Imagine a six foot eight, 330-pound spit-dribbling Jim Bob, jut-jawed, scowling, slightly cross-eyed, brain as mushy as day-old grits with red eye gravy, consciousness marinated in red meat, mama love and stripper fantasies, looking like an extra from Django or Deliverance in lumpy clothes. 

Then imagine Jim Bob lasting 15 minutes at an Oregon practice. If the blistering physical pace didn't destroy him, the mental demands of flashing play placards every 12 seconds amid crisply orchestrated drills would fry his Toby Keith-addled brain.  

Hard to imagine why some Duck fans cling to one tired question like beer suds to a carelessly-washed glass: "Why can't the Ducks recruit any big, dominating, SEC-style offensive linemen?" 

The Oregon Ducks must elude a Ugandan knife trap of a game when they face the Washington Huskies in a revamped Husky Stadium on October 12.

photo left: Keith Price is smiling again at Husky practices, his spirits buoyed by an up-tempo offense and renewed health. If he returns to his sophomore form as a third-year, senior starter, the Huskies could be a much tougher opponent in 2013. (Jim Bates/Seattle times photo)

It's dangerous for a lot of reasons. Oregon begins the season with five easy games, and the temptation will be great to relax a little and start believing the hype. The press will be busy telling them they are fine without Chip Kelly and they haven't missed a beat. They'll own a gaudy, meaningless early-season ranking, probably in the top three in the country. Washington will have tremendous motivation after nine straight losses to the Ducks, and the crowd will be amped. If UW can get past a retooling Boise State team in their opener this fall, they too could enter this game at 5-0, and the enthusiasm of the success-starved Husky faithful will be feverish.

In sports all streaks end, often in eerie and misbegotten ways, a few inches short of glory. Even the most hallowed record in sports, Joe Dimaggio's 56-game hitting streak, ended sourly. Cleveland third baseman Ken Keltner played the Yankee Clipper on the edge of the outfield grass and made a couple of diving stops, each time nipping him at first. In the eighth Dimaggio hit into a double play. The 0-for-3 night cost Joe deeply in the wallet: had he gone to 57, the Heinz company was ready to offer him a big endorsement deal to pitch their steak sauce. (Why they didn't go with a sheepish Dimaggio looking wistfully at the bottle and saying, "not even I can top Heinz 57" is a fact lost to history.)

It goes that way with streaks. Think of the Ducks winning 12 in a row in 2010, but falling ignominously on the soft, chewed-up turf of Phoenix Stadium when Cam Newton got a fumble and an interception overturned by replays. Cliff Harris was in and Michael Dyer was down, but all that mattered was the final score. In 2011 Oregon held the nation's longest home winning streak, but their second bid at a national title game ended when Alejandro's Maldonado's field goal hooked wide left late in the fourth quarter of a bitter 38-35 loss to USC. Just last year Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney was three outs from setting a major league record for errorless games before he took a tough chance on a bad-hop grounder and skipped his throw to first.

For a very long time Washington used to own Northwest football, and every top recruit in the upper four used to hop their way. They pummeled the Ducks annually under Don James, on their way to 153 wins and shares of three National Championships. In all they've won 15 conference titles and seven Rose Bowls, but none recently.

A long period of uninterrupted suffering can make for a very hungry fanbase. If the Huskies perform a Montlake Miracle and upend Oregon, those new goalposts are certain to come down in October. There will a gathering growl if they enter the fourth quarter with a chance to win. The anticipation and buzz in the crowd becomes like a 12th player, an electrical current that stuns and slows, a fog creeping in from Puget Sound. Oregon has to be precise and focused early to avoid that fog, the same fog that overcame USC in 2009 and Stanford and Oregon State last season.

The Webfoots have beaten the Dawgs nine times in a row, and UW hasn't been to a Rose Bowl in 12 years. In fact, when Steve Sarkisian went 7-6 in his second season as head coach in 2010, winning the Holiday Bowl over #18 Nebraska, it was Washington's first winning season in 8 years. In the dismal dozen years since their last berth in Pasadena the Dawgs have had four head coaches and been to 7 minor bowls, including a blowout loss to Baylor in the 2011 Alamo, and last season's 28-26 Holiday Bowl heartbreaker to Boise State, sealed by Keith Price's 13th interception of the season late in fourth quarter.

Sark is 26-25 entering his fifth season at the school, with three identical records of 7-6 following a 5-7 debut in 2009.

