Oregon Football: Ducks’ 2017 season preview and predictions
2017 schedule
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 1 | Sept. 2 | vs. Southern Utah | Eugene, OR |
| 2 | Sept. 9 | vs. Nebraska | Eugene, OR |
| 3 | Sept. 16 | at Wyoming | Laramie, WY |
| 4 | Sept. 23 | at Arizona State | Tempe, AZ |
| 5 | Sept. 30 | vs. California | Eugene, OR |
| 6 | Oct. 7 | vs. Washington State | Eugene, OR |
| 7 | Oct. 14 | at Stanford | Stanford, CA |
| 8 | Oct. 21 | at UCLA | Pasadena, CA |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | vs. Utah | Eugene, OR |
| 10 | Nov. 4 | at Washington | Seattle, WA |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | BYE | |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | vs. Arizona | Eugene, OR |
| 13 | Nov. 25 | vs. Oregon State | Eugene, OR |
The schedule for Oregon this season seems promising after a rough 2016 campaign. In fact, there are just two games on the entire schedule that seem out of reach for Oregon, but there’s always a chance to win each game when it comes to conference action. The Pac-12 has been crazy like that over the past few years.
Looking at the schedule, the Ducks could, and probably should, win the first six games of the year, even though a road game against Arizona State and home contests against Nebraska and Washington State won’t be easy.
If that’s the case, that will give them confidence when they face Stanford on Oct. 14. That signals the toughest game of the season and will likely be a loss. Traveling to Pasadena the next week to face UCLA won’t be any easier — although the Bruins struggled as much as Oregon did in 2016.
Utah and Washington will be tough tests in the weeks leading up to the bye. That four-week stretch is as tough as any in the Pac-12. Luckily, though, they don’t have to face USC.
Arizona and Oregon State round out the winnable final couple of weeks in Eugene to end the regular season.
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Prediction: 8-4 (5-4)
An inverse record is what I’m expecting from Oregon in 2017. The Ducks finished 4-8 last year, but I think Willie Taggart has enough talent on his roster to reverse that mark. I see the Ducks winning the first six games of the season before hitting a four-game slide in Pac-12 play. They’ll end the year, after the much-needed bye week, with two consecutive wins in Eugene and go bowling for the first time since 2015. No more missed bowls for this program.