Ten Takeaways From Oregon’s 2021 Schedule

[FishDuck Article]

My impressions of the Ducks’ 2021 schedule are being made through the visual lens that the Ducks will play up to their talent and potential in 2021. I had written this past fall that with all the Covid-19 craziness tearing apart the 2020 season, that I considered last year to be a practice-season. Now it’s time for the Ducks to ...

 

Read the full article here...

[BigDucksFan]

As we all know much can happen between now and September. 

 

My thoughts are:

1) Ohio State, well what can I say. For the eye test we need to get as much out of this game as possible.

2) Stanford for now is a "use to be" team. 

3) UCLA, hold on to your hats lady's and gentleman. 

4) Washington, If you get cocky you lose. 

5) Utah, just one more, "please". 

6) Pac-12 Championship game, USC, anyones game. 

 

The biggest question: Is our coaching staff up to the level of our players talent ??

[Charles Fischer]

56 minutes ago, BigDucksFan said:

 

The biggest question: Is our coaching staff up to the level of our players talent ??

 

Perfectly stated....

[Duck 1972]

I believe that our coaches are up to the task because of their track record. nuf said

[Darren Perkins]

7 hours ago, BigDucksFan said:

 The biggest question: Is our coaching staff up to the level of our players talent ??

No doubt about it.

[30Duck]

Say what you will about the coaching staff at Oregon, I wouldn't trade it for any other in the Pac-12.  Of course that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, which probably is part of being newest, in terms of continuity, in the conference.

 

 As far as the games go, I'd rather be facing Clay's Air Raid, then what Chip is putting together at UCLA. I'm sure that the Washington's have come up with some way to see that Oregon has received an advantage from when that game is scheduled, and games at Utah are usually interesting. 

[Charles Fischer]

24 minutes ago, 30Duck said:

I'd rather be facing Clay's Air Raid, then what Chip is putting together at UCLA

 

I am in agreement with that, as it is much harder to defend a balanced offense than a nearly all-pass offense.

[UtahDuck]

A few other points of relevance:

 

1. Oregon is the only team in the Pac that doesn't have back to back away games.

2. We get a weak(in my opinion) Colorado at home before playing UW. 

3. the WSU game following UW is interesting mostly due to how this post season has shaken up.(Both De Laura-QB, and Hector-DB) are currently suspended.

4. because of the Friday game we get an extra day to prepare for UCLA who I think is our biggest cross divisional competition this year.

 

Finally, I know some people like the Friday after thanksgiving games but honestly I am usually hosting family or visiting family and these games as a conference are more of a pest than actually providing viewership, Can we just schedule them all on Saturday?

[Charles Fischer]

8 minutes ago, UtahDuck said:

Can we just schedule them all on Saturday?

 

I was wrong; the rivalry game is not on Black Friday as in the past.  November 27th is on a Saturday....

[UtahDuck]

1 minute ago, Charles Fischer said:

November 27th is on a Saturday....

good to know! Still it appears the Apple Cup is on Friday as well as the utah/col shindig. I like to watch these games, especially if they are relevant to conference standings conference championship(Like the year WSU went 11-2). 

[BigDucksFan]

2 hours ago, Duck 1972 said:

I believe that our coaches are up to the task because of their track record. nuf said

To me, their has been to many games that we have barely won that we should have "dominated" for me to say our coaching staff has a good track record. For our OC we have a 1/2 season for his track record here at Oregon and I have to say it did not look like his old track record at his previous schools. For our DC we have no track record here at Oregon and when coaches change schools there are always changes that take place. His new HC may not give him the freedom he had at his old school. A total unknown at this point. 

 

For our HC, the trophy's are in the cage but like I said not enough "domination" games and he has shown he has a lot to learn yet. 

