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Oregon Ducks Football: 2015 Season Preview and Prediction

By Patrick Schmidt

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Marcus Mariota is no longer with the Oregon Ducks, so can Mark Helfrich’s team win the Pac-12 championship without the Heisman Trophy winner?

Oregon hasn’t experienced a drop-off from Chip Kelly to Mark Helfrich but the Ducks may not be as fortunate as they begin life after Marcus Mariota.

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The Heisman winner is now in the NFL after guiding the team to the national championship game and a No. 2 rankings and leaves a sizeable void at the game’s most important position.

Plenty of offensive firepower is still in Eugene but can the Ducks win the Pac-12 North and get back to the College Football Playoff without the program’s best player?

Offensive Outlook

Without Mariota, the Ducks welcomed Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams, who was the Payton Award runner-up the last two seasons as the FCS equivalent to the Heisman Trophy. He threw for 10,438 yards and 110 touchdowns in his career and is expected to win the starting job over Jeff Lockie and Morgan Mahalak.

Whoever is behind center when the Ducks open the season, the offense will lean heavily on 30-pound sophomore running back Royce Freeman after he led the team with 1,365 yards and 18 touchdowns as one of the top freshmen in the nation. He is a candidate to win the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Award and the Heisman. He is complemented by Thomas Tyner who ran for 573 yards and five touchdowns last year. The Ducks also signed three backs in their 2015 recruiting class with Taj Griffin, Kirk Merritt and Malik Lovette who will vie for carries as freshmen.

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Byron Marshall returns as the team’s leading receiver after catching 74 passes for 1,003 and six touchdowns and they’ll get Bralon Addison back after he missed last year due to an ACL injury. Addison was second on the team in receiving in 2013 with 61 catches for 890 yards and seven touchdowns. Dwayne Stanford could be in for a bigger role with Darren Carrington suspended and Devon Allen recovering from ACL surgery, but the Ducks offense could be dangerous with both Carrington and Allen in the fold.

Tight end Pharoah Brown is rehabbing a gruesome leg injury last year but if he can’t go this year, Evan Bayliss is ready to step in and produce.

Oregon has to replace All-American center Hroniss Grasu but Tyler Johnstone returns at his left tackle position and could be the top blind side protector in the Pac-12.

Defensive Outlook

Oregon’s offense has been one of the highest-scoring units in college in recent years so the defense hasn’t had to be dominant, but they finished second in the conference in scoring defense despite ranking eighth in total defense. It was a classic bend-but-don’t break defense and a lot of those yards came late in games with the outcome already decided. But Oregon will have to be better this year without the cushion of knowing Mariota is there to bail them out.

The defensive line looks great even with Arik Armstead declaring early for the NFL Draft. Led by end DeForest Buckner and Alex Balducci, the line should be disruptive and allow the talented linebackers behind them to be able to make plenty of plays.

Christian French is the best of the unit after having a team-high 6.5 sacks and fellow outside linebacker Torrodney Prevot who had five sacks last year will provide pressure off the edges. Seniors Joe Walker and Rodney Hardrick occupy the two inside linebacker spots after finishing fourth and sixth on the team in tackles last year.

The secondary returns leading returning tackler Reggie Daniels and Tyree Robinson at the safety positions but must replace leading tackler Erick Dargan who also had a team-high seven interceptions and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu at the cornerback spots. Chris Seisay played well when he replaced an injured Ekpre-Olomu in the postseason but he’s in line for his biggest workload. Converted wide receiver Charles Nelson and sophomore Arrion Springs are competing for the other spot.

Prediction

You don’t lose a player like Mariota and expect to be as good as you were with him, but a massive decline from the offense and the team’s overall success shouldn’t be expected. I don’t see a return trip to the national championship game or a Pac-12 championship though.

The non-conference schedule features a road trip to Michigan State and I think they’ll drop that to a team with a senior quarterback in Connor Cook while the Ducks new quarterback sees his first real test after opening vs. Eastern Washington.

They face their toughest Pac-12 north opponents on the road with trips to Washington and Stanford and travel to Arizona State for a crossover game. Oregon gets Utah and USC at home, but beating the Trojans this year will be a challenge, even at Autzen Stadium.

Regular season record: 10-2 and Pac-12 north champions

Next: 15 Bold Predictions for 2015 College Football Season

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