Oregon Ducks

Head Coach

Mike Bellotti	14th year
07-08	9-4
PAC-10	5-3
FCR	18

Previous Season Wins

Oregon Preview by Chris Farrelly

Head Coach - Mike Bellotti is entering his 14th season at the helm and the biggest challenge this fall will be to find a replacement at quarterback for the departed Dennis Dixon. The Ducks were 9-4 last season but were one of the nation’s elite teams until Dixon was injured and they return talent on both sides of the ball. They’ve always been a great team offensively under Bellotti but this season the defense may just have to carry the team, they were +9 in turnovers last season and if they repeat that number, watch out.

Quarterback - The battle is between sophomores Nate Costa and Justin Roper; Costa is recovering from an ACL injury and when given the opportunity last fall Roper showed he can lead the attack and has a big-time arm. Costa was limited this spring but is the more mobile of the two and is a better fit in the spread-attack that the Ducks utilize. Look for the competition to continue through the fall camp and possibly into the season as Oregon looks to find the best fit to run the offense this fall.

Running Backs - At running back senior Jeremiah Johnson is the front runner to be the starter, he suffered an ACL injury after six games last year but should be ready when the season begins. Incoming JUCO LeGarrette Blount showed this spring that he’ll be in the mix and will get ample opportunities to contribute. Junior Andre Crenshaw adds experience and has shown some sparks when given the chance.

Receivers - Senior Jaison Williams has led the Duck in receiving the last two seasons, he hauled in 55 passes for 844 yards and 8 TD’s and will look to improve on those numbers in his final campaign. Sophomore Jeff Maehl will be in the slot for the Ducks; he has the skill but needs to become more consistent this fall. Sophomore Jamere Holland will start when the Ducks go three-wide, outstanding speed and when he gets behind the defenders he won’t be caught. At tight end junior Ed Dickson returns, he’s got great blocking abilities and also caught 43 passes for 453 yards and is an All- PAC-10 caliber player.

Offensive Line - The Ducks return three senior starters on the O-Line and are led by senior left tackle Fenuki Tupou who was a 3rd team All- PAC-10 selection, also returning will be Max Unger at center and Mark Lewis at right guard. At right tackle senior Jacob Hucko is getting his first chance to be a regular and hoping to keep it that way, the lone underclassman will be C.E. Kaiser who’ll man the left guard spot. May be the best unit in the PAC-10 and in Unger and Tupou they have to player who’ve been named to the Outland Trophy watch list.

Defensive Line - Solid unit led by the outside tandem of senior Nick Reed and junior Will Tukuafu, Reed led the PAC-10 in sacks with 12 and Tukuafu added 4 ½ and looked good in his first season as a Duck. On the inside will be seniors Ra’Shon Harris and Cole Linehan but they’ll need to hold off JUCO’s Justin Thompson and Blake Ferras, regardless of who starts Oregon will have a solid rotation on the defensive line.

Linebackers - In the middle senior John Bacon is recovering from a knee injury and is looking to getting back on the field with some vengeance but he’ll have to hold off sophomore Casey Matthews a budding star with great genes. On the strongside will be senior Jerome Boyd and at the weakside will be junior Kevin Garnett, both have good speed and get pressure up the field as well.

Defensive Backs - The secondary is led by Patrick Chung who’ll be the Rover, he led the team with 117 tackles and makes plays from sideline to sideline, the Ducks got a big break when he decided to wait another year before moving on to the NFL. Both corners return in juniors Walter Thurmond and Jairus Byrd, they both are solid against the run and Byrd led the team with seven interceptions a year ago. This is of one of the best corner teams in the country and opposing QB’s need to know who they are going to be throwing at when they play the Ducks. At free safety will be the lone newcomer in junior L.J. Ward.

Special Teams - Handling the placekicking once again will be senior Matt Evensen who was 16 for 20 last season and returning at punter is senior Josh Syria who averaged 41.7 yards for the year. Uncertainty in the return game but the hope is that USC transfer Jamere Holland can claim the kick and punt return duties.

Schedule - Out of conference they get WAC teams Utah St and Boise at home but must travel to Purdue, but for a PAC 10 team this is a soft slate. They must travel to USC, Arizona St, Cal and close the year at Oregon St now that’s a tough road schedule. They must run the table at home and will need to win at least two of those road games to finish in the top 3 in conference. The Ducks defense will lead the way and they’ll be in the hunt for the conference title and will end the year with 9+ wins.