4. Oregon will benefit from a favorable 2018 schedule
Mario Cristobal certainly gets to ease into his first full season as head coach after getting the full-time gig right before the Las Vegas Bowl. The Ducks have months to wait until they can get back onto the field after the defeat, but Cristobal still has plenty to do to get ready.
At least he won’t have to worry too much about the non-conference schedule in his first season at the helm. Oregon hosts Bowling Green, FCS Portland State, and San Jose State in its first three games of 2018. They then open conference play at home against Stanford before taking to the road for the first time in a showdown with Cal at Berkeley.
The one stretch that could prove troublesome is the back-to-back road games against Washington State and Arizona in late October. But working in Oregon’s favor is the fact that they get to play both Stanford and Washington at home, and only the road game against the Cougars presents a serious test in divisional play away from Autzen.
The season will wrap up with a Black Friday finale against rival Oregon State. The Civil War takes place in Corvallis this year, and the Ducks have a good shot to be in contention for the Pac-12 North entering that contest.