In the last couple days, Ted Miller has been running through the best and worst case scenarios for each Pac-10 team. Today, he went over Oregon's. Reading this will get you excited and depressed all at the same time.
The thing is, I could see it going either way. We have a very talented team. If the offense clicks, then many good things will happen. If we get mistakes at the QB position, they we will be screwed, especially if we can't get momentum early.
Despite the tough overall schedule, I believe the early part really sets us up well. 3 games, with the two hardest in that stretch (UW and BSU), are at home. The WSU game is early, so weather in the Palouse will not suck. The Purdue game will be a good test, as it is a road game across the country. But I don't believe Purdue is a very good team, and their weaknesses can (hopefully) be easily exploited. Also, our strength (secondary) mirrors their strength (passing game).
What this means is that the schedule will challenge this team early, but not so strenuously as to break them. I am very hopeful for a 5-0 start, and believe that should happen, as we will most likely be favored in all of those games.
If we have that momentum, we can take that into USC, and we also have a BYE before consecutive weeks at ASU and Cal. If we don't have that momentum, if our offense is turning the ball over and making a lot of mistakes, that will spell disaster.
I'm very hopeful that this team can pull it together early. If that happens, then, we'll have some very fun, very big games in October and November.
GO DUCKS!