7 things we've learned through 7 weeks of college football season

7 things we’ve learned through 7 weeks of the college football regular season

By Stu White | Oct 18, 2015

Oct 17, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) receives the snap from the shotgun and runs for a touchdown against the Florida Gators during the second quarter of a game at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

5 of 8

Oct 17, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. (3) returns to the locker room following a 26-20 victory against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Replacing a Heisman winner isn’t easy

Before this season began, expectations in Eugene were high. Marcus Mariota, the best quarterback in school and Pac-12 history, was gone, drafted by the Tennessee Titans, but Vernon Adams Jr., a transfer quarterback from Eastern Washington, was going to step in and guide Oregon’s high-octane offense. Maybe the Ducks weren’t going to compete for a national title again, but things would, for the most part, be fine.

After seven weeks of the regular season, expectations have changed. Now Oregon fans are happy with any win the team can get.

The Ducks eked out a 26-20 win over the Washington Huskies on Saturday night, barely escaping the hostile environment at Husky Stadium. The game marked the return of Adams, who had been sidelined for weeks due to a broken finger. Adams put together a respectable stat line, but nothing eye-popping: 14-for-25 for 272 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Perhaps those stats don’t sound all that impressive, but they mark a huge step up from what Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie were doing with Adams stuck on the sidelines. The 2015 Ducks have one of the deepest, fastest, most athletic receiving corps in school history, but you wouldn’t know it from the numbers Oregon has put up in 2015. At approximately 219 passing yards per game, the Ducks are a woeful 76th in the nation in passing offense, barely ahead of Purdue. (Purdue!) Considering Oregon’s talent that ranking is woeful.

For all the Oregon fans who bought into the preseason hype that the Ducks would be able to easily move on from Mariota, this has been a cruel wake-up call of a season. The win over the Huskies was nice — the Ducks have now won 12 games in a row over the Huskies — but Oregon still has to go up against the aforementioned Stanford Cardinal, whose defense should give the Oregon offense fits.

To paraphrase the most threadbare of sports phrases, Mariota ain’t walkin’ through that door.

Next: 3. Leonard Fournette still leads the Heisman race

Home/College Football