Project CFB Top Ten: #4 Oregon Ducks

They say birds of a feather flock together, but the Duck that’s missing for Oregon’s 2013 season is former head coach Chip Kelly. Kelly’s departure is probably the single-biggest change to Oregon for the 2013 season since the NCAA sanctions didn’t ruffle many feathers.
With Kelly off to coach in the NFL, the Ducks’ new head coach is former assistant Mark Helfrich. Helfrich, an Oregon native, was the team’s offensive coordinator from 2009 - 2012. Although taking over for Kelly may pose challenges, Helfrich certainly has history on his side. He’s the third consecutive offensive coordinator promoted to head coach for the team and only the fourth head coach in the past 35 years.

Last month, the NCAA Committee on Infractions released its ruling on its two and a half year investigation into Oregon’s recruiting practices. Compromised eligibility? No. Bowl ban? Nope. Loss of 10+ scholarships? Not quite. The Ducks are on probation until January 25, 2016. Between now and then, the program loses one scholarship each year and its recruiting visits have been reduced from 56 to 37. Former coach Chip Kelly was also hit with an 18-month show-cause penalty, which essentially means nothing since he’s no longer coaching in the college ranks.

In 2012, the Ducks went 12-1, 8-1 in the Pac-12 with the sole loss coming from an overtime loss to Stanford that shook up the BCS title race. For 2013, the team retains 16 starters: nine on offense and seven on defense.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota returns under center for the Ducks. Mariota finished the 2012 season passing for 2,677 yards with 32 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He also put an additional 752 yards on the ground with 5 rushing touchdowns. Offensively, rushing is in the Ducks’ wheelhouse. The team retains backs De'Anthony Thomas and Byron Marshall for the 2013 season.

Defensively, the team lost leaders in players like Dion Jordan and Kiko Alonso but it’s still stacked in depth. Defensive tackles Taylor Hart and Wade Keliikipi, an All-Pac-12 honorable mention recipient, return for their senior seasons.

Schedule wise, the Ducks’ 2013 season is theirs to lose. The two games that could pose threats are the Oct. 26 game against UCLA albeit at home and the Nov. 7 match away against Stanford.

Ultimately, the bar is high for this Oregon team, even without Kelly. If everything on paper comes to fruition, the team could wrap up the season with a Pac-12 championship and a solid run at the BCS title.

- Hayley Elwood
@hayleyelwood
hayley.projectcfb@gmail.com

How Did The USC Sanctions Shift The Balance of Power in the Pac 12?

Back in the mid-2000s the USC Trojans were easily the most dominant program in the country. During that impressive run of national championships and Heisman Trophy winners in quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart as well as electrifying running back Reggie Bush (more on that in just a second) head coach Pete Carroll was on top of the college football world. They looked to be on the fast track to becoming one of the dynasties in college football history. Then after an NCAA investigation regarding what was referred to as "lack of institutional control" from 2004-2009 by not only the football team, but the men's basketball and women's tennis teams as well. But for the sake of this writing, I will not dive into the basketball and tennis aspect of the sanctions and focus on the football side of things, I mean... This is a college football blog after all, right?

The football violations were centered around the aforementioned Reggie Bush and the alleged interaction with several marketing agents and his acceptance of several monetary payments from what would be classified as an agent, not to mention a house purchased for Bush's family as well as a luxury car fitted with high dollar rims and stereo system. In light of the findings the USC football team was penalized severely by the NCAA (partially, in all fairness due to the lack of cooperation on USC's part, many writers feel). The Trojans were banned from post season play following the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and a scholarship reduction of 30 total scholarships over the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons, and all wins from December 2004 through the 2005 season, including the USC national championship victory over Oklahoma were vacated, and to top it all off, all of Reggie Bush's records and his Heisman Trophy were vacated. Any images and/or video of Bush also were removed from all NCAA related television and other forms of media.

Since those initial 2010 sanctions we have seen the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinals become national powers, and UCLA, Washington and Arizona State have all made significant strides in not only recruiting but in the win/loss columns as well. Which brings up the question, did the USC sanctions have a significant impact, if any on the reemergence in the quality of football played out west? Now, let's not beat around the bush, in the mid-2000s the USC flat out dominated the Pac 10 at the time, now Pac 12. During that run from 2003-2009 the Trojans won the Pac 10 championship 6 times. Pure domination. Which obviously makes recruiting relatively easy, especially on the west coast with no significant football program in your region. 

