The weakest non-conference schedule for the Oregon Ducks in many years is finally over.

Playing Arkansas St., Fresno St., and Tennessee Tech in consecutive home games failed to challenge or truly test how good these Ducks really are.  All games were blowouts early and many backups received playing time in the second halves of each football game.

There are some things I learned about this football team, though.  Bryan Bennett, for example, showed me why he’s the backup, lacking a stellar  performance when he got the chance to play.  It was obvious that Marcus Mariota is the better QB for Oregon at this point, leading the Ducks to 50 first half points against Arkansas St., while Bennett struggled to move the football.

Against Fresno St., Mariota failed to read some blitzes by the Bulldogs defense.  He recognized his mistakes in an interview saying he was worried about keeping up the fast pace tempo and failed to recognize the blitz.  These things can be fixed and I’m sure will be corrected by the Freshman QB.

Oregon has had both ups and downs to the start of their 2012 college football season.

The Ducks played undisciplined football against Tennessee Tech getting tagged for 12 penalties at 105 yards.  I contribute this to a lack of focus playing a lesser opponent.  If the Ducks hurt themselves against top tier football teams like that, the likelihood they run the table in the conference is next to none. The upcoming game against Arizona could come down to who is the more disciplined team.

The field goal kicking game for Oregon continues to struggle.  Oregon had a missed field against Ark. St. and a blocked FG against Tennessee Tech.  Last year Oregon lost to USC on a last second Field Goal.  Am I the only fan worried about the Oregon kicking game? I’d hate to lose another game in such a manner.

Let’s take a look at the Ducks upcoming games in the near future.

Oregon’s Next Three Games

The Arizona Wildcats

For the first time this season the Ducks will take on a ranked opponent. They open conference play this Saturday in Eugene at 7:30 pm on ESPN.

All I can say at this point is, ” It’s about time”.

The weak non-conference play seemed to drag on forever.  The No. 22 Arizona Wildcats are playing extremely well under their new head coach Rich Rodriquez.  The Wildcats beat Oklahoma St. 59-38 two weeks ago and are very capable of coming into Autzen and upsetting the Ducks.

Considering the Ducks truly are untested against a viable opponent, this game makes me quite nervous.  We’ll see if the Ducks are worthy of the #3 spot in the country after this game.  The Ducks speed on offense should pose to be too much for the wildcats as they win in an Autzen shootout classic.

Prediction:  Oregon 45, Arizona 41.

Washington State Cougars

The Washington St. Cougars will be the Ducks first road game of the year.  This should be a complete demolishing of the under-talented cougars.  The Cougars barely beat Eastern Washington and UNLV in their last two games.

The Cougars should beat the Colorado Buffaloes this week only because the Buffaloes are the worst team in the conference and quite possibly one of the worst in the country.  I’m sure the Cougars will feel better about themselves moving to 3-1 the week of the Oregon game.

However, that’ll quickly go on the way side after the Ducks put up 63 points on them in the first 3 quarters of football.

Prediction:   Oregon 63, Washington St. 13

Washington Huskies

The Washington Huskies are a middle-tier team in the Pac-12 conference.  Their only wins are against San Diego State and Portland State.

Keith Price and the Huskies will prove a formidable opponent for the Ducks at Autzen. (photo thenewstribune.com)

The road doesnt get any easier for them either.

The Huskies are off this week then play #9 Stanford, who’s defense looks amazing.   Washington will follow their contest against Stanford with a road game in Eugene.

Schedule makers didn’t do the Huskies any favors there.

This is a game I’m personally waiting for.  I will be attending my first Ducks home game since 2007 when the Ducks lost to Cal for a College Gameday event.

The Huskies game is a rival game for the Ducks and should be a great event.

The Huskies are still a work in progress and won’t be a winning team the week of the Oregon game.

Washington will lose to Stanford and Oregon in back to back games and move to 2-3 on the season at that point.

The Huskies need more offensive weapons on this team in order for them to compete with the top tier programs in the conference.

Prediction:  Oregon 51, Washington 24.

