Why the Oregon Ducks Will Overthrow the SEC's BCS Championship Reign in 2013

While the news of Chip Kelly's departure has dominated recent headlines, expectations for the 2013 season shouldn't change.

In fact, hardly anything should change for a program loaded with talent and coming off its fourth straight BCS bowl appearance.

It's fair to speculate that recruiting could take a dip, but with young talent returning at nearly every position, it's hard to imagine the Ducks falling off the plateau of college football's elite programs.

Let's take a look at why this Oregon Ducks squad will finally overthrow the SEC's BCS reign next season.

Note: Oregon is facing potential sanctions, which could be levied in the offseason. This article obviously assumes that the sanctions will be light or non-existent. That may not end up being the case, but for argument's sake, it's what we're going with at this time.

Ideal Quarterback in Place

Oregon runs a fast-paced, no-huddle offense that isn't going to be very successful without a dynamic quarterback.

That won't be a problem next season when Marcus Mariota returns to an offense in which he passed for 32 touchdowns and ran for over 700 yards.

This, of course, assumes that the next head coach will continue running a similar system. But why wouldn't he? It has worked for several years now and all the pieces are in place.

Mariota, aside from his outstanding season statistically, showed the ability to make quick decisions and escape pressure. He can throw on the run and outrun defenders in the open field.

In Oregon's two losses to SEC teams, Darron Thomas failed to make plays on the run which played a large part in the Ducks' inability to move the ball.

Think of a young Colin Kaepernick. Mariota may not have the same arm strength (not many QB's at the NFL do either), but he has the exact skill set needed to keep this Oregon offense on top.

Experienced Offensive Line

In the 2011 BCS National Championship game, the Ducks offense stalled time and time again due mainly to the efforts of one player: DT Nick Fairley.

While a dominant defensive front doesn't guarantee success against the Ducks, it's a necessary component for any shot of winning. Everything Oregon does starts with the run, and if blocks aren't established and the defense breaks into the backfield before the handoff, things fall apart.

But the Ducks return a trio of quality offensive linemen next season and a host of other players with experience and talent.

Center Hroniss Grasu is the leader of the group, and he's joined by standout tackles Tyler Johnstone and Jake Fisher. All three have shown the ability to create gaps in the defensive line and hold their blocks to give Mariota time to throw.

Critics will point to the Stanford game, and it's true that the Cardinal won the battle in the trenches throughout the contest. But the Ducks had a variety of crucial mistakes that also led to the defeat, and they'll be a year wiser next time around.

With the current offensive line talent, Oregon won't be as susceptible as they've been in the past to elite defensive fronts.

Strong, Talented Defense

One thing became clear while watching Alabama run through Notre Dame's defense like a knife through butter: you need to have physical, sound-tackling players up front if you hope to slow down an SEC-style rushing attack.

But Alabama's group of elite receivers puts pressure on the secondary, as well. In short, nobody is likely to stop the Crimson Tide next season. But slowing them down is possible, though it may require a Herculean effort.

The Ducks can accomplish that with the defense they'll be fielding in 2013.

The entire secondary returns, which includes pick-master Ifo Ekpre-Olomu at corner, as well as hard-hitting safety Brian Jackson.

The defensive line loses Dion Jordan and Isaac Remington, but Jordan didn't appear to be at 100 percent throughout the second half of the season and even missed the majority of the Fiesta Bowl.

Taylor Hart, Wade Keliikipi and Ricky Heimuli each have experience, as well as the strength to control the line of scrimmage, and freshmen Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner will be looking to build off strong seasons.

To have any shot at defeating whichever juggernaut team the SEC puts in the title game, it's going to take a defense that can play ball at all three levels, and the Ducks can do just that.

A "Chip" on Their Shoulders

That was an admittedly awful pun. Hopefully you can look past it because Oregon's attitude next season could be the determining factor in whether or not they have what it takes to finally bring home the crystal ball.

With Chip Kelly gone, people are going to wonder what the Ducks will look like. Will the offense continue to bombard scoreboards? Will the team be prepared each week as it was under Kelly? How will "Win The Day" translate to a new coach? Is Oregon still going to be among the best teams in college football?

We can speculate all day long about the answers to these questions, but the true results will come on the field.

The Ducks are going to be out to prove to everybody that this a program to be reckoned with still and it extends beyond the shadow of the head coach.

The lasting image of these high-flying Ducks will be what they accomplish next season. It's the image that will stick in the minds of fans, but more importantly, the minds of recruits.

A strong 2013 would set the standard for continued excellence and pave the road for many more victories in the future.

With that kind of motivation, the Ducks will play next season like they have everything to prove. And that's a very good attitude to have.

Advantages over Potential Opponents

The Oregon Ducks obviously have to reach the title game first if they hope to win it.

But should they find themselves up against an SEC opponent in Pasadena next January, they'll have several important advantages.

A number of SEC teams are capable of making it to the title game, but for argument's sake, I'm going to look at Texas A&M and Alabama, two teams that I think have the best chance of winning their league.

Against the Aggies, Oregon would have the advantage of seeing a similar offense everyday in practice, as well as in-conference against UCLA and Arizona. They were one of the first teams to begin running the spread at a high level, so they have the advantage of experience as well.

The Aggies see a similar offense in practice, but they also spend the majority of their time preparing for hard-nosed rushing attacks and pro formations. This benefits the Ducks.

Should it be Alabama that emerges from the pile of quality SEC teams, the Ducks will be in for a real fight. This would likely mean that the Crimson Tide defeated Texas A&M as well, so they'll have faced an athletic, mobile quarterback.

But Oregon does things a little differently, and they'll have the intelligence to throw new things at Bama's defense that they haven't seen before and are unprepared to defend. They were susceptible to an Aggies team that took a quick, 20-0 lead this past season and the Ducks are capable of doing the same.

Obviously, this assumes many things. It's going to take a perfect storm for a team to end the SEC's reign, and beating either Texas A&M or Alabama is far from a sure thing.

But if a team is going to do it, it'll be the Oregon Ducks next season.