Is Oregon Football Set To Dominate The Big Ten Entering 2024?

Intro Oregon football does not have a storied history they do not have blue blood status that sets them apart from the rest of the college football world and that's because they only have 14 conference championships and zero national titles there has not yet been written a legendary or dynastic chapter about the Oregon Ducks I say yet though because under Dan Lanning I think Oregon is in their best place in school history to go on a run to dominate their conference and to win the national championship there's one problem with what I just said though that's the fact that Oregon is not a part of the Pack 12 As We Knew It where really only Oregon and USC had the potential to recruit at a very high level and the conference was known for its often pathetic defenses cannibalization and just ultimate ineptitude in that conference although it was very deep last year but I think that's known to be an exception to the rule I'd say Oregon would dominate for the next several decades and with security in winning their conference they could effectively prepare to be a lock for the playoff and probably win a National Championship or more but Oregon is now a part of the Big 10 and they have 17 problems in the 17 teams not named Oregon who are a part of the Big 10 more specifically they're playing in what has been Ohio State and Michigan and lesser so Penn State and maybe Michigan States ballpark for the past decade Oregon is the best of the former four pack 12 teams that are joining the Big 10 best fit to compete immediately in year one and also in the long run but they have questions and they could struggle this year they could also dominate this year and that's what I want to talk to you about today on this episode of college football with Sam welcome back fellow Football Fanatics please remember before we begin to like this video as it helps us get into the algorithm earn more attention views monetization which in turn helps us get more subscribers and if you could do one thing for me in addition I typically don't ask this in other videos but I'm trying to reach Oregon fans and Washington USC and UCLA fans as the big 10's expanding I want to expand with it as we primarily cover the Big 10 but really all of college football here on college football with Sam so if you know an Oregon fan or a Washington fan or a UCLA or USC fan share this video to them and encourage them to watch it and also subscribe to the channel and if you yourself haven't subscribed please subscribe to the channel and click the notification Bell so that you can get notified when I release new college football content as it relates to Oregon the Big 10 Oregon's opponents this year and probably Chief competitors in the Big 10 moving forward and Michigan and Ohio State maybe Michigan State with former Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith who's familiar with Oregon coaching their primary rival for the previous several seasons and subscribing helps the channel but also helps you because at 20,000 subscribers we will be doing a giveaway so stay tuned for that but let's Dive Right In I want to First Weaknesses address Oregon's weaknesses and then questions we'll get to the questions in a few minutes does Oregon have any weaknesses outside of special teams which improved from 2022 to 2023 and then in adding attakus Sappington who kicked several field goals last year what I meant to say is he completed he made more than 90% of his field goal attempts last year which means the kicking game should improve as Camden Lewis struggled and I expect the return game and punting game to up improve again this year does Oregon have any weaknesses special teams I said could a maybe maybe spots on defense the defensive line I know has had problems in pass rush and last year Oregon played a fairly weak schedule outside of Washington twice and I'd say their next toughest opponent outside of Washington was what Utah or USC maybe Oregon State although I don't think they got Oregon State at full strength or Jonathan Smith at full Focus due to him accepting the Michigan State Job shortly afterward and USC and Utah were down last year Utah suffering injuries USC's defense being like the worst in school history and they didn't play Arizona so they faced a week schedule and while they looked dominant on paper and I thought they were one of the best teams in the country and one of the teams who if things fell differently they could have won it all last year they did have questions because when a team that's as dominant and as good as or plays a week schedule but they go 0 and2 against Washington who made the national championship game and went 14 and one you wonder how high their ceiling actually was especially when Oregon was game controlled to death Washington controlling top in those games being able to shut down Oregon's powerful Run game or at least limit it and run the ball on Oregon themselves there are questions on defense and I think more than perhaps some Oregon fans or national media members want to admit but I wouldn't say their defense or their units on defense are weaknesses their areas with questions they may be weak links which means a weak spot in relative to the other roster positions but the defense was good they were top 10 in scoring defense last year they were top 25 in efficiency a Jordan bur is an NFL player who comes back Derek Harman and Jamari Caldwell some incoming transfers on the D line could be future NFL players at defensive back they brought in an NFL Corner future NFL Corner in Jabar muhamad and I just think that with Jeffrey boson Justin Jacobs at linebacker with other players on the defensive back front I think that they'll be fine at those positions they're deep there they're physical they've been recruited and developed fairly well those positions have even with all of their losses the Ducks return nearly 70% of their 2023 production factoring in transfers and 10 starters 10 starters come back I believe three