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The 2012 college football season is right around the corner. With the 2012 Rose bowl victory in their back pockets the Ducks are loaded with talent that should make them one of the most dangerous teams in 2012.

On the defense, everybody knew what to expect with Boyett, Clay, Alonso, Jordan, and Lokombo all being returning experienced playmakers.  The question marks are very few on this side of the football.  The defense for the Oregon Ducks has been extremely underrated, with probably the best defense in the Pac-12.

The only position to take note of on the defensive side is sophomore defensive back Brian Jackson. Jackson is replacing Eddie Pleasant at the Rover spot who is asked to be a huge play-maker, whether it’s covering a slot receiver or stopping the run.  He is now a defensive starter in the secondary.

The Ducks have been kings not only of northwest football but also Pac-12 football (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

With Nick Allioti’s rotating scheme on defense, many players see the field and get game experience.  That bodes well from year to year making for very few players with little or no game experience.  Expect to see a solid defense again this year!

Many Surprises on Offense

Wide Receivers

wide receiver

16 Daryle Hawkins, 6-4, 202, Jr. (Omaha, Neb.)

11 Bralon Addison, 5-10, 189, Fr. (Missouri City, Texas)

wide receiver

1 Josh Huff, 5-11, 205, Jr.. (Houston, Texas)

19 Eric Dungy, 6-1, 183, Soph. (Tampa, Fla.)

wide receiver

7 Keanon Lowe, 5-9, 181, Soph. (Portland, Ore.)

23 B.J. Kelley, 6-2, 181, Soph. (Fresno, Calif.)

The most exciting move here is Keanon Lowe.  Lowe winning a starting spot at WR is the most exciting position battle win of this off season.  Rashaan Vaughn was expected to be a starter by many fans.  Note that Vaughn is not even listed on the two deep. I have been expecting a younger player to step up and be the next star and I believe it will be Lowe.

Everyone expected Hawkins and Huff to be atop of the depth chart.  It is good to see Huff healthy and holding himself on top.  He is going to make many plays this year. Hawkins , converted from QB, receives praises from coaches and is the most improved at this position.

The most shocking is Bralon Addison as #2.  Addison was a late recruit in this last class and came in listed as an athlete. Addison is a true freshman and must be a truly gifted football player.  With closed practices, somehow the name Addison was sneaking out to the media as a surprise player of fall camp.  Take note of this name, He is a prime player to follow going into this season.

Eric Dungy, son of Tony Dungy,  has broke into the depth chart as #2.  This is another move that I have been waiting to see and is worthy of noting.

Tight Ends

85 Pharaoh Brown, 6-6, 234, Fr. (Lyndhurst, Ohio)            or

45 Terrence Daniel, 6-6, 245 (Oakland, Calif.)                        or

95 Koa Ka’ai, 6-4, 251, R-Fr. (Honolulu, Hawaii)                   or

15 Colt Lyerla, 6-5, 246, Soph. (Hillsboro)

This is exactly how Chip Kelly has listed the depth chart at tight end.  Really?  This goes to show how much inexperience at Tight End the Ducks have this year.  Colt Lyerla was expected to win the starting job, but for whatever reason he had an excused absence from fall camp for an extended period of time.

Chip Kelly went on the record and said he wasn’t going to hand over the starting job to Colt Lyerla and he had to earn it.  Well it looks like he hasn’t earned it yet.

Considering how much the ducks run the football, this makes me quite nervous.  As any football fan knows, the TE plays a huge role in blocking schemes.

Quarterback

I think I was the last person on the planet to hear Marcus Mariota won the starting job on Friday.  The news spread like wildfire across Twitter, Facebook, and ESPN headlines across TV and the internet.  This was a closely followed and watched QB battle.  At the start of fall camp I wrote, A QB Battle Looms, noting the spring game performances and a pair of youtube interviews.

After watching the spring football game and researching Marioti’s high school game highlights, I knew Bennett had his hands full. I saw something unique in this guys ability to operate the spread offense and It was absolutely no surprise to me that Marrioti won this job.

