Oregon football kicks off its 2020 campaign on Saturday when they host the Stanford Cardinal in a nationally televised (ABC) 4:30pm PT kickoff. For the Ducks, this season will be a true test because they are replacing their quarterback, offensive line and much of their defensive backfield. Areas which were strengths in 2019 are unknowns this season.
As the Mario Cristobal crew continues their Stanford week practices, we dust off our Duck Sports Authority crystal ball after months of disuse to answer some of the biggest questions facing the Ducks this week.
1. Who will be the quarterback?
In Mario Cristobal’s final fall camp press conference on Friday he was asked but declined to name a starting quarterback. I think what he left unsaid is that it is going to be Tyler Shough. The athletic sophomore has been stewing in the juices of Justin Herbert’s excellence the past two years, and now is his time.
This is not to take anything away from Boston College transfer Anthony Brown who by all accounts showed up in Eugene, picked up the offense quickly and had an excellent fall camp as primarily QB2 during practices.
Brown will very likely get some playing time, if nothing else than to give Stanford a different look that can take away the continuity of a defense.
But I think it is going to be Shough as the starter.
2. Is the offensive line ready?
Yes, they are going to be surprisingly good. And in some senses, they were fortunate to be able to rebuild so quickly. Kudos to coach Alex Mirabal. After graduating their entire starting unit, they were able to bring in a Pac-12 ready offensive guard in TJ Bass, and then were able to get a sixth year of eligibility for OT George Moore.
But maybe the biggest factor in why they will be good is the emergence of center Alex Forsyth. Alex is going to be the glue that holds that line together this year, not only with his play, but with his leadership.
Often crowd noise can be a factor to disrupt an offensive line that is still getting to know each other with their communications. But in this case with the pandemic, crowd noise should not be much of an issue and this line will learn to communicate very well within a short game or two.
Yes, there will probably be a drop off from the veteran unit of 2019 when the season starts. But it should not last long.
3. DB dropoff after three opt outs?
You may think I have lost my mind, but I am going to say that there will not be a drop off at defensive back from 2019. I know this sounds crazy. But hear me out.
Yes, the Ducks lost three players from the two-deep to the NFL draft. But they did keep five of the two-deep from last year, including two starters. Plus, they added two battle-ready safeties via transfer. And with the emergence of safety Jamal Hill at nickel, Verone McKinley can slide over to free safety and Nick Pickett can play the strong safety. So, the safety positions are very well manned.
At cornerback, the Ducks will miss Thomas Graham, but with Deommodore Lenoir coming back and outstanding sophomore Mykael Wright on the other side, there should not be much of a drop off at all.
All told, although the ducks lost a handful of very good defensive backs to the opt out, they are in very good shape at defensive back heading into this season.
4. Will any newcomers get much playing time?
Yes. Here is the list to watch for:
Left guard: JC transfer T.J. Bass
Wide receiver: Freshman Kris Hutson
Quarterback: Graduate transfer Anthony Brown
Safety: Graduate transfer Jordan Happle
CB: Freshman Dontae Manning
LB: Freshmen Noah Sewell, Justin Flowe
DL: Freshman Bradyn Swinson
5. What will the final score be?
This is obviously a very difficult game to predict the score of. For one thing we haven't seen either of these teams yet this year. Secondly the Ducks are playing a brand new quarterback an offensive line. Are the new guys good? Probably, but we've never seen them play before.
But based on talent alone, the Ducks should win this game. They probably have superior coaching, athletes, and although this is not a game that will be played in front of fans, it is at home so they will have the comfort of home cooking so to speak. Definitely not home cooking in the sense of the refs obviously.
What I would expect is a lot of growing pains for both teams. Mistakes by newcomers, less so by veterans, miscommunications all around, with all this happening less as the game wears on.
But in the end for the reasons I mentioned above about talent and coaching, I pick the home team to win and I will give a score that includes a defensive touchdown.
Oregon 34 - Stanford 23
