Oregon Football: 10 Reasons Undefeated Ducks Will Be Crowned National Champions

Anyone who has seen them play knows that there is something special about the 2010 Oregon Ducks football team.  You don't even have to be a football fan to appreciate the high-energy, military precision play of the nation's No. 1 team.

This season has been brutal to perennial favorites and traditional powerhouses.  For the last couple of weeks, the No. 1 ranking in college football has been a death sentence to teams that fought hard to get there, only to fall at the hands of tough conference opponents.

That all changed Thursday night as Oregon put on a show for a national audience, beating conference foe UCLA in spectacular fashion, 60-13.  It was a chance for the doubters and those who hadn't yet witnessed the speed and creativity of the Ducks' 2010 squad to see firsthand if the flashy uniform wearing, gimmicky offense running team from the Northwest was for real.

For those still not convinced or those who think that Oregon will face its demise soon enough like Alabama and Ohio State before them, here are the real reasons why Oregon is different and will win the BCS Championship in Glendale.

All the photos are ones I shot at Thursday's game from section 39.  This is a report from the bleachers.

They're Playing With Intent, Purpose and a Chip on Their Shoulders

Eddie Pleasant gets fired up before the UCLA game.

Great teams are fueled by adversity, not conquered by it, and the Oregon Ducks have faced their fair share of adversity in 2010.

Starting with a heartbreaking loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in January's Rose Bowl, the first part of 2010 was plagued by offseason turmoil that featured arrests, suspensions and the loss of their starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to burglary, weed and eventually Ole Miss.

Such shenanigans might be enough to turn an average team into a rudderless group of underachievers with diminished expectations.  

With a leader like Chip Kelly at the helm, quite the opposite has been the case.  Coach Kelly has taken the struggles the team has faced, circled the wagons and used the trials the team has faced to help develop an atmosphere of character and accountability in Eugene.

They're Insanely Deep

Backup quarterback Nate Costa crossed the goal line a couple times against UCLA.

The Ducks' second string could beat most team's starters.  Period.  With the majority of Oregon's games being blowouts this season, the U of O backups have been given many chances to prove exactly that.

A team that expects to go deep into the season and stay on top of the rankings must be very deep in personnel at every key position.  Oregon has the talent to be nearly injury-proof week in and week out, a luxury no other team has in any conference.

The battle for the starting quarterback position was incredibly close between Darron Thomas and Nate Costa.  Both are extremely mobile and great passers.  Their QB ratings for the year are nearly identical (Thomas 158.9, Costa 158.6) and Costa has been very effective when called upon and on two-point PAT's.

Oregon's starting running back LaMichael James is a Heisman candidate who is a few yards shy of a 1,000-yard season.  The amazing Kenjon Barner, the Ducks' backup running back, was injured this week. His replacement, third-stringer Remene Alston Jr., ran for three touchdowns against UCLA.

It gets even worse (for their opponents) at cornerback, wide receiver, et al.

The 2010 Ducks Live For Big Games

The Ducks march into battle.

Over 100,000 SEC mental patients at Neyland Stadium couldn't razz first-year quarterback Darron Thomas in his second start ever.  Oregon held Tennessee to zero second-half points in its own house on the way to a 48-13 win that night in September.

Oregon's only Pac-10 loss last season came at the hands of the Stanford Cardinal, so when Andrew Luck and company rolled into Eugene ranked ninth in the nation, ESPN's College GameDay also came to town effectively making the match the biggest game in the country that day.  Oregon came back from being down 21-3 to drop 52 points on 2009's spoilers.

Thursday night's game against UCLA was a national spotlight opportunity for the Ducks and they didn't disappoint in beating the Bruins, 60-13.

Any Success You Have Against the Ducks Will End at Halftime

Oh hai! I'm in your backfield crunching ur quarter-back.

Chip Kelly and Nick Aliotti have an almost unfair, borderline supernatural way of figuring out any offensive scheme you throw at them by the time the third quarter starts.

"Pistol" offense?  Bring it, NeuWeasal.

Smashmouth backs and a protypical QB? Take your best shot, Harbaugh.

Loud crowd, proud tradition, hostile environment?  You will not score in the second half, Rocky Top.

The Ducks are one of the best prepared, best teams in the country.  If that's not enough, they will figure you out on the fly, turning your actions and gameplay into a blueprint for your own dismantling.

Insane stat: In seven games the Ducks have allowed seven total points in the fourth quarter.

The Pac-10 Is Talented and Will Prepare Oregon For Any BCS Pairing

UCLA wasn't all ugly at Autzen on Thursday.

A Pac-10 team's conference schedule is by no means the gauntlet that an SEC conference schedule is. Until next season when the Pac-10 becomes the Pac-12 and has a conference championship, there's even a good argument that the teams in the Big 12 have a tougher road.

However, the Pac-10 is not the Big East, the ACC and especially not the WAC or MWC when it comes to tough competition week in and week out.