There have been highlights: in 2009 the Huskies shocked #3 USC 16-13, and beat them again in the Los Angeles Coliseum in 2010 32-31. Last year they upended conference champion Stanford 17-13, and manhandled #7 OSU 20-17. Tailback Bishop Sankey pounded opponents for 1439 yards and 16 tds in 2012, becoming the fourth straight 1000-yard rusher of the Sark regime; in the last three seasons the lead tailback has surpassed 1400.

The glaring lowlight was the play of Price, who regressed from his sophomore season, his first as a full-time starter in which he threw for 3063 yards, 31 tds, and 11 interceptions. As a junior Price looked dazed and confused and devoid of instincts. Harrassed in the pocket behind a patchwork offensive line that ranked 102nd in the country in sacks, Price held the ball too long or threw into coverage, managing just a 122 quarterback rating on his way to just 19 passing tds and a pug-ugly 13 picks.

This spring the Huskies installed an up-tempo, no-huddle offense, in part to take advantage of their speed and athletic ability and what Price does best. The new format seemed to improve his rhythm, and coaches feel the increased pace (130 snaps a practice session) will improve conditioning and better prepare coordinator Justin Wilcox's defense for the up-tempo attacks of the PAC-12, notably Oregon, Arizona and UCLA.

Everybody's optimistic in spring. But Sark and his crew are dead set on getting off the 7-6 schneid in 2013, and they believe an improved defense and deeper, more experienced offensive line can spike Husky fortunes this season. The Huskies recruited well, finishing with the #10 class in the country according to Rivals, a class heavy on defensive talent, including three defensive tackles and three defensive ends. Sophomore Shaq Thompson is a rock and a playmaker at linebacker, a player the Ducks coveted and pursued all the way to signing day a year ago. He's joined by middle linebacker John Tumi, who had 91 tackles in 2012. Sean Parker, another fierce hitter, anchors the secondary.

Many observers consider Husky tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins the best tight end in college football (observers who haven't spent enough time watching Colt Lyerla bowl over three tacklers on the way to another first down) . Seferian-Jenkins is currently working his way out of the coaches' dawghouse after a DUII arrest this winter, but in a recent PAC-12 teleconference Sarkisian said that S-J is doing all the right things and addressing his mistake with maturity during his suspension. That sounds like two games or so. In the SEC it'd be perhaps a quarter against Tennessee-Martin, but PAC-12 schools tend to take the character lapses a little more seriously, even if the offender is a 6-6, 266 tight end who holds six school records and runs a 4.5 40.

Wide receiver Kasen Williams nabbed 77 passes last season for 877 yards and 6 tds, including 10 for 129 yards and a TD in the upset win over Stanford. The former high school All-American isn't a burner but runs very well after the catch. He's physical and athletic at 6-2, 216, with the mentality and playmaking skills of a high volume receiver. He's dangerous, particularly if Price gets in a better rhythm this year. He had six catches for 95 yards in the bowl game versus Boise State. After this season he's eligible for the NFL draft, and many top college players treat that like a free agent year, motivating themselves for their best season.  A big game against Oregon's highly rated secondary tandem of Ifo Olomu and Terrance Mitchell, both top pro prospects, could do a lot for his draft stock.

On paper, Oregon is more talented than Washington. Washington doesn't have many edges in the game, except maybe at defensive line and linebacker. The Huskies believe they are closing the gap everywhere else. In ramping up the tempo at practice and bolstering Nick Price's confidence, Sarkisian is clearly pointing to the Ducks. They've become the standard and the target in the PAC-12, sure to get everyone's best effort. 

Oregon football has reached a level where anything less than a conference championship and a trip to the last BCS title game would be a disappointment. On the second Saturday in October, 72,000 hostile Husky fans will be salivating for their own Kenny Wheaton moment, the miracle play that turns back time and ends ten years of suffering, a highlight that can grace their Jumbotron for the next two decades, ushering in a new era of glory for the Purple and Gold.

Sports has an eerie way of crumbling dynasties and crushing hopes. The Blackhawks were a team of destiny until they ran into the Red Wings. It happens all the time. A couple of missed opportunities and a sluggish start, and all the sudden the great triumph you were certain to achieve becomes an unfolding nightmare. Oregon can play for the supreme crunchy burrito in 2013. The roster is loaded with future top NFL picks, including a dazzling quarterback who'll be among the leaders for the Heisman Trophy. Super Mario is more super than Colin Kaepernick and faster than a speeding Johnny Manziel. He's 6-4, runs a 4.4 40 and can make every throw. 

