It's a new era for the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks made a few major coaching changes this off-season. Thankfully they let got of Mark Helfrich, and they brought in a very strong head coach IMO in Willie Taggart. I was never much of a fan of Helfrich, as he just does not have the intangibles/swag that's needed to run a top CFB program. Taggart has a ton of swag and leadership that he brings with him and I really think he'll do a great job at Oregon. Time will tell, but I feel very optimistic about him running the Oregon program. I think he's a great fit for these Ducks. His South Florida teams were very strong in the running game & he gets to work with one of the flat out best tailbacks in the nation in Royce Freeman. I love the fact that Freeman has A LOT to prove this season, as last year was just an unfortunate season for Freeman.
I also really like the fact the the Ducks have 4 returning starters on their O-line. They are DEEP at the RB position behind Freeman as well. They did lose Carrington (WR) due to personal issues, as they booted him from the team. That will hurt some, but these Ducks are extremely deep and talented. It means that stud Charles Nelson will be even more relied on and will be a major, major weapon for Herbert. Speaking of Justin Herbert, I REALLY, REALLY like this young QB. He is extremely poised and massively under-rated IMO. The PAC-12 is loaded with stud QB's and you'll be making a mistake if you don't include Herbert in that conversation. Did you know that he threw 19 TD's with just 4 INT's in the 9 games he played last season?? He has great pocket presence and he's more mobile than most people think. It's going to be of great importance to keep Herbert upright/healthy and on the field. They really do not have a back-up anywhere near his ability. This will be the most important thing for these Ducks this season (keeping Herbert on the field).
Now we get into the Ducks weakness. It's without question their piss poor defense. Well, they have completely changed their defense from last season (which was 3rd worse in the nation in PPG allowed and YPG allowed). Taggart went and hired a VERY GOOD defensive coordinator in Jim Leavitt, who's been the Colorado DC the last few years. He did a GREAT JOB with the Buffs and I fully expect him to vastly improve this Oregon teams biggest weakness (their D). He's already made the scheme change, as Oregon will be playing a 3-4 defensive alignment. I expect Leavitt and his new scheme to make a difference this coming year & even a bigger difference for the next couple of years. I also expect the Ducks to be more disciplined than the last couple of years under Helfrich. Taggart will command and get more respect from his players, and I look for that to show up on the field and result in less penalties for the Ducks this season. Oregon was one of the most penalized team in the nation last year & I see Taggart and his staff cleaning that up & quickly.
Oregon does have three VERY tough ROAD conference games this season. They play AT Stanford, AT Washington and AT UCLA. They'll have to play really "clean" and their defense MUST step up to come away with a win in any of these 3 ROAD games. They should get off to a (3-0) start as their 3 out of conference games to start the season are; home games vs, Southern Utah & Nebraska (a payback game from last years 35-32 loss AT Lincoln) and they conclude their out of conference schedule with a game AT Wyoming. They don't play Colorado nor USC this season in conference. I absolutely expect a nice bounce back season from Oregon (it can't get worse than last year). The current Season Win Total for Oregon is (8). I have them going either 7-5 or 8-4 and I do have a 2* play on the OREGON DUCKS going UNDER 8 Wins. IF Herbert goes down and misses any significant time, I really think Oregon will be in trouble. I just feel strongly that Herbert is the real deal & is vastly important to this teams success. Bottom line for me, I look for a MUCH improved Oregon team overall, and this team has with out question a very dynamic offense. Best of luck to everyone this coming football season!!