Even the weakest Pac-10 team can give you trouble.  Washington State's QB Jeff Tuel is going to play on Sundays and the Cougars were physical enough to send Oregon's Kenjon Barner to the hospital.  

UCLA beat Texas at Texas and Arizona State lost to Wisconsin at Camp Randall by one point.  Arizona knocked off a top-10 Iowa team in a huge game this year.  Not only can any team in the conference beat you on any given saturday, Pac-10 teams can beat any team anywhere when given the shot.

The Pac-10 is the only conference that plays a round robin schedule where every team plays every other team, a unique situation that adds to the difficulty of becoming it's champion.

As proven by the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 year in and year out, this kind of competition week in and week out is what makes champions when it comes to the title game.

Oregon Is a Multi-Dimensional Scoring Juggernaut

Darron Thomas goes to the air.

Thursday's game against UCLA proved that Oregon is not just The LaHeisman James Show.  Darron Thomas went to the air often and completed 22 for 31 passes for 308 yards while looking like a Heisman gunslinger himself.

Oregon scores on the ground, through the air, on defense, on special teams and with first, second, third and fourth string players.

The Ducks lead the nation in average points scored per game with 55.1 while allowing an average of 15.9 points to be scored on them.

Oregon scores every 2.43 minutes it has possession of the ball.

Because college football is a game where the team with the most points wins, these numbers are completely awesome if you're a Duck fan.

The Only One in Better Shape Than the Ducks Is Their Mascot

Puddles is mad diesel buff.

During home games, every time the Ducks score, their mascot Puddles does as many push-ups as the Oregon side of the scoreboard displays.  This can add up to a lot of push-ups, hundreds and hundreds, actually.

All kidding aside, the Ducks are faster and better conditioned than any team in football.  Their no-huddle, hurry up offense absolutely kills opposing teams.  

The speed in which the Ducks execute forces coaches to go all "World Cup" and have their players fake cramps or injuries in an attempt to slow Oregon down. I'm looking at you Harbaugh and Erickson.  Right at you.    

Watch any Ducks game and you'll see linebackers and defensive linemen sucking wind with their hands on their hips by the second quarter while the Ducks are just getting started.

In many ways, the Ducks are a second half team because by the second half their opponents have mentally left the game.

They Cannot Be "Figured Out"

Too many options, too hard too stop.

So let me get this straight:  They run a spread-read-air raid-triple option?

It's just a gimmick right?  Someone has to figure it out eventually.

Can't you just hit finesse teams like that in the mouth?  Wait, where is their mouth again?

How about we just contain that Heisman guy?  

How deep can they be?

They Match Up Favorably To the Rest of Their Schedule

The upcoming sequence of events looks good for Oregon.

The Pac-10 is tough, but Oregon's remaining schedule features matches that favor the Ducks.

USC on October 30 is in LA and the Trojans will be ready to play spoiler with nothing to lose. Unfortunately for Troy, the Ducks will annihilate the USC defense.  Expect a big game from the outstanding Matt Barkley but there will be too much Ducks, far too often.

The Huskies come to Autzen Stadium on November 6 and will be destroyed.  It will be over for Jake Locker and Washington as soon as they show The Pick on DuckVision and 60,000 of us goofballs start screaming for Husky blood.

The following week finds Oregon at Cal, which is a mess.  I'll be there and will be taking pictures of the Golden Bear nightmare.  Front row, baby.  Section LL.  I'll be the dude in green goofing on the hippies.

After a bye week, the Ducks face Arizona in Eugene on the Black Friday after Thanksgiving.  The Wildcats will be looking to avenge last year's double-overtime heartbreaker in Tuscon.  No one wins at Autzen Stadium.  Few people even score.  Cats go down.

The Civil War is in Corvallis this year and there has never been a year since its inception in 1894 that the game hasn't been an absolute battle.  While this year will most likely not determine the winner of the Pac-10 or a Rose Bowl bid, this will be the toughest match on Oregon's remaining schedule.  

James Rodgers' season-ending injury and a defense that has shown little consistency will be too much for the Beavers to overcome, and Oregon will win the Civil War and a bid to play for the National Championship on the same day.  Sweeter than roses.

Chip Kelly Has the Ducks Playing, Living and Thinking Like Winners

Turning felons into boy scouts since 2009.

Chip Kelly has brought excellence and creativity to every program he coaches.  Coach Kelly is huge on discipline, loyalty and work ethic, things that all teams require, but that Oregon needed desperately.  This was never more apparent than during the Ducks' 2010 offseason.

The reason that Oregon is No. 1 in both polls goes beyond 4-star recruits, program-changing alumni donors or even Heisman hopefuls.  Several programs have all of those things in spades, but are currently beneath the Ducks in the rankings.

Oregon is No. 1 in the polls and will finish that way because Coach Kelly is able to keep his players performing over their heads, believing they can beat anyone and focused on Winning The Day.