The Most Important Oregon Players for the Rest of the Year

It’s late November, and the Oregon Ducks (9-1, 6-1) are once again in the hunt for a national title. With only two games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the second-ranked Ducks are well-positioned to earn a bid into the inaugural College Football Playoff.

If the Ducks are able to win their next three games, including the Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 5, they will be in the Playoff, and quarterback Marcus Mariota will likely be taking home the first Heisman Trophy in the history of the Oregon program.

According to Bleacher Report’s Ed Feng, the Ducks have a 72 percent chance of advancing to the College Football Playoff, and his algorithm currently projects that the Ducks will be the No. 2 seed.

Oregon is well on its way to an appearance in either in Rose Bowl or Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. However, in order to get there, the Ducks are going to need outstanding performances from some of their top players and from some replacements who are taking over for well-established veterans.

Who are the Ducks counting on most the rest of the season? Let’s take a look.

Center Doug Brenner

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Losing center Hroniss Grasu was a big blow to Oregon’s already stitched together offensive line. Grasu, who had started 50 straight games for the Ducks, is one of Oregon’s most vocal leaders and had been a steading force on an O-line that has been decimated by injuries this season.

While Grasu’s lower-leg injury isn’t as bad as previously anticipated—he’s likely to only miss the next two games—it will still be hard for the Ducks to replicate his outstanding play.

That being said, redshirt freshman Doug Brenner is ready to fill in for Grasu, and the Ducks expect that he will be able to fill the role admirably. Oregon’s offensive line coach Steve Greatwood believes in Brenner’s intelligence and thinks he will succeed in this role.

"He is extremely stout and a strong individual," Greatwood said, according to Andrew Greif of The Oregonian. "I equate Doug more to (center) Jordan Holmes from a few years ago than Hroniss, but Doug is very capable. He plays with good pad level, is tough and is smart, and those are the attributes that I'm looking for in a guy."

Brenner has had two weeks to prepare for his first start at center for the Ducks. It helps that his first game will come against a Colorado defense that is ranked No. 105 in the nation in total defense.

The Ducks don’t need Brenner to come in and play as well as Grasu has for the past couple of years. Oregon only needs the redshirt freshman to get the ball to Marcus Mariota and not make any critical mistakes.

If he’s able to do that and provide some solid blocking along the way, the Ducks should be just fine in the absence of Grasu.

Safety Erick Dargan

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

While cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is a top-10 NFL prospect, according to Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated, he hasn’t been the most productive member of Oregon’s secondary so far this season. Nope, that would be senior safety Erick Dargan. 

Not only does Dargan lead the Ducks in tackles (70), but he also leads the team in interceptions (five). He is currently No. 7 in the nation in interceptions and has a propensity for coming up with a big play exactly when the Ducks need it.

While the Ducks rank No. 123 of No. 128 in passing defense this season, Dargan has been a bright spot in the secondary and will need to continue his ball-hawking ways if the Ducks are to reach their lofty goals this season.

The Colorado game signals the last home game ever for Oregon seniors, and Dargan is ready to go to battle. "(Autzen) is one of the best places to play in college football, and the atmosphere is crazy," Dargan said, according to Gary Horowitz of the Statesman Journal. "It's the last home game I get to play with my brothers.”

Dargan has been Oregon’s best defender all season, and they will need him to be at his best from here on out.

Kicker Aidan Schneider

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

Not to rehash old memories, but the Ducks have been stung in years past by the shortcomings of their kicking game. Shanks haven’t bitten the Ducks so far this year and they hope that the up-and-coming Aidan Schneider will be able to come through when the Ducks need him. Believe me, they’re going to need him at some point.

While Schneider may not be able to play against Colorado due to illness, he’s done well as the Ducks' kicker when given the opportunity. 

Oregon’s kicking game has been a bit of a carousel as Matt Wogan and Schneider have split duties for most of the year. However, Schneider has been the much better kicker this season and is 5-5 on the year, including 3-3 against Utah in Salt Lake City.

Moreover, Schneider has hit two 40-plus-yard field goals this season—both of which have come in Oregon’s past two games. For comparison, the Ducks have only successfully kicked three 40-plus-yard field goals since 2011.

The Ducks are going to need the young kicker healthy and ready to go by the time the Ducks take on Oregon State. Crazy things happen in Corvallis. The Ducks would be well-served to have an accurate field-goal kicker on hand.

Running Back Royce Freeman

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

Outside of Marcus Mariota, no player on the Oregon roster has had a bigger impact on the 2014 team than true freshman running back Royce Freeman.

Coming into the season, there were rumblings that this freshman was something to behold. However, Freeman has exceeded all expectations and has become one of the best running backs in the entire country.

Through 10 games this season, Freeman has rushed for 945 yards on 170 carries—an average of 5.6 yards per carry. Freeman has also scored 14 touchdowns, which ranks him No. 12 in the country.

While Freeman played well in the Ducks' first five games, he’s come on in a big way over the team's past five conference games. Since the return of left tackle Jake Fisher versus UCLA, Freeman has rushed for an average of 119.8 yards per game and had scored nine touchdowns in five games.

More importantly, Freeman has brought a physical style of running to the Ducks offense, something that the team hasn’t had since Jonathan Stewart and LeGarrette Blount left for the NFL.

It’s tough to depend on a freshman running back who hasn’t experienced a season as long or as physical as a college season. However, the Ducks will continue to lean on Freeman and will need him to continue bowling over every obstacle in his way.

As long as battery of Mariota and Freeman is healthy, opposing defensive coordinators will be losing sleep.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

What more is there to say about Marcus Mariota that hasn’t been said already? He’s the most important player to any team in the entire country. Moreover, he’s the best player in the nation and is having one of the finest seasons in NCAA history.

As of right now, Mariota is the Heisman Trophy favorite, according to ESPN. On the season, Mariota has thrown for 2,677 yards and 32 touchdowns and has completed 68.5 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 524 yards and scored eight touchdowns. Oh yea, he even caught a touchdown.

Mariota has broken almost every Oregon quarterbacking record and is on pace to break more NCAA and Pac-12 records in the next couple of weeks.

We could go on and on about Mariota’s play so far this season, and if he wins the Heisman Trophy and leads the Ducks to a spot in the College Football Playoff, we will talk all about it.

But, for now, Mariota has two regular-season games and a Pac-12 Championship Game to prepare for. If he’s able to win all three, he will secure his legacy as the best player in the history of the Oregon program. But that discussion is also for another time.

In order for the Ducks to win out, Mariota is going to need to play up to his lofty standards and, more importantly, stay healthy.

Oregon’s O-line is once again beat up, and the Ducks cannot afford to lose Mariota. If the redshirt junior from Hawaii is upright and healthy, the Ducks are nearly unstoppable.

The Ducks have a simple formula that has worked for most of the past three years with Mariota in the shotgun. That formula is keep running the ball, don’t turn the ball over and let Mariota do Mariota things.

If Oregon is able to do those three things and keep Mariota upright, it should be in good shape by the time the College Football Playoff committee has to make a decision on Dec. 7.

Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise stated. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.

Jason Gold is Bleacher Report’s lead Oregon writer. Follow Jason on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33.