[Charles Fischer]

1 minute ago, BigDucksFan said:

For our HC, the trophy's are in the cage but like I said not enough "domination" games and he has shown he has a lot to learn yet. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Duck 1972 said:

I believe that our coaches are up to the task because of their track record. nuf said

 

Well....losing to a 5-5 Arizona State team is a lesson he did not learn, since he lost to Oregon State and Cal this year.  This too, is preparing the team correctly and I do not know how many more of these it takes to learn from these losses.  Losing to Auburn happens; losing to Iowa State is undesirable, but losing to those other three teams that you clearly are better than...is unacceptable.

[Darren Perkins]

2 hours ago, 30Duck said:

 Of course that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, which probably is part of being newest, in terms of continuity, in the conference.

 

Hopefully they will continue to improve.

[Mudslide]

3 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

 

 

 

Well....losing to a 5-5 Arizona State team is a lesson he did not learn, since he lost to Oregon State and Cal this year.  This too, is preparing the team correctly and I do not know how many more of these it takes to learn from these losses.  Losing to Auburn happens; losing to Iowa State is undesirable, but losing to those other three teams that you clearly are better than...is unacceptable.

 

Please remember that last year was a one off kind of year.  A couple of those games the Ducks had less than 60 scholarship players available.  Judging how coaches do or do not perform from 2020 results might just be foolery. 

 

Of course, ALL coaches can improve and learn from mistakes...just like ordinary folks.  But don't look for perfection because you'll never find it ... especially from 2020 football.  I'll take the Ducks record under MC over any other in the PAC-12 (and beyond).

[Charles Fischer]

12 minutes ago, Mudslide said:

I'll take the Ducks record under MC over any other in the PAC-12 (and beyond).

 

I wanted him retained, as I do not see viable options out there that are truly better and yet available to Oregon.  Yet our offense has declined under his leadership, and that began before 2020.  Let's just say that 2021 is a "show-me" year for many of us.  There is more to football than recruiting and being tougher, IMHO.  

[Ducks4ever]

Can't stress enough how a good running back can really advance this offense. We don't have one (at least between Dye/Verdell) and a good powerful running back will make this team so much harder to defend against. Stack the box -> opponent secondary won't get any help against elite WR's. Inability to pick up meaningful yards last year made us non-functional at times last year. At the end of the season, the coaches could neither trust the QB's, nor could they rely on a running game. The Pac-12 game was won by the defense.  

 

It's annoying that we haven't been able to pick up an elite RB. Can it be Benson or Cardwell? Time will tell. 

[30Duck]

1 hour ago, Charles Fischer said:

Let's just say that 2021 is a "show-me" year for many of us.  There is more to football than recruiting and being tougher, IMHO.  

 

 Respectfully, and of course, IMHO, the  ""show me" would be back to back conference championships, and maybe a 3-peat. One can make the argument that what Chip lacked was recruiting and being tougher, just finish the tackle on Dyer, Eddie Pleasant!

[BigDucksFan]

16 hours ago, Ducks4ever said:

It's annoying that we haven't been able to pick up an elite RB

So true. Their seems to be no interest in getting an elite RB for Oregon. They don't even try. 

[Mudslide]

17 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

 

There is more to football than recruiting and being tougher, IMHO.  

 

And there is more to football than an high scoring offense (HSO).  Ball control (BCO) is a philosophy that may or may not be anyone's cup o' Earl Grey.  I would just remind that there is a synergy of all aspects of a game.  The Ducks won under Chip's HSO and happiness filled all the land.  But the other team had lots of time to score, too.  The Ducks won under Mario's BCO.  And the other team's scoring went down.  Let's look at comparative 12-2 years...the second year under MC and third under CK.  2011 Chip's HSO zipped along at 46.07 ppg. Defense gave up 24.64 ppg.  2019 Mario's offense scored what some would call a lumbering 35.35 ppg.  Defense gave up 16.5 ppg.  I would offer that the difference of 21.43 ppg vs. 18.85 was proven insignificant to the win-loss records. 

I hope we all agree that 2020 was a strange, outlier of a year for all PAC-12 teams, including the Ducks.  Not much can be taken from that year except sorrow for the country as well as our beloved football. 

