College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Oregon Ducks season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Oregon Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 9-4 overall, 8-1 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Mario Cristobal, 3rd year, 21-7
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 6
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 7
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 10
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Oregon Ducks Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense wasn’t good enough. With all the weapons the Ducks had, and with a quarterback at the level of Justin Herbert, averaging 433 yards and 35 points per game was fine, but again, not enough – it failed to push past 28 points six times.
Herbert might be done, the offensive line might need a reboot, and there’s some uncertainty at several spots, but the Ducks landed a star in new offensive coordinator head coach Joe Moorhead. The former Mississippi State head coach and Penn State offensive coordinator is one of the best offensive assistants in the business, but he first has to rebuild the offensive front to make it all go.
CFN in 60 Video: Oregon Ducks Preview
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– Penei Sewell might be the best NFL player in college football. At least, the junior offensive tackle might be the best NFL non-quarterback in the country, and he’ll have to play like it as the one starting offensive lineman returning.
There’s decent size – likely new right tackle Steven Jones is 6-7, 349 pounds, and Sewell goes 6-6 and 330 – but there’s going to be an adjustment. Fortunately, Moorhead is good at this, and head coach Mario Cristobal’s specialty is the offensive front.
It also helps to get back a killer group of running backs. Junior CJ Verdell led the team with 1,220 yards and eight scores – highlighted by a 257-yard game against Washington State and a 208-yard effort in the Pac-12 title win over Utah – but he’s not alone.
Speedy Travis Dye returns after finishing second on the team with 658 yards, and 6-1, 215-pound Cyrus Habibi-Likio returns after thumping for a team-high ten rushing scores.
– Oh yeah … Herbert. He was terrific – the guy led the way to a Pac-12 title and a Rose Bowl win – but the offense was never quite consistent enough, and there were too many games when he didn’t turn it loose. He’s a Los Angeles Charger now, making 6-5, 220-pound sophomore Tyler Shough the apparent next star up.
Shough won’t add a whole lot of mobility, but he’s a pro-style passer with next-level tools. Adding some help is Boston College transfer Anthony Brown to at least be the veteran No. 2 guy.
On the way is Jay Butterfield – one of the team’s top recruits – to likely redshirt and be one of the main guys in a few years, if he can’t set the world on fire and take the gig right away.
There might not be a superstar college football household name in the receiving corps, bit it’s going to be really, really good, starting with leading returning receiver Johnny Johnson – who led the way with 57 catches for 536 yards and seven scores – along with Jaylon Redd, who added 50 grabs with seven touchdowns.
Throw in USC transfer Devon Williams, the expected emergence of 2018 super-recruit Bryan Addison, and with a whole lot of talented young parts being worked into the mix, and look out.