The Oregon football team, like its fans, will probably look at the 2013 season as a disappointing success. That phrase sounds contradictory but it’s weirdly true. The Ducks won 11 games and will be ranked in the top 10 after bowl season ends, but everyone in Eugene wanted and expected Oregon to be in a BCS bowl.
The Ducks had plenty of things to be proud of but will need to address several issues between now and next season if they want to end up in the four-team playoff next year. Below are Oregon’s main strengths and weaknesses from 2014.
Strengths
– Quarterback. This is an obvious one. Marcus Mariota threw 31 touchdowns versus just four interceptions, averaged 9.5 yards per attempt (tied for fifth in the nation among qualified quarterbacks) and rushed for 715 yards, nine touchdowns and 7.45 yards per carry. If not for a sprained MCL suffered during the UCLA game on Oct. 26, Mariota probably would have become a Heisman finalist and the Ducks might have played in a BCS bowl. Regardless, Mariota was incredible in 2013.@@http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/player/529/1041116/index.html@@ @@http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/leader/national/player/split01/category02/sort04.html@@
– Wide receiver. This group doesn’t perform nearly as well in 2013 without Mariota, of course, but that doesn’t mean they were bad. Far from it. Josh Huff (a record-setting 1140 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns) and Bralon Addison (890 and seven) made up one of the country’s best receiving duos. This was also an elite blocking group, led by Keanon Lowe.
– Running game. The Ducks ranked ninth in the country in total rushing yards and rushing yards per game, were fifth in yards per rush and were tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns. Even with injuries to Mariota, Byron Marshall and De’Anthony Thomas, plus an inconsistent offensive line, Oregon remained one of the best rushing teams in the nation.@@http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category01/sort02.html@@
– Secondary. Oregon gave up 5.5 yards per pass attempt in 2013, good for third best in the nation, and the secondary was probably the biggest reason why. Cornerbacks Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Terrance Mitchell made up arguably the best corner tandem in the nation and safeties Brian Jackson and Avery Patterson were well above average.@@http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/leader/national/team/defense/split01/category02/sort04.html@@
Weaknesses
– Tight end. Even when Colt Lyerla was still on the team, the tight ends didn’t contribute very much in the passing game and they didn’t stand out as blockers. Johnny Mundt had a big day against Tennessee but besides that, the tight ends were barely noticeable in most games.
– Run defense (at end of season). It’s important to note that the run defense was fine until the last chunk of games. Overall, the Ducks gave up 3.82 yards per carry (36th in the nation) but gave up more than that in four of their last five games, the worst of which came against Oregon State (5.9 yards per carry against the Ducks). Even in the Alamo Bowl, when Nick Aliotti said his defense stopped the run, Malcolm Brown ran all over the Ducks in the first half and finished with 130 yards.
– Kicker. A struggling Alejandro Maldonado was replaced by Matt Wogan after the 26-20 loss to Stanford, and while Wogan performed better, he still missed a couple of short field goals and didn’t instill much confidence. The two combined to make 10 of 14 field goals (71.4 percent), compared to 15 of 18 (83.3 percent) by their opponents.@@http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/team/529/kicking/index.html@@
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