Oregon Ducks Will Dominate Washington Huskies in Pac-10 Opener

Could the football season start off any better for the Oregon Ducks?

Coach Mike Bellotti and his squad begin the 2008 campaign with a conference game against the Washington Huskies.

That's right.  Perhaps the biggest rival of the Ducks will be visiting the unfriendly confines of Autzen Stadium.

Not only will Oregon begin their season with a win, it will be a Pac-10 win.  Nice.  Very nice.

How will Oregon defeat Washington?

Building on a solid defensive unit in 2007, the strength of this season's Oregon team should be the defense.

In the secondary, three starters return for their fourth year playing together as a unit.  What was a liability years ago is now an asset. 

Walter Thurmond and Jairus Byrd will start again at cornerback.  They had 12 interceptions between them last year.  What makes that stat eye-popping is that everyone knew they were good last year.  You try not to throw their way unless you absolutely have to. 

And all Patrick Chung did at strong safety last year was lead the team in tackles.  Nose for the ball?

The linebacking corps for Oregon is talented and deep.  They are led by two of the best in the Pac-10, Jerome Boyd and John Bacon.

Nick Reed and Will Tukuafu anchor a D-line that will get after quarterbacks and stuff the running game.

Oregon isn't all about defense though.

Much is being made of the loss of Dennis Dixon and his ability to run the no-huddle offense.  Coach Bellotti has capable players in Justin Roper and Nate Costa.  As long as Oregon runs their version of the no-huddle offense, opponents will be kept on their heels.

With all this talk about Oregon, what's up with the Huskies?

In two words, "Not much."

Coach Ty Willingham may be in his final season at the UW.  Without a winning record, patience has probably run out with both the university administration and supporters.

Washington quarterback Jack Locker is arguably the most exciting player in the Pac-10.  The kid can play football.  Locker has a cannon for an arm and not only runs like a deer, he's big enough to run over players. 

The only knock on him is that his rocket launcher for an arm isn't very accurate.  It's a good thing that Locker can't be rattled because he will probably take more hits than the Google search engine. 

The beating he took last year finally knocked him out in Corvallis.  This season his beating will begin in Eugene.

As for the Husky defense?  They're young.

This is a very young Washington team and has one of the toughest schedules in the country.  They are going to be getting a big-time lesson by starting on the road, with a conference game, in front of one of the toughest home crowds in the country, against the dean of coaches in the Pac-10.

Oregon will get their season off to a 1-0 start. 

Coach Willingham will begin his farewell tour.