1. Oregon isn’t close to playing to its potential yet
As crazy as it sounds, Oregon hasn’t come close to playing to its full potential yet.
We saw what this team is capable of offensively, taking it to Ohio State in Week 2, pulling off the upset against the No. 3 team in the country on the road. But the defense allowed nearly 500 passing yards which is shocking given the fact that the Ducks have one of the best secondaries, on paper, in the Pac-12.
In Week 1, the Ducks let Fresno State hang around too long and they eventually took a fourth-quarter lead before Anthony Brown called game. In Week 3, the Ducks were sleepwalking to a 17-7 lead at the break and eventually won 48-7 but it still felt like they had a lot more to give and were playing conservatively against an FCS team.
And lastly, Oregon let Arizona hang around for far too long after racing out to a 10-point lead in the first few minutes. The Ducks allowed the Wildcats to score 19 of the next 33 points to pull within five to start the fourth quarter before finally pulling away 41-19.
We have yet to see this team reach its full potential — not even close — but when the Ducks do, watch out.