5 Reasons Why Oregon Is Going To Win The College Football Playoff
You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't expect Oregon to be in the College Football Playoff at the beginning of the season. Now, after 12 regular season contests and a convincing win in the Pac-12 Championship Game, here we are.
The Oregon Ducks very well could be the best team in college football, and if you need to pick a team to win the inaugural College Football Playoff, you don't need to look any further than Mark Helfrich's squad. Sure, it has a tough road ahead of it -- Oregon needs to take down a team that hasn't lost since Barack Obama's first term as president to even get to the national championship game -- but if you're a betting man or woman, you should go put some money on the Ducks.
If you're skeptical, don't worry. Here are five reasons why Oregon will win the inaugural College Football Playoff:
Reason #5 - Pac-12 Domination >>>
5) It Dominated The Pac-12
The two toughest conferences in college football are the SEC and the Pac-12. This isn't a controversial statement, this is almost a universally accepted belief. The conferences also have the two best teams in the sport, based on the CFP selection committee's rankings in the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 2 Oregon Ducks.
So why is Alabama's 8-1 mark in the SEC not as impressive as Oregon's 8-1 record in the Pac-12? Easy: look at how both teams played. The Crimson Tide are an excellent football team, but there were plenty of games that they had to survive - LSU and Arkansas are good examples. Alabama's close games makes Oregon's complete and utter domination of the Pac-12 even more impressive.
In the Ducks' eight conference wins, there was only one that they didn't win by double-digits, and it was the first Pac-12 game they played. Oregon didn't just navigate its conference schedule, it straight up mowed down challengers, save Arizona, which it played after it had suffered a few key injuries. Sure, you can look at this as a negative -- will Oregon tighten up in a close game? -- but let's be honest, it's hard to be skeptical about a team that handled its conference schedule with such ease.
4) Royce Freeman
Sure, Oregon's star freshman running back was supposed to be good this year, but he wasn't supposed to be this good.
Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner were supposed to be Oregon's featured backs during the 2014 season. Instead, Marshall moved out to wide receiver -- and based on the fact that he's leading the team in receptions and receiving yards, you can say that decision paid off. Tyner has established himself as a nice back, but not someone who looks like he's going to be the next great Ducks back.
In comes Royce Freeman, and he has made a massive impact. His 230 carries are the most by an Oregon back in two years, and he's accrued 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns. At 6-foot-1, 229 pounds, he's basically a massive bowling ball with feet. Not only is he a devastating power back, but he has shown that he is surprisingly quick and capable of breaking off runs of 20 or more yards.
Freeman may end up being the most important player to Oregon's championship hopes. He gives the squad a consistent, physical back that it hasn't really had since LeGarrette Blount. If he ends up plowing through defenses, the Ducks will win a title.
If he hasn't struggled yet this season, and he's only gotten better as the year has gone on, then we have no reason to think that he won't make a positive impact in the Playoff.
Reason #3 - Oregon's Defense >>>
3) The Defense Isn't As Bad As You Think
Oregon has had the reputation of being a stellar offensive team that is held back by its defense for virtually the entire 21st century. However, the 2014 Ducks squad has a defense that bucks that trend.
Did you know that Oregon has the second-best scoring defense in the Pac-12, and the No. 29 scoring defense in the country? Did you know that it's also No. 3 in the Pac-12 in passer efficiency defense? Sure, you can gain yards on the Ducks -- they are allowing 413 yards per game, 81st in the country -- and yes, the team has to somehow replace All-American defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury that he suffered on Tuesday.
But the team has totally bought into the "bend but don't break" philosophy. So far, it has worked. Only four teams have put up 30 or more points on Oregon this year, and over the last five games, the Ducks have allowed only 17 points per contest.
Hey, that reminds me...
Reason #2 - Oregon Is On Fire >>>
2) Oregon Is Coming Into The Playoffs On Fire
The best team over the final month of the college football season has been the Oregon Ducks. In its last five games -- Stanford, at Utah, Colorado, at Oregon State, Arizona -- Oregon has won by an aggregate score of 238-85. The Ducks have scored more points over the final five games than 14 teams have scored over the course of the entire season. Their defense's 17 points allowed per game over that stretch would make it the fifth-best scoring defense in the country if it was able to keep that up over the entire season.
Basically, stopping Oregon ever since the calendar turned to November has been nearly impossible. Mark Helfrich's squad has scorched the earth with reckless abandon, and has only looked better as the season has gone on. Take, for instance, its game against Arizona. The Ducks lost at home to the Wildcats earlier this season, 31-24. Sure, there were several notable factors that went into the loss, namely injuries, but a loss is a loss.
However, when the two teams met on a neutral field in the Pac-12 Championship Game, Oregon waxed Arizona, 51-13.
The Ducks are playing like men on a mission right now. Nobody has embodied that more than its starting quarterback, who is also the No. 1 reason why Oregon will end this season as national champions.
Reason #1 - Marcus Mariota >>>
1) Marcus Mariota
Admit it: when you saw this list, you knew that Oregon's signal caller was going to be the No. 1 reason. The Heisman Trophy winner is the best player in college football, regardless of position. He is unquestionably the sport's best quarterback, one of its best leaders and an absolute freak of nature who cannot be contained by any defense.
Mariota's somehow found a way to get better every year during his college career, and 2014 was unquestionably his best season. He had career highs in completions (254), yards (3,783), yards per attempt (10.2), passing touchdowns (38), passer rating (186.3) and rushing touchdowns (14). His two interceptions were a career low. He had three games with fewer than four total touchdowns.
Really, there isn't much that can be said about Mariota this year that hasn't already been said by basically everyone else who watches college football. He frequently has made the spectacular seem ordinary, whether it be in a box score or in one play on the field. He has been so locked in that if he makes a mistake, you're blown away, because Mariota just doesn't make mistakes.
Marcus Mariota will likely go pro after Oregon's college football season is over. Fortunately for him, his season will not end until after the Ducks win the College Football Playoff.
