2018 Oregon Football Season Odds & Predictions

The Oregon Ducks have endured a couple down years recently. Willy Taggart started to turn things around in 2017, taking a team that went 4-8 the previous year and leading them to a 7-6 campaign. However, after going 4-5 in conference play and losing the Las Vegas Bowl to Boise State, the Ducks still have much to do to get back on top in the Pac-12.

However, it won’t be Taggart leading the Ducks in 2018. He was poached away by Florida State after last season, leaving offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal to take the reigns as Oregon’s new head coach. Cristobal had a six-year stint as the head coach at Florida International, going 27-47 in that time despite taking the Panthers to two bowl games.

Since being fired at Florida International, Cristobal has spent four seasons as an assistant to Nick Saban and one season as Taggart’s offensive coordinator at Oregon, so he’s ready for another chance as a head coach. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he can make the Ducks nationally relevant again.

Oregon Expected Win Total & Championship Odds

The oddsmakers don’t appear to have much faith in Cristobal. The Ducks are +11,000 to win a national championship, so they probably won’t be in the College Football Playoff picture this year. However, the Ducks are projected to win 8.5 games, which would be an improvement over last year. That projection is also a number Oregon has a chance to top if things break well.

With the Ducks, it’s all about offense. Many believe quarterback Justin Herbert has a chance to follow in Marcus Mariota’s footsteps as a Heisman winner. Herbert isn’t quite the runner that Mariota was, but he can sling it, tossing 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions last season. He missed five games in the middle of the season, with the Ducks going 1-4 in those games. That means they were 6-2 in games he played, losing only to Arizona State and Boise State.

Whether Herbert has playmaking receivers around him remains to be seen. However, the Ducks bring back a strong offensive line and running back Tony Brooks-James, a national champion sprinter on Oregon’s track team. That combination should give the Ducks an effective rushing attack to complement Herbert’s aerial abilities.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Ducks at least have some potential. Jim Leavitt decided to stay on as defensive coordinator after Cristobal was hired. That should give the Oregon defense some much-needed continuity. The Ducks struggled on defense last year, but they were also quite young. They have a lot coming back and should improve with more experience. Oregon’s strength will be on the edge and the ability to put pressure on the quarterback could help to hide some of their defensive shortcomings.

As noted, a national championship probably isn’t in the cards. A Pac-12 title is also hard to envision for the Ducks. However, winning eight or nine games and at least putting pressure on Washington at the top of the Pac-12 North isn’t out of the question. If Herbert stays healthy, the Ducks can play with just about any team on their schedule.

Ducks Football Schedule

Date Opponent Time
Sep 1 Bowling Green State Falcons 8:00 PM
Sep 8 Portland State Vikings 2:00 PM
Sep 15 San Jose State Spartans 5:00 PM
Sep 22 Stanford Cardinal 3:00 PM
Sep 29 @ California Golden Bears 3:00 PM
Oct 13 Washington Huskies 3:00 PM
Oct 20 @ Washington State Cougars 3:00 PM
Oct 27 @ Arizona Wildcats 3:00 PM
Nov 3 UCLA Bruins 3:00 PM
Nov 10 @ Utah Utes 2:00 PM
Nov 17 Arizona State Sun Devils 3:00 PM
Nov 23 @ Oregon State Beavers 4:00 PM

Speaking of Oregon’s schedule, it sets up nicely for them. They should cruise to a 3-0 start against their non-conference opponents. The Ducks will also get Washington and Stanford, their biggest competition inside the Pac-12 North, at home this year. In their crossover games with the South division, Oregon avoids USC and gets both UCLA and Arizona State at home.

With the schedule ahead of them, the Ducks should have no problem matching last year’s win total. There are at least seven games in which Oregon will be the obvious favorite. There are another two or three more games that are at worse a toss-up for Oregon. If Herbert plays in all 12 games this year, winning 10 and making some noise in the Pac-12 North is not unreasonable for the Ducks in 2018.

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