Since the sanctions were handed out, naturally the Trojans have came back to earth with zero Pac 12 championships and Oregon and Stanford have taken control of the Pac 12 and with the hiring of Jim Mora Jr the cross city rivals UCLA have made some noise and expectations are high in 2013 for the Bruins. Washington and Arizona State have also made significant strides since 2010. I truly do believe that the bowl ban and scholarship reductions altered the ability of the Trojans to recruit top level talent. The lack of bowl appearances would obviously scare many top level recruits away and teams in the Pac 12 like Oregon, Washington and UCLA have began the swoop in and take advantage. The scholarship reductions also changed the number of incoming freshmen coach Lane Kiffin and company can bring to campus as well. The sanctions have brought the Trojans back to earth, and now the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinals have become the class of the Pac 12 and the previously untouchable Trojans are "just another team" with the Arizona State's and Cal's of the conference.

- Josh Gamez

@itsjoshgamez

josh.projectcfb@gmail.com

Does Golden Boy Marcus Mariota Have the Midas Touch to Take the Ducks to Pasadena?

The pundits have spoken and have made predictions about what 2013 will hold for college football, specifically a zero-to-hero quarterback from the west coast, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota.  

Mariota, a redshirt sophomore from Honolulu, Hawaii, was ranked 123 for quarterbacks in the 2011 rankings.  With a 68.5 completion percentage, 32 TDs, and nearly 3000 passing yards, his #6 ranking at the end of the 2012 season (his redshirt freshman season) caused the college football world to remember the name, Mariota.

Entering the 2013 season, Mariota is one of this year’s golden boys.  But does he have what it takes to lead Oregon to victory at the Rose Bowl this January?

Taking a look back at some of the most recent preseason golden boy quarterbacks leaves one to question if this preseason factor is enough to bring the Waterford football home.

2012: Matt Barkley and his USC Trojans were both ranked #1 in the preseason.  The Trojans made the history books that year, but as the first team since the 1964 Ole Miss Rebels to go from #1 in the AP Poll to unranked.  Needless to say, their 7-6 finish was not what they hoped for, nor the pundits predicted.

2011: Pick a golden boy: Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State), Andrew Luck (Stanford), Kellen Moore (Boise State).  The most successful out of that group was Kellen Moore who led Boise State to a 12-1 season.  Luck and the Stanford Cardinals also did well, ending the season 11-2 and tied with Oregon for first place in the North Division.  They did not get to play in the Pac12 Championship game because of their head-to-head loss to Oregon earlier in the season.  But the top ranked preseason QB that year, Terrelle Pryor, led the Buckeyes to their first non-winning season since 1999.

2010: All of the spring and summer talk was about FSU’s Christian Ponder.  He led the Seminoles to a 10-4 season and a spot in the ACC Championship game.  Which, they lost.  

In fact, the last time a preseason top ranked QB took his team all the way was Tim Tebow in 2009.  The time before that?  Matt Leinart with his 2004 Trojans.

The bottom line is that based on these patterns and despite Mariota’s ideal 6’4” 211 lb. build, his razor-sharp accuracy (only six interceptions last year) and uncanny athleticism (nearly 800 yards rushing, five rushing TDs and one reception for a TD), the Ducks will need more in order to win in Pasadena.

Fortunately, the NCAA sanctions that were filed Wednesday against Oregon will have little effect on their 2013 BCS championship dream.

-Lindsay Simpson

@lindsaysimpson

lindsay.projectcfb@gmail.com

The Evolution of the Alternate Uniform in College Football

Uniforms have always been among the first things you notice when you watch a sporting event on television or in person. I remember from a young age being drawn to uniforms in football, I remember from a young age being fascinated with the Michigan helmets. From the trademark golden domes of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, to the all white Penn State uniforms, for the most part college football uniforms have stayed pretty consistent throughout history.