The Ducks will be bringing in a new quarterback this time around. (Photo OregonLive.com)

I thoughtChip would consider Bennett because he’s a year ahead of Marrioti and it’s been rumored that Bennett may consider transferring next year if he doesn’t win the job.  MM has four full years of eligibility ahead of him being a redshirt freshman.  That means it will take an injury or poor performance by Marrioti for Bennett to ever become the starter at this point.

I am extremely excited to see what kind of player MM can become, yet disappointed for Bennett and how he may feel at this point.  If he does decide to transfer in the future, I would understand where he is coming from.   Backing up these QB’s are Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodriquez.  We’ll wait and see if they use their redshirt this year.

Offensive Line

Left tackle

64 Tyler Johnstone, 6-6, 292, R-Fr. (Chandler, Ariz.)
74 Kyle Long, 6’7″, 311, Sr. (Charlottesville, Va.)

The Left tackle position is the biggest news to report on the O-line.  Kyle long, the son of Howie Long, was expected by fans to win the starting job at this position.  Take not that a R-Fr won the job, Tyler Johnstone. This guy must be super talented to beat out a 311 lb beast. This Oregon offensive line is going to demolish defensive fronts, making gaping holes for for Kenyon Barner and Thomas to blaze through.

Conclusion

The moves Chip kelly made with the initial release of the two deep depth chart answers quite a few questions.

This Oregon team has gone with a youth movement of fast and talented players. We have sophomore De’anthony Thomas, a redshirt freshman QB, a redshirt Left tackle, and three sophomores and a frosh at WR.   If this team is good this year, imagine what the next couple of years is going to bring us, Multiple Championships!

This is quite an exciting time for Oregon Football!

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Information on whats happened this far in the Oregon Ducks fall camp is very limited.  In case you haven’t already heard, Chip Kelly has made the decision for all practices to be closed to the media.  CK meets with local reporters after each practice and answers a bombardment of questions.

If you’ve seen these interviews then you’d know he can be very generic with many of his of his answers.

If Chip thinks you’ve asked a dumb question then he’ll let you know with his response, it’s almost a trademark of his coaching style.

From Media and the Duck Fan’s perspective, closed practices are extremely annoying.  The anticipation of the coming season is in full swing and everyone is clawing for answers to some very big questions.

However, from the coaching side of things, I think having closed practices  is a tactical decision.

After all, do you really want USC knowing how well your QB’s are performing or NOT and letting that reporter discuss about the double reverse to Josh Huff you just installed in your redzone package?

However, even with limited information, there are a few things to discuss up to this point in camp.

Oregon’s First Fall Camp Scrimmage

Two a days started this last Saturday with players and coaches citing controlled hitting to limit or prevent injuries.

Then, Tuesday August 14th is Oregon’s first fall camp scrimmage since camp opened August 6th.  Referees will be on hand for 7 on 7 and 11 on 11 drills.  This will be a big day for the QB battle between Marcus Mariota and Bryan Bennett.

Hopefully CK will give us a little information on how each QB is performing this far, because as of now, we know nothing.

Colt Lyerla missing from camp

Colt Lyerla, the projected TE starter going into this season , has been a no show to camp.  CK has made a statement saying he’s tending to a personal issue, and has said nothing more.

Today Colt Lyerla tweeted “I’m Back”.  So hopefully this is a very good sign.

I wrote a previous article on the importance of Colt Lyerla and the TE position going into this season.  There has been much talk about the lack of depth behind Lyerla and this may be a weekness of this team offensively this year!

Two a days started this last Saturday

Tacoi Sumler Transfers

I previously wrote an article, The WR Rundown, Talking about all the questions at the wide receiver position.

I also talked about Tacoi Sumler, a highly touted receiver known for his blazing 40 yard dash (4.24).   Instantly after fall camp started he made the announcement to everyone’s surprise to immediately transfer from Oregon.

Just recently Appalachian State made the official announcement that Sumler will be playing for the Mountaineers and will be practicing as soon as Wednesday.  Sumler chose to transfer to a Div ii school so he wouldn’t have to sit an entire year.

I find this situation a little odd.  As a freshman, you must anticipate being at the bottom of the depth chart, and cannot expect to come in and start right away.