 

And lastly, I get that an HSO is more fun to watch.  But winning is what matters.  Ultimately, it is ALL that matters.  MC is, IMO, coaching for the best use of available personnel...with that goal of winning as his north star. 

[Charles Fischer]

53 minutes ago, Mudslide said:

But winning is what matters.

 

Yep, and the current top teams are also the highest scoring offenses now, and doing the most winning.  They are not winning with ball-control because of the skill players creating so much scoring against them, hence they have to score in response.  Alabama scored 45 points last year against Auburn and lost, and had to score over 50 points this year to win the SEC championship game.  It is the trend, and we are stuck in a bygone era, IMHO.

 

We do not have to run the previous Shotgun-Zone Read-Spread Offense, (although the top teams are) but we need to score more if we want to win the big prize.

[Duck 1972]

Because of covid there was hardly any time to learn a new offense or get defensive players in shape.  We had to replace a 4 yr starting QB with Shough and a whole new offensive line.  A main running back who was hurt.

 

And to top it off a very young team which usually shows up in road game losses.  I posit we don't know what kind of offense we will have. Let's see what happens this yr. My guess is we are going to be quite happy even with all of our toughest games on the road.

 

A side note. We went deep last yr which was a vast improvement over the previous yr. I can't wait to see what Moorhead will do once he finds his McSorley (QB@ Penn State) to run his offense.

[Mudslide]

4 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

 

 Alabama scored 45 points last year against Auburn and lost, and had to score over 50 points this year to win the SEC championship game.

 

We do not have to run the previous Shotgun-Zone Read-Spread Offense, (although the top teams are) but we need to score more if we want to win the big prize.

How might we have done with all those 4 and 5 star O-linemen, Davanta Smith, Mac Jones, Jaylen Waddle, and Najee Harris?

[Charles Fischer]

Sure, but now you are diverting from your original premise; you felt the offensive scheme of ball-control was fine, and I disagreed.  Now you pivot to player quality, and I have no disagreement with that as I stated above.

 

I do not believe that Cristobal would score the same number of points with the same players Alabama had, and it is because of different schemes, and that is my point.  Did Arizona State have better players than Oregon?  They scored 40.2 points per game average versus Oregon's 31.3....so if Oregon had more quality players...what is the difference?

 

"Mario Cristobal has held the Oregon Offense down better than any defense since Auburn of 2010!"  Duckpop22 

[Mudslide]

19 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

Sure, but now you are diverting from your original premise; you felt the offensive scheme of ball-control was fine, and I disagreed.  Now you pivot to player quality, and I have no disagreement with that as I stated above.

 

I do not believe that Cristobal would score the same number of points with the same players Alabama had, and it is because of different schemes, and that is my point.  Did Arizona State have better players than Oregon?  They scored 40.2 points per game average versus Oregon's 31.3....so if Oregon had more quality players...what is the difference?

 

"Mario Cristobal has held the Oregon Offense down better than any defense since Auburn of 2010!"  Duckpop22 

 

Charles, I was not diverting.  You have forgotten my original point ... easily found.  MC coaches and games to the personnel he has.  You'll recall our conversation about the lack of quality receivers and running backs.  THAT, IMO, is why he has been running the BCO.  To the current argument...if he had the players I listed, do you think he would squander the Heisman Trophy ability of Davanta?  If you really believe he would run the Duck's current offense with Alabama's personnel, then you give him zero credit as an intelligent coach who understands his players and still embraces learning.  If you believe that, you should insist he be replaced.

 

And lastly, to emphasize my POV, winning is everything.  Win ugly.  WIn pretty.  But win.

[Charles Fischer]

30 minutes ago, Mudslide said:

MC coaches and games to the personnel he has.

 

No he does not IMHO.  He rejected the offense that scored 43 points a game for nine years and replaced it with one that underperformed at 38 points per game in 2018 and 2019, especially with one of the nations best quarterback at the helm.  He wants to do anything except what worked before and has been floundering about on offense since he took over.  An average of 31 points per game last year was disgraceful, and yes, other teams such as ASU dealt with COVID too.