Now in the world of what seems like weekly unveils of new uniform combinations, it is hard to remember a time when most teams just stuck to the old school home/away uniform combinations. Now, we still have a few teams like Alabama and USC that stick with the historic uniforms that Crimson Tide and Trojan fans have known for generations, but over the last few years, more and more teams have adopted, what many fans and analysts look at as the Oregon style of uniforms. Now, Oregon wasn't the first team to use an alternate uniform, among the earliest programs to adopt a third uniform was actually the Ole Miss Rebels, but the University of Oregon and Nike are the program who most people equate with the alternate uniform phenomenon.

Oregon starting with what has been referred to as the "Donald Ducks" in the 1995 Rose Bowl, the Ducks have always pushed the envelope in uniform combinations (some good, some not so much). After the 1995 season, the Ducks and Nike have had a partnership with Nike as their uniform designer. And since then the Ducks have a 144-59 record, with 8 Bowl victories and 5 Pac 12 championships. I feel you could make a correlation between the Nike partnership and the on the field performance. I feel the Ducks program had benefited tremendously with the Nike uniforms, many of which are very cool, if I must say.

Contrary to what many may feel, uniforms are among the most important thing to football players. Back when I played football I know the uniform was one of my favorite part of being a player. Many of these college prospects tend to be drawn to schools with slick uniforms and ever since the Oregon trend of alternate uniforms more and more schools have begun to partner up with sneaker companies like Adidas and Under Armor to develop new uniforms to I feel draw in potential recruits in with the different uniform combinations, which may seem flashy and gimmicky to some, but to these kids, it's hip and in a sense fuels the flash that national media outlets that ESPN have helped become a major aspect of the college football world. Along with Oregon, Ohio State, North Carolina and Maryland have started getting very creative with their uniform combinations, with varying levels of success.

Over the last 5 or 6 seasons, alternate uniforms have now become more than just an every once in a while, big game type of tradition to almost an every week occurrence. Odds are, if you watch a decent amount of college football you will see at least one team a week donning an alternate uniform. Naturally, with the amount of uniform flip flopping in college football, you will have a few "what the heck are they wearing?" instances. The Maryland checkered shoulder pad design, many of the early Nike Oregon designs, and the all blue Boise State uniforms are among the worst that I have ever seen. For every nifty alternate design (the Virginia Tech camo Veteran's Day, Washington and Arizona State's all black and Florida orange alternate jerseys are among some of my favorite alternate get ups) you have a few head (or in this case eye) scratchers. However, I do not think this will get stopped anytime soon. The alternate uniform phenomena has bled into other college sports. College basketball and baseball teams (as well as a few pro teams) have started using the alternate uniform combinations to draw in recruits, and much like the football uniforms, not all the basketball ones have been appealing. I remember Notre Dame this past college basketball season donned some all green uniforms that received unanimously negative reviews among fans and viewers on Twitter.

I am a big fan of alternate uniforms in college football. It adds to the flash and presentation of the game, but I also feel that to an extent a few teams could afford to tone it down a little and stick to their traditional uniforms, but as long as we don't get more of the Maryland checker pattern type designs it is a good thing in my eyes. Some people might feel the alternate get ups are gimmicky and unnecessary, and others feel it is part of the charm of college football, which tends to be the side of the fence I tend to lean towards.

-Josh Gamez

@itsjoshgamez

josh.projectcfb@gmail.com

Fiesta Bowl: #4 Oregon Ducks vs #5 Kansas State Wildcats

Today I did the simulation for tonight's Fiesta Bowl featuring the #4 ranked Oregon Ducks vs the #5 Kansas State Wildcats.

Oregon is led by freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota, as well as their very talented running back Kenjon Barner. Oregon's offense has been a fast paced high power offense, and both of these players have played key roles.

Kansas State is led by quarterback Heisman finalist Collin Klein, who has had quite an impressive season.

The Ducks are ranked second in the nation for rushing yards per game as well as points scored per game. Kansas State isn't ranked quite as high as Oregon, but is ranked eighth for points scored per game.

Definitely two high power offenses going at it tonight. I believe this very well could be a high scoring, very exciting game that may come down to who has the ball last.

