With No. 15-ranked Oregon now turning the focus to conference play with the Pac-12 opener Saturday at unbeaten Washington State, the Duck Sports Authority staff is launching our weekly roundtable discussion/debate.

We're excited to have longtime DSA publisher A.J. Jacobson lending his perspective each week, along with familiar DSA voices Scott Reed and Brandon Gibson along with publisher/newcomer Ryan Young.

Each week, the roundtable will focus on a couple or few topics, usually tailored to the matchup or the storylines of the week.

With the Ducks (2-1) enjoying fresh momentum after two impressive wins in the blowout of Eastern Washington and the statement-making 41-20 victory over a ranked BYU team, they have an opportunity in Pullman, Wash., on Saturday to assert themselves early in the Pac-12 race against the 3-0 Cougars, who have already knocked off one ranked opponent (Wisconsin on the road in Week 2).

Now a quarter through the regular season, let's take stock of what we've seen so far and what we expect to see on Saturday at Martin Stadium.

Scott Reed: "For me, the biggest surprise on offense is the running back rotation. Despite Dan Lanning’s attempt to obfuscate the name of the starter at QB, I knew who would start; I generally felt pretty confident in what the offensive line, tight ends and wide receiver rotations would look like, but I was really surprised to see Mar’Keise Irving as the starter for all three games and even more surprised to see Oregon veterans Byron Cardwell and Sean Dollars so far down the pecking order. Even watching them, there still seemed to be a little bit more to Cardwell and Dollars. They seemed more complete as running backs. But I think Lanning might have cracked the code when he mentioned at the Monday press conference following the BYU game that Irving was “out there blocking his tail off.”

"Defensively, I don’t think that this will come as news to many, but I think that the biggest surprise is the lack of production from Noah Sewell. I pointed to a couple of stats in the analysis that shows he is probably not performing as poorly as his total tackles stats make him appear, but for a guy that averaged 8 tackles per game a season ago to drop to 7 total tackles through three games (2.3 per game) seems a more precipitous drop than offenses scheming away might explain. Sewell is still a likely first-day draft pick, but his early play has been somewhat a mystery as he is currently graded as the 503rd-ranked linebacker by PFF. I think he will pick up some with conference play on tap, but definitely something on which to keep a close eye."

A.J. Jacobson: "The running back position was a mystery for the Ducks heading into 2022. Gone were their top guys from last year, CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, and playmaker Seven McGee was moved to wide receiver. In their place on the depth chart, Minnesota transfer Bucky Irving, Western Kentucky transfer Noah Whittington and freshman signee Jordan James joined Byron Cardwell and Sean Dollars as scholarship players on the roster. Heading into the season the Duck coaches left plenty of guesswork who the primary players would be with all five scholarship players listed as possible starters. Irving is my surprise player on offense simply because I had no idea who would emerge from the pack. He leads the Ducks in carries (27), yards (184) and is right near the top in average gain (6.8) through three games and has the long rush of 36 yards so far this season. Whether he will continue to be the No. 1 guy the balance of the year is anybody’s guess given the frequency of injuries at the position, but he is certainly off to a good start.

"On defense picking a surprise player is tough because numerous players have been good, but nobody has been great. But Colorado transfer Christian Gonzalez gets my nod because I was not sure how effective he would be as a Duck at a position Oregon where is quite thin. But after a rough game against Georgia in which he was targeted four times for four receptions and TD, Gonzalez has upped his game and forced incompletions five of the eight times he was thrown at since, including an interception and two pass breakups. Importantly, he has made nine tackles and has missed zero. Should he continue to play well Oregon will be sitting much better at cornerback than many pundits had expected this season."