on the offensive line a receiver a tight end Jordan Burch on defense several other players on the defensive side of the ball including Jeffrey basa Justin Jacobs I don't know if he was a starter last year exactly but he had significant playing time former Iowa player and there's a lot to like about this team I think it's one of the deepest rosters in all of college football right now and the question with the defense is simply how high their ceiling is I think it's reasonable to say they'll be a good great defense this 2024 season that compared with what should be an elite offense Oregon has one of the best teams in the country and they certainly have a good shot to win the Big 10 in their first year in the conference that's why they're second and odds only behind Ohio State who loaded up in the transfer portal returns a ton of starters and out of all the 18 Big 10 teams has recruited the best since oh I don't know I think Ohio State's recruited better than all of the current 18 Big 10 teams since maybe the 2000s when some Lloyd Carr Michigan teams brought in Elite classes you have to go pretty far back to when Ohio State wasn't consistently recruiting the best players coming into the Big 10 there are Questions questions though as I mentioned and I want to get to these questions because talking about the ranks and the potential of this team I think it's easier to do and more realistic Oregon brings back defensive end Jordan Burch and they they've added two defensive tackles from the portal who I talked about already Derek Haron and Jamari Caldwell both who were able to successfully pressure opposing passers in the Big 10 and the Big 12 they didn't play for good teams Michigan State and Houston both last year were 4 and eight um those are the teams that Harmon and Caldwell from but they'll have better supporting casts on defense and a better offense to work with that will help them be better players the question for Oregon is will the pass rush and the run defense improve Oregon was in the mid3 last year in terms of sacks but they played in 14 games which means their their sacks per game weren't really high and bur whoose their main pass rusher coming back he had two sacks against Colorado out of his three last year Evan Williams had said four and a half sacks and he's gone they lost a lot of their sack production especially from Top performers in regards to getting to the quarterback from last year so can they reload there and the run defense whether it was times against USC or really against Washington and Washington had an elite offensive line make no mistake about it but the running back room wasn't special and if let's say Washington had Donovan Wards or Blake corm or trayon Henderson or Nicholas Singleton or KRON Allen behind their offensive line they would have ran for even more against the Ducks so against the better offenses the better trenches can they hold up can the defensive line hold up can they get to the quarterback and make him uncomfortable the linebacker and defensive back rooms also have some questions they lose Hill they lose Evan Williams and they lose Kyrie Jack and I just want to take a few seconds to say rest in peace to Kyrie Jackson for those of you who don't know he tragically died in a car accident I believe yesterday or two days ago very recently I don't exactly know when the exact time or even date but he was a player who at Oregon was great he worked very hard to get where he was in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and it's just it's sad to see him go so prayers to his family be praying for his family and rest in peace to Kyrie Jackson you will be missed the question for these rooms is will they reload that's as simple as it gets because of some of the losses that they have and secondary under Lanning has produced several NFL players in his two years um the defensive line I think is an area just given the nature of the Big 10 and how the big 10 as a conference loves to run the ball even Ohio State who was one of the more pass Centric teams in the Big 10 a few years ago they're trying to be more physical or at least trying to run the ball a whole lot more Purdue with Jeff braam used to be pass heavy uh they technically run an air raid right now but they still love to they love to run the football even more far more than Jeff Braum did and Wisconsin despite bringing in Phil Longo last year ran the football a ton although I think they'll pass more this season the Big 10 loves to ground and pound and be tough in the trenches and hurl hurl front seven front six players at your offensive line I have no um no issues or no questions in regards to Oregon's offensive line but the defensive line the linebackers the secondary players I think they'll be good I think they'll be great but in terms of dominating the Big 10 in fulfilling what many are saying in the preseason is a national championship or national semifinal expectation the expectation to compete for it all to compete for the Big 10 good and great may not be a high enough level to achieve those things so those are just some questions there but this is going to be a very good defense again special teams has been awful can they at least be average above average good Iowa has shown Michigan as well that special teams are important Michigan versus Ohio State last year which I think essentially decided the national championship game I don't know if Ohio state would have favored as well against Alabama or Washington as Michigan did probably not but they wouldn't have been that much worse against those teams the game essentially decided the national championship last year in my opinion and Michigan decisively won the special teams battle which helped them beat Ohio State and helped put the pressure on Kyle McCord to where Rod Moore could could have that game-winning interception the game ceiling interception a good special teams unit is critical how will Dan Lanning and his staff adapt the Special Teams the defense to the Big 10 I think big 10 defenses on the