In the XBox 360 simulation on NCAA Football 13, the Ducks won in a close one with the final score being 51-48. Kenjon Barner wound up being the player of the game with over 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

The game kicks off tonight at 8:30 on ESPN. Make sure to tune in for a very entertaining matchup.

- Matt Lytle
@mattlytle

Who I Think Should Play in the National Championship Game by: Jackson McNamara

As you all know, the #1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play the #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the National Championship Game on January 7th. Although the rankings are #1 and #2, and obviously the #1 and #2 ranked teams should play in the National Championship, I feel like this isn't the matchup that most of us college football fans would like to see.

I know that some people may not like my opinions, but hey, it's just an opinion. Obviously my two cents, are exactly that. The National Championship on January 7th will be what it will be, and whether I'm right or not, will not matter one bit.

But you're here reading this, so I assume I haven't lost your interest yet.

The Crimson Tide have been incredible this year. Their only loss being to Texas A&M (led by Mr. Johnny Football!) 29-24. A very good game that could have went either way. I do think that Alabama belongs in the National Championship. With AJ McCarron leading the offensive attack. With Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon in the backfield. And with Amari Cooper, Kenny Bell and Kevin Norwood spreading defenses thin, Nick Sabin's Crimson Tide should be in the National Championship Game.

Now, as far as Notre Dame goes. I feel they are a good team. They did beat Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford, and Oklahoma. However, I feel if their schedule was a little tougher, they very well could have tasted defeat. Yes their defense is ranked #1 at points allowed, only giving up 10.3 per game. And yes, Manti Te'o is a phenomenal defensive player. But I don't feel Notre Dame should be in the National Championship.

The team I feel deserves to play Alabama, is the Oregon Ducks. With their high-tempo, aggressive offense that is averaging 50.8 points per game, I feel this is the best matchup for the Crimson Tide. The Ducks are led by freshman QB Marcus Mariota. They have weapons such as Kenjon Barner, De'Anthony Thomas, Josh Huff and Colt Lyerla. To see this Ducks offense take on the Crimson Tide defense to me would be a great matchup, and would most likely be a lot of fun for us fans.

Notre Dame's defense is ranked higher than Alabama's by a very small margin, but I feel if Notre Dame had to face more offenses like the Oregon Ducks, they wouldn't be able to keep up. Honestly, I'm not sure if Alabama's defense could keep up with the Ducks offense, but I think their defense would be the one to be able to put a muzzle on the Ducks.

Saturday, January 7th, we will not see Alabama take on Oregon. And that's fine. Rankings are rankings, and the way everything went down this season we will see the Fighting Irish take on the Crimson Tide. I'm sure it'll be a great matchup. I just feel like the matchup that I came up with would have been more entertaining.

Remember, this was just my opinion. If you disagree, that's fine. I did not write this to offense Notre Dame, or any other sports team fans. I just wanted to air my opinion. Thank you for reading. I hope I don't lose one of my 12 followers for this.

- Jackson McNamara

@jacksonmcnamara

#5 Oregon Ducks at #15 Oregon State Beavers Preview

Saturday at 3:00 in Corvallis, Oregon, the #5 Oregon Ducks will take on their in-state rival #15 Oregon State Beavers. Oregon is coming off of a shocking overtime loss to Stanford while Oregon State is coming off of a blowout against Cal.

Oregon looked to go on to the National Championship game against Notre Dame if they would have gotten by Stanford, but unfortunately for Chip Kelly and the rest of the Ducks, that didn't happen.

Of course with them being ranked #5, if the right teams lost, and they won out, I guess they could possibly still find their way into the National Championship picture, but it's looking unlikely.

Marcus Mariota has thrown 29 TDs
and only 6 INTs.

Although Oregon probably won't be looking at the National Championship picture, their freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota could still possibly be looking at the Heisman picture. Although he has quite a bit of competition, Mariota has looked really impressive this season, throwing 201 completions in 288 attempts, for 2,371 yards, 29 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Pretty good stats if you ask me.

Mariota has a solid, Heisman hopeful in the backfield by the name of Kenjon Barner. Barner, who is a senior this year, has rushed 220 times for 1,426 yards and hit the endzone 19 times. Barner is quite the work horse for the Oregon Ducks, and will look to continue his impressive stats against the Beaver's defense, who is giving up an average of 18.6 points per game (Oregon is giving up an average of 21.8 points per game).