Coming into a major University like Oregon, a player must understand it may take a couple of years to see the field, unless your DAT!

I hope he made a wise a smart decision.

Oregon gets innovative, again

The University of Oregon has once again been innovative with it’s state of the art social media center, the Quackcave ( #quackcave).

Oregon has the seventh largest social media following in college sports, which doesn’t surprise me.  Even down here in soCal, I run into Duck fans anywhere and everywhere, parks, grocery stores, and even fishing at a lake.

I also happened upon an alumni association event 1000 miles away from campus, where I attend fall Saturday’s quite frequently.

Check out this video of the quackcave and connect today.

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The Hillsboro born, Oregon native, Colt Lyerla is a 6’5″ 238 lb sophomore tight end for the Oregon Ducks.

Yes, I just said six foot five and 238 pounds.

He is the next big potential, highly talented TE that is projected to be the starter this fall.  He saw limited action last year as a freshman. However, he still caught 5 TD’s. Coming into Oregon he was a 5 star recruit by rivals.com and played both sides of the football at Hillsboro High School.

Colt Lyerla will look to be the next great Oregon tight end. Photo: GoDucks.com

Colt has huge shoes to fill this year.  Oregon has always utilized the TE in the passing game as far back as I can remember. With the names of Tim Day, Dante Rosario, George Wrighster, Ed Dickson, and David Paulson just to name a few.

Rosario currently plays for the San Diego Chargers while Paulson is on the Steelers roster.

Last year David Paulson was the team’s third-leading receiver with 31 catches, 438 yards and six touchdowns.  That was all done on the run first offense that we all know about.  Paulson has made huge plays in big games that will be missed in this offense.

None bigger than the circus catch he made in the national championship game.

The TE position is one place that Oregon can not afford any major injury this year.  The depth chart is something that is seriously lacking experience yet holds a ton of potential.

Right now the depth chart at TE is as follows:   Colt Lyerla, So.; Evan Baylis, Fr.; Brian Teague, Jr.; Jennings Stewart, Sr.; Koa Ka’ai, RFr.; T.J. Daniel, Fr.; Pharaoh Brown, Fr.

Baylis is a freshman with good reviews early, listed at 6″6″ 232 lbs.  He played in the spring game with a pair of catches.

Last year Teague appeared in 7 games. Stewart is a senior that lacks big game experience, followed by 3 more freshman with who of course have no experience.

However, reading Stewarts bio I get the feeling he’s a guy that just needs a chance on the field to play and prove himself.

At 6’3″  and 225 lbs with track and field experience and recorded tackles for loss and a fumble recovery, he may be a name to keep an eye on.

There is no question that Lyerla is expected to win the starting job  and be the next big TE star on this high powered Oregon offense.

So much focus is on the QB battle and many are waiting to see if a young star will emerge at WR that the question mark at tight end has not been talked about much.

Take a look at this you tube video of Paulson’s 2011 highlights in Chip Kelly’s offense. You will see how important of a weapon the TE is and it’s not all just the read option that Oregon has pounded into opposing defenses.

So many question on offense this year remain to be answered when fall camp kicks off, yet Oregon is still favored to win the Pac-12 north.

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The Oregon Ducks are in the final week of summer conditioning sessions and with fall camp right around the corner, the anticipation of an epic quarterback battle is building.  This years QB battle for the starting job, in my opinion, will be the biggest in recent history for the Ducks.

Oregon is coming off of their first Rose Bowl victory in 94 years and Duck fans want the success to continue.  Darron Thomas declared for the NFL draft leaving a void in a high powered offense for a new leader.

Chip Kelly turned down an NFL offer to coach for Tampa Bay knowing he has a good team with good players.

Bryan Bennett is the only QB on the roster with playing time, but is coming off a poor performance in the spring game.  Bennett just returned from the Manning Passing academy in Louisiana this last week with raves from an NFL scout.

Marcus Mariota played extremely well in the spring game showing he can be an explosive play maker.  Mariota remained in Eugene for the summer leading workouts.

Many thought Bennett was the favorite to win the starting job, but after the spring game my eyes were opened the how much talent Mariota possesses.