flip side will have to adapt themselves to Oregon's offense but Patreon we'll get into that in a few minutes before we continue please check out my patreon page via the link in the description and down below in the pinned comment or in a reply to the pinned comment if you want your name to be featured in the middle and at the end of every video with a shout out at the end you can just sign up as an allconference member which is $5 a month if you want some bonus content sprinkled in there you can sign up for the All-American membership which is $10 a month if you want everything I just mentioned but with direct access to me through messaging and with after 6 months of Heisman membership signed college football with Sam merchandise sign up as a Heisman member for $25 a month again you can find the patreon page VI the link in the description or down below in the pinned comment and also do the same with my Merchandise merchandise store if you can I greatly appreciate it you can get an Oregon themed college football with Sam t-shirt or that same theme in regards to team colors for any team in the big 10 Conference you can also get some hoodies in a black or white color or you can get a college with Sam mug if that's your thing again the merchandise store the link to that is in the description and down below in a pinned comment or a reply to the pinned comment thank you so much for your support and let's get get Strengths back to it Oregon strengths what are their strengths well I just say offense offense along with of course potential the Ducks bring back TZ Johnson a 1,000 yard receiver and Evan Stewart comes in from the portal and Evan Stewart was a great receiver at Texas A&M we'll see if he can be elite this year I have absolute confidence that Oregon will develop him well look at what happened to look what happened to Troy Franklin one of the best wide receivers in the country last year I think Junior Adams is Elite he's an elite wide receivers coach knows how to do his job and he's proven it the previous two years TZ Johnson transferred in from Troy to Oregon entering last year had a 1,000 yard season Evan Stewart could have a breakout year college football to a certain degree knows who Evan Stewart is they could know who he is him living rentree in their minds this year because of the development that Junior Adams and Dan lanon can give him along with a much better Supporting Cast than what he had at A&M at A&M he had one of the most obsolete Minds in regards to college football offenses and Jimbo Fischer uh junior Adams is one of the most Innovative offensive Minds in coordinators in all of college football the wide receivers are listed by Phil steel for example as the number one unit in regards to receivers in college football though I think he factors in tight end Terence Ferguson into that I don't know if I'd say Oregon as the best receiver room in the country but it's close and they certainly can contend for that unlike last year where I thought they would be elite but a step below Ohio States Ohio States turned out to disappoint a little last season but that's beside the point the offensive line is another strength they have been the epicenter of Oregon's offense they don't allow pressure they rarely allow sacks they are able to shove you into the turf and let whether it's Bucky Irving Noah Whittington Jordan James run all over you oh don't forget Bon Knicks either and Dylan Gabriel can also scramble so have great trenches especially on the o line is how you win with offense in the Big 10 Michigan has shown that the previous three seasons Ohio state has shown that at different times under Ryan day and Urban Meyer the best Mark Antonio teams with Michigan State didn't just have Elite defenses they had tough and gritty offensive lines and running backs who would make you pay and also quarterbacks who could at least do a great job of game managing Oregon has all of those things I just mentioned in regards to the offensive side of the ball and succeeding in the Big 10 and they have more than that Oregon's offense is like the best cake you have ever seen and it makes all the other big 10 offenses solely from a standpoint of the preseason and you can only use evidence to back up your claim no speculation Oregon's offense looks by far to be the best in the Big 10 even much better than Ohio States which is in the preseason much better than probably every other offense in the Big 10 Oregon is up there in their own tier in their own Stratosphere in regards to Big 10 offenses when you only look at returning production and when you look at how they've performed I mean Oregon over the past two seasons has had top 10 offenses Ohio State's fell off last year Michigan they don't return much on the offensive side of the ball Penn State they were down last year on offense and they have some questions entering this year they did bring in Andy cotal Nikki though who's one of the few OC's who's better than will Stein in my opinion and the rest of the conference has been bad it's been garbage Washington lost all of their offense UCLA had problems on offense last year and loses some key players and USC their offense will be great it'll be near Elite it could be elite I think it'll be below organs though because the questions they have in the trenches they don't have the same tight ends Lake McCree is not as good as Terence Ferguson and their receivers are significantly younger I think all starting of their all their projected starting receivers are sophomores Oregon is several seniors in the room they did a better job using the portal to address receiver depth and Dylan Gabriel as of now is a more proven quarterback than Miller Moss they also have the better running back room so Oregon I think is the best offense in the Big 10 that's their strength and speaking of Dylan Gabriel he's a veteran and I think with Will Stein he should have his best season in his career the Ducks potential Potential is probably the most interesting point that I have to share I think they