Oregon State is led by sophomore quarterback Sean Mannion, who has had a pretty good year. He's thrown 149 completions in 238 attempts for 1,904 yards, but he has only thrown 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. His touchdown to interception ratio isn't even close to Mariota's.

OSU also has freshman running back Storm Woods in the backfield. What a cool name huh? Woods has rushed 143 times for 698 yards and seven touchdows.

Markus Wheaton has 977 receiving yards, and 10 TDs.

The biggest weapon the Beavers have on offense is in their wide receivers. Although sophomor Brandin Cooks has had a pretty solid year, reeling in 59 catches for over 1,000 yards and five touchdowns, their senior WR Markus Wheaton has caught double the touchdowns (he has 10 touchdowns this season), although he hasn't had as many yards (he only has 977 yards catching in 68 attempts). If Mannion can connect to Wheaton and spread the Ducks' secondary thin, that opens the game up for the Beavers to be able to control it until the final whistle.

It's going to be quite a tough task though, especially with Oregon coming off of it's first loss of the season. It's usually not an easy thing to beat a one-loss team after their first loss of the season. But in college football, crazier things have happened.

This game will kick off at around 3:00 PM ET Saturday afternoon. It should definitely be a good matchup. Both teams have offensive and defensive fire power, but I have to give the nod to the Oregon Ducks. They're going to come into this one hungry to get a W after that tough loss against Stanford.

I got a blowout...

Oregon: 52
Oregon State: 28

- Jackson McNamara

@jacksonmcnamara

#4 Oregon Ducks at #17 USC Trojans Preview

Oregon is going to rely heavily on their running game this Saturday.

This Saturday the #4 Oregon Ducks travel to Los Angeles, California, to take on the #17 USC Trojans. This is a big hyped game (and rightfully so). Both teams have phenomenal offenses, and decent defenses.

Of course the Trojans are going to be led by their Heisman hopeful quarterback Matt Barkley, who has thrown for 2,266 yards this season, with 25 touchdowns thrown and only 8 interceptions. Two of his favorite targets, Marqise Lee and Robert Woods will be looking to assist in taking down the number four ranked Ducks.

Oregon has something else in mind however.

Oregon isn't as strong at the pass as USC. USC is ranked 23rd in the nation for passing, while Oregon is ranked 84th. No surprise, USC is led by senior Matt Barkley, while Oregon is led by freshman Marcus Mariota, who has thrown for over 1,400 yards, 18 touchdowns and only five picks.

Another big key of this game will be the rushing game. Oregon is very strong at rushing while USC has struggled in that area. Oregon is ranked 3rd in rushing yards while USC is ranked 75th. Oregon's lead running back is Kenjon Barner, who has rushed for over 900 yards, and 14 touchdowns. De'Anthony Thomas is another back Oregon has, who has rushed for nearly 500 yards and 7 touchdowns. This duo is going to look to have a huge game against USC's 25th ranked defense, and lead the Ducks to victory.

Meanwhile, USC's running back, Silas Redd, has rushed for 640 yards, and hit pay dirt 7 times. Still not bad stats, but nowhere near Oregon's HB duo.

This game looks like it's going to be quite a good one. Oregon is phenomenal at the run, while USC does very well at the pass. Their defenses are ranked 24th and 25th in the nation. My gut says it'll be a high scoring game, but their defenses are only allowing about 19 points a game.

Last years game began looking like a blowout. Oregon fought back within three, and lost the game 38-35. Oregon was ranked #4 at that time, while USC was unranked.

I know both teams are going to play hard for this victory. Oregon is undefeated, while USC has already tasted defeat twice this year, once to Stanford and last week to Arizona. Lane Kiffin is going to have his Trojans ready to put a whooping on the Ducks in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, of course Chip Kelly is going to have other plans.

The game kicks off at 7:00 eastern time, and definitely looks to be quite a back and forth game. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see a very high scoring affair, and then again, wouldn't be too shocked to see these two defenses hold the other offense in check. I'm looking forward to a barn-burner this Saturday night. It will definitely be worth checking out.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle