College Football: Oregon Ducks Off and Running, Out Of Conference Report Card

After three weeks of play, the Oregon Ducks have wrapped up the out of conference part of their schedule and will jump into Pac-10 play this week against Arizona State.

While the Ducks out of conference schedule was not particularly tough this year, they did win all their games in convincing fashion. The Ducks defeated New Mexico 72-0, went on the road and beat Tennessee 48-13 and returned home and beat Portland State 69-0.

With Pac-10 play starting up this week, it is time to grade the performances of the various positions during out of conference play.

Quarterbacks

During the three games that Oregon has played, the top three players at this position all were able to see time on the field.

Darron Thomas has looked good running the offense. He has forced a couple of throws but also seemed to be unrattled when playing on the road in Tennessee. As the weeks have gone on, Thomas has become more comfortable keeping the ball on the read option play, which is opening up huge holes for LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner.

Nate Costa and Daryle Hawkins have also seen time on the field and have led scoring drives of their own. Both have shown the ability to manage the offense but neither have really been given the chance to throw the ball with consistency.

Overall Grade: B+

As Darron Thomas gets more comfortable in the passing game, the Ducks offense will only get better, which is a scary thought for opposing defenses.

Running Backs

Even with LaMichael James missing the first game of the year with a suspension, James and Kenjon Barner have combined to rush for 562 yards through the first three games. Both have looked sharp and have the ability to carry the load. James and Barner have also shown breakaway speed as they have a 72 and 41 yard touchdown run respectively.

Three other backs have shown some skill in Oregon's games. Remene Alston has rushed for 209 yards, Andres Reed has rushed for 125 and Daryle Hawkins has picked up 98 yards.

Overall Grade: A

With the skill of James and Barner, the Oregon backfield is loaded and is arguably the best one-two punch in college football.

Wide Receivers

This is still an area of concern for the Ducks. Jeff Maehl is picking right up where he left off last year and is having a great start to 2010. Other then Jeff Maehl the Ducks are still waiting for another player to step up and become a secondary threat.

David Paulson has filled in well at tight end and has provided Darron Thomas with a threat down the middle and true freshman Josh Huff is starting to come into his own in the slot.

Overall Grade: B-

The Ducks really need a secret wide receiver to step up and be a threat. Whether it be Josh Huff, D.J. Davis are any of the others, someone needs to help spread the defense.

Offensive Line

The offensive line has suffered some bumps and bruises early in the year but have done a great job in the running game. Through three games, the Ducks have rushed for 1142 yards and 12 touchdowns. The line has opened up some big holes and has provided various lanes for Kenjon Barner and LaMichael James.

They do need to work on pass protection a bit more. With an inexperienced quarterback behind them, they are going to need to provide more time in the pocket. While Thomas has the skills to scramble out of the pocket, if the passing game is effective it is hard to stop this offense.

Overall Grade: A-

All Oregon needs is some improvements in their pass protection but the veteran line has had a great start to the year.

Defensive Line

Defensive line is something that will likely be a question mark all year. Going into the year, this was viewed as a position of weakness. While the line has not looked bad this year, they have shown they are still vulnerable to the run up the middle.

On passing downs, the line has been a different story. They have been able to get after the quarterback and have provided pressure throughout the start of the year.

Overall Grade: B

Duck fans will be a bit nervous when the Ducks play a team that commits to the run. A team that is willing to pound it out on the ground could find some serious success against the defensive line.

Linebackers

The second level of the Ducks has looked good so far this year. Led by Casey Matthews, the linebackers have helped stepped up on the run and are fast enough to go sideline to sideline. They have also come on blitzes early and often during the first three games of the year.

Overall Grade: A-

If there is an criticism of the linebackers it is that they are not executing their blitzes with enough regularity and against lower talent, this should not have been an issue.

Secondary

The best way to describe the secondary is inconsistently good. At times, the secondary looks to have things shut down but then give up a deep ball. They have created some turnovers and help lock down two shutouts this season. 

Overall Grade: B+

The secondary is extremely fast and is able to make up space in a hurry. They have continued to give up the short pass knowing this fact and it has worked out so far. If the Ducks can improve on deep coverage, they will be fine.

Special Teams

Surprisingly this has been one of the, if not the brightest spot on the team. The Ducks have yet to miss a field goal or extra point this year, have returned three punts for touchdowns and Jackson Rice has been solid on punts. The Ducks have also yielded very little yardage on opposing teams returns.

Overall Grade: A

The only thing that could be a concern on special teams so far is the length of kickoffs. The ball is often coming down outside the 5 and sometimes 10 yard line. When the talent starts to increase, this could become an issue against a dangerous return man.