Can Oregon Finally Put Together an Entire Season?

Credit: Erik Bishoff via Flickr

For far too long, Oregon Duck fans look back at the end of each football season and ask, “What happened to the Ducks?” It’s become all too repetitive to hear this in Eugene.

Last year, Oregon was handed a tough loss in their first game by the eventual national champions, Georgia. After that, however, the Ducks didn’t lose another game until mid-November, winning eight straight! They then lost two of their last three regular season games to rivals Washington and Oregon State. Oregon lost their shot at competing in the College Football Playoffs and for the PAC 12 championship.

2021 told a similar sad story. The Ducks started strong, going 9-1 before losing to Utah in the next to last game, and then lost in the PAC 12 championship. Oregon came SO close just to fall a little short.

I’ll exclude the COVID season that saw Oregon play only five conference games. They did win the first three contests, before losing the final two. Somehow, a 3-2 record was good enough to go to the PAC 12 championship game which they won, and then played to the Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to Iowa State.

This takes us to 2019, which was eerily similar to 2022. Oregon started off with a tough loss to another SEC team before going on a tear through the rest of their schedule. Duck fans had their hopes up until they lost to a sub-par Arizona State team in late November, again ruining their chances at a CFP birth.

So… is this the year that Oregon can finally put it all together and make a run for the CFP? A few key factors give me hope!

Bo Nix:

Oregon has their first returning starting quarterback since 2019. After coming off, statistically, a great season last year, and starting the season with a lot of Heisman hype, Bo is geared up and ready to make this a special season.

Dan Lanning:

This is also the second season for Oregon’s Defensive Coordinator, Dan Lanning. Last year, in the two late-season losses to Washington and Oregon State, it was the defense that seemed to have the greatest struggles.

In both those games Oregon managed to put up 34 points - but gave up 37 and 38 points. There was only one game last season when an opposing team put up more than 34 points but Oregon came away with a win. That was the shootout vs Washington State.

I think the defense needs to keep this number in mind. If they can keep opposing teams under 34 points, they should be in a good position to win the game.

Hunger:

I think Oregon is hungry; hungry to build on the legacy that is Oregon Football. Hungry for another Heisman. Hungry for high draft stocks for a handful of players, and hungry for that elusive national championship!