2007 Oregon Ducks Football Preview

2007 Oregon Ducks season preview from Maddux Sports. Below you can find our official Oregon Ducks football preview as well as the 2007 Oregon Ducks Football Schedule. Dont miss Maddux's free college football picks taken from the weekly college football odds from the #1 sports handicapping team.

Coach: Mike Bellotti (13th year at Oregon)
Team Name: Ducks
2006 Overall Record: 7-6
Returning Starters: 14

In 2006, the Oregon Ducks (7- 6 overall, 4- 5 PAC-10) were beaten by BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl 8- 38 after finishing tied for 5th in their conference. The Ducks got off to a good start last season, only to lose their last three regular season games. Inconsistency really plagued this team.

Chip Kelly starts his first season as Oregon's offensive coordinator. He'll bring a more balanced attack, taking some of the big play pressure off of QB Dennis Dixon (61.2% COMP, 2,143 YDs, 12 TDs, 14 INTs). Dixon started throwing too many interceptions late last fall and lost his job to Brady Leaf. Dixon is likely to start this year and the implementation of a spread offense along with more running should help. The receiving corps is fast, talented and deep, but they dropped the ball too much last season. Junior WR Jaison Williams (68 REC, 984 YDs, 6 TDs) and company must hold onto that ball. Junior RBs Jonathan Stewart (183 CAR, 981 YDs, 10 TDs) and Jeremiah Johnson can be a great one-two punch on the ground. The line looks sound.

While the offense was averaging 29.5 PPG, the Duck defense was allowing the opposition to score 26.5 PPG. The secondary performed well, being rated 20th in the nation, but the front seven struggled as they allowed 148.6 running yards per game. Rover Patrick Chung (84 tackles, 49 solo), now a junior, was effective in a line-backing unit that played solid but unspectacular "D." As a freshman, corner Jarius Byrd was amazing, pulling down 5 INTs. Expect even more from this talent and the rest of the secondary. Line play must be more aggressive and tougher.

Oregon needs its QB to come through and its defensive line to make big plays. If that happens the team could garner eight wins. Swing contests include those versus Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State. Those three games take place in the final four weeks of the season. A bowl bid seems assured.

Oregon Ducks Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away
Sep 1	Houston	Home
Sep 8	Michigan	Away
Sep 15	Fresno St	Home
Sep 22	Stanford	Away
Sep 29	California	Home
Oct 13	Washington St	Home
Oct 20	Washington	Away
Oct 27	USC	Home
Nov 3	Arizona St	Home
Nov 15	Arizona	Away
Nov 24	UCLA	Away
Dec 1	Oregon St	Home

 

For more info on the 2007 Oregon Ducks football program, view the Ducks football site or you can read about other Pac-10 teams below.