Oregon Football: 5 Bold Predictions for the Ducks in 2011

The Oregon Ducks look to continue their success from last season in their opening day game at Cowboys Stadium against LSU on Saturday, September 3^rd.

The Ducks have been a hot topic of conversation in recent months and have become one of the most polarizing teams in college football. For students and athletes at the University of Oregon, the football season could not begin any sooner as they look to silence the critics and turn the skeptics into believers with their impressive play on the field.

I was recently on campus at the beginning of August. The buzz for the Ducks is growing, and the fans are getting ready for what looks to be an incredibly exciting season.

I can tell you one thing: the Oregon Ducks are looking to prove themselves. They certainly have the talent. Under the leadership of Chip Kelly, the Ducks will fight for their right to regain status as a threat for the national championship once again.

One great thing about sports, however, is that you can never predict what's going to happen. The owners can't predict when their franchises will make money, the coaches can't predict which player would be better suited for the starting role, the players can't predict their own success, and the fans can't predict how many wins their team will get.

That's why we watch the games and follow our favorite teams with all of our hearts. With a Ducks shirt on my chest and my laptop ready to write on, I present to you my five boldest predictions for the 2011 season in Eugene. Go Ducks!

5. The Oregon Ducks Will Beat the Huskies...again!

For those of you who are looking at this slide like I’m an idiot, muttering things like, “Of course the Ducks are going to win, what’s bold about that…,” allow me to explain.

Certainly, the Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies are engaged in one of the bitterest rivalries in college football as the two teams battle out for bragging as dominant team in the Pacific Northwest. A rivalry between the states of Washington and Oregon isn’t exactly new bad blood, and these two clashing football teams have faced each other a total of 103 times in their history.

While Washington leads the series 58-40-3, the past—oh, I don’t know—2,853 days have belonged to Oregon football. And no, that’s not a rough estimate. In the last seven meetings, the Ducks have not only won every time but each victory has come by more than 20 points.

In college football, it’s one thing to win a rivalry game. It’s another to destroy the other team year after year after year. The Ducks, who were once a bit of a laughing stock bottom feeder to a rivalry dominated by the University of Washington, are now coming into the 2011 season looking to continue this ridiculous streak of their victories.

For those Washington fans that say that this should be an easy victory because the Huskies lost their quarterback, they shouldn’t speak too soon. Last season, Jake Locker missed the game with a broken rib and the Huskies still managed to keep the game in a scoreless tie throughout the first quarter even with redshirt freshman Keith Price taking the snaps.

This was significant because it was the first time the Ducks were held scoreless in the first quarter all season. Multiple Oregon players were said to be out of tempo and having an off game.

Of course, the Ducks went on to outscore the Huskies 35-10 in the second half as they marched on to a 53-16 victory.

This season, with the Ducks coming one win short of their first national championship, expect a statement game from Oregon on November 11^th as they look to dominate the Huskies once again.

By the way Huskies fans…2,853.

4. The New Supwitchgirl Song Will Be the Best Yet

Have you met Jamie Slate, Michael Bishop and Brian McAndrew?

The three recent Oregon Ducks alumni compose the band Supwitchugirl, and the group has become famous for their brilliant and catchy Oregon Ducks song, “I Love My Ducks.”

Their first song, “I Smell Roses,” came out in 2009 and was designed to support the team before their appearance vs. Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. In relatively unexpected fashion, the song became an Internet sensation and gained over 1.2 million views.

Even though the team went on to lost to Ohio State, Supwitchugirl had only just begun. In September of last year, they released their sequel, "Return of the Quack," which did even better on YouTube and currently has over 1.4 million views.

The group increased their production value, marketed some brilliant “I Love My Ducks” T-shirts (that originally sold out within three hours of going on sale), gained the Ducks international fame and helped inspire Eugene and the football team to a national championship appearance.

How do you top the comedic gold of Supwitchugirl literally eating meatloaf dinner with former Ducks Heisman candidate Joey Harrington before the Oregon students, dressed like 1990s hip-hop stars and rap MC Hammer-style about how great their school is?

