Oregon Duck Football: The Ducks' Toughest and Most Important Games in 2011
The 2010 Oregon Ducks football season was one that any Duck fan will not soon forget.
After a perfect 12-0 start to the season and a trip to the National Championship, the Ducks nearly pulled off the upset against the Auburn Tigers, but lost due to a last-second field goal.
With the majority of the team still intact, the Ducks will look to improve on last season’s success as they have their sights set on winning it all in 2011.
Here is a look at the Ducks' 2011 schedule, from the easiest game to the toughest and most important games the Ducks will face to reach their ultimate goal.
Missouri State
1 of 12
Some may call this the most mismatched game of the entire 2011 college football season.
The Ducks will play their last out-of-conference game against the Missouri State Bears, a Division 1-AA team.
It was just last year when Oregon annihilated New Mexico in their season opener 72-0, so sorry Bears, the only real debate is whether the Ducks will score more than 70 points in this game
Nevada
2 of 12
Oregon’s home opener will be against the Colin Kaepernick-less Nevada Wolf Pack.
Despite a stellar season in 2010 and snapping Boise State’s 24-game winning streak, Nevada lost its star player and quarterback in Kaepernick and won’t pose much of a threat to the Ducks.
Washington State
3 of 12
Despite the tough fight the Cougars gave the Ducks last year, injuries to key players made the final score misrepresent Oregon’s superiority over Washington State.
Darron Thomas and Kenjon Barner went down with injuries in last year’s affair, preventing the Ducks' offense from finding a rhythm on offense the entire game.
The Cougars are arguably the weakest team in the Pac-12, and having to travel down to Eugene to play next year does not bode well for them.
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California
4 of 12
This may come to a surprise for a few, but I do not see Cal being able to keep up with Oregon’s high-speed attack.
Besides Auburn, Cal was the toughest opponent Oregon played last season.
The Bears almost came away with a victory, losing 15-13 in Berkley, Calif.
Cal played extremely well at home last year, especially on defense, allowing only an average of 262 total yards a game to opposing teams.
However, the defense was a completely different story away from home, allowing nearly 400 yards of total offense per game.
I don’t see Cal putting up much of a fight in Eugene next season, and it was only two years ago when the Ducks smashed the sixth-ranked Bears in a 53-3 home upset.
Colorado
5 of 12
As the Colorado Buffaloes get welcomed into the new Pac-12, they will get their first taste of what’s to come every season.
The Ducks speed is unlike anything Colorado has ever seen, and it will take time for the Buffaloes to adjust. The only advantages the Buffaloes have are playing on their home field and the fact that the Ducks haven’t played them before.
USC
6 of 12
The power shift in the Pac-12 is officially complete.
The Ducks have been crowned the team to beat on the West Coast, ending USC's lengthy rule.
The Ducks have routed the Trojans the past two years, and look for this trend to continue.
Despite the stellar athletes USC recruits every year, the Trojans have shown that they are not able to keep up with Oregon’s fast pace, allowing an average of over 600 yards of total offense to the Ducks in the past two affairs.
Outrun, out-coached and out-maneuvered, look for USC to struggle as they travel up to Eugene in late November.
Washington
7 of 12
Washington battled Oregon tough last year in Eugene, even with first-round NFL draft pick quarterback Jake Locker out with a rib injury.
Their backup quarterback, Keith Price, looked stellar and will most likely take on the starting job next year after.
Playing at Washington is never an easy task for any visiting team, and the Husky nation always seems to get a little extra riled up when the Ducks come to town.
I do not expect the Ducks to struggle in this game, but the history between these two Pacific Northwest rivals should make for an interesting game nonetheless.
Oregon State
8 of 12
No matter how far apart these two teams are in a particular season, the Civil War always seems to be a close and entertaining game.
For the past two seasons, the Oregon State Beavers had a chance to knock their bitter rivals out of the Rose Bowl and National Championship, and failed to do so each time.
The Ducks will have a much more talented team next yea,r and the 2011 Civil War game will be played in Eugene, but anything can happen when these two teams face off.
Arizona State
9 of 12
Some may dismiss Arizona State’s talent due to their past struggles as a program, but we might have to look at the Sun Devils a bit more seriously this season.
With an offense led by quarterback Brock Osweiler and a nationally respected defense, the Sun Devils will look to put themselves on the map, as some even have them ranked in the top 25 to start the year.
Arizona State battled resiliently last year against Oregon, and they wouldn’t go down without a fight.
With a defense that some think will rank near the top of the Pac-12, don’t be surprised if this game turns out to be like last year's Cal game for the Ducks.
Arizona
10 of 12
The fact that the Wildcats have home-field advantage is what puts the difficulty of this game ahead of Arizona State.
While I believe that Arizona State will have a better season than their in-state rival, the Ducks play tremendously better at home.
With the return of quarterback Nick Foles, the Wildcats will have a tremendous amount of talent on both sides of the ball.
In 2009, Oregon barely escaped with an overtime victory in Arizona, and it was a close game in Oregon when the two teams met last year.
If you like high-scoring games, tune in to this game next year when these Pac-12 rivals face off in Arizona.
Stanford
11 of 12
If it wasn't for the next team on this list, the Stanford Cardinal would have been the most important game for the Ducks in 2011.
Last year in Eugene, Stanford jumped to a surprising 21-3 lead in the first quarter and looked be dictating the pace of the game, which was generally determined by Oregon.
Despite the Cardinal’s fundamental soundness, Oregon was able to score 28 unanswered points in the second half against the tired Stanford defense.
Despite the departure of coach Jim Harbaugh, look for Stanford and quarterback Andrew Luck to valiantly battle Oregon when the Ducks travel down to Palo Alto on Nov. 12.
Also, expect the winner of this game to represent the North in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
LSU
12 of 12
It is no secret that the Ducks are most vulnerable when opposing teams have an extended period of time to prepare, and this will be especially true for this season's opening game against LSU.
Chip Kelly, the head coach of the Ducks, has a 1-3 lifetime record against teams that have more than a month to prepare for their up-tempo attack.
LSU has an extremely fast and physical defense, making it tough for the Ducks' offense to break through, no matter how fast they are.
However, the outcome of this game will go to the very end because Chip Kelly will have his team conditioned and ready to run in an attempt to wear out the Tiger defense.
If Oregon can manage to pull off a victory in the new Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, the road to the National Championship will be much easier to envision.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
