Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - 2008 SEASON IN REVIEW: Last year the Ducks were built to make a run at double- digit wins and a Pac-10 title. While the team finished with 10 victories, the chances of claiming a conference championship were dashed by mid-season.
Oregon's season did begin with some promise after the team dominated Washington (44-10), followed by an amazing 66-24 rout of Utah State. In the victory over the Aggies the Ducks set a school record with 688 total yards of offense. The team's third matchup was a bit tougher as Oregon needed double- overtime to defeat Purdue, 32-26. Unfortunately, the magic did not continue, as the Ducks went into their contest against Boise State with a fifth-string quarterback under center, and although the team put up a valiant effort, Oregon fell to the Broncos 37-32. After an easy victory over Washington State, the Ducks fell right back into the loss column thanks to a 44-10 drubbing at the hands of the USC Trojans. Oregon rebounded nicely however, defeating UCLA and then clobbering Arizona State, but once again the team could not push through in a tough conference road matchup, falling to California, 26-16. At 6-3 the Ducks' hopes of a conference title were slim, but that did not stop the team from closing out the campaign strong. Oregon slipped passed Stanford by seven (35-28), then won a shootout against Arizona (55-45) and pounded Oregon State(65-38), scoring a combined 120 points in the last two contests.
Oregon finished the regular season with nine wins and earned a spot in the Holiday Bowl where they faced Oklahoma State. The team trailed 17-7 at halftime, but fought back to claim a 42-31 victory.
Overall, it was a solid season for Oregon despite a few bumps along the way and with four straight wins to close out the season, the Ducks showed a lot of heart.
2009 ANALYSIS:
OFFENSE: The Ducks were a dangerous group offensively this past season, but with only four starters returning there could be a few bumps in the road in 2009. New head coach Chip Kelly should have an easy transition into the lead role since he was the offensive coordinator for the Ducks over the past two seasons. Coach Kelly does have an advantage with an experienced quarterback in Jeremiah Masoli under center.
"Jeremiah Masoli will be back for his second year," said coach Kelly. "He did not go through pre-season camp last year because of a wrist injury, and wasn't with us in the spring before that and it really was an on the job training with him because of our quarterback injuries. If you watched him play in the last four games of last year really starting with the drive that won the Stanford game for us, how he played against Arizona and Oregon State in the Civil War and the performance he put on in the Holiday Bowl where he ended up being the MVP. He is just going to grow from there."
Masoli did improve as the year progressed and add the fact that he also rushed for 718 yards and 10 scores, and he could be one of the most dangerous players in the country in 2009.
Unfortunately the only true target returning for Masoli is tight end Ed Dickson, who hauled in 35 receptions for 508 yards and three touchdowns. Other than Dickson and Jeff Maehl (five touchdown receptions in 2008), the signal caller will have to rely heavily on sophomore Chris Harper and Jamere Holland.
The ground game should be able to take some pressure of Masoli thanks to the return of TD-maker LeGarrette Blount. Blount was the second best back on the team last year, but still managed 1,002 yards and a school-record 17 touchdowns.
However, what could hamper Blount, as well as Masoli, is an inexperienced front line that will return just one starter in right tackle Ce Kaiser (6-4, 290).
DEFENSE: Last year the Ducks were exposed defensively at times and with only five starters back in the fold, it is unlikely that this unit will improve much on last season's performance.
One of the returning starters, and leaders on this defense is cornerback Walter Thurmond III. In 2008 Thurmond III finished with 66 tackles and a team- best five interceptions, and coach Kelly is hoping his leadership on and off the field will help this young bunch.
"He is the most competitive kid we have on the practice field," said coach Kelly. "He has tremendous work ethic. He's a great leader. I think our defense is going to surprise people this year really because of the leadership really provided by Walter."
T.J. Ward (team-high 101 tackles last season) also returns in the defensive backfield, but with only him and Thurmond III back in the mix the Ducks will likely have trouble improving on the 270 ypg allowed through the air.
The front line is also filled with question marks, as the lone returning starter up front is Will Tukuafu. An every down end, the 6-4, 275-pound Tukuafu racked up 59 tackles last year, with 10 TFLs and 7.5 sacks. Nick Reed and his 13 sacks from a year ago are gone, but coach Kelly is hoping junior college transfer Terrance Montgomery can step in and make an immediate impact, tanking some of the pressure off of Tukuafu.
The only area that has experience mixed with talent is in the linebacking group, as the team returns Spencer Paysinger (95 tackles) and Casey Matthews (67 tackles, 11 TFLs). Joining the two will be juco transfer Bryson Littlejohn, who has turned some heads in spring workouts and could fill in nicely, giving the Ducks a dangerous trio at linebacker.
SPECIAL TEAMS: This season should be interesting for the Ducks on special teams, as Oregon will have to replace a kicker, punter and punt returner. However, special teams coach Tom Osborne is one of the best in the nation and should have the Ducks ready for the upcoming season. Morgan Flint has some experience at kicker, connecting on all 28 of his extra point attempts this past season and 7-of-9 field goals. Flint did not connect on a kick over 39 yards, but now that he has the starting job, he should have plenty of chances to change that. The kick return duties will once again be handled by Thurmond III, while the punt return job will likely end up in the hands of Aaron Pflugrad.
OUTLOOK: With longtime coach Mike Bellotti moved upstairs to athletic director, a new head coach in Chip Kelly and only nine starters returning, a daunting schedule could pose problems for the Duck. Matching last year's win total is not realistic at all.
Oregon kicks off the year with a tough road matchup against a dangerous Boise State team and follows that with back-to-back home games against Purdue and Utah. Despite a rough out of conference schedule the Ducks do luck out with getting the top teams from the conference in Eugene. California, USC and Oregon State will all have to travel to Autzen Stadium. However, even with that advantage coach Kelly's squad is far too inexperienced to compete with the elite in the Pac-10 and will likely take a few steps back in 2009.
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