2010/2011 season, it came out of nowhere. Unexpected with no clue it had a ghost of a chance leading to a BCS championship game against Auburn. A new, untested goofy-ass quarterback (Darren Thomas) and just losing our go to guy. I don’t know about you, but I thought this year was no better than a .500 season. But no, we kept winning, game after game. All I’m getting to is, low expectations aren’t such a bad thing, just a thing.
Fast forward 9 years to 2019 and first game of the season against, wait for it, Auburn. The difference is, leading into this season, high expectations once again and ever since our BCS appearance, amd every year since, especially this year. Let’s not put all our marbles into one years great recruiting cycle or too much faith in ANY freshman coming into the program but look to our returning guys. 5 stars be damned. We have very skilled players on Defense. I want to see Thibbideux get PT but am not going to be horribly upset if he does not put savior-like effort. C’mon, he is just a kid in a mans body with mad skills at his age. Let him come around and let his skill set increase. All I’m saying is this, High expectations are a bitch. They lead to unrealistic expectations that may not be fulfilled. Just ask Husky fans last year.
Now, on the point of realistic expectations, I too expect to win. I do not to expect to blowout every team. I don’t care. A win by one is still a win. I expect to beat Auburn by three. It’s just kizmet from the three they beat us by in the Championship, so I’m sticking by that.
You have read all about how much more experience and talent Oregon has returning than Auburn does, and honestly we will need every damn ounce. They will need all that experience and more when lined up against the daunting Auburn defense and possibly the best defensive line in the country highlighted by Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson and Nick Coe.
The better team in the trenches is likely to win the game and my money would be on the Ducks, who returned all five starters on the offensive line that combine for 153 starts, with incredible size and versatility.
The battle won’t stop there. The Tigers’ defensive backs play extremely physical at the line of scrimmage, creating a challenge for Oregon’s largely unproven receiving corps.
This is where the physical play of wide receiver Juwan Johnson and tight end Cam McCormick is crucial. The largest receiver on the roster, 6-foot-4, 230-pound Johnson, must utilize his size and be a constant goal line threat. I expect 6-foot-5, 260-pound McCormick to be a large weapon for Herbert this season. McCormick excels at blocking and is physically imposing at the point of attack in the run game. In the passing game, he has great hands and is tough to take down with surprising speed.
The Tigers’ defense will be a test for the Ducks right out of the gate. However, the Auburn offense is retooling with a first-time starting quarterback between either redshirt freshman Joey Gatewood or true freshman Bo Nix. Returning its top three rushers, Auburn operates a run heavy attack, which is ideal for Oregon’s defensive line that allowed less than four yards a carry last season.
So when it comes right down to it, the Ducks and Tigers both have outstanding defenses but the questions are in just how well both teams offenses fare against those Ds. Oregon has a spotty, at best, away record and trust me, THIS IS AN AWAY GAME. We cannot fear last years tendencies. That’s just stupid but look to see if those tendencies prevail through 2019.
What I like about our chances, we have a very good QB to run the show with some new tools in the receiving corps who look very sharp in the early goings, while they are starting new blood at QB but already have great receivers to make his job easier.
In less than a month, we’ll lace em up and see what we see. (Mr Obvious statement of the piece). No matter which camp you are in, PAC or SEC, it will be fairly low scoring and fun to watch.
(((O)))
-D-
Go Ducks !!!!!!!!!!!