Oregon Is Playing Like National Champions Heading into December

If the 2014 Civil War were a boxing match, the referees would have called it off after the first quarter. 

The second-ranked Oregon Ducks (11-1, 8-1) stormed Corvallis and beat the Oregon State Beavers for the seventh consecutive time by the score of 47-19. The star of the show, once again, was Heisman front-runner Marcus Mariota. The redshirt junior quarterback scored six total touchdowns on the night as the Ducks grabbed their seventh consecutive victory.

While the rest of the country was watching Alabama and Auburn put up 99 combined points in the Iron Bowl, the Ducks calmly went about their business and once again proved to be the class of college football.

The Ducks pummeled the Beavers on both sides of the ball. Oregon’s offense gained 565 yards on the night—its sixth consecutive game with 500-plus yard of offense—and stifled Oregon State’s potent passing game.

Oregon is now one step away from a Pac-12 title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. The only thing standing between the Ducks and a date with destiny is the team that has handed Oregon its past two losses: Arizona.

While the thought of playing Arizona again may sicken Oregon fans, the Ducks are playing their best football at the right time. Plus, it’s tough to lose when you have the best player in college football.

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Hello, Heisman!

Strike a pose, Marcus! Oh wait, he already did.

Mariota’s Heisman pose may have been unintentional; however, it was a sign from above. He stepped up once again and had perhaps his best game of the season in the win over Oregon State.

Corvallis has eaten up top-10 opponents before. However, Mariota would have none of that.

On the night, he was 19-of-25 for 367 yards and four touchdowns. He also added 39 yards on the ground and two more touchdowns. On the season, he has now accounted for 48 touchdowns—a Pac-12 record—and has broken the single-season Oregon record for touchdown passes (36).

Moreover, Mariota set a new Pac-12 record by amassing 126 total touchdowns, breaking the previous mark of 122 set by former USC quarterback Matt Barkley. For the record, Barkley played four full seasons under center for the Trojans. Mariota hasn’t even completed his third full year as Oregon’s quarterback.

Mariota is doing things on the football field that the nation has never seen before. He’s dynamic, efficient and, despite his off-the-field personality, ruthless.

Right now, he is head and shoulders above the all of the other candidates in the Heisman Trophy race. Yes, there’s a scenario in which he could lose the award. If Mariota has a poor game against Arizona and the Ducks lose, thereby knocking them out of the College Football Playoff, and Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon has an insane game and leads the Badgers to a Big Ten title game victory over Ohio State, then maybe Mariota won’t win the award.

However, he has nine of his 10 fingers fully grasped around the trophy. If the Ducks come out of Santa Clara with a victory on Dec. 5, Mariota will be giving an acceptance speech in New York come Dec. 13.

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Ducks Are Rolling

Oregon is hitting its stride at the perfect time. The Ducks have not only won their past seven games, but they’ve demolished their opponents by an average margin of 24.4 points per game.

It should be noted that the Ducks haven’t been playing cupcake opponents such as Western Carolina (ahem, Alabama). Over the past seven games, the Ducks have faced UCLA, Washington, Stanford and Utah—all of whom are bowl-eligible.

Oregon wins games by imposing its will on the offensive side of the ball and by forcing turnovers and limiting points defensively. Oregon’s offense is certainly holding up its end of the bargain, while the defense is rapidly improving.

Over the past seven games, Oregon has averaged 543.8 yards and 47.5 points per game. The Ducks are unstoppable on offense right now. That bodes well for them, especially when you consider that Oregon hasn’t lost in a game in which it’s scored more than 30 points since 2011.

Oregon can thank Mariota’s brilliant play for its success over the past seven games; however, the Ducks wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for the impact of true freshman running back Royce Freeman.

Freeman is the best running back in the country that no one knew about before the season. He’s become an absolute terror for opposing defenses and has integrated physicality into Oregon’s offense. No one wants to tackle him.

Would you want to try and tackle a runaway train?

Freeman added to his spectacular season against Oregon State by rushing for 135 yards on 22 carries. He also added a phenomenal one-handed touchdown catch—his first receiving touchdown of his college career. On the season, he has rushed for 1,185 yards and has scored 17 touchdowns.