Bennett is in his third year in this system and should have an edge over MM.

Rob Moseley from the Register Guard shot a pair of videos interviewing each QB.

The Ducks will be bringing in a new quarterback this time around. (Photo OregonLive.com)

In Bryan’s video he discusses his poor performance in the spring game and putting it behind him.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/jLpJ-ArbfVk

Marcus’s video he discusses how everyone is coming together as a team and the importance of building trust.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/pshIWIn3L2c

After watching these videos multiple times, you can see the anticipation of fall camp is huge on these two QB’s.  Both players know a huge QB battle is approaching and you can see how bad both players want the starting job.

Bennett has a lot to prove to everyone this year.  He seems real defensive of his performance in the spring game and knows Mariota is extremely talented.  Lets not forget either, that these are not the only QB’s on the roster.

Jake Rodriguez and Jeff Lockie are freshman QB’s that should not be counted out either.

Chip Kelly has a lot of talent to work with this year at the QB position and if either Mariota or Bennett struggle, don’t be surprised to hear  the names Rodriquez or Lockie for possible starter.

This year the Ducks will be Pac 12-north preseason favorites, even without knowing who this years starter at QB is going to be.

Mark your calender now, November 3rd Oregon plays USC in L.A.

If the Ducks are to win the Pac-12 this year it will be won in L.A. on Nov. 3rd.

Oregon’s QB needs to be a champion and a leader,  someone who can go into LA and beat Matt Barkley and the Trojans.

Like I said, this years QB battle will be the biggest in recent Oregon Football history, and who will be the Opening day starter is a question all Oregon Fan’s will be asking.

Bennett Video

Mariota Video

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The 2012 football season is fast approaching.  Looking forward to this years schedule, Oregon looks to have a very favorable one.  All three of Oregon’s non-conference games are at home against, what I would classify as “a lesser opponent”.

ESPN has announced they will televise the home game Sept. 1st.  vs.  Arkansas State.

Arkansas State plays in the Sun Belt Conference and was 10-3 overall with a loss in the GoDaddy.com bowl game to Northern Illinois.  Both of A-states non-conference games against big conference teams were losses last year, losing to Illinois and Virginia Tech.

This year the Pac-12 television network kicks into gear.  Sept. 8th Oregon faces a familiar foe against Fresno St.  This will be the first game that Oregon will have televised on the new conference network.

Fresno will be the toughest of the three games, although Bulldog football has not been as good these last couple years.

In 2006, I was in Fresno sitting in the end-zone for a hard fought 31-24 victory over the Bulldogs.  It took a fake field goal attempt by Brady Leaf to assure the victory.  In 1996, Tony Graziani led the Ducks in one of the first OT games in college football with a 30-27 win against the bulldogs.

Overall the Ducks have faced the Bulldogs 5  times since the ’96 season, winning all 5 games.  Fresno State is coming off of a 9 loss season.

Sept. 15th, the Ducks take on Tennessee Tech.  They are a part of the Ohio Valley Conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern US.  It is part of the FCS or formally known as Division I-AA.

FCS

There is no way a FCS football team will come to Autzen and beat the Ducks at home.

There is no way a FCS football team will come to Autzen and beat the Ducks at home. (photo carleyerickson.wordpress.com)

In 2007, Appalachian St. had the biggest upset victory over any FCS team in college football history.  I doubt this will be an Appalachian St. beats Michigan miracle win.

A Tennessee Tech victory would be in comparison the famous Michigan loss.

Last year Tennessee Tech played Iowa and was defeated 34-7.

Looking at this years Non-conference games, I would have to say I’m a little disappointed with the lack of competition.  It would have been nice to have a solid football team to challenge the ducks this year.

But then again, I’ll take a 3-0 automatic start to the season.

Oregon will have big changes this year

The Ducks will have plenty of time to iron it all out by Oregon’s first conference game against Arizona, which is also at home.

Five of the first 6 games for Oregon will be at home. The first road game for Oregon will be in Seattle, Washington  at Century Link Field playing Washington St.

Then, Oregon is back home against the Huskies Sept. 29th.

I believe this to be the easiest schedule to start a season that I can remember in some time.

