Beware: This Isn't the Same 'Soft' Oregon Team

The assumption, even now, is that Oregon will eventually fail.

It’s why a team with all of the essential components—headlined by a create-a-player under center, a youthful bowling ball at running back and a wide receiver-consuming star at corner—is still soaring under the radar as it prepares for Arizona.

Everything is bright, quick and impossible to miss, and yet, we choose to miss it. Although Oregon has traveled light-years in the past decade while operating at lightning speeds, it still hasn’t earned our collective approval.

That can change this weekend when the Ducks plays for revenge, a Pac-12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Also on the line is an opportunity to silence all narratives that this team has been unable to shake.

“Internally, everybody probably knew what the perception was after losing to Stanford in back-to-back seasons and that overall style,” Andy McNamara, assistant athletic director for communications at Oregon, said. “It is kind of contrasting from a big-picture standpoint, but on both sides of the line we have guys who are pretty nasty.”

McNamara is not your typical university employee. Like everything else at Oregon, his title comes with flash. McNamara is a mouthpiece for the football team, releasing a weekly video on the Oregon website that highlights the latest happenings in the program, Pac-12 and nationally.

As part of this, McNamara watches a lot of football and, in particular, Oregon football. He has seen more than his share of immensely talented Eugene teams since arriving in 2005—the highlight being a three-point loss in the national championship back in 2011.

Over time, he has also watched the reputation of the program chameleon-ize: from the good (the facilities, the wins and the obvious national rise) to the bad (the idea that Oregon is still somehow “soft” or incapable of winning higher-profile games with its unique style).

“It’s not a label that’s going to be easy to shake as long as we continue to put up points,” McNamara said. “We come across this perception all the time that it’s some gimmicky offense and the defense is sort of along for the ride. This is a really complete team in every facet.”

Oregon has the opportunity to showcase its completeness to the College Football Playoff selection committee on Friday. As the No. 2 team in the current Top 25, the Ducks will lock up a playoff spot with a victory over Arizona. They’re also in contention for the No. 1 seed.

On Oct. 2, the night Arizona walked off the Eugene turf following its 31-24 victory, this end-of-season scenario never felt feasible, not after another crushing disappointment.

The Ducks, coping with substantial injuries to the offensive line and relying heavily on youth, had ample excuses as to why they were unable to overcome Arizona, a team that proved its worth over the course of the season.

Regardless of the circumstances attached, the “Same Ol’ Ducks” headlines poured in; narrative prevailed yet again.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Only days later, the offensive line started to return some key pieces, which helped Oregon power past UCLA the following weekend. Then the youth who struggled early on started to develop. Then Oregon hit its stride.

Since falling to Arizona 31-24 more than two months ago, the Ducks have averaged nearly 48 points per game, beat two ranked opponents by double digits on the road and outscored their opponents 333-163. 

“I think they’ve gotten more comfortable with some of the new guys they have in key roles, and I think they’ve gotten healthier in certain spots,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. “But they were really playing well before we played them. Now they’ve just been rolling right by people. In all three phases they’ve just been dominating.”

Rodriguez, like the rest of the football universe, can’t help but marvel at some of the things Marcus Mariota does with the ball in his hand. At the same time, his defense—led by the spectacular Scooby Wright, a Heisman contender in his own right—has been able to keep the quarterback in check its past two meetings.

Mariota’s health along with the health of those trying keep him upright played a role in these games. With that fine print considered, the Wildcats have found a formula most Pac-12 teams are still searching for.

"

26% of Marcus Mariota's turnovers in his college career have come against Arizona. 3 INTs and 3 fumbles.

— Daniel Berk (@DSBerk) December 1, 2014"

Still, Rodriguez understands the obstacle ahead. The trick to shutting down Oregon begins in the most obvious of places. It’s also easier said than done despite the promising track record.

“I think Marcus has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country since probably the day he took his first start,” Rodrigeuz said. “If you didn’t have to play him, you’d love watching him. In my opinion, he’ll win the Heisman.”

Mariota, however, is not alone in his offensive efforts. The newest piece to the Oregon machine, running back Royce Freeman, has made a splash in his first season on campus. If you’re looking for a singular piece that single-handedly destroys all notions of being “soft,” look no further than the 229-pound true freshman.

Freeman has emerged as one of the most dangerous threats in the conference. He didn’t burst onto the scene out of the gate, although the timing of his surge should come as no surprise. As Freeman got going, so did the Ducks.

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

“It was one of the runs against UCLA where it started to click,” Freeman told Bleacher Report in October. “I broke a good amount of tackles and finished a run hard. Every time I get the ball I need to have that attitude.”

Since the loss to Arizona, Freeman has hit the 100-yard mark in five of seven games and totaled 98 and 99 yards in the other two matchups. He’s also found the end zone 12 times, pushing his total touchdowns to 17 in his first season. His emergence as Stanford antidote has shown up in plenty of other situations.

The defense—as McNamara so aptly stated above—has remained the forgotten piece. While you won’t confuse Oregon with Stanford, the play has outperformed the perception yet again.

For the second consecutive year, the Ducks are No. 2 in the Pac-12 in scoring defense. In the past month, Oregon has given up more than 20 points only one time.

Defense will never be the bedrock of this team’s identity, even with a player like Ifo Ekpre-Olomu patrolling the back end, which will undoubtedly be tested Friday. It also doesn’t have to be, at least not with the way this particular team is constructed.

This is by no means a perfectly balanced group, although no such team exists in 2014. Since its one and only loss to Arizona in October, however, Oregon has had the look of the sport’s most dominant team.

“Obviously there are a lot of guys who were a part of that,” head coach Mark Helfrich said. “Anytime you do something for a second time or you see somebody across the country do something you don’t want to repeat, hopefully you’re learning from those situations.”

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

The topic of revenge will be sold in (and throughout) the Pac-12 championship in bulk. With both teams vying for a playoff spot, however, no further motivation is necessary. That doesn’t mean you won’t be tired of the term halfway through the second quarter.

The reality, however, is that Oregon’s loss to Arizona earlier could end up being a blessing in disguise. While it originally drove a tired narrative home, it also served as a valuable turning point at a time when Oregon was still finding itself.

“I think the best thing that might have happened to us this year was losing that game to Arizona,” McNamara said. “Not that we were sloppy or played awful in that game, it really just refocused the team. They began to play a little bit looser and with more confidence, something that has continued to build since this season has gone on.”

Operating with a style that has made it unique and remarkably successful, Oregon will look to free itself of all narratives Friday night. To do so it won’t suddenly change what got it to this point, nor should it.

“Dealing with success is sometimes harder than dealing with defeat,” Helfrich said. “I think that’s been equally impressive.”

With the necessary tweaks in place and the likely Heisman winner fully operational, Oregon will stay the course and incorporate the smaller, finer changes to its already successful blueprint. The overall identity of this team has not shifted.

It still wants to move as fast as it possibly can—faster than anyone it plays against. It wants to bloody teams with touchdowns and destroy scoreboards in tremendous and destructive fashion, operating in the most high-tech and eye-popping threads on the planet.

The new plan looks a lot like the old plan, which might ignite familiar reservations. There's only one way to change that.

Label this team, if you dare, at your own risk.

Adam Kramer is the College Football National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.