 

I do not believe he would run an explosive offense....even if he had the players, and we will see proof one direction or the other in the next couple of years. 

 

[Mudslide]

4 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

 

No he does not IMHO.  He rejected the offense that scored 43 points a game for nine years and replaced it with one that underperformed at 38 points per game in 2018 and 2019, especially with one of the nations best quarterback at the helm.  He wants to do anything except what worked before and has been floundering about on offense since he took over.  An average of 31 points per game last year was disgraceful, and yes, other teams such as ASU dealt with COVID too.

 

I do not believe he would run an explosive offense....even if he had the players, and we will see proof one direction or the other in the next couple of years. 

 

 

If I read you correctly, shouldn't we then either terminate the man or silently begin searching for his replacement...or both?  Your comments describe him as quite incompetent.

 

To follow your logic... COVID is not a factor in W/L record ... and a 12-2 record is not acceptable.

[Charles Fischer]

13 minutes ago, Mudslide said:

If I read you correctly, shouldn't we then either terminate the man or silently begin searching for his replacement...or both?  Your comments describe him as quite incompetent.

 

To follow your logic... COVID is not a factor in W/L record ... and a 12-2 record is not acceptable.

 

Well, you can follow that logic, but it is not what I wrote.  I have written several times recently (like yesterday) that I like everything MC does except running the offense.  You want to take me down a bunch of rabbit-holes until you can score a victory, and I will decline.  All of what you wrote in the quote above does not represent my views and should not be projected on me or anyone unless they actually wrote it.  (That is a "Straw-Man" Strategy)

 

My view is simple and a ton of people agree with it; he said when he came that he would not change the offense, but get tougher in the trenches.  That has not turned out to be true; our scoring has declined in the last three years, our rushing attack has declined over three years and whether or not we are tougher is debatable.  Scoring more points makes it easier on the defense....especially when they had a tough year like last year.

 

But we will disagree and that is fine.  You are a great fan and superb contributor here, and it is great that we can have a robust discussion without resorting to "Pistols at Dawn!"  

[Jon Sousa]

4 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

I do not believe he would run an explosive offense....even if he had the players, and we will see proof one direction or the other in the next couple of years. 

 

So.... we will have to wait and see.

[Mudslide]

Charles, I'm really trying to understand what your complaint is.  Is it that the Ducks' offense is not 'fun' or exciting enough?  We don't crush teams?  We don't win enough games?  MC broke his promise about continuing the former offense?  MC is just not listening to the fans?  Scoring more points makes it easier for the defense...to what end?  (12-2 remember.)  I'm not sure we disagree...perhaps we're just focusing on different aspects of the team's performance.  I'm looking from a results POV.  They've been mighty good in that realm.  And from that perspective, I have been saying that MC has done a bang-up job.  Could he do better?  Probably.  We all could.

 

I get it that we disagree on whether 2020 should be considered an outlier of little importance (me), or that one can glean important data from the season (you).  But what is it exactly that bugs you about MC using his offense (if not one of the above)? 

On a completely different tack...as some have mentioned here, I have modest reservations about MC's backfield recruiting.  As had been mentioned, he has had 3 years to find The Back...to nail a Najee Harris or Royce Freeman type player.  He has been amazing at achieving an overall improvement in the Ducks' historical recruiting classes.  But if he really wants to run a mash and bash operation, he'd better get one of those cruncher guys.

[30Duck]

2 hours ago, Jon Sousa said:

So.... we will have to wait and see.

 

 Yes. I remember when Mario said that about not changing the offense, just doing it with bigger, better players. He has delivered. it can be said on the bigger & better, but the offense has changed. The one thing a coach has to do, IMO, is be himself, Helfrich just tried to be Chip.

 

 Mario has his vision of what will be successful, and back to back conference championships is. But it would be great if he took a look at the success that Alabama's offense is achieving. I feel that he's trying to get there with players like Thompson and the recently recruited receivers and McGee. 

[Charles Fischer]

56 minutes ago, Mudslide said:

Charles, I'm really trying to understand what your complaint is.