I couldn’t quite imagine any easier possible schedule than this one in the 2012-13 season.

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Chip Kelly has a lot to figure out about his football team this year.  Not only are Oregon going to have a new starting QB, but they need to find a legitimate play maker at WR.  Jeff Maehl has not played with the Ducks for a full season now.

This last year, the Oregon Offense lacked a consistent weapon at the WR position.  

Going into this year the Ducks have 15 WR’s listed on the official roster.

Only 3 are seniors

Justin Hoffman, Rashaan Vaugn, and Will Murphy are those 3.  It’s more than apparent the Ducks are lacking that Senior leadership from this postition.

Justin Hoffman only had 10 receptions for 133 yards last year while starting in 6 games.

Will Murphy had 3 receptions for 37 yards, while appearing in 10 games.

Rashaan Vaughn, had 14 receptions for 184 yards.  He started 4 games, appearing in 14.  Vaughn was the top rated Junior college transfer and probably has the most potential out of the WR seniors.  I expect Vaughn to be a big contributor in the offense this year.

The Ducks do have 5 Juniors on the roster

The problem is, I have only heard of two of them.  Daryle Hawkins was converted from QB and will get some playing time.  Last year he had some big drops and I question is hands.

Josh Huff who has been highly touted, yet often injured.  If Huff can stay healthy this year I expect he will be a huge play maker. Will This be his big breakout year?  We’ll See…

The other 3 Juniors are Ben Butterfield, who has a whopping 2 catches for 5 yards.  Chad Delaney has ZERO catches.  He was used in a few cases as a punt returner, 2 returns totaling 11 yards.  Dane Ebanez has no statistics to speak of, has 4 recorded appearances. Maybe one of these players can contribute in some way, however that will probably be in special teams.

The sophmore and freshman ranks will produce some young talent.  It is here that lies a talent that will step up and become the next weapon at WR. I am a huge proponent of playing young players early that equates to experience as an upperclassman.

Tony Dungy's kid Eric Dungy will get more playing time in 2012 for Oregon (Photo GoDucks.com)

The sophomore rank consists of three

Eric Dungy, the son of Tony Dungy, has shown some ability to play the position.  I expect his playing time to increase this year.  He played in 5 games with two receptions for 34 yards and 1 TD. Last year I expected to see Dungy get more playing time, but it didn’t happen.

Keanon Lowe, from Jesuit High School, rated a 4 star recruit by rivals.com.  This guy has some potential but time will only tell.  He played in 8 games, mainly on special teams. He probably has the highest ceiling out of the sophomores.

The third sophomore is Blake Stanton.  Appeared in 4 games with no statistics to report.

Four Freshman will compete for some playing time

One of these four players may end up being a starter before the year is out.

Devon Blackmon, the #2 WR overall on the ESPN 150 and a four star recruit.  He is from Fontana, Ca.  Oregon continues to add speed, Blackmon was a champion hurdler in 2007/8.

Tacoi Sumler is another fast receiver.  WR is this guys true position and has great hands.  He really knows how to get up and go after a football at it’s highest point.  In 2010 ESPN’s scout inc. clocked him at a 4.24 40 yards dash, the fastest in the nation!

B.J. Kelley, a three star recruit from rivals.com.  He caught 51 passes for over 1,200 yards and had 17 td’s.  Those are pretty good numbers, even for high school.  Kelley made a pretty nice play in the spring game for Bennett scoring on a TD.

Miles Johnson has very little information available.  Maybe he’s an ace up Chips sleeve, who knows!

As the Oregon football team grows in success, so will the teams recruiting class.  This group of young Freshman is just the start.

Rivals.com has Oregon ranked 16th in the nation for overall recruiting class. This class signed three more WR with two of them being 4 stars.

I expect a huge battle for depth chart rankings during this summer camp workouts.  My money would be on Rashaan Vaughn, Josh Huff,  and Justin Hoffman being the go to guys with the most actual game experience.  Devon Blackmon and Tacoi Sumler I am sure will have something to say about some playing time this year.

How the depth chart plays out will be a closely monitored battle.  Don’t forget about Eric Dungy either.

