2016-17 Football Previews – (Pac 12) – Ducks
Looking for 2016 Oregon Ducks predictions? The days of the Ducks being an automatic title contender are over. The team still deserves recognition as a middle- to upper-tier team, but as we learned last season, the magic isn’t nearly as prevalent with Marcus Mariota doing his thing for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
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2016-17 College Football Preview – Oregon Ducks
NCAA Division: Pac 12
2015/16 Record: 9–4 (7–2 Pac-12)
Head Coach: Mark Helfrich
Oregon Futures Odds
Odds to win Pac 12: +550
Odds to win National Championship: +4000
Win Total: 2.5 (Over -120 / Under +100)
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This season, Oregon was picked to finish third in the Pac-12 North Division behind Stanford (1) and Washington (2). It’ll need to integrate a new quarterback successfully and quickly if it is going to exceed expectations.
2016 Oregon Ducks Predictions: Team Strengths
Last season was a tale of two quarterbacks for Oregon. It was Vernon Adams Jr. and everybody else. When Adams was in and healthy, the Ducks looked like contenders. When he was out or fighting through injuries, the team looked average at best.
This season, the hope is that Dakota Prukop, a Montana State graduate transfer, can replicate the Adams that saw success. All indications are that he will.
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Last season, he tossed 28 touchdowns and ran for 11 more.
There will be an adjustment, but he has one thing that every new quarterback needs: a great running back.
Royce Freeman has a chance to be one of the best tailbacks in the country. He’s the perfect combination of speed and power, but with an emphasis on the latter.
Oregon hasn’t had a true bruiser since Jonathan Stewart (maybe LeGarrette Blount), and “Rolls Royce” gives this team a chance against the bigger, pro-style teams it’ll face throughout the year.
Defensively, there’s optimism that the team can turn things around with Brady Hoke on board as the new coordinator. But he’ll have work to do…
2016 Oregon Ducks Predictions: Team Weaknesses
Last season, Oregon’s secondary took a drastic step in the wrong direction. The team was putrid in terms of defending opposing passing games, as it finished the year 126th in the country in that category.
The Ducks’ defense will also have to deal with the loss of DeForest Buckner to the NFL.
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He was a master defending either the pass or the run, and he required multiple offensive linemen’s attention at times — something opposing offenses won’t have to consider an option unless someone steps up in Buckner’s place.
Looking back at the offense, it would be ignorant to look at Oregon’s quarterback situation and not see the question marks as well.
If Prukop flops (as is certainly a possibility in his first year in the Pac-12), what does this group have in terms of another option?
If what we saw last season remains true, the answer is a scary one for those pulling for the Ducks.
Keep an eye on the quarterback situation early in the year as an indicator of this team’s true ceiling.
Oregon Ducks 2016 Prediction: (8-4)
A safe bet for Oregon is 8-4, but if you believe the quarterback situation will figure itself out early, this could be a nine-win team that challenges for a Pac-12 North title.
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At this point, we’ll give credit to Stanford and Washington as the division’s best teams. Oregon finishing third, as Pac-12 Media Day revealed was the prediction, seems about right.
2016 Oregon Ducks Football Schedule
- Saturday, Sept. 3 vs. UC Davis – 5:00 PM ET
- Saturday, Sept. 10 vs. Virginia – 10:30 PM ET
- Saturday, Sept. 17 @ Nebraska – 3:30 PM ET
- Saturday, Sept. 24 vs. Colorado – TBD
- Saturday, Oct. 1 @ Washington State – TBD
- Saturday, Oct. 8 vs. Washington – TBD
- Friday, Oct. 21 @ California – 10:30 PM ET
- Saturday, Oct. 29 vs. Arizona State – TBD
- Saturday, Nov. 5 @ USC – TBD
- Saturday, Nov. 12 vs. Stanford – TBD
- Saturday, Nov. 19 @ Utah – TBD
- Saturday, Nov. 26 @ Oregon State – TBD
What do you think about our 2016 Oregon Ducks predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2016!
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