College Football 2011: Oregon's 6 Biggest Questions Entering the Season

The 2011 offseason has been an interesting one for the Oregon Ducks. It has been a time in which the Oregon faithful have experienced many highs and lows.

Although spring practices helped answer a few questions, there are still some things that are unclear as the season approaches.  Here are the six most pressing questions for the Oregon Ducks as they enter the 2011 season.

6. Can Chip Kelly Win the Big Game?

Ever since Chip Kelly took over for Mike Belotti as Oregon’s head football coach, the Ducks have been on a tremendous run.  During Kelly’s tenure, the Ducks have been able to demolish almost every opponent that has come their way. 

The only problem is that the few losses have come in some of Oregon’s biggest games.  The big games that come to mind are Kelly’s first game at Boise State, the 2010 Rose Bowl against Ohio State and this year’s National Championship loss to Auburn. What makes these games similar is the amount of time that coaches have had to prepare for Oregon’s high octane offense. 

This season, the Ducks open the season against LSU at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and Oregon fans hope Kelly can erase those blemishes on his record with a victory.  If the Ducks do end up losing their first game, it will likely knock them out of contention for the National Championship and give the 2011 season a different tone.

5. Who Replaces Casey Matthews and Spencer Paysinger at Linebacker?

Last season, Oregon had one of the most underrated defenses in the country because of the offense that overshadowed it.  The defense had a lot of talent and experience especially at the linebacker position. 

Unfortunately for Oregon fans, the Ducks graduated two multi-year starters in Casey Matthews and Spencer Paysinger and is now faced with the challenge of replacing them. 

One of the men that was thought to replace Matthews in the middle was Kiko Alonso, who has since been suspended from the team.  Although the replacements at linebacker may not be household names, they are very experienced for reserves because of the amount of people Oregon rotates on defense. 

Oregon has now reached the status where they merely reload at certain positions, and linebacker is one of those spots.

4. Are There Enough Carries to Go Around?

As he enters his junior season at Oregon, LaMichael James has become very well known around college football.  But he is not the only talented running back in Oregon’s backfield.  James’ running mate Kenjon Barner is good enough to start on most teams in college football and has the potential to run for 1,000 yards as a backup. 

In addition to Barner and James, redshirt freshman Lache Seastruck, who was a five-star recruit, expects to get a few carries himself.  Too much talent is usually a pretty good problem to have, but maybe not in Oregon’s case. 

Oregon usually scores in less than 10 offensive plays, which doesn’t make for a lot of extra carries each game.  There is no doubt that James is going to get plenty of carries as he makes another run at the Heisman Trophy, but will his success make everyone else happy as well?  In 2011, look for Oregon to run sets with multiple running backs in order to keep all of their speedsters happy.

3. Who Will Darron Thomas Throw To?

As quarterback Darron Thomas enters his second season as the Ducks starter, he will have to do so without his two favorite targets.  Jeff Maehl and DJ Davis were Oregon’s top two pass catchers in 2010 but have since graduated. Behind them, the Ducks have very little experience. 

Senior Lavasier Tuinei is the only Oregon receiver with starting experience and will be counted on big time this season.  Across from him will likely be Josh Huff, who played very well as a true freshman last year.  Outside of those two the Ducks have a lot of youth. 

The 2011 recruiting class brings in about five guys who will play receiver at Oregon, and all of them have blazing speed.  Which guys will step up and make an impact right away is yet to be seen, but regardless of who’s on the field, the Ducks' offense will be running at full speed.

2. When Will Cliff Harris Get on the Field?

Of all of the unanswered questions, this one is the newest and most pressing.  After the National Championship, Oregon fully expected Cliff Harris to be their number one corner in the 2011 season.  Harris will still be their number one guy but the question is when. 

Harris has been suspended indefinitely from the program for driving over 110 mph with a suspended license.  It is already known that Harris will not be suiting up for the season opener against LSU, but after that, nothing is certain. 

Oregon does have talent behind Harris, but it is young and inexperienced.  Everyone can assume that Harris will play a solid majority of the season, but fans are hoping that his absence doesn’t cost Oregon another shot at the National Championship.

1. Will Oregon Return to the National Championship Game?

For Oregon to return to the BSC National Championship at the end of the 2011 season, they would need a lot of good answers to all of their questions.  This season, it is very possible that Oregon will in fact return to the National Championship, but it all starts with a win against LSU. 

In 2010, the Ducks had a pretty manageable road that they were able to navigate through all the way to a 12-0 record.  Their 2011 schedule stacks up pretty well, with most of the marquee matchups at home, but a few trap games could spell trouble for Oregon. 

With that said, I don’t see the Ducks losing a game this season other than potentially the LSU game.  Oregon is the team atop the new Pac-12, and although some teams may be close, no team is quite like the Ducks.