Pac-12 Football: Biggest offseason question for every team

6. Oregon – What is the expectation level for Willie Taggart in year one?

After Mark Helfrich was fired for the consistent regression with the Oregon Ducks after their loss in the National Championship Game, the team turned to Willie Taggart to take over. Taggart was renowned for the work he did at South Florida.

He aimed to make an impact early in recruiting by getting some key players to flip and it appeared he’d be off to a great start. Then, a brutal practice that left players in the hospital and a brand new offensive coordinator being fired went down in not a far apart instances.

It was certainly a series of incidents that the program was looking to avoid. Now, Taggart heads into his first season and the question should be what are the expectations? The program should be a lot better than the 4-8 they were in 2016.

It’s not going to be easy with some of the top teams in the conference, but Taggart should have them playing competitively. No one should expect them to make a run at the Pac-12 North, but reversing from 4-8 to 8-4 would be a nice start.