Number 4: the Ducks have to achieve excellence in the kicking game and special teams.
This series isn't meant to be negative. The first step in achieving big goals is to break them down and identify the challenges, the elements of success.
The Oregon coaches are problem solvers. In Mario Cristobal's first season as head coach they reduced penalties to 5 a game for 47.9 yards a game. That's an immediate indication of meaningful culture change. The Ducks played harder and with more discipline, and it translated to more wins.
With that culture established, the players and staff now have the opportunity to drill down and apply that same discipline and attention to detail to all aspects of the program and every phase of the game.
Oregon did a lot right in special teams last season. Senior Tony Brooks-James was the most explosive kickoff returner in the conference, with 4 returns of over 40 yards and 2 of over 50. He averaged 26.2 yards per return. Senior punt returner Ugochukwu Amadi sparked the offense with a 15.9-yard average, five returns of over 20 yards and two of over 50, including a 57-yard touchdown return against UCLA (statistics from cfbstats.com.)
Punter Blake Maimone turned in the Ducks best punting average since 2011, 42.5 yards per kick, dropping 13 kicks inside the 20 with only 3 touchbacks.
Brooks-James and Amadi have to be replaced. Handling punts is a particularly crucial job, because it's a tricky skill mentally and physically. The loss of even one possession from a mishandled punt can be devastating. A good returner can put his offense in great field position. A careless one can put his defense in a terrible hole.
One of the benefits of having a deeper and more athletic roster is that special teams improve. There's less wear on a few veterans, having to work on every unit. Competition for jobs improves performance and motivation. Young players have a chance earn more playing time as they establish themselves at the college level.
No discussion of Duck special teams should leave out the long snappers, who were flawless in 2018. Karsten Battles is back but Devin Melendez has completed his eligibility. You didn't hear their names last year, which means they did their job perfectly.
Another big shout out has to go to Brenden Schooler, Bryson Young and Brady Breeze, who do exceptional work on several of the special teams. It sets the tone, having veterans who take pride in it.
The big areas for improvement special teams coordinator Bobby Williams has to be aiming at are avoiding breakdowns and improving the field goal kicking.
Adam Stack was bothered by an injured leg last year and again in spring practice. The Ducks attempted just 11 field goals last season and made just 6, by far the lowest output in the conference. They only attempted three kicks beyond 40 yards and missed all three, from 42, 41 and 42 yards. Their longest made kick was from 39 yards, and they missed one from 21. As the season wore on they were reluctant even to line up for an FG, attempting no kicks later in the year against Arizona, Oregon State and Michigan State. Against the Spartans in the Redbox Bowl they ran a half-hearted fake rather than attempt a field goal; in the Civil War Maimone popped up out of field goal formation and tossed a 28-yard pass to Jake Breeland. Oregon's mistrust of their kicking game was a poorly-kept secret.
Hustling in the late stages of the recruiting season, the Oregon coaches flipped Charlotte, North Carolina kicking prospect Camden Lewis, originally committed to P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. Lewis is a 3-star, 6-0, 190. The significant thing about him is that he made kicks of 51 and 52 yards in high school, 13 field goals in all as a senior.
DSA columnist Scott Reed has pointed out that the transition for kickers from high school to college is one of the most difficult and unpredictable in football. Most prep kickers play in front of 500-2000 on a Friday night; there's rarely the kind of pressure they'll experience stepping off for a 44-yard kick to win a game in front of 50,000 to 100,000 people. Imagine if the Ducks need a big kick to beat Auburn in the season opener. That's a lot to put on a pair of bony shoulders.
Lewis has done his part. He enrolled early for spring and nailed two field goals in the spring game as Stack nursed another injury. This competition will heat up in August; hopefully the pressure to win the job will simulate the pressure of actually doing it.
The fresh-faced freshman took another critical step in establishing his credibility: he grew a beard. A smart move by a young guy to look less youthful and green. Maybe it will help him perform like a grizzled veteran, or induce the coaches to have more confidence in him when contemplating fourth and eight from the 35.
Duck fans got spoiled when Aidan Schneider, a walk-on from Grant High School, handled the kicking chores during the Mariota years. He was the most accurate kicker in school history at 85%, four years of Maytag reliability in a job that often keeps coaches up at night.
Stack was a perfect 36-36 on extra points. It's nice to see the Ducks kicking them again.
The other big challenge in special teams is avoiding breakdowns. In a sleepy and unfocused upset loss to Arizona late last year the Ducks got a punt blocked, lost another possession when a Wildcat punt hit a member of the Oregon return team, fumbled a kickoff (which they recovered) and gave up a 24-yard punt return.
In the Utah game just before half Stack missed a chip shot from 36 yards, then the Utes Matt Gay blasted a 55-yarder through the uprights as time expired, a 6-point swing in a difficult road game the Ducks wound up losing 32-25. Gay was a perfect 6-6 kicking field goals that night, matching Oregon's total for the entire season.
It was a clinic on how reliable special teams can be the difference between a good bowl and a mediocre one. Particularly for a squad that wants to rely on a power running game and a physical defense, field position and special teams are crucial.
