It’s been 245 days since Oregon found itself on the wrong end of one of the more devastating late-game collapses in recent memory.
Much has changed for the Ducks since that loss. Standout quarterback Vernon Adams is gone, replaced by fellow graduate-transfer Dakota Prukop. Don Pellum was ousted as Oregon’s defensive coordinator following its postseason collapse, and Brady Hoke has stepped into the position and will attempt to restructure Oregon’s stale defense.
Oregon has been a fixture atop pre-season top-10 rankings for almost a decade, but the Ducks were buried beneath five teams in the AP preseason poll and enter Saturday listed as No. 24 in the nation. Saturday is the start of a 2016 campaign that could serve as a pivotal point for the Oregon program as the Ducks aim to prove that they are still a national power.
Here are three storylines to follow during Oregon’s season-opener against UC Davis.
1. Can Brady Hoke fix Oregon’s defense?
The Ducks’ pass defense was torn to shreds by Pac-12 offenses last season. Oregon was the third-worst passing defense in the nation in 2015 and the Ducks return just one starter along the front seven. Hoke was hired in the offseason to salvage a defense that, at times, looked incapable of stopping anybody last season. A switch to a rush-heavy 4-3 scheme is intended to take pressure off of Oregon’s secondary and Oregon players have been optimistic about the simplicity that Hoke’s new defense has provided. It doesn’t matter if the Ducks’ offense continues as one of the best in the nation if their defense can’t stop anybody, and Saturday will provide Duck fans their first glance at the new-look defense.
2. Is Dakota Prukop the answer at quarterback?
After Oregon held an open quarterback competition during spring ball and the early portion of fall camp, senior graduate-transfer Dakota Prukop did what was expected of him: he won Oregon’s quarterback job. Prukop has been handed the keys to one of top offense in the country and has a deep toolbox of receivers and running backs that should ease some of the difficulty that will come with jumping from the Big-Sky to the Pac-12. Vernon Adams was one of the more efficient quarterbacks in all of college football last year after making the leap from the FCS, and he only had a few weeks to prepare for the season; Prukop has been on campus since last winter term and has had almost nine months to familiarize himself with Oregon’s offense. Since Prukop was announced as the starter, Oregon coaches and players have praised his confidence and ability to lead. On Saturday, Oregon fans will get their first glimpse at one of the most buzzed-about players in the nation.
3. Will Justin Herbert see the field?
At this point last year, Justin Herbert was a senior at nearby Sheldon High School and just beginning his final year of high school football. Today, he is slated to take the field for an Oregon team that he grew up watching and he could see significant playing time. Herbert is listed as Oregon’s backup signal-caller on the Ducks’ two-deep and Mark Helfrich stated earlier this week that he isn’t worried about burning Herbert’s redshirt. If Oregon takes a commanding lead into the second half, it sounds like Herbert will be the one running the offense in garbage time.
Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney