Newfound offensive depth should allow Oregon to exceed expectations

By Marc Hudgens  |   Tuesday, September 02, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Oregon Ducks
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If Saturday’s 44-10 rout over Washington is any indication of what’s to come for Oregon this year, the Ducks will be right back in the Pac-10 race; at some point in 2008, they might even turn into a front-runner to win a conference title.

The Ducks' 44-point output looks even more impressive when you consider that they did it with three different quarterbacks and were missing Outland Trophy nominee Fenuki Tupou, which led to vast offensive line changes. Fellow Outland candidate Max Unger, a Rimington Trophy nominee at center, had to play tackle, but neither he nor the group looked porous against the Huskies. In fact, they helped pave the way for a great outing by running back Jeremiah Johnson, who amassed 124 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

With all the hype surrounding talented freshman quarterback Chris Harper, who thrived on the ground with 60 yards and a TD on 12 rushes, it was sophomore Jeremiah Masoli who came in after backup Justin Roper’s concussion and ran the offense the best. On the day, Masoli completed 9-of-17 throws for 126 yards and two scores. Amazingly, none of the QBs Oregon played will be scheduled to start again this season. That job belongs to Nate Costa, who missed the opener because of an injury.

Although the key to the game for Oregon was stopping versatile Husky quarterback Jake Locker, which the Ducks' defense did very handily (Locker completed just 12-of-28 tosses for no touchdowns, and he accrued only 160 total yards), it was the 'O' that stole the show.

What Oregon's opener revealed was that its offense, led by coordinator Chip Kelly, is quite deep. The only mild criticism is that Harper must start throwing the ball more; when he was in the game too many handoffs were called, and he was too eager to run the ball. Opposing defenses will key in on Harper running once he’s under center, and will likely stop him by stacking the box. He can change that by airing it out more.

With that said, Week 1 was certainly a fantastic start for the Ducks, whose offense could help lead them to big things this year.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He...
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