength coach during a 20-minute portion open to media, and looked more active than he has in all of fall camp. No one offered a definitive answer for his availability Saturday, however.



Whether he plays or not, freshmen nose guard Austin Faoliu and Jordon Scott will earn numerous reps again.



"Think about that, your true freshmen going out there in a college game," Leavitt said. "I thought they did well. ... For the most part, there are some things they didn't do great but I wouldn't expect them to be perfect their first time out."



The defense as a whole was not perfect against Southern Utah, either, after allowing an easy nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive on SUU's first possession. Oregon allowed scores on two of SUU's next 16 drives, however, and fewer than 20 yards on six of those possessions, while intercepting two passes.



"We had our hands on about three others," Leavitt said. "We could have had a few more.



"The first drive, none of us like that. But I thought they settled down. ... We didn't do anything different. They settled down and started doing the right things. Few mental mistakes, you know, and we've got to tackle better but I'll probably say that every week."

Nebraska averaged 5.9 yards per carry against Arkansas State and 7.4 yards per pass attempt, not that Leavitt would look at such a stat.

When Leavitt reviews film, he grades players by how well they executed their assignment. Otherwise he doesn't dig into many metrics other than turnovers caused and points allowed, because both point to the most important number of them all: wins.



"People that look at anything else, they're nuts," he said.



Stop Bryant Saturday, and Oregon will be closer to getting its second victory of this young season.



-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com