have one of the highest if not the highest ceiling in the conference and I don't even have Oregon power rated in my top two I think that Ohio State will be better than Oregon and I think there's a better chance than most people believe that Michigan and Penn State will be better than Oregon the biggest reason for this is is the defensive front Michigan Penn State and Ohio State all have one thing in common they have Elite fronts you may think I'm using the word elite too much and maybe I am you can actually include Iowa in this list but the reality is the Big 10 has dominated defensively especially over the previous two seasons they won the national title last year Michigan did they played one of their worst games of the year against Alabama still came out on top and if you were to re simulate the college football playoff there's probably a better chance than not Michigan beats Alabama by two scores and still owns Washington in the national championship game their defense which was alltime great Michigan was a part of that it's why they shut down Michael penx after he torched Texas it's why they Jill Jay milro was good in the middle and late portion of the season for abusing secondaries of all kinds and for being able to scramble and he could scramble a little bit but Michigan did a better job of shutting him down than Georgia's defense did they did a much better job in fact and Ohio State by analytics they faced a tougher schedule yet had a similar defense only slightly behind same with Iowa and same with Penn State Oregon's defense I just don't think that they yet have that Elite defensive front I could be wrong this year but that's my more so prediction or projection when you look at ceiling and when you look at floor when you solely look at potential Oregon's front does have the potential to probably not be alltime great but to at least be near Elite or Elite and if the secondary pans out having simply a top 10 defense with let's say the best offense in the country boom you're in the National Title conversation you might be the best team in college football this year because I think that this year in regards to what are the traditionally more topend teams will be down a Georgia this year I don't know if they'll be as good as the 2021 or 2022 team and part of me thinks that they won't Michigan won't be nearly as good as they were last year I think they'll still be a near Elite to Elite Team try to more toward the ladder I think they'll be top four top five but they won't be number one they won't even be close to the all-time great conversation Ohio state has questions in the trenches more so the offense and a quarterback which are very important positions Penn State is well Penn State until proven otherwise and Texas has questions Oklahoma has questions Alabama has questions I mean Nick sabin's team last year was was not good by a Nick Sabin standard they were the worst Alabama team since 2008 he somehow took them to the playoff and had them beat one of the better teams in the country in Georgia but they lose a ton and while I'm high on Caitlin dor and I think Alabama will be an elite team this year they could not be the reality is the ducks have one of the highest ceilings in all of college football right now their offensive line last year was Elite they returned three players from that and they have the best offensive tackle unit in the country with a Johnny Cornel I and Josh connly Jr Dylan Gabriel is a near Elite quarterback Oregon may have the best wide receiver room in the country and Jordan James and Noah Whittington will make up a lethal running back room behind what will be an elite offensive line and the defense has rebuilt maybe even upgraded by using the transfer portal the defense I would say is a wild card just because of the schedule that Oregon faced last year and the fact that great to Elite offenses anywhere in that range were able to at times have their way with Oregon's defense especially Washington who in the Pack 12 championship game just marched up and down the field on them I don't know exactly how to grade the defense but it'll be anywhere from good to maybe an elite unit if you're near Elite at every position on defense because positions aren't evenly distributed at every team you probably have a top 10 or maybe even top five defense an example is I would say Iowa last year they were some of the best the best at linebacker in DB but their defensive line was I don't think one of the best in the country and yet their defense was one of the best Oregon matches up final thing I'm going to say they match up favorably against Ohio State I think they have much better offensive line play and their defensive line will not as good as the Buckeyes I think is at least closer to the Buckeyes in dline than Ohio State's o line is to Oregon's o line and they have home field advantage and they look to have the better quarterback those are huge advantages and against Michigan I think Michigan schematically and roster wise because of their better trench play matches up better with Oregon they also have HomeField Advantage but both Ohio State and Oregon have deeper rosters than Michigan Michigan has a ton of questions at receiver that's definitely a weakness and it's the same with quarterback back and the offensive line reloading while I think it will come close to that that's not a guarantee part of that is speculation Oregan could go 12 and0 and capture the Big 10 this season thank you all so much for Outro watching this video remember to like subscribe click the notification Bell and comment your thoughts down below thanks to crash 2488 and brascar Rascal for being Heisman patreon members and sponsoring this video in Channel thanks to Chris Lane counter o and ismar for sponsoring this video and channel and being all American members and thanks to John Lynn roming gnome Matthew S Austin Christmas and Janisha cochrell for sponsoring this video and channel and being all conference members have a great day guys and I will see you all soon bye-bye