The Oregon Ducks are off an 11-2 year in which they finished 9th in the polls and beat Texas in the Alamo Bowl, but they are still not satisfied in Eugene. This year they look for an invite to the College Football playoff and with 13 starters back, including a Heisman Trophy candidate at QB, they have a shot at doing so. Preview & Schedule below.
The Ducks had the 2nd best offense in the FBS last year and with 8 starters back, including Marcus Mariota, they will be just as good this year. Marcus threw for 3665 yards with 31 TDs and just 4 INTs last year, while also ranking 2nd on the team in rushing (715 yards). This year his passing numbers might go down a bit as the top 4 WRs from last year are all gone. Bralon Addison was to be part of this group but injured his knee in the spring. There is still some talent in the WR corps, but not nearly as much as last year. They may turn to more of a run based offense this year, as they top 2 backs, plus Mariota are all back and they also signed Royce Freeman, who is rated in the top 15 of backs to come out of High School. This deep RB corps will operate behind a line that has all 5 starters back and is rated tops in the nation by Phil Steele. Oregon is not all about offense, as they allowed just 20.5 ppg last year and with 22 lettermen back, including 5 starters they should be a solid group again. The LB corps is the strength of this defense and rated the 7th best unit in the nation. This group is led by last year’s leading tackler Derrick Malone, and their depth is awesome with many highly touted players in the 2-deep. The secondary is also loaded with highly touted players and just got even better with the signing of Arrion Springs, who is #21 coming out of high school. The DL will be very good and much tougher as well this year as the Ducks look to defend against the run much better.
This Ducks squad is loaded once again and ready to make another run at a National Title. Even with looking to run more, this offense will click at a high level as always. Mariota is a Heisman contender and the RB corps is one of the best in the nation and will be playing behind the best OL in the nation. The defense will be solid as ever with great playmakers on the field and solid depth on the bench. They do have UCLA on the road, but also get Stanford and Washington at home, plus non-conf home games vs Michigan State and Wyoming. This schedule is not all that tough and should they win the Pac-12 Title game, they should find themselves in the Playoffs. KEY TREND: 13-2 ATS on the road with rest.
2014 Oregon Ducks Football Schedule
Sat, Aug 30th, 2014 South Dakota
Sat, Sep 6th, 2014 Michigan State
Sat, Sep 13th, 2014 Wyoming
Sat, Sep 20th, 2014 at Washington State
Thu, Oct 2nd, 2014 Arizona
Sat, Oct 11th, 2014 at UCLA
Sat, Oct 18th, 2014 Washington
Fri, Oct 24th, 2014 at California
Sat, Nov 1st, 2014 Stanford
Sat, Nov 8th, 2014 at Utah
Sat, Nov 22nd, 2014 Colorado
Sat, Nov 29th, 2014 at Oregon State
Info gathered From Phil Steele's CFB Preview and Athlon Sports
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Golden Nugget Games Of The Year
Steve Fezzik from Pregame.com takes a look at some the games of the year tat have been released by the Golden Nugget, along with some tips for handicapping them.