Oregon Football opens the 2018 Season and the first under Head Coach Mario Cristobal against the Bowling Green Falcons.
The Oregon Ducks have spent Fall Camp working on several key aspects of the game we will see all season long. There is a better sense of togetherness and comradery with this team than last season. They are making plays(in practice) for each other and following through on every play. On Saturday in Autzen Stadium they face the Bowling Green Eagles, a team that was just 2-10 a year ago, but found a way to put up 35 points per game.
Earlier this week, Mario Cristobal said their bread and butter was the passing game. They will take their shots and take Pass Interference penalties to work their way down the field. Under second-year Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt, Oregon needs to be ready. Up front they have experience with Lamar Winston Jr, Troy Dye and Senior Jalen Jelks. Line communication on the Defense should not be an issue for Oregon. I expect that Oregon may even see a few turnovers with an improved Defense from a year ago.
Offensively, the storyline is Quarterback Justin Herbert and how he will fare this season after an injury took six weeks of his 2017 campaign. He threw extremely well in Practice earlier this week and is excited and ready to see what success Oregon can find Offensively. The bigger question at the start of the non-conference slate may be not who is the Starter, but who will be the backup signal caller. Braxton Burmeister and Tyler Shough will see their share of playing time over the first three weeks of the season as that decision is determined.
Oregon Football and Bowling Green meet inside Autzen Stadium at 5 pm Pacific Time on Pac-12 Network.