I see a WR by committee until somebody shines and becomes a legit play maker.

With Kenjon Barner and De’ Anthony Thomas in the backfield, any defense can expect to get the ground and pound rushing attack as the Ducks will lead the conference in rushing once again.

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Post football season, pre-summer camp, spring time practices.  The Oregon Ducks hold their annual spring football game this Saturday at 11 am.  This week will conclude 4 weeks of practices which have all been closed to the media.

The Ducks will have a lot of questions going into the 2012 season.

Between losing players to the NFL draft and graduation, the Ducks took some heavy hits.  

The biggest losses being Lamichael James, Darron Thomas and David Paulson on the offensive side of the ball.

The biggest question going into this year is by far “Who will be the starting QB”?

According to the Ducks roster, Oregon has four QB’s going into this season. They are Bryan Bennett, Jake Rodriquez, Marcus Mariota, and Dustin Haines.

These four players will be battling for the starting job this fall.

Let’s take a quick look at each player.

Jake Rodriquez is a highly touted 4 star recruit out of Rocklin, Ca.  As a senior in high school he threw for 26 TD’s and rushed for another 15.  He is 6′ 3″ and weighs in at 205 lbs.

Just from watching his youtube scouting videos he should fit quite nicely into Chip Kelly’s offense.

He has an accurate arm and does not hesitate to keep the ball and run.

Bryan Bennett, 6' 3" 199 lbs, is the early favorite for Ducks starting QB

The Freshman

Marcus Mariota is a redshirt freshman from Honolulu, Hawaii.  Before signing with Oregon he was ranked the 12th overall QB by rivals.com.  He is 6’4″ and weighs in at 196lbs.

Mariota redshirted last year and should have the early lead on the depth chart.  He has been practicing this offense for a full year and ran it in high school.

He is quick and has a good arm.

I am looking forward to seeing what he can do.

Dustin Haines is a Eugene local and played football for South Eugene Axemen.  In 2010 he was the primary play card holder that Oregon has become so famous for.

Does he have a legitimate shot for playing time at QB?

In 2011 he only attempted one pass and rushed for 7 yards.  I’d like to see him have some playing time Saturday for a solid evaluation of his skills.

My guess is he will be pretty far down the depth chart this year.

Bryan Bennett, 6′ 3″ 199 lbs, is the early favorite for being the starting QB.  When Darron got hurt last year he filled in quite nicely and led the Ducks to a win in Colorado over an over matched Buffalo team.

He is the only QB on this roster with any actual collegiate playing time, which makes me a little nervous.

In Colorado he threw for 156 yards and was 11 for 20 while rushing for 69 yards.  What I liked about Bennett was he protected the football and managed the game well.

Young QB’s like to turn over the Football.

With De’anthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner in the backfield and lacking experienced QB play, Oregon will have to rely on the running game once again.

Can one of the young QB’s step up and lead Oregon to a 4th consecutive conference title and make another run for the BCS.

Many questions have to be answered first!

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired Raheem Morris at the conclusion of this NFL season.  That sent them looking to college football for possible candidates. Jim Harbaugh’s instant success at San Francisco is going to make NFL GM’s wonder if they too can find that next great NFL coach.

After a 3rd straight conference title, a 34-6 record, and the first Rose Bowl victory in 94 years, it is safe to say that Oregon coach Chip Kelly is one of the most successful coaches in college football over the last three seasons.

The problem with that is, with college success comes a higher probability of being sought after by NFL teams.  That probability came to fruition this past weekend when it was reported that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chip Kelly were close to an agreement that would make Chip the next head coach of the Bucs.

The Oregon Ducks are already losing LaMichael James and Darron Thomas to the NFL draft this year.

Losing Chip Kelly also would have been a huge blow to the future of the Ducks.

A huge sigh of relief came Monday as it was reported all over the internet that Chip Kelly has “unfinished business” and has chosen to stay at Oregon.  I believe Chip knows how much talent this team still has and making a national title run or two over the next couple years is quite possible.

