College Football In Oregon Is A Big Question Mark

The Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers both face big questions as they head deeper into the spring football season with several things to sort out. The Beavers have a new head coach after having Mike Riley at the helm for the last eleven seasons. Mike Riley made the move to Nebraska in the offseason; he leaves the Beavers as Oregon State’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 93-80 and 6-2 in bowl games.

The Beavers’ new head coach, Gary Andersen, spent the last two years at Wisconsin going 10-3 last season and losing the Big Ten title to eventual national champs Ohio State 59-0 and going 9-4 in 2013. Both coaches flipped conferences with Riley going to the Big Ten from the Pac-12, while Andersen goes from the Big Ten to the Pac-12.

At Utah, Gary Andersen headed the defense as the defensive coordinator. That Utah team went undefeated, defeating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl finishing the season ranked as the number two team in the nation in 2008. Beaver fans can expect a strong and an aggressive defensive approach from Andersen. On the offensive side, he looks to blend two systems, one a wide open approach and a spread style offense, much different than Riley’s pro style attack.

Oregon State lost four year starter Sean Mannion to the NFL Draft; he was taken in the third round with the 89th pick by the St. Louis Rams. Mannion threw the most yards in Pac-12 history with 13,600 yards, to go with 83 touchdowns. The Beavers have big shoes to fill in a new quarterback, as the 2015 season has a lot of questions for them.

A little ways down the road, the Oregon Ducks are having to address questions about their own upcoming 2015 season. The main question looming over them is who will replace Marcus Mariota. Mariota led them last year to the national title which they lost to Ohio State, after blowing out Florida State in the Rose Bowl. His great season saw him become the first Duck to ever win the Heisman. A high caliber athlete like Mariota will be hard for the Ducks to replace. The man that was behind him for a few seasons was redshirt junior Jeff Lockie. Oregon fans saw him have a great spring game going 9-9, 223 yards passing and 3 touchdowns thrown.

It remains to be seen if he is the answer, but as of now he is the frontrunner. That all may change when his main competition, transfer quarterback Vernon Adams from Eastern Washington, arrives at Oregon. Lockie no doubt will fight for his right to be the Ducks’ leader.

Vernon Adams set many records at Eastern Washington, even seeing him lead the Eagles to a win over the Oregon State Beavers. Being from a smaller conference, Adams will face a higher level of defense in the Pac-12. Adams could fit very well as the Ducks quarterback as he is very mobile in the pocket. The Ducks open up against his former team Eastern Washington, which may see him start against his former team. Along with all the weapons the Ducks have on offense, this might be a great fit and make Oregon dangerous.

There is also a new number 6 in town who is making a name for himself, that being the 5’8” 170 pound sophomore Charles Nelson. In the spring game he put up De’Anthony Thomas numbers, catching five passes for 144 yards, two touchdowns, along with an interception at defensive back. The Ducks are so overloaded with offensive weapons that they plan to use him at defensive back this season. Oregon hopes they can rotate him in the offense in some plays. Oregon gets back wide receiver Braylon Addison, who returns from injury after missing most of last season. Addison will give the Ducks a reliable threat at wide receiver.

The Ducks always seem to have weapons on the offensive side. They just need a leader behind center, whether that is Lockie or Adams. Oregon could use a duo of quarterbacks, much like TCU does or just settle for one main starter.

Now that Oregon State has a new coach, will little brother finally be able to beat powerhouse Oregon? We have seen Oregon take the last seven Civil War games. Or will it take them a couple years to grow as a contender? Andersen is that man who has a proven track record of improving teams to contend in their divisions over his years of coaching.

There’s so many questions in regards to college football in Oregon that will be answered as the start of the season, during spring we will probably hear lot of rumors as they go through their practices. Fans of both teams can’t wait for the 2015 season to start!