Oregon Football: Ranking the 2012 Schedule from Easiest to Toughest

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Despite falling short of a BCS National Championship last season, a 12-2 record and a BCS Rose Bowl victory was not a bad season for the Oregon Ducks. This season, Oregon returns 12 starters and will look to build on that success in the watered down Pac-12 Conference.

A national championship appearance really isn't out of the question for this team with the talent the Ducks have and a weak schedule staring them in the face.  Still, there are a handful of teams that stand in Oregon's way that could cause a few problems in the path to another Pac-12 title.

With the regular season right around the corner, here are the easiest and most difficult games for the 2012 Oregon Ducks schedule.

12. Vs. Tennessee Tech

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Last year's record: 7-4

Returning starters: N/A

Can you name one player on this Tennessee Tech team? How about two other teams that are in the OVC Conference? No? Well, that should tell you all you need to know about the Golden Eagles.

11. Vs. Arkansas State

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Last year's record: 10-3

Returning starters: Nine

Offensive genius Gus Malzahn is now the head coach of the Arkansas State Red Wolves, but something tells me he doesn't have quite the talent to keep up with this Oregon offense. Arkansas State is a solid program in the Sun Belt Conference, but traveling to Eugene is a whole different story.

10. Vs. Fresno State

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Last year's record: 4-9

Returning starters: 15

Fresno State returns majority of last year's squad, but has a defense that was ranked 107th in the country. Going up against an offense that was ranked third in the country is not exactly a great combination for the Bulldogs.

9. Vs. Colorado

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Last year's record: 3-10

Returning starters: 12

In last year's meeting, the Ducks won by 43 points, tying up the overall series at eight games apiece. This time, the game will be played in Autzen Stadium and last time I checked the Buffalo's still don't have enough offensive firepower to keep up. Expect similar results as last season.

8. At Oregon State

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Last year's record: 3-9

Returning starters: 13

Remember when this rivalry was actually competitive? Now, the Ducks have won the last four meetings, with three of those victories being by more than two touchdowns. Things are slowly looking up for the Beavers, but there is nothing right now to believe they can compete with the Ducks in 2012.

7. Vs. Arizona

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Last year's record: 4-8

Returning starters: 11

Much like many teams in the Pac-12, Arizona played no defense whatsoever, finishing ranked 107th in the country in points allowed. When you add the fact that the Wildcats also lost their starting quarterback and star receiver, it looks real promising that the Ducks will win their fifth in a row over Arizona.

6. At Washington State

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Last year's record: 4-8

Returning starters: 14

Oregon has won seven of the last eight against Washington State, but the Cougars have added an offensive guru in Mike Leach to the staff. How soon will things begin to pay off for this program, who knows? But I would imagine that taking a trip to CenturyLink Field is a lot more difficult than some of these other matchups.

5. At Arizona State

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Last year's record: 6-7

Returning starters: Eight

You know your schedule isn't difficult at all when the Arizona State Sun Devils are this high on the difficult meter. We are talking about a team that only returns four starters on each side of the ball and that has lost 11 of the last 14 meetings against Oregon. Going to Tempe still qualifies as a road game, but the talent margin is too wide for the Sun Devils to overcome.

4. Vs. Washington

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Last year's record: 7-6

Returning starters: 14

Oregon has won the last eight games against the Huskies and will make it nine if Washington does not fix that horrible defense from a year ago. But the Huskies do have a quarterback named Keith Price that does give this Washington team a slight chance. He threw for over 3,000 yards and 33 touchdowns and is quickly emerging as one of the better quarterbacks in the country.

3. At Cal

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Last year's record: 7-6

Returning starters: 11

Speaking of offensive firepower, the California Golden Bears return their starting quarterback and 1,000 yard receiver and running back from last season. None of those players did much last season against Oregon, but this Cal unit does have the potential to be explosive in 2012. With the game taking place in Berkeley, you have to give the Golden Bears some type of upset momentum heading into this matchup.

2. Vs. Stanford

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Last year's record: 11-2

Returning starters: 13

Oregon is one of the few teams that Andrew Luck didn't have much success against, as the Ducks have won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Cardinal. Still, Stanford remains a talented team with a solid defense and playmakers on offense, including two-time 1,000 yard rusher Stepfan Taylor. This is a team that isn't going to go down quietly and could surprise many in the Pac-12 this year.

1. At USC

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Last year's record: 10-2

Returning starters: 17

These are the top two teams in the conference and the winner of this matchup will make a huge statement in the polls. Both of these teams have underrated defenses and offenses that only a handful of teams can keep up with. We will likely see this contest once again for the Pac-12 title, but until then, this is by far the most difficult game for both teams in 2012.