Oregon Football: Ranking 2020 opponents by toughness

After finishing 4-8 a year ago, seeing Stanford this high on the list may be surprising. Hear me out.

Left tackle Walker Little, the Cardinal’s best offensive player, missed the entire season after an injury in the opener. Quarterback KJ Costello missed a significant amount of time with injury. Kicker Jet Toner missed the final five games of 2019 with injury. Inside linebacker Ricky Miezan suffered a season-ending injury in the season’s second game.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

After suffering a rash of injuries a season ago, most of the nation has started to forget just how good Stanford has been under David Shaw. If this team can stay healthy, they’ll have nine starters back on offense, and seven on defense. The experience gained by younger players amid the injuries in 2019 is also a huge asset in Palo Alto.

The cherry on top will be Austin Jones. The running back averaged five yards per carry a season ago, and with a full workload behind a strong offensive line, he’ll have a star-making 2020 campaign.

The Ducks face yet another first-year head coach on Oct. 3, but in Washington’s case, this is the least disruptive of the coaching changes. Jimmy Lake has served as the defensive coordinator since 2016, and was with Chris Petersen since 2012.

With seven returning starters on defense, Lake’s specialty will be on full display in 2020. The Huskies allowed just 19.4 points per game, and bring back their top tackler in Elijah Molden, who lead the team in interceptions as well. Joe Tryon, who led Washington in sacks, is back as well.

There is turnover on the offense, but with a defensive unit that should be elite, the Washington-Oregon matchup will once again be one of the Pac-12’s premier games.