#12 Oregon Ducks

Rewind to January. Even though they had just come off of a tough Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State, the Pac-10 champion Oregon Ducks were everybody’s trendy pick for the 2010 National Championship. OK, fast forward to the present. After 7 players dismissals and 3 other suspensions, the Ducks are in the midst of a Quarterback battle and people now vary in their predictions for this squad… predictions that range anywhere from 7-5 to still being a title contender. I’m somewhere in the middle.

2nd-year Head Coach Chip Kelly has had a tumultuous off-season, highlighted by the unfortunate dismissal of Heisman contender, QB Jeremiah Masoli (after 2 arrests and 1 conviction). Through it all, the Ducks continued to recruit well, pulling in the 13th ranked recruiting class and now as the season approaches, things seem to have settled down a bit. Most of the talent is still on the roster, but there is no way around the fact that the QB position (the most important position on the field) is unsettled.

With Masoli’s departure, the window has opened up for a battle between Senior Nate Costa and Redshirt-Sophomore Darron Thomas. Both players have a history of success within the program, but neither has been a starter. Costa was in a dead heat battle for the starting job 3 years ago, so he certainly has the talent and aptitude. Thomas (the more athletic of the 2) filled in for an injured Masoli admirably in the 2008 season opener against Boise State. Replacing Masoli in the 2nd quarter, Thomas threw for 268 yards and 3 TDs while rushing for 27 yards with 1 TD. Both QBs have had success in the spring and summer, and Coach Kelly has yet to reveal who the starter is going to me. If I were a betting man, I’d lean towards Thomas for a few reasons. First of all, he had has more game success. Secondly, he is the more athletic of the 2, which is vitally important in the Spread Attack that the Ducks use. Third, he is a sophomore, so starting him this year will allow him to get through the growing pains of a first year starter early, leaving him a Junior and Senior year to truly flourish. We’ll have to wait and see what direction the Ducks go in.

Regardless of the dismissals and suspensions, the Ducks still bring back 20 starters (9 on each side of the ball), which is more than any other team in the Pac-10. The WR corps will be led by Jeff Maehl, D.J. Davis, and Lavasier Tuinei. All 3 were significant contributors and collectively, they should be the most seasoned group in the conference.

The RB position has been interesting for Oregon. Last year, they entered the season with one of the best RBs in the country in LaGarette Blount. After the infamous Punch seen round the World against Boise in Week 1, Blount was suspended and in stepped True Freshman LaMichael James. He proceeded to rush for 1,546 yards and 14 TDs. He is sure to have another huge year in 2010. However, James is one of the players who will be suspended for the first game of the season when Oregon faces New Mexico. Backup Kenjon Barner is a solid replacement as he had 366 yards and 3 TDs in his freshman campaign. Also joining the RB group is Blue-Chip 5-star recruit Lache Seastrunk and he will vie for playing time early and often as he may be the fastest player on the team already. All 5 offensive linemen return so the running game should indeed be stout.

Defensively, the Ducks have to replace 2 defensive linemen, but aside from that, everyone else is back. And while, the Ducks weren’t necessarily known for their defense, they showed flashes of really coming together late in the season. Expect the most experienced returning Defense in the conference to improve on all statistics from 2009.

At first glance, the schedule might not seem that bad, but after some review, there is much cause for concern. In Week 2, the Ducks will take a first-year starting QB to the 5th largest stadium in America (Neyland Stadium) in Knoxville, TN for a road matchup against the Volunteers. In October, Oregon will face 3 of the California teams that made Bowl games last year (USC, UCLA, and Stanford) and expect a heavy dose of revenge to be on the Trojans mind after their embarrassing loss in Eugene, OR last year. November will then bring one of the toughest closing schedules in America. They face, in consecutive weeks, Washington, California, Arizona, and Oregon State (the annual rivalry game). The turning point for the season will be Week 2. A win on the road against an SEC team could give the Ducks a ton of confidence and catapult them to a 10 or 11 win season… but a loss might put doubt in their minds, and stir up controversy stemming from the chaotic offseason.

Key Returning Players:
RB LaMichael James
WR Jeff Maehl
C Jordan Holmes
MLB Casey Matthews
CB Talmadge Jackson

Key Games:
Sept 11 - @ Tennessee
Oct 2 - Stanford
Oct 30 - @ USC
Nov 6 - Washington
Nov 13 - @ California
Nov 26 - Arizona
Dec 4 - @ Oregon State