Every year, every season, a football team develops a character and personality, a direct result of their coaching and internal leadership.

At Oregon the Ducks are fond of saying "how you do anything is how you do everything," a mantra that drives home the idea that details and habits matter.

Now the first game is here. The mantra is about to be tested.

In first games, physical mistakes and mental errors are inevitable, even welcome. It's an opportunity to find out what you have and what needs correcting and fine-tuning.

The usual football truisms apply. Stop the run. Protect the quarterback. Control the line of scrimmage. All of that never stops being important.

But in a season opener a knowledgeable fan is looking for something even more fundamental: no CARE DEFECTs.

Concentration

Awareness

Resilience

Energy

Discipline

Execution

Fundamentals

Effort

Communication

Teamwork

Standards

In the Social Media/NIL era it's tempting to get caught up in hype and self-promotion. Make a big play, add a flamboyant celebration, go viral: it's the way to get attention and get paid.

Trouble is, your Instagram followers won't help you win a big road game against a football powerhouse. Your teammates will.

On opening morning in a partly empty stadium, the real test is seeing how well the Ducks focus on football, generate enthusiasm and sustain it; how well they pay attention to detail, handle adversity, work as a unit, overcome negative plays.

Look for indications of character and internal leadership, focus and maturity. Those are the qualities that allow a football team to achieve 99% of its potential.

What kind of team are they going to be? How they come out and how well they execute and adjust will be the first real indication that 2019 is their standard and 2020 was a throwaway year.