But unless he's on target and in synch in the frenzied atmosphere of newly-remodeled Husky Stadium, the cantilevered roof shaking and the coffee jiggling in styrofoam cups on the pressbox table like an earthquake or a pending nuclear meltdown, the Ducks' marvelous run could end just like Dimaggio's or Barney's, just shy of a big payday or the record, a China Syndrome of white-hot ambition melting through the floor in the cooling tower of reality.

You have to respect the integrity of the streak. That means giving the same attention and commitment. This season Oregon's toughest opponent could be complacency, the all-too-human temptation to assume you can get the same results with a little less effort. The 11 other teams in the PAC-12 will be grinding all summer, looking to achieve the most incredible finish to a football game. Winning the Day has to be more than a slogan. If it ever becomes nothing more than lip service, the Dawgs will rise again.

Sarkisian is patiently digging his pit, sharpening sticks, laying out a cover of Douglas Fir boughs. The Ducks have to avoid falling in. They do that with execution and a willingness to work as hard this year as they did in the last four seasons. If three or four key players decide to rest on their reps and content themselves with sorority girls and free tequila, those Heisman and National Championship dreams can easily end with something like a hangover, an ill-advised face tattoo and a bad case of the clap. Believing you can fly isn't enough. You have to watch out for that high-rise hotel on your right, or in the Ducks' case, a revamped stadium and an embattled but rejuvenated senior quarterback.

A decision has been reached in the NCAA's investigation of Will Lyles and the Oregon coaches, and Oregon fans are going to like the result. 

Official statements should be in a few weeks or less. Until then, everything is off the record, and the Athletic Department can't comment publicly. The NCAA never comments on pending investigations.

The Ducks will lose one or two scholarships for three years, have some restrictions on recruiting and be placed on probation for five years.

They'll avoid the hammer, penalties like a bowl ban, rescinded titles or vacated wins. Those "looming sanctions" will no longer loom so ominously.

Fans of other schools around the PAC-12 will be moaning that the Ducks got a slap on the wrist, but the ruling feels appropriate and reasonable. The investigation took so long that UO deserves some credit for time served.

For over two years, columnists and color analysts have pounded away with accusations and innuendo, dire predictions of the death penalty, the collapse of Oregon football, sneers that Chip Kelly played fast and loose with the rules and left a mess behind him. Opposing coaches used the specter of harsh penalties on the recruiting trail. Every telecast of Duck football mentioned Will Lyles and the investigation, often in the lead-in. It was a tarnish on the Oregon brand, a slander, an ugly half-secret, a stain.

It fueled message board banter and loomed over two seasons and three recruiting classes.

Having it over, having a decision that instructs and corrects and places the whole thorny mess of street agents and recruiting services in a context with clearer guidelines just feels right.

And it's a relief to know that the Ducks avoided being a scapegoat, having their program ruined merely for the NCAA to reassert its authority after the Miami debacle and questions about athlete safety and exploitation, charges that the new playoff format didn't go far enough.

Soon the Ducks can go back to the business of winning and competing, no longer dogged by questions and hypothetical hammers.

In practical terms, the penalties levied are extremely livable. Oregon hasn't maxed out on scholarships in a given year for several seasons, and with attrition, early enrollees, early entries to the NFL, and an occasional gray shirt, the Ducks could stay under the cap without seriously affecting their depth or readiness in the next three seasons. Lifting the cloud over the program has so many benefits that the restrictions seem almost welcome.

There's a strong commitment under Mark Helfrich to recruiting within the rules, to trust the evaluation process and the staff's ability to develop players.

They don't need to cheat to win the PAC-12 and be competitive nationally. The system that's in place, the philosophy of speed, preparation and focusing every day, is strong enough on its own and self sustaining. There's an atmosphere of winning, players who are leaders and achievers, who speak with one goal and one voice.

Oregon doesn't need Will Lyles or anyone like him. It never has.

But do you want the truth? You can't handle the truth. Every college football program in the NCAA, except maybe Army and Princeton, is a little bit dirty. Athletes get special privileges and secret deals. There are envelopes and apartments and cars and Visa cards arranged through a relative. With a few pointed questions and a little digging, an NCAA investigator or ambitious reporter could bring down Alabama, USC, Oregon or Ohio State in a few weeks. 