Personally, I never thought the NFL would come knocking on a the door of a head coach that hangs his hat on the “spread offense,” which would never work in the NFL on a consistent basis.  Who knows, maybe Chip could be successful running a pro style offense, but he has never shown he can at the college level.

Chip Kelly showed he truly loves the Ducks

It is a great day as a Duck fan, knowing Chip Kelly’s head and heart is with the Ducks.  This decision to stay shows dedication a lot of coaches these days do not have.

Hopefully his indecisiveness has not hurt the Ducks on the recruiting trail.

Nick Aliotti, current defensive coordinator, began coaching in 1978 as a graduate assistant with Oregon.  He has changed jobs a few times over the last 30 years having a stint with the Rams when Rich Brooks left for St. Louis.

If Chip were to leave one day, my vote for head coach would be Alliotti.  I’m a fan of hiring from within an organization and he has been with Oregon for many years now.

The Duck’s defense has been underrated over the last several years and he knows how to get the most out of his players.

Mark Helfrich  is Oregon’s offensive coordinator and QB’s coach since 2009.  He was hired after Mike Bellotti left and Chip Kelly was promoted to head coach.

It would be my hope that if Chip Kelly did leave, Mark could maintain the same offensive system that Chip has installed.

Going back to the Rich Brooks era, Oregon has a good, solid history of coaching despite only recently coming into it’s peak of success.

The last thing any Duck fan wants is to see a coaching carousel sparked by much success over the last few years.

Thank you Chip Kelly for making a wise decision in Oregon’s benefit.

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If you were wanting to see a low scoring defensive battle, then the Oregon vs Wisconsin Rose Bowl game wasn’t for you.

Oregon showed the nation why it has the most explosive offense in the country by racking up 621 yards of offense along with putting up a 45 spot against a touted Badgers defense.

At the end of the first quarter I knew this would be one heck of a game.  Teams traded blows ending the quarter tied 14-14, then again 28-28 at half.  Each offense scoring TD’s one after another.

The big difference I saw in the teams, Wisconsin had to drive the ball to score, while Oregon had big explosive scores in a hurry.

DeAnthony Thomas put on a show I have never seen.  His first carry of the game went for a 91 yard Td that left the defense looking like they were running in mud.

Later, on Thomas’s second carry he took the rock 64 yards to the house, two carries, two TD’s.

If Lamichael James enters the NFL draft the Ducks will be in good hands with this electrifying player.

Try and stop James, key on Thomas, bang! A 54 yard, One play TD pass to Kenjon Barner.  The Ducks were putting on a show and scoring at will.  If there was something the Ducks were doing wrong, it was scoring to quickly and putting the defense right back on the field.

That is a good problem to have and I’ll take it all day long.

In the first half, Oregon never had the lead and had to match Wisconsin on the score board.  The Second half would be a different story.

Oregon vs. USC in next years Pac 12 Championship game. I can't wait! (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

Oregon had the ball first to start the second half.  A momentum changing aspect of the game in my opinion.

Big plays by Barner and De’Anthony Thomas over shadowed the best performance by an Oregon WR all year long.  Lavasier Tuinei caught 8 passes for 158 yards and two scores.

It was the first game of his career over 100 yards receiving and deserved the game ball.

WR play from Oregon was lackluster all year long, but Tuinei brought his “A” game to the Rose Bowl for sure!

He saved his career best performance for Oregon’s biggest win in 94 years. Way to go Tuinei!

Darron Thomas was a modest 17-23 for 268 and 3 scores.

The Defense created turnovers late in the game when it counted.  

Kiko Alonso played extremely well with a solo tackle and INT in back to back plays.

Michael Clay contributed with a fumble recovery as a ball was knocked out on the sidelines.  This play was huge as the Badgers were driving to tie the score in the 4th quarter.

Bottom line, The Oregon Ducks win their first Rose Bowl since 1917 and it was about time.

This Duck football team is loaded and I expect this team will only get better.

Matt Barkley returns to USC and will give the Ducks a run for the money.  Andrew Luck will be leaving for the NFL and Stanford will struggle to maintain their success.

Oregon vs. USC in next years Pac 12 Championship game.

I can’t wait!

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