Tommy ThigpenKNOXVILLE – When it comes to holding Oregon’s high-powered offense under 30 points, Tommy Thigpen is part of a fairly exclusive club.
Now Tennessee’s linebackers coach, Thigpen coached Auburn’s safeties when Tigers edged the Ducks 22-19 in the BCS national championship game three years ago.
Since 2007, Oregon, which hosts the Volunteers on Saturday, has been held under 30 points only nine times, and LSU, in the 2011 season opener at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and Stanford last November are the only defenses to pull the trick the past two seasons.
“In my opinion, they’re a better football team,” Thigpen said after Tennessee practiced on Wednesday afternoon. “They’ve got a faster quarterback. At that time, their quarterback was a really good player, but the kid they got now is Heisman-caliber, and their team speed is tremendous.”
Darron Thomas was Oregon’s quarterback in 2010, when the Ducks won 48-13 in Knoxville and narrowly lost to the Cam Newton-led Tigers, and now it’s Marcus Mariota, the lanky 6-foot-4, 211-pounder from Hawaii, orchestrating Oregon’s attack.