Portland State · W 84-0 · FCS
No tackles.
Illinois · L 10-21
No tackles.
Northwestern · W 34-26
7 tackles
The other 5 games average 4 tackles. This one was 3 above.
Finney has tackles in 6 of Oregon’s 8 games: none against Portland State and Illinois.
“Finney is definitely one of the best, CBs are excellent”
As of
Finney's true-freshman season was a star's opening act: three interceptions (including a pick-six against Indiana), a Freshman All-America nod, second-team All-Big Ten honors, and the Orange Bowl Defensive MVP — a long, physical press corner who looked the part on the biggest stage. At 6-2, 203, Bleacher Report ranked him the No. 1 sophomore corner in the country, and his head coach has praised his ability to break on the ball in man coverage. The forward stakes are a leap into the elite: a corner with this length and this much production this early is the kind who climbs into first-team All-America and Jim Thorpe Award conversations. For Oregon, he's a foundational piece of the secondary for years.
So far in 2026 Finney has 18 tackles and a pass breakup.
Update (Oct. 28, 2026): Oregon lost 21-10 at Illinois as a 10.5-point favorite on Oct. 24 and is 4-3. Finney has 21 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss and a pass breakup in five games, with 3 tackles and a tackle for loss against Nebraska on Oct. 17.
Sources
Play style
Finney is a long, press-man cover corner — 6-2, 203 with the build to jam receivers at the line and the recovery length to carry them downfield. The freshman production (three interceptions, a bowl MVP) shows the ball skills and the confidence to play on top of routes, and his coach specifically credits his ability to break on the ball in man coverage. He plays bigger than most corners, using his frame to contest at the catch point. The profile is a press boundary corner with rare size and early ball production — exactly the modern lockdown archetype. The technique will only sharpen with reps, and the ceiling from here is one of the best corners in the sport.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Brandon Finney Jr. vs Boise State.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 1 pass breakup, 7 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-27vs Boise State | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 31-39@ Oklahoma State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 41-27@ No. 12 USC | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 15-17vs No. 21 UCLA | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 17-14vs Nebraska | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 34-26vs No. 20 Northwestern | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 28 | 16 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 34-26 vs Northwestern, play by play
7 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 2 passes defended in the 6 games with play by play.
How Oregon’s defense played that day
Northwestern’s 11 drives: 5 stopped · 6 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 11.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. His pass breakup on 4th and 7 ended USC’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 7. Fourth quarter, up 34-27. Ended USC’s drive (downs). Fans named him again and again right after: the most-talked-about moment of his game.
“Finney you da man”Oregon fan, r/CFB game thread
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 7 of his 8, sacks included.
Ratings of the games shown run from +11 to +15 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
7%2 pass breakupsTackle volume
28tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%1 TFL28 tackles · 1 for loss · 2 pass breakups.
2 seasons under Dan Lanning — 18-5 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road2g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 4.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 7.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dan Lanning
Pass share
52.9%
289 pass / 257 run
Plays / game
68.2
8 games
Team sack rate
3.5%
313 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #4 of 77 Big Ten DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
2026 is in progress.
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 2ND TEAM
All-Big Ten 2nd team (2025)
