Oregon football 2019 season preview: Best and worst-case scenario

Oregon football has the most potential of any team in the Pac-12 to be elite in the 2019 season but can Justin Herbert and co. reach that potential?

Mario Cristobal and the Oregon Ducks received a gift this offseason from Justin Herbert. Despite being potentially the first quarterback taken in the 2019 NFL Draft, he elected to return to Eugene for another season. That leaves Oregon football in a position where they could indeed compete for the Pac-12 title in a season where the conference is a bit of a mess.

What sets Oregon apart, though, is the fact that they may be one of two teams in the Pac-12 with the potential to compete on a national scale. With the talent of Herbert, running backs CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, Penn State transfer Juwan Johnson and Mycah Pittman at wide receiver and one of the best offensive lines in the country, the Ducks should be a force on offense. The question is if their defense can rise to the occasion and match that.

A unit led by linebacker Troy Dye and hopefully featuring highly touted recruit Kayvon Thibodeaux up front, the defense is now under the watch of Andy Avalos. The former Boise State coach has talent to work with and, with a background that featured him being quite aggressive with play-calling and pressure, the defense could be more consistent than they were in 2018.

The pieces are there for Cristobal and Oregon football to reign supreme in the Pac-12 but now it’s about realizing potential and expectations. With that, let’s take a look at the schedule for Oregon and the best- and worst-case scenarios for how their 2019 season could play out.

Oregon football best-case scenario

• Aug. 31 – at Auburn (AT&T Stadium) – W
• Sept. 7 – vs. Nevada – W
• Sept. 14 – vs. Montana – W
• Sept. 21 – at Stanford – W
• Oct. 5 – vs. California – W
• Oct. 11 – vs. Colorado – W
• Oct. 19 – at Washington – W
• Oct. 26 – vs. Washington State – W
• Nov. 2 – at USC – W
• Nov. 16 – vs. Arizona – W
• Nov. 23 – at Arizona State – W
• Nov. 30 – vs. Oregon State – W

Record: 12-0 (9-0 Pac-12)

Yes, if things fall into place for the Oregon Ducks in the 2019 college football season, this is a team that has the opportunity to go into the Pac-12 Championship undefeated. They are the most talented and well-rounded team on paper in the conference and, if they play to that talent level, they should be able to go through conference play and avoid any blemishes on the record.

It’s worth noting that the Ducks’ toughest tests within the conference this season all come on the road against Washington and Stanford, also potentially including a trip to play USC. That’s not the ideal scenario, to be sure, but Oregon is experienced and has the firepower to go on the road and get those big wins.

Perhaps their biggest threat to not having a perfect regular season is the season-opener at JerryWorld against Auburn. However, if Oregon is able to hit the ground running on offense and show a step forward immediately on the defensive side of the ball, they could overwhelm an Auburn team that has question marks on offense to answer coming into the 2019 season.

Oregon football worst-case scenario

• Aug. 31 – at Auburn (AT&T Stadium) – L
• Sept. 7 – vs. Nevada – W
• Sept. 14 – vs. Montana – W
• Sept. 21 – at Stanford – L
• Oct. 5 – vs. California – W
• Oct. 11 – vs. Colorado – W
• Oct. 19 – at Washington – L
• Oct. 26 – vs. Washington State – W
• Nov. 2 – at USC – W
• Nov. 16 – vs. Arizona – W
• Nov. 23 – at Arizona State – W
• Nov. 30 – vs. Oregon State – W

Record: 9-3 (7-2 Pac-12)

As was somewhat hinted at with the best-case scenario, the worst-case scenario for Oregon football in 2019 is losing their three toughest road games of the season. If the defense isn’t ready out of the gate and Auburn gets some early life from either Joey Gatewood or Bo Nix at quarterback, the Tigers defense can at least slow the Ducks down.

Furthermore, though Oregon is the more talented team in comparison to both Stanford and Washington, not having either of those Pac-12 matchups in Eugene is a tough break for the Ducks. Given that the Huskies and Cardinal both have upside of their own, if Oregon finds themselves in a worst-case scenario where they aren’t playing their best football and those opponents are, they could certainly fall in those games as well.