5 Reasons Why I am in Love with the Oregon Ducks this Season

Five reasons why I am in love with the Oregon Ducks this season

By Caroline Davenport

Bruce Ely/The Oregonian

1. Marcus Mariota: A god among quarterbacks, he’s Johnny Manziel’s only true competition for the Heisman, and his team, is undefeated, which Manziel can’t say about his team. Mariota, a Sophomore Hawai’i native, is number one in an ESPN expert Heisman Watch Poll, and has thrown for 1358 yards and 14 touchdowns so far this season.  As long as he doesn’t get “catfished” any time soon, he’s a real threat in the PAC 12 and beyond for the next couple years (too soon?).

2. Oregon’s Offense is Crazy Good: The Ducks have not scored less than 55 points on an opponent so far this season. And those opponents were not all cupcake teams; Tennessee…California…Colorado!? Granted, these are not the best teams in the nation, but that leads me to my third reason why I love Oregon…

3. Its Defense is Even Better! : Besides not having a single game where the offense scored less than 55 points, the Ducks Defense has held each of their opponents to less than 17 points per game. If that’s not impressive than I don’t know what is.

Oregon is ranked #2 in the nation, coming second only to an unimpressive Alabama Crimson Tide. To put things in perspective, the #1 team in the nation is ranked 68^th in the nation for rushing yards, 62^nd in the nation for passing yards, and 36^th for points overall.  Oregon, is ranked third in the nation for rushing yards, 24^th for passing, and second for points overall. Those are some pretty good stats, but I’m finished bashing the SEC…for now.

Photo Courtesy of BlackSportsOnline.com

4. Chip Kelly Who? : Most teams struggle in their first year after an extremely prominent coach leaves an excellent program. We’ve seen it at USC, Notre Dame, Penn State, the list goes on, but Mark Helfrich, the former Offensive Coordinator for the Ducks (no wonder their offense is on fire) has kept the team going as well, if not better, than Chip Kelly. Kelly, is currently coaching a mediocre Philadelphia Eagles team, and is probably wishing the eagle could be as cool as the duck.

5. Oregon is going to the Rose Bowl this Year: Prediction time, yes Oregon is going to go undefeated. The next major opponents the Ducks will face are Washington on Saturday, October 12., and Stanford on November 7. I honestly cannot wait to watch the Stanford-Oregon game because it’s going to be a real showdown between two strong, top-five, PAC 12 teams, and even though I think Oregon will prevail, it will be a battle that will go deep into the fourth quarter. I am a big fan of the late-night PAC 12 games, and this one will surely keep people awake, as long as they don’t fall asleep during half time, which is a common problem among east coast, PAC 12 fans (I understand your pains).

Oregon is not a team to be messed with year. They look sharp, fresh, and much more aggressive than a duck could ever look. Sorry Oregon, I love your mascot, and I feel you for having to deal with a cute little creature to represent your school (after all, I go to Syracuse where we have a fuzzy Orange as our mascot), but if Marcus Mariota keeps the offense fired up, and the defense stays strong, I’ll be seeing you in California, Ducks!