Simple: that video came before the Ducks had an undefeated regular season and made an appearance in the BCS National Championship—or the “Natty”, if you’re Cliff Harris.

On their highly interactive Twitter, Supwitchugirl promised a third video this season. My bold prediction: with new rhymes about the Natty and LaMichael James’s Heisman Trophy candidacy, this year’s video of “I Love My Ducks” will top both of the previous years. I love my Ducks!

(By the way, Supwitchgirl is like 68 percent of the reason why I chose to go to the University of Oregon.)

3. DeAnthony Thomas Will Make an Impact

I live in Los Angeles. I grew up a fan of the UCLA Bruins and am a student at the University of Oregon.

If there’s one thing in the entire world that I hate, it’s the USC Trojans.

As you can imagine, I was a little bit overjoyed to see that DeAnthony Thomas screwed over the USC Trojans on television by picking the Oregon Ducks. Thomas, who had verbally committed to USC while he was playing at Crenshaw High School, came out on commit day dressed entirely in Oregon gear: head to toe in green and yellow.

To say that there will be some bad blood between the Trojans and Thomas is a bit of an understatement. Thomas was their highest-rated recruit and a 5-star runner that shattered records in high school.

Thomas says he joined the Ducks to get an opportunity to play running back as well as defensive back.

Like so many other players, he fell in love with the football atmosphere of Eugene and was inspired by the dedication that the university puts into its athletic program. Autzen Stadium will be a proud home to the young running back.

My prediction?

DeAnthony Thomas makes a big statement against USC when the two face each other in Eugene this year. The speedy young back is a human highlight reel that was crafted to play for the high-paced nature of Chip Kelly’s scheme, and he will be an impact player for this year and beyond.

2. Willie Lyles Will Turn into a Forgotten Name

This could seem like an act of hopeful optimism, but it’s much more than that.

For an Oregon Ducks fan, very few names strike the same rush of fear to the stomach like the name Willie Lyles currently does. But here’s my take: the Oregon Ducks did nothing wrong.

In fear of using the American “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” model, there’s no actual proof that Oregon committed recruiting violations. As far as the general public knows, we purchased the same recruiting service that schools like Cal and LSU also used.

Why is Oregon getting the spotlight? Perhaps it’s because they made the national championship last year. Have we ever considered that students like LaMichael James and recent transfer Lache Seastrunk chose the University of Oregon because they had the best football team, not because some low life from Texas was paid to convince them to?

I’m not saying that I—or anyone else—know what happened between Willie Lyles and Chip Kelly. What I do know is that Lyles shined the spotlight on himself, tried to grab as much attention as he could and became a bit of a celebrity while his time lasted. Meanwhile, he hurt the reputation of James and Kelly, and has put an unnecessary scrutiny on the Oregon football team.

Until we can have proof that the “Most Dangerous Man in College Football” actually cheated to help the University of Oregon for a grand total of $25,000 (a whopping sum!), the school did nothing wrong. Perhaps investigative journalists should be focusing on the recent allegations of recruiting violations at the University of Miami, which could be facing the “death penalty” if these accusations of hookers and player purchasing turned out to be true.

I don’t know Willie Lyles. I know Chip Kelly, I know the University of Oregon, and if I could make a prediction, I’d say the entire situation blows over.

1. LaMichael James and Darron Thomas Will Both Contend for the Heisman Trophy

My personal favorite prediction: Both running back LaMichael James and quarterback Darron Thomas will be in contention for the Heisman Trophy this season.

The high-powered offense had produced the top scoring team in the league last season, as they led the NCAA in points per game as well as yards per game.

Their star-studded running back, LaMichael James, and their scrambling quarterback, Darron Thomas, anchors the team. Last season, James finished third in Heisman Trophy votes, behind Cam Newton and Andrew Luck.

Newton is now in the NFL, and Luck is without his former coach at Stanford. Former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram has also been drafted to the NFL and will no longer be a threat in college football.

My bold prediction is that, as the Ducks continue their winning ways from last season, they will also send two of their top offensive players as legitimate contenders for the NCAA’s most prestigious award.

Both James and Thomas have a lot to prove, and after falling just short last season, look for them to silence their critics with their brilliant athletic performances.