12 Wednesday, July 6, 2011 be Morgan Meanr Filling In The Blanks J00Etmes Rumsey Technical by Horace Blankenship i Top Twenty 25 Countdown - Number 8 Oregon 2010 was a special year in Eugene, Oregon. The Oregon Ducks were the top rated college football team in the Associated Press (AP) Poll for much of the year, went undefeated during the regular season and earned a trip to the national title game, before losing a heartbreak- er to Auburn, 22-19. The offense was tremendous. Oregon led the nation in scoring (47,0 pts./game) and in total offense (530.7 yds./game) despite a great deal of uncertainty entering the 2010 season. 2009 starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli had been suspended for the year, and there was no proven backup in place. Enter sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas. Thomas proved to be more than an adequate replacement, completing 61.4 percent of his passes for nearly 2;900 yards, while finishing third on the team in rushing with an additional 486 yards. Not only was Thomas-a true dual threat in Chip Kelly's dynamic offense, he made good decision with the ball, illustrated by his outstanding touchdown to interception ratio of 30 to 9. Although ;Oregon must replace three starters on the offensive line and their leading wide receiver, Jeff Maehl, they should be scary good once more. Thomas returns after the outstanding sopho- more campaign, along with running backs LaMichael James and Kenjon Bamer. James is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candi- date. The shifty, speedy tailback rushed for more than 1,700 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, while averaging 5.9 yards per carry, and finished third in the Heisman voting behind Cam Newton and Oliver Luck. He is one of the fastest players in college football and surpris- ingly durable for a guy that tips the scales at 185 pounds. The third member of the backfield, Bamer, is also talented and dangerous. Bamer rushed for 551 yards in 2010, but averaged 6.1 yards per carry. Add Thorqas's running ability and it is no wonder that Oregon finished fourth in the nation last fall in rushing (287.6 yds/game). Also returning is the entire left side of the offensive line -- always a good thing for right handed quarterbacks - fight end David Paulson and wide receiver Lavasier Tuinei. Paulson, on several preseason All-Pac 12 teams, is another legitimate weapon in Oregon's offensive arsenal. Paulson caught only 24 passes a year ago, but averaged 17.4 yards per catch,, which is very impressive for a tight end. It is evident that Paulson can stretch the field, giving opposing defenses one more thing to worry about. Tuinei, a senior, caught 36 passes in 2010. He is a seasoned veteran, familiar with the offense, and should provide a reliable target on the outside. The offense, despite the loss of three starters along the offensive front; should once again be one of college footballs' most prolific. They simply have too much firepower, and Kelly's lightning-paced attack wears defenses down. Because the offense was so dynamic last sea- son, many observers overlooked the effective- ness of the Duck defense. Oregon wasn't among the top 30 FBS teams in total defense, but if you take a closer look at the numbers they were more impressive than their ranking would suggest. One of the primary reasons they only fin- ished 34th in overall defense - which is good in-and-of-itself when you have the top offense in the land - is because Oregon was 106th in time of possession. The offense only held the ball for an average of 27 minutes and 54 seconds per game. That kept the Duck defense on the field more than all but 14 other teams in the FBS. A better indicator of how well the defense played is the number of points they allowed and the average yard per play given up. The Ducks were 12th in scoring defense, allowing 18.7 points per game, while surren- dering 4.67 yards per play. To put that second stat in perspective, con- sider Alabama (fifth in the nation in total defense) and Wisconsin (20th) allowed 4.64 and 5.29 yards per play, respectively. Of course both teams possessed the ball much longer per game than did Oregon. A major reason for Oregon's deferise effec- tiveness was depth. Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti's rotated 25 players last year. That was significant given the number of plays that opponents ran against the Ducks. TCU, which led the nation in total defense, played 714 downs on defense in 2010 compared to 963 for Owgon. In other words TCU's defense played about 55 plays per game, while the Duck defense averaged a little over 74 snaps per con- test. Oregon lost six starters on defense, and a good deal of depth too. That is the primary rea- son I don't have them rated in the top five. In fact, five of their top seven tacklers have moved on, and their top defensive back, Cliff Harris, faces a possible suspension after a reck- less driving citation. However, the defensive secondary, especially if Harris returns, should be among the best in college football. In addition to Harris, Oregon returns both safeties in senior Eddie Pleasant and junior John Boyett. Boyett was second on the team to Harris in interceptions (5) and was the team's second leading tackler (78), while Pleasant added 65 tackles (fifth on the team) and a pair of sacks. Anthony Gildon is expected to start at comer- back opposite Harris. Gildon did see signifi- cant action last year and was credited with a pair of passes defended. Josh Kaddu and Terrell Turner also return. Kaddu and Turner had 32 tackles each in 2010. Kaddu, a linebacker, also had four tack- les for a loss and 2.5 sacks, while defensive end Turner was credited' with three stops behind the line of scrimmage and 2.5 sacks. Special teams should be solid once again for Oregon. Punter Jackson Rice and place kicker Rob Beard return, along with the nation's second leading punt returner, Harris. Rice averaged 42.3 yards per punt last sea- son, Beard converted 10/13 field goal attempts, while Harris averaged more than 18 yards per punt return and retumed four punts for touch- downs. It won't take long to know whether Ducks are for real. They open the season in Arlington, Texas against LSU. The Tigers are one of the favorites to win the SEC. If Oregon beats their powerhouse SEC opponent itcertainly sets the stage for a run at a national title. That is not to say that the remainder of the schedule is a cake walk. It's not. But a loss 'to LSU lessens the chances of Oregon playing in their second con- secutive title game. Next week a look at the seventh ranked team in the poll .......... ? Policy Letters to the editor are invited. They must be signed, typed and double-spaced. 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