I will concede that MSU hung in there and finally beat Stanford which is something that the Ducks haven't done in 2 years. I would feel a lot better about laying the DDs (considering the venue) if I could see how much improvement can be expected from both upgraded lines (both O and D) going for the Ducks, the idea being that Oregon's speed has presumably been maintained while packing on an extra 20-25 lbs per lineman, or so it will be. One thing that you can count on is that Helfrich has been recruiting speed at every position on the field.
The Ducks maintain a lead in the Pac in the speed department with ASU and USC also finishing in the money and Mora also emphasizing team speed but maybe with an honorable mention at this time. Stanford you can kiss off that way other than a few bright spots in their defense, but you all know about Shaw's ground and pound game in the trenches and the type of OL he brings to the table... pretty close to an even contest in the Rose Bowl minus a QB that could throw the ball
Stanford had no trouble bottling up Mariota with a bum knee in a brace, but that won't be the case Sept. 6. This leads me to conclude that the Duck's team speed is perhaps their biggest advantage, especially with a QB that can run for 100 yards when he is healthy. Furthermore, you have to at least give the Duck's an edge on the offensive LOS with all 5 starters returning vs. just 2 (?) returning DLs on the other side. They are also deep and talented in the TE department leading me to think that all in all Mariota will find himself well protected with plenty of options. John Mundt and Pharoh Brown lead the TE position group and something tells me that John Mundt may end up being the Duck's possession receiver if and when the situation arises... either that or it will often turn out to be Marcus "football" (sorry that wasn't very good) or one of Oregon's RBs with world class speed flying through a hole you could drive a bus through after one of their TEs clears out any incidental traffic. Anything Mariota might do to get past Sparty's first line of defense could easily turn into big yardage. How are the Spartans set for speed? The big question is will MSU's young defense be able to stop Oregon's 1 minute 45 second 6-play TD drives consistently enough to make a game of it?
