[Marinoisking]

I think either Oklahoma State or Oklahoma will run the table....Boisie will for sure run it now...and If Stanford beats us they will run the table....I think we could still get a BCS bowl....just not a BCS Championship and that bums me out bc this was our year.

[ejnfl24]

I think either Oklahoma State or Oklahoma will run the table....Boisie will for sure run it now...and If Stanford beats us they will run the table....I think we could still get a BCS bowl....just not a BCS Championship and that bums me out bc this was our year.

I think we can handle Stanford and run the table. I think Boise State will most likely run the table as well since they play such a weak schedule. I'm not sold on any other teams though. Maybe it's just me hoping they still have a shot, but I'm not giving up hope after one bad game where we beat ourselves.

[Marinoisking]

I think we can handle Stanford and run the table. I think Boise State will most likely run the table as well since they play such a weak schedule. I'm not sold on any other teams though. Maybe it's just me hoping they still have a shot, but I'm not giving up hope after one bad game where we beat ourselves.

We beat ourselves in that Auburn game too....we out played them big time....we just made stupid mistakes.
I had some high hopes....I am still crossing my fingers for a Pac-12 Championship but in just being honest with myself...I would be surprised to see us finish the year ranked above 5th

[rogue655]

People threw the Ducks on a pedestal after the National Championship appearance last year. Expectations were higher than they should have been. We graduated A LOT of quality players from last season. Just on defense alone we lost: Matthews, Paysinger, Rowe, Talmadge Jackson, Bair, and Javes Lewis. I feel good about the D this year though. Even after losing all those players this years starters were able to get quite a bit of experience last year because of how often Aliotti likes to sub to keep players fresh.

Offensively we lost Maehl, D.J. Davis, and 3 OL-men. The passing game lacks an identity at this point and the O Line hasnt had the chance to build continuity. So calling 2011 "our year" is not fair.

LSU's defense is faster than any defense we will see all year. Mark my words you will never see that kind of performance from the OLine again this year. It was the first game against another National Championship contender opponent, of course there will be mistakes.

we landed a studly recruiting class last year, the REAL black mamba, Colt Lyerla, Sumler, French, Etc.

When these players begin to mature is when it will be more appropriate to call it "our year"
I live in Eugene and, like every school, Oregon holds some open practices and when i watch freshmen like De'Anthony Thomas, Lyerla and Sumler and when you see bennett (Backup QB) slinging the ball around like he does its obvious something special is brewing.

Kenjon Barner who runs relays on the track team was quoted saying that when De'Anthony Thomas runs it makes him (Barner) look slow.

dont jump off the wagon yet... or you'll regret it

sorry for the long read. i just cant pass up the opportunity to talk ducks

[Marinoisking]

I dont much care what Mr.Kenjon Barner has to say at this point....his arrogant butt is what cost us that touchdown!! I am still mad at him.
Sure we lost ALOT of great players on both sides of the ball.....I think people underestimate how crucial Jeff Mahel was to our passing game.
All that said the majority of the Key Players are back and with another year of Experience under their belts.
Returning thomas and the best running back in the country with a great supporting cast is enough to call it "our year".....We do have some AMAZING recruits....but are any of them the caliber of LJ? I doubt it....Is the young QB a better Passer than Thomas? Probably...but can he run the O like Thomas does? No way....that type of O take live reps...in the moment. Thomas has performed on the biggest stages in the sport...so while we have all these key pieces in place....thats when it is time to make our run....a team coming of a BCS Championship appearance and returning the most crucial guys to the team is a team that warrants expectations of repeating and surpassing the achievements of the year before...Just my opinion.

[rogue655]

I dont much care what Mr.Kenjon Barner has to say at this point....his arrogant butt is what cost us that touchdown!! I am still mad at him.
Sure we lost ALOT of great players on both sides of the ball.....I think people underestimate how crucial Jeff Mahel was to our passing game.
All that said the majority of the Key Players are back and with another year of Experience under their belts.
Returning thomas and the best running back in the country with a great supporting cast is enough to call it "our year".....We do have some AMAZING recruits....but are any of them the caliber of LJ? I doubt it....Is the young QB a better Passer than Thomas? Probably...but can he run the O like Thomas does? No way....that type of O take live reps...in the moment. Thomas has performed on the biggest stages in the sport...so while we have all these key pieces in place....thats when it is time to make our run....a team coming of a BCS Championship appearance and returning the most crucial guys to the team is a team that warrants expectations of repeating and surpassing the achievements of the year before...Just my opinion.

I think youre over looking the essence of the game. the key pieces of a team arent just the sexy players that get the media coverage. It takes time for the o-line to come together as a unit especially after you lose over half of it. if the line doesnt have success DT or LJ wont have success either. we probably wont be seeing the oline at their best for another few weeks. But its like you always hear, "a team makes its biggest improvements between weeks 1 and 2" so we'll see how they come out this week against nevada. (I'll be there by the way )
Defensively, theres no real leader at this point. Boyett is an Experienced impact player but the defense doesnt rally around him like they did for matthews or paysinger. as the season goes on i expect him to fill this role though. also keep an eye out for Terrell Turner
I never said that the ducks weren't contenders for the national championship this season and like ejnfl i still believe theres too much season left to count them out after one loss. i just said that i think when these recruits grasp what Chip Kelly is trying to do is when expectations like we saw this preseason will be warranted (and if they grow to their full potential). The Ducks will be strong for a long time and are in the process of becoming a power house.
We have no idea if these recruits are up to James' caliber. its one game into their freshman season and only one player i mentioned saw the field. Hell, at this point in LJ's career no one knew he would turn out like he has. But if De'Anthony Thomas lives up to his hype he could be more explosive than James.
Kenjon Barner would be neck and neck with LaMichael James for the doak walker award if he were on another team and both will be GREAT pros. He made a mistake on the return but you cant blame him for trying to spark his team after an important defensive stop. Blame Cliff Harris for acting like an idiot and getting himself suspended

[Marinoisking]

no I am not missing the essence of the game...I am hitting the exact essence of Oregon football.
There is enough speed and athleticism on the Oregon roster to do an Olympic decathlon.
Yes we need a great O-Line...but that is always the weakest part of our team....thats why we cant run against the SEC.The reason I am saying none of the recruites will PROBABLY ever turn out to be LJ is bc how often does a team get a leauge leading rusher? Not very often....so I am just saying based on the odds alone we dont have another LJ on the roster.
We are a big enough program to always have solid recruits coming in on both sides of the ball....but the peak amount of talent on the team is probably last year and this year.
If this was the NFL one loss is no big deal....but this is the BCS and LSU was our most quality opponent...we lost to them so if we are lucky we will get to play 2 more ranked teams this year.
The only way we are going to have a shot at the BCS is if we win out in major style and every single team ranked above us looses a game.