Why the 2012 Oregon Ducks Will Be One of Nation's Most Underrated Teams

Thirty-four wins, five losses, three BCS Bowl appearances, three straight conference titles, one BCS National Championship appearance, one Rose Bowl victory.

Needless to say, those are all great statistics.

If a team like Alabama, Florida, USC, LSU, Ohio State or Michigan played at that level, many would consider them to be the next great college football dynasty.

Unfortunately for the Oregon Ducks, that is not the case.

Over the past three years, the Ducks have been one of the premier teams in college football. Once being the laughing stock of the Pac-10, Oregon has ascended into the role of being a college football powerhouse. They dethroned USC in 2009, made their first BCS National Championship appearance in school history in 2010 and possibly brought the greatest innovation college football has seen in quite some time.

Despite all of the accolades Oregon has accumulated over the past three years (and arguably since 2000), the Ducks remain largely unheralded by the rest of the nation. While they may be respected by some, most people see the men of Oregon as a fad rather than a program that is there to stay at the top of college football.

Heading into the 2012 season, the Ducks will once again be ready to prove people who don't think they have the necessary tools to contend for a BCS National Championship wrong. Though they are ranked admirably at No. 4 in most preseason polls, the Ducks remain largely underrated and will be for a greater part of the season.

Here are the reasons why:

The Oregon “Fad”

Ever since Nike and Oregon developed a close relationship, many have gone on and on about how Oregon football is just a fad.

From the uniforms they wear to the style of offense they run, the Ducks always seem to be one of those teams that people like to watch but never appreciate. To these people, the Ducks are just a trend that will come and go during the year, and if they end up being great that year then all the better for them.

The media highlights them as state-of-the-art and innovative but never really pays attention to the groundwork they have been laying for over a decade now. Unfortunately for the Ducks, people only recognize the past three to four years they have played, and base their knowledge about the program off of these few years. These people only see the tip of the iceberg and fail to appreciate that the Ducks have built a program that will contend in the Pac-12 year-in and year-out.

East Coast Bias

Being on the west coast, it is sometimes hard for Oregon to garner any attention or respect from anybody east of the Cascades. Though they have made appearances on College Gameday and spent the most time in the top 10 over the past three years than any other team in the nation, the Ducks still remain largely unheralded by most of the nation.

It has long been known that the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and ACC receive much more attention than teams within the Pac-12 not named USC. Hours of coverage are spent on 8-4, 6-6 and 7-5 east coast teams but few are spent on Oregon Duck teams that have collectively gone 34-5 over the past three years. Though they may receive media attention toward the end of the year or when they are featured on ESPN, many fail to respect them past those days due to the east coast bias that is prevalent in today's world.

Look for this trend to continue in 2012.

LaMichael James and Darron Thomas Are Gone

Although many expected LaMichael James to move on to the NFL, an era in Oregon football truly ended when quarterback Darron Thomas elected to test the waters and pursue his NFL dreams early on.

There were perhaps no other players on the Oregon Ducks team that forwarded the success of the program more than Thomas and James. Both being with the program since 2008, they created the backfield presence and power it took for the Ducks to rise into college football presence.

With both of them now out of the program, many will not be expecting the Ducks to have the offensive prowess that they have had in past years. While people know about Kenjon Barner's and DeAnthony Thomas' abilities to slide into the role of running back, many are devaluing the Ducks because of their lack of experience at the quarterback position.

Heading into 2012, the Ducks' coaching staff will have to decide to either go with Bryan Bennett or Marcus Mariota. Both talented quarterbacks, those connected with the Oregon program know that either one of them has the tools to succeed in the fast-paced Oregon offense. Those outside of the program, however, are not so sure Mariota and Bennett can succeed the way Thomas did.

With questions surrounding their quarterback position and the loss of LaMichael James, the Ducks are largely expected to not have the great year that they have in the recent past.  

Strength of Schedule Early on

The Ducks start off the 2012 season with Arkansas State, Fresno State and Tennessee Tech. With all do respect to those teams, none of them are really the big names that it takes to get noticed early on.

In fact, many people are knocking the Ducks for scheduling such weak opponents.

Coupled with the easy non-conference start to their season, the Ducks will play their first four games at home while also having games against Arizona and Washington State early on. Once again, nothing too flashy.

With this relatively weak schedule to start the season, the Ducks will have a hard time proving themselves as a dominant program to the rest of the nation until later on in the season. Though they may put up excellent numbers and impressive performances, the Ducks will remain underrated for the first part of their season as their schedule is not too impressive.  

USC Game Is Not Until November 3rd

Billed as a likely “Game of the Century” part two, the USC and Oregon game on November 3 will likely be one of the only times for the Ducks to truly prove who they are to the entire nation.

With USC back in the running for a postseason appearance, they are once again assuming their role as media and attention kings of the west coast. Despite having a much better record the past few years compared to USC, the Trojans are already being the supposed Pac-12 Champions; something not sitting well with many Duck fans. Coupled with this is the fact that all of this attention on USC has really taken much appreciation away from the Ducks.

Compared to the Trojans, the Ducks are now second-best despite their three straight conference titles and two wins against USC in the past three years. Having to wait until November 3 to play USC, expect the Ducks to be unappreciated as many other teams in the Pac-12 are not given any credibility which makes it difficult for the Ducks to put together quality wins in conference.