Oregon Ducks Football: What Can We Expect After The Season's First Four Games?

Trey from BleacherReport asked me to write an article about how the Oregon Ducks have done so far this season. I am up to the task, so let's see what I can ink out.

The Oregon Ducks are currently unranked, with a record of 3-1 (1-0). The Ducks lost their first home game since last year's Civil War this past Saturday against an unranked, young and inexperienced Boise State Broncos team 37-32.

With this loss still fresh in the minds of many sports fans across the nation, one must wonder: Why did the Ducks lose this game?

Well, first off, if a defense gives up 37 points in one game, it is going to be very difficult for the offense to win the game for the team. One of the best Cornerbacks in the Pac-10, Walter Thurmond III, did not play as he was out with a hip injury. That being said, the Ducks' secondary still had Patrick Chung, T.J. Ward, and Jairus Byrd still healthy. The only problem was that the defensive backs played horribly. Boise State would run play-action passes, and the secondary just zoomed in on the backfield, and were beaten by mediocre to above average receivers.

Things took a turn for the worse when QB Jeremiah Masoli left the game with a concussion after taking a brutal late hit under the chin. The Boise State player performed the same late hit on TE Ed Dickson, and was ejected, although he should've been ejected after the hit on Masoli.

This gave the Ducks Chris Harper as their only option at QB. Harper could not throw the ball, and was limited to only running. Thus, Boise State stacked the line of scrimmage and stuffed the run.

After three quarters of misery, Bellotti FINALLY decided to burn Darron Thomas' redshirt: A VERY GOOD CHOICE

Thomas threw for 210 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT...in get this, one quarter, and on only 10% of the snaps in practice. With this kind of production from a freshman, it makes one wonder why Bellotti didn't turn to Thomas earlier. If Thomas had two more possessions, he would've won the game for the Ducks.

For next week's game at Washington State, Masoli will be available. Even though this Masoli will be healthy, the Duck's coaching staff needs to take a dose of reality. Thomas can pass, and run too, and he provides the Ducks with the best chance of victory against anybody. If Oregon wants to make the Rose or Holiday Bowl, Thomas needs to start, now, and over Roper once he is healthy again.

With Thomas, Johnson, and Blount in the backfield, we could be looking at another Dixon, Stewart, Johnson combo. Plus Thomas was making his receivers catch the ball, throwing them tailor made passes. With a receiving arsenal of Williams, Mahel, Pflugrad, Scott, and Dickson, this Ducks offense is just loaded.

The secondary needs more discipline, like making sure they cover their receivers no matter if it is a play action pass or not.

This being said, Oregon should be back on its feet for the rest of the season. The loss to Boise State was not a conference one, so it is not heartbreaking. Oregon should win every other game this season, with the exception of USC, but on one condition: The Ducks must start Thomas at QB. If they do, the USC can be won, although it is not probable. But hey, it's college football, anything can happen.

MY PREDICTION:
Oregon finishes the season 10-2 regular season, and goes to the Holiday Bowl versus Ohio State.