On paper, the Oregon Ducks are a juggernaut. You know the story lines. 153 returning starts on the offensive line. Ten starters back on offense. Troy Dye and Justin Herbert pass up the NFL draft. Best recruiting class in school history.

But conference championships aren't won on paper. Hype is nothing without results. Here are some of the issues Oregon has to address in a concrete way to make the leap from 9-4, 4th in the North Division, to one of those cool bowls at the end of the year:

1. They have to become road warriors

The Ducks schedule this season is brutal. Their toughest five games are all on the road, starting with a trip to Arlington to play Auburn in the Advocare Classic. The neutral site contest is neutral in name only, an hour and a half flight from Alabama, 11 hours by car. The Tiger fans travel like zombies in search of fresh brains. The fast kind of zombies.

Oregon's much-hyped offensive line gets an immediate test, for the War Damn Eagles have the best defensive line in the SEC. It features 6-5, 305 defensive tackle Derrick Brown, last seen vaulting himself over two blockers to get to the quarterback.

Brown is the second coming of Nick Fairley, even down to the nasty streak, picking up a running back and dropping him on his helmet. Calvin Throckmorton has to win this matchup, or the Ducks college football playoff aspirations are dead on arrival. They can't afford to look distracted and disrupted on national TV. It's time to be businesslike, focused, prepared and purposeful on the road.

This game sets the tone for how the 2019 squad responds to pressure and how they motivate and support each other. That's what's important about it. The SEC hype, the comparisons and assumptions and outside noise, that's all secondary. They can gain massive confidence by executing in difficult circumstances. It's the first crucial step in learning to believe in each other and take ownership of a big dream.

The road schedule throws up a challenge in every month. The team travels to Stanford on September 21st. They visit a packed house at Husky Stadium on October 19th. The Dawgs should be well-tested: they are at BYU, home against USC and at Stanford in the three weeks prior. You would say that it's the showdown for the PAC-12 North, except UO is zero for its last four against Washington State. More on that later.

If Mario Cristobal and his staff can keep this team focused and healthy through all of that, they travel to USC on November 2nd, then to the desert to face conference-leading rusher Eno Benjamin and Arizona State on November 23.

The Ducks were flat and out of synch in the first halves of three critical road games last season, losing to Washington State, Utah and Arizona in a disastrous midseason slump. In all they were 2-3 on the road, a solid win over Cal early, then a dismantling of a deplorable and depleted Oregon State team in the Civil War.

Thus far, this has been a group that responds with great enthusiasm and focus in Autzen Stadium. They look comfortable and on their game, playing to the crowd, amped up from the opening whistle, digging for a little extra in key situations, waving towels, dancing. They seem to enjoy the game more at home.

In 2019, they have to find a way to be their own home crowd, to motivate each other and tighten their communication in hostile environments. They need to make more big plays to take the crowd out of it. Nothing quiets an opposing stadium like a big play on special teams or a devastating turnover.

Winning and playing well on the road is a mindset. It comes from great internal leadership and play makers who inspire with their actions. It takes poise and maturity. It requires a oneness and confidence in each other.

The Ducks have to find that to achieve any of their goals for 2019. It has to start with Justin Herbert. He has to be leader that defines their personality as a unit, the one they trust to rise above pressure. It would help if he had a little infusion of Vernon Adams. Herbert probably can't imitate swagger V.A. displayed on the field, but somehow, he has to at least get his powerful right arm to talk louder, to say "this is my house" wherever the Ducks are playing.