 

I have written a ton of articles and posted a ton of times.  (More than anyone else)  I think everyone knows where I stand....

[Darren Perkins]

22 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

"Mario Cristobal has held the Oregon Offense down better than any defense since Auburn of 2010!"  Duckpop22 

 

I like it. MC just needs to let Moorhead cook and then get out if the kitchen. 

[MaiTaiDuck]

Darren OH heck no as there shouldn't be anyone mad about that comment. I agree the Ducks need to put that talent to use and win the PAC 12 plus get into the playoff's. No excuses just get it done and hopefully some swagger and respectable to. Thank you for your opinion on this schedule and of coarse I will agree with some and disagree with others. Its a tuff schedule to say the least and to me Ohio St is a must win. I say this pure and simple they are 0-9 against the Buckeye's and myself as a fan say enough of that stuff. Either way a tough schedule and if they were to 11-0 that would be a Championship capable team.

[MaiTaiDuck]

Excuse me I meant a 11-1 team.

[Mike West]

On 3/5/2021 at 3:43 PM, Ducks4ever said:

Can't stress enough how a good running back can really advance this offense. We don't have one (at least between Dye/Verdell) and a good powerful running back will make this team so much harder to defend against. Stack the box -> opponent secondary won't get any help against elite WR's. Inability to pick up meaningful yards last year made us non-functional at times last year. At the end of the season, the coaches could neither trust the QB's, nor could they rely on a running game. The Pac-12 game was won by the defense.  

 

It's annoying that we haven't been able to pick up an elite RB. Can it be Benson or Cardwell? Time will tell. 

 

So I’m going to contradict myself.  In the past, I said we don’t have NFL bruisers.  I’d take Verdell and Dye any day over the best RBs in the conference.  Not to mention, we actually have four that should get on the field plenty.  
 

We’re talking about Joe Moorhead here.  If MC simply gets out of the way, those four will gash teams.  They won’t beat them up, but they will slash and cut teams up. Haven’t we learned from the Auburn game yet?  We were good enough to drop points on the Tigers like the best in the business.  
 

We have all it takes-right now to give every team in college football nightmares.  Do you hear me Mario Cristobal? Do you see the words jumping off of this screen?

[Jon Sousa]

14 hours ago, MaiTaiDuck said:

...as a fan say enough of that stuff.

I thought stuff was enough. 

[Ducks4ever]

6 hours ago, Mike West said:

 

So I’m going to contradict myself.  In the past, I said we don’t have NFL bruisers.  I’d take Verdell and Dye any day over the best RBs in the conference.  Not to mention, we actually have four that should get on the field plenty.  
 

We’re talking about Joe Moorhead here.  If MC simply gets out of the way, those four will gash teams.  They won’t beat them up, but they will slash and cut teams up. Haven’t we learned from the Auburn game yet?  We were good enough to drop points on the Tigers like the best in the business.  
 

We have all it takes-right now to give every team in college football nightmares.  Do you hear me Mario Cristobal? Do you see the words jumping off of this screen?

 

This is giving the OL and RB's way too much credit. Dye can't create yards for the life of him. He might do well if the OL creates giant holes for him but the OL isn't capable of doing that. I stand by what I've said before and he's best suited in a Charles Nelson role, not the backup running back. He fumbles way too much... what else would you expect from someone who is undersized for an RB. Verdell... he'll play well for the first few games every season and then he will disappear... probably because of injury. I'm waiting for Verdell and Dye to move on so we can see what we have in Benson and Dollars. 

 

The OL isn't good either. I remember Verdell fumbling the ball in the backfield in one of the games last season and he got benched for the rest of the half. My only thought after seeing him get benched was "it's not his fault the opposing DL was living in the backfield." I think it should also be noted that the Pac-12 doesn't have great DL's and the OL still struggled at times. The KT's and other 4 star recruits are on our roster... not that of our teams (minus USC). Yet it still got exposed frequently last season. This team still has a ways to go. 

 

I am optimistic about next season and believe that we will have a multi-year starter by the end of the season.