It was supposed to go this way in Duck fans' minds. This game was not supposed to be close, Marcus Mariota was supposed to make fans believe that they will be fine without Darron Thomas, and Autzen was supposed to sell out. This was the ultimate dream scenario for Duck fans heading into the first game and lo and behold, it appeared. This game was a true revelation for all those who root for The University of Oregon football team. There are so many things to point out in this game that I have decided to list them in bulletproof form. So my thoughts are as follows:
Mariota is For Real: Of course the detractors are going to bring up the fact that it was only one game and the opponent he faced was The Arkansas State Red Wolves (Did you know that their mascot was the Red Wolves? They changed their name from Indians to Red Wolves in Spring 2008). But can those same detractors see the throws that Mariota made in that game and honestly say that those throws aren't perfect? I never once saw Darron Thomas successfully throw a pass between three defenders which had to include loft and accuracy. The QB that looked more like Darron was Brian Bennett which is a good thing because he may be needed this year, but it also shows how advanced Mariota's game and demeanor is. This kid could be the best QB in the history of the program.
Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas Are Still Good: Those two players are truly transcendent in the Oregon Spread Offensive Attack. Their speed matched with their vision is a dangerous combination for any and all opponents that will face the Ducks this year. Whom do you stop? Whom do you focus on? It's the same dilemma that defenses face when trying to stop USC's two incredible WR's Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Speaking of them...
Is it November 3rd Yet?: The Alabama-LSU and USC-Oregon games occur on this date. This is the de facto National Semifinals that will be officialy added in 2014. This weekend is going to be incredible and if there is any justice, the Alabama-LSU game will be on at 12:30 PST and the USC-Oregon game will be on at 5:00 PST. But since these two conferences are extremely shrewd and egotistical concerning their television rights, they'll probably compete at the 5:00 PST time slot and piss me and all football fans off.
The Defense is Good, But...: The one thing about the defense is that Nick Alliotti is still the coordinator. No matter how talented his players may be, he continues to stack the box and play a modified prevent defense that sometimes is able to create a turnover. Much has been made about how long the defense
stays out on the field during games. This problem wouldn't exist if they could get a three and out a little more often and if they didn't line up 15 yards off the line of scrimmage on the outside on a 3rd and 5. As Barner stated about the defense after the game: "We gave up a lot of points. Whether it was the starters or not, we have to do better than that."
This Team Needs to Win Three Games for a National Title: All the Ducks have to do is beat USC twice and whomever wins the Alabama-LSU game in the National Championship game to claim the title. That's it. Everything else should fall into place, especially after seeing so many Pac-12 teams falter over the weekend. The only other game that might provide a Duck Fan pause would be the Thursday Night game at Arizona State, but do they really have enough talent on defense to stop Oregon? I don't think so. Duck fans should be really stoked on this team and I totally am.
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