Oregon Football: Holiday Wish List for the Ducks

“Twas the night before New Year’s, when all through the state not a creature was stirring, not even a Duck. The banners were prepared in Autzen with care, in hopes that a national title soon would be there.”

The second-ranked Oregon Ducks are currently preparing for the Rose Bowl where they will take on the Florida State Seminoles in the first-ever game of the College Football Playoff.

With the holiday season in full swing, let’s take a look at what is on the Ducks' wish list as they attempt to knock off Florida State and bring home the first national title in school history.

Someone to Step Up for Ekpre-Olomu

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Oregon senior cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, a Jim Thorpe Award finalist and AP first-team All-American, suffered a serious knee injury last week in practice and is officially out for the rest of the 2014-15 season.

Our first wish is for his backups, Troy Hill (No. 1 corner) and Chris Seisay (No. 2 corner), to step up in the Rose Bowl against Florida State and make sure that the loss of Ekpre-Olomu does not cost the Ducks a shot at a national title.

Due to the injury, Hill will now be slotted as Oregon’s No. 1 cornerback and will have to take on the unenviable task of guarding FSU wide receiver Rashad Greene.

On the season, Greene has caught 93 passes for 1,306 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Greene ranks No. 8 nationally in receptions and No. 7 in receiving yards.

While Hill will obviously have his hands full with Greene, he is coming off his best season as a Duck and was one of the most underrated players in the Pac-12 this season.

Hill was named to the Pac-12’s second-team defense and led the Pac-12 in pass breakups (16) and passes defended (17). Hill also ranked No. 3 in the nation in pass breakups and No. 7 in passes defended.

On the other side, redshirt freshman Chris Seisay will assume the role left by Hill as Oregon’s No. 2 cornerback. In a limited role this season as Oregon’s No. 3 or No. 4 corner, Seisay has registered 20 tackles, three pass breakups, three passes defended and has forced a fumble.

His best game came against Utah when he replaced Ekpre-Olomu as a starter when he went down with a toe injury in the first half.

Both Hill and Seisay will need to step up and fill the void left by Oregon’s All-American cornerback. The Seminoles are ranked No. 14 in passing offense this season and featured the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston at quarterback.

It’s time for the next man in line to step up.

Royce Freeman Unleashed

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In order to beat Florida State, the Ducks are going to need for true freshman tailback Royce Freeman to have one of the most dominant games of his young career. 

Freeman surprised almost everybody by becoming Oregon’s featured back so early into his now-promising career. The Ducks had incumbent running back Byron Marshall, who was the Pac-12’s leading returning rusher, and sophomore Thomas Tyner, who rushed for 711 yards and nine touchdowns as a true freshman in 2013.

None of that mattered. Freeman came in and stole the job away from Marshall and Tyner almost immediately. His performance against Michigan State in the second game of the season (13 carries, 89 yards and two touchdowns) solidified his spot atop the depth chart. At this point, it seems likely he won’t relinquish that spot for at least two more seasons.

On the season, Freeman has rushed for 1,299 yards—ranked No. 24 in the nation—and has scored 16 rushing touchdowns—No. 13 in the country. Though he’s been impressive all year, his performance in Oregon’s past eight games—all victories—has been almost unbelievable.

In those eight games, Freeman has rushed for an average of over 119 yards per game and has scored 11 rushing touchdowns. Freeman was named second-team All-Pac-12 for his work this year, though you could argue he’s been the most important back in the Pac-12 this year.

Without Freeman’s contributions, there’s no telling where the Ducks would be. His bruising style has been a boon to Oregon’s offense, and it’s something the Ducks will need in spades against FSU.

The Seminoles rank No. 60 in the country against the rush and allowed a season-high 331 yards on the ground in the ACC championship against Georgia Tech. If there was any time to unleash Royce Freeman and let him wreak havoc on an opposing defense, it’s on Jan. 1 in Pasadena.

Deliver the Goods, Mariota

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It would be fantastic if the Ducks could sneak by Florida State without having to expect another flawless performance from Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. However, we live in reality. Mariota, with the added pressure of being a Heisman winner, is going to have to carry the Ducks to a victory in the Rose Bowl.

A wish list for the Oregon Ducks begins and ends with the health and success of Mariota. If he’s healthy and playing well, the Ducks are nearly unstoppable. Over the past three seasons, the Ducks are 35-4 when Mariota takes the field. While that may not compare to Winston’s 29-0 record, it’s still mighty impressive.

There’s no need to go into just how phenomenal Mariota’s 2014 campaign was. It was one of the best seasons by a collegiate quarterback of all time. That’s not up for debate.

With the Heisman in tow, Mariota has already earned the title as the best player in the history of Oregon football. That, too, isn’t up for debate.

However, without a national championship, Mariota’s season may lose a bit of its luster. That being said, if Mariota is able to deliver the Ducks their first national championship in school history, one may be able to make a case for Mariota having had the best season in at least Pac-12 history, if not NCAA history.

Mariota’s job now is to hop in his sleigh, which obviously operates at the speed of light, and drag some more hardware back to Eugene.

A Win over Florida State

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If you were to ask any Oregon fan what their one wish would be this holiday season, I would bet most would respond with “a national title.” Well, in order to get to Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 12, the Ducks must first take down the defending national champions, who haven’t lost in 29-straight games.

The moment will not be too big for the Ducks. This will be the third time that the Ducks have been to the Rose Bowl in the past six years (2009 season, 2011 season). Plus, the Ducks played in the Rose Bowl against UCLA earlier this season, a game they won 42-30.

The more important question is whether the 2013 BCS National Champions will intimidate the Ducks. The Seminoles won a title in Pasadena less than 12 months ago. Now, they’re coming back for a second helping.

On paper, the Ducks have been the better team this season. Florida State has struggled mightily against inferior opponents and has had to come from behind in nine of its 13 games.

However, Florida State has the championship pedigree. The Ducks, well, they don’t have that same sort of tradition, yet.

Oregon’s ultimate goal is to be thought of as one of the best programs in college football, which it is. However, without a national championship it's still without the one object that every top-tier program has.

With a win over Florida State, the Ducks would get a second chance at reaching the pinnacle.

The Elusive National Championship

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The Ducks have Pac-12 titles, Rose Bowl wins, BCS wins and now a Heisman Trophy winner. All that’s left to do is to win a national championship.

In 1939, Oregon’s basketball team, then known as the Webfoots, won the inaugural NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. Now, 75 years later, Oregon’s football team has a chance to win the first college football national championship ever awarded in a playoff format.

Maybe it’s destiny.

The Ducks have come close to winning their first national championship on a couple of occasions in recent years. In 2010, they reached the BCS National Championship game and fell to Auburn 22-19 on a last-second field goal.

That memory still haunts Oregon fans. Now, with another shot at the title under a new format, the Ducks' time is now.

The time is now because a talent like Marcus Mariota only comes along once in a generation. The Ducks have to capitalize, and they have to do it now.

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.