UCLA Football Early 2018 Schedule Preview: Oregon Ducks

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LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 16: Quarterback Justin Herbert #10 of the Oregon Ducks runs with the ball against the Boise State Broncos in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium on December 16, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Boise State won 38-28. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

Oregon Offense

Though Oregon has a new head coach, they are a lot more stable than UCLA. The Bruins brought in an entirely new coaching staff while Oregon just moved a few guys around. Having Cristobal back is a huge bonus for a team that was in limbo last season, and that is mostly because of the situation with their quarterback.

Justin Herbert is already getting Heisman attention. The funny thing is, he only played in seven games. Yet it is what he did for Oregon in those seven games that got people’s attention. With him in, they went 6-1 (they were 1-4 without him, including their loss to UCLA). Last season, Herbert averaged 247.8 passing yards per game, which was 6th best in the Pac-12.

There is no doubt Herbert (if he can stay healthy) will once again be a threat for Oregon, but the Ducks have several other weapons to work with. Oregon had a fantastic run game last season, but their big gun, Royce Freeman (122.9 rushing yards per game, 3rd int he Pac-12), has moved on.

Oregon 2017 Offensive Stats

Total Offense	Passing Offense	Rushing Offense	Scoring Offense
440.9 (4th)	189.9 (10th)	251.0 (2nd)	36.0 (3rd)

( ) – denotes ranking in the TEAM CONFERENCE

Oregon will have to turn to Tony Brooks-James to continue the ground assault. He might have only had 41.5 yards per game, but he had an impressive 5.4 yards per carry. And let us not forget that Herbert added 4.2 yards per carry. Along with sophomore Darrian Felix who had 6.1 yards, Oregon is in a good position to continue their dominating running attack.

But what about their passing game? Surely things will improve with Herbert healthy, but who will he throw to?

What helps with consistency is that Oregon has four of their top five receivers back: WR Dylan Mitchell, TE Jacob Breeland, WR Johnny Johnson and WR Brendan Schooler. That will help with getting the air game up, but will they be effective? The Ducks did not have a receiver catch for more than 500 yards last season except for Mitchell (517). By comparison, UCLA had three (it could have been four as Caleb Wilson had 490 yards).

So how will this offense do against UCLA’s defense? For one thing, it is going to be interesting seeing this Oregon team in action. The Ducks will be running (literally) on all cylinders against this Bruins team that will try to attack a lot more. Though the Bruins should improve their run defense, they will have a hard time slowing this Oregon ground game.