The University of Oregon finished the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a 4-3 mark, but expectations are higher heading into 2021. The road is very difficult for the Ducks but with a few good bounces and solid play, the team has the talent to be very good.
In this edition of DSA Roundtable, the Duck Sports Authority staff dusts off their crystal balls to try to answer the question: What will Oregon’s regular season record be in 2021?
A.J. Jacobson
Here is the problem for the Oregon Ducks in 2021. All their toughest games are on the road. They will face Ohio State, Stanford, UCLA, Washington and Utah all without the comforts of home and Autzen Stadium.
Conversely, their home slate is unfortunately meager: Fresno State, Stony Brook, Arizona, Cal, Colorado, WSU, and OSU. The Ducks should be favored in all those and losing any one of them would be anywhere from a modest to a major disappointment.
At home in the Pac-12 the Ducks can expect to see their opponents at their best with the Cougars always tough and the others, aside from Stony Brook, capable of winning at Autzen on any given Saturday. Still, 7-0 should be the expected home record in 2021.
The road games could all conceivably be losses starting with and especially at Ohio State. Of the four road Pac-12 games, I will give them overall 50/50 shots.
So with an expected loss in Columbus and splitting the rest away from Eugene, that leaves Oregon 2-3 on the road.
When all the dust settles, I expect Oregon to finish the regular season with a 9-3 mark in 2021.
Dale Newton
The best case is 12-2, the likely is 9-3, and the worst case is 7-5.
It's a great question, but it's difficult to assess before the spring game.
How real is the progress from Anthony Brown, taking command of the offense and establishing himself as a leader?
Will he hold up physically for a full season after three injury-plagued years at Boston College?
Does the offensive line take a SIGNIFICANT step forward in depth, execution, consistency and getting the right guys in the right positions?
Is someone truly ready to be a dependable left tackle that can anchor the group?
Mirabal and Cristobal need two or three of the young bulls, Sagapolu, Walden, Harper, Suamataia, Light to emerge as PAC-12-ready contributors out of the gate.
Will Oregon's defense live up to the hype? Kayvon Thibodeaux is one of the most talented players in college football, in what amounts to a salary drive year. Will he be unleashed?
Does the linebacker trio of Noah Sewell, Justin Flowe and Keith Brown elevate the run defense?
Has Cristobal grown enough as a head coach to avoid a late season clunker loss?
In April, there are more questions than answers.
Scott Reed
I will be the pessimist of the bunch, I imagine. I do not see 12 wins this year. With their toughest games all on the road and breaking in a new QB who sat on the bench for too long last season, games against Ohio State, Washington, Utah and Oregon State all on the road could present a lot of difficulty.
The Ducks lost a game that they should not have to Oregon State a year ago; lost to Cal; escaped against UCLA – who they also play on the road – and seem to throw a head-scratcher or two every year. I like what Arizona is doing early int eh Fisch era, and that team could be a problem down the road, so getting them at home is helpful. For now, I am going to project losses to Ohio State, Utah and Washington for a 9-3 regular season. I think this gets Oregon to the Las Vegas Bowl to face – Boise State.
For fun, I give Oregon the edge there with the Oregon record for 2021 finishing at 10-3.
