Oregon Strategy Session- Final Preseason Predictions and More...

The countdown is at just about two days until opening kickoff and Duck fans across the country can hardly wait. This offseason has brought new faces on the coaching staff and on the field. 

Speculation is all over the board with many thinking Oregon is a top 15 team but some respected experts such as Phil Steele not even having Oregon in his top 50. 

On Thursday, all that speculation ends and the Ducks will have to walk the walk. There is no doubt they have the roster and the coaching to impress the country, but will the adversity of a national television game in a hostile environment on opening weekend be too much, too early? 

September 3 - At Boise State

This game could make or break the Ducks season. The pinwheel colored crowd will hope to make a difference, but Boise’s overrated home record (61-2 at home; only 2-2 against BCS schools) will not intimidate the Ducks. Oregon’s defense surprises everyone and the Ducks win 38-20.

September 12 -  Purdue

The home opener is a night game and will attract a rowdy Autzen crowd. The Boilermakers are not what they once were and the Ducks should have no problem.  LaGarrette Blount runs wild for three touchdowns in a 59-13 romp.

September 19 - Utah

Many fans are building this game to be as big as Boise, but Utah is a much different team from the one that beat Alabama in last years Sugar Bowl. Among those lost to graduation and the NFL are quarterback Brian Johnson, the trio of starting receivers, star defensive end Paul Kruger and both starting corners. 

The Utes will still be very competitive but Oregon is bigger, faster, and stronger. Ducks win 42- 21

September 26 - California

If both Oregon and California take care of business early in the season, ESPN’s College Gameday might come knocking when the Golden Bears visit Eugene. These two teams have played many thrilling games over the past five years, most of them the Ducks would like to forget. 

I like Oregon’s chances against the Bears because of the shakiness at the quarterback position down in Berkeley.  Kevin Riley seemed to be a prodigy until on-again, off again quarterback Nate Longshore won the job from him last year. If you don’t have a proven quarterback in the Pac-10, you don’t win close games. 

That is why I like the Ducks to put themselves in the driver seat for the conference crown with a 35-30 victory.

October 3 - Washington State

The only question here is, if the Ducks are healthy, do they put 70 on the Cougs?

October 10 - At UCLA

Analysts have been talking up Rick Neuheisel and the Bruins as the team to watch come the fall, but once again I just don’t see it. 

I like UCLA to be much improved from last year, but still a year away. Starting a true freshman at quarterback in a conference with good defenses, and the need to score consistently to win, hurt UCLA’s chances. UCLA can not match the Ducks firepower and the Ducks march on 48- 17.

October 17 - BYE

This couldn’t come at a better time with the stretch run coming up, the Ducks have a week to heal some injuries.

October 24 - At Washington

I think the Huskies are going to score a ton of points this year. But they will stop nobody. Not a football player, not a mouse, not an old man with a walker. The Huskies are on the road to recovery and will win at least four games this year, but will once again go home with their tails between their legs at the hands of the Ducks. 

Oregon 56-28.

October 31 - USC

Will it be trick or treat for USC? 

USC has not won in the state of Oregon in three years and the Ducks hope to make it four. For the first time in recent memory, Oregon’s depth matches USC in the two deep with talent. Both teams will have more than enough game experience as this will shape up to be one of the biggest welterweight battles in the Pac-10 in recent memory.

USC will fire on all cylinders, as they always do against the Ducks, but the Ducks won’t back down. All things considered, I have to go with my knowledge of the past seven years. 

The Ducks have the talent to beat USC, but the Men of Troy escapes Eugene on a field goal, 30-28.

November 7 - At Stanford

This Cardinal team is dangerous. The fighting Harboughs are ready to take the next step in the Pac-10 and finish in the top half of the conference. Toby Gerhart is as big as Blount and runs like it. Jim Harbough will become the best at getting the most out of what he has to work with. 

I expect Stanford to win no less than five conference games but, once again, a team that fails to match Oregon’s firepower. The Ducks are still flying higher than the tree 45-25.

November 14 - Arizona State  

The Sun Devils have been a hit and miss team since Dennis Erickson took over.  His success in 2007 led to high expectations in 2008 that were not met. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter is gone, but defensive end Dexter Davis is back to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. 

Arizona State figures to finish in the bottom half of the conference this year, and I don’t see anything that would lead me to believe differently. They are a program that seems to have no direction. Oregon blows out the Sun Devils 41-17.

November 21 - At Arizona

The memories of two years ago are fresh in many Duck fans minds, as the Ducks walk into another potential hornet’s nest in Tucson. 

Mike Stoops teams always seem to get up for the Ducks and I expect this year to be no different. The Wildcats will play over their heads and give the Ducks all they can handle. The Ducks had many breaks go against them in 2007, but this year karma will be in their favor.  Oregon escapes the desert, 21-17

November 28 - BYE

Chip Kelly gets time to gameplan for the Beavers again, we saw what happened last time.

December 3 - Oregon State

Is the road team going to win every game for the next ten years in this series now after the home team won every game the previous ten years? I don’t think so. 

The Beavers don’t have a ton of offensive firepower behind the Rodgers brothers, and they are once again replacing the majority of their defense. The Beavers will be very good in 2009, but a lack of experienced playmakers behind the Rodgers brothers will hurt the Beavers.  I like the Ducks in a close game, 35-31.

Bowl Game - Fiesta Bowl

With the Ducks only loss coming at the hands of (a most-likely top eight) USC team, the Ducks will be in prime position for a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.  Duck fans have some pretty good memories down at the Fiesta Bowl don’t they???

Offensive MVP - RB LaGarrette Blount

After some offseason problems, all reports out of Eugene show a focused running back who is ready to lead a running attack that has been one of the most potent in the country. 

His speed and weight are a rare combination that makes him a second or third round back in the NFL Draft with tremendous upside. 

Look for Blount to have at least 1300 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns as the feature back of Chip Kelly’s masterful spread option attack.

Defensive MVP- LB Spencer Paysinger

Most people would give this award to Walter Thurmond, but the deep and talented linebacking core has a gem in Paysinger.  He is next in a long lineage of talented Oregon linebackers.  At 6’3” 235 pounds he is big but still remains fast. 

The linebackers will be even more important in what is expected to be a tweaked Oregon defense.

Players To Watch-  CB Talmedge Jackson III and Willie Glasper

These two will play opposite Thurmond and are the most important players to Oregon’s success on defense. They need to step up and make enough plays to force the opposing quarterback to throw the ball Thurmond’s way. 

Jackson and Glasper have tons of experience and could decide if Oregon’s defense is at all effective.

An 11-1 season is on the high end of what prognosticators are predicting, but it is well within the realm of possibility.  The Ducks need many things to go right, but it is unlike times in the past when they would need everything to go right. 

Chip Kelly’s first year is a learning experience, but I expect that after the season, Duck fans will have no problem saying that the programs is in safe hands under Kelly.