Mariota may be the conductor of Oregon’s high-powered offense, but Freeman is the engine.

While the offense has been rolling, Oregon’s defense has continued to create turnovers and has gotten much better at keeping opposing teams off the scoreboard. The defense has allowed an average of 17.3 points per game over the last four games. Through Oregon’s first eight games this season, the defense had allowed 25.8 points per game.

That may not look huge, but improving your defense by more than a touchdown per game this late in the season is very impressive.

Though the Ducks didn’t force a turnover for the second consecutive game, they still rank No. 3 in the country in turnover margin. On the season, Oregon’s defense has forced 22 turnovers—ranked No. 30 nationally. Conversely, Oregon’s offense has only turned the ball over seven times this season—ranked No. 1 in the nation.

The Ducks are rolling on both sides of the ball right now and look as though they’re ready to take on the world in the College Football Playoff. Only Arizona stands in their way. Based on their two previous matchups, that could be a problem for the Ducks.

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Arizona Roadblock

Oregon has an “Arizona problem.”

Well, the last time the Ducks had a “(fill in the school) problem” they thumped Stanford on Nov. 1 to the tune of 45-16.

Oregon has been outplayed and outcoached by the No. 11-ranked Wildcats (10-2, 7-2) in each of the past two matchups. In 2013, against an injured Mariota, Arizona wrecked Oregon 42-16. On Oct. 2 in Eugene, with left tackle Jake Fisher missing in action, the Wildcats once again took it to the Ducks by the score of 31-24.

The injuries are not an excuse for Oregon, as it has been dismantled by Arizona’s defense each of the past two years and has been unable to stop the Wildcats running game.

Offensively, the Ducks have averaged 476 yards against the Wildcats over the past two meetings; however, they have committed a total of five turnovers, including two interceptions by Mariota. To put that into perspective, he has only thrown 12 interceptions in his entire Oregon career.

Arizona’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme has confused the Ducks, and the Wildcats have been able to get pressure on Mariota over the past two years. The Ducks will need to do a better job of protecting the ball and protecting Mariota in the pocket.

While the Wildcats have one of the best defensive players in the country in linebacker Scooby Wright, the Ducks should be able to move the ball with a mostly healthy offensive line. Arizona ranks No. 59 in scoring defense, No. 63 in rushing defense, No. 115 in passing defense and No. 93 in total defense.

Defensively, Oregon has allowed 256 rushing yards per game and seven total touchdowns to Arizona over the past two meetings. More concerning is that the Ducks have only forced two turnovers in those two games.

Arizona has a dynamic offense and playmakers at every position. It’s going to be a massive challenge for an Oregon defense that has struggled against high-powered offenses this season.

No matter how you slice it, Arizona has had Oregon’s number over the past two seasons. However, the Ducks have faced that sort of adversity already this year, as they slew their “Stanford problem” in early November. Now it’s Oregon’s turn to flip the script on Arizona and show the Wildcats who really runs the Pac-12.

The Oregon players know what happened against Arizona in October. They’ve played it over and over in their minds. "Certainly our guys know the coulda, woulda, shoulda of that night,” said head coach Mark Helfrich about the loss to Arizona, according to ESPN.com’s Chantel Jennings.

Oregon wants revenge against the Wildcats, but what the Ducks really want is a chance at a national title.

"

Oregon St isn’t good, but post-Arizona, Oregon has been a team possessed. Players, coaches, gameplanning, and playcalling all on point.

— Dan Rubenstein (@DanRubenstein) November 30, 2014"

The Ducks are firing on all cylinders and have been arguably the best team in the country over the past two months. Oregon’s offense is destroying opposing defenses, and the Ducks defense is improving. Plus, Oregon has the best quarterback in the nation.

The Ducks only need one more victory to advance to the inaugural College Football Playoff. The only thing that stands in their way is the team that has handed them their past two losses.

Can they finally overcome the Arizona roadblock, and can Mariota finally lead Oregon to a Pac-12 title?

We'll know the answer on Friday. But, for now, the Ducks are playing like national champions.

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.