Justin Herbert‘s return to health is going to bode well for Mario Cristobal’s first month as the head coach of a Power Five program. The former FIU head coach has resurrected his career and returned even stronger in the long run. Now he gets the opportunity to guide what could be a Pac-12 dark-horse contender. Herbert will already have between 1300 and 1500 passing yards by the time he gets out of non-conference play.
Sophomore running back Darrian Felix is going to step up into the void left by departed seniors Royce Freeman and Kani Benoit. Tony Brooks-James is the veteran presence, but Felix earned 30 carries last year and carried for 182 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, the 5-foot-10, 178-pound felix has yet to be stopped for a loss at the college level. He will put up at least 182 yards in the season opener against Bowling Green as Cristobal rides a hot hand.
Oregon will win each of its non-conference games by at least four touchdowns. It won’t matter in the eyes of pollsters, as the Ducks enter Pac-12 play outside the top 20 despite the big margins of victory. In addition to Bowling Green, the Ducks also face FCS Portland State and San Jose State before ending the month with Stanford and Cal.