It doesn't happen because the game is too big and there's too much money. People love the color and pageantry of college football, the traditions, the thrill of rooting for their school. They look away from the sordid part and the secret arrangements, and hope their moneyed alumni don't get too ambitious and attract the serious heat. Ex-athletes practice the code. Nobody ever talks openly about what they got, how they were taken care of. Do you think Kirk Herbstreit went through Ohio State on four years of tuition, room and board and books? How about Craig James at SMU, or Robert Smith or Brock Huard?

Bear Bryant knew his players were being paid at Alabama. He just didn't want them to be paid more than the going rate, and he wanted to be sure he had four big left tackles for the depth chart.

Fans skip over this part because it's inconvenient, and it detracts and distracts from the narrative of inspired amateurs competing valiantly for their schools, for the love of the game. But everybody wants to get paid. They all want the pro contract and a little something to keep them going.

Nobody asks the questions. During their last seasons competing in the Willamette Valley a heartwarming story came out, that LaMichael James and Oregon State's twin stars, the Rodgers brothers, had developed a friendship. They kept in contact by social media and met once a week for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.

The average bill for three at Ruby Tuesdays would be around 50 bucks. Who had money out of their stipend to swing that?

Duck fans love LaMichael James. They loved watching him run, watching him do his little frog jump in the end zone after a touchdown. His story, a smallish guy from a tumbleweed town in Texas, a kid with a big heart and the toughness to reset his own elbow on the way back to the huddle, a boy who lost the grandmother who'd raised him at 16 and often didn't have any food in the house, is remarkable for its triumph and courage.

Fans love college football and root for our heroes. We've all just learned to look away when the bill gets scooped off the table, and when the investigators come to town, we only answer the questions that are asked.

The surest sign of how far Oregon football recruiting has come is how many kids describe an offer from the Ducks as their dream come true.

That was the reaction yesterday from Morgan Mahalak, a 6-3, 190-lb. quarterback from Marin Catholic High of Kentfield, California, the third verbal commitment of Oregon's 2014 recruiting class.

Along with athletic offensive tackle Tyrell Crosby, Mahalak has vowed to start working on "Autzen Army 2014," a highly personal cell phone and Twitter campaign to get other top prospects to join him as a Duck.

Mahalak has drawn some early comparisons to Mariota in that he is tall and blessed with an accurate, strong arm, able to throw 25 to 30-yard routes on a string. He has good balance and footwork in the pocket, tutored extremely well at passing camps and in private coaching. He throws from a powerful base and uses his legs properly in the throwing motion, adding zip and power. He understands different concepts and tools a passer needs, seam routes, go routes, back shoulder fades, slipping away from backside pressure, taking something off the ball to a back in the flat. He runs strong, efficient in getting upfield and hard to tackle, even playing some wide receiver for his high school team as a sophomore and junior, but he doesn't appear to have the rare suddenness of Mariota or Dennis Dixon.

His throwing ability and character made a strong impression on Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost, who reportedly offered him on the spot after a workout this week. Mahalak gets the ball out quickly on slants and bubble screens, reads his options well presnap. In his highlight tape you can see him working through progressions with a lot of poise.

Also like Mariota, Mahalak appears to be a late bloomer. As a junior he played behind a Division One prospect at Marin Catholic, on a team that made it it to the California Division III state championship game. This upcoming season, Morgan's senior year, will be his first opportunity to be the full-time varsity starter. Even so his talent and work habits have already earned him offers to South Florida and Duke, and he was invited to attend the Cal Bears Spring Game and made another visit with Mike Riley at Oregon State. As a sophomore he started nine games as a JV, throwing for over 2000 yards and 22 tds.

If PAC-12 opponents allow the Oregon quarterbacks to wear red jerseys, and they start three walk-ons and six freshmen on defense, the Ducks will have a dominating offense this season.

Yesterday under the always-sunny skies at Autzen Stadium the Webfoots three quarterbacks completed a dazzling 48 of 62 passes (77%)  for 451 yards and 6 tds in leading a 65-10 rout. Mark Helfrich freely admitted the defense was jobbed by the scoring system, but fans have to be encouraged that the Helfrich Ducks seem to have maintained the quick-strike scoring punch, churning out 802 total yards of offense in 117 plays.

The statistics have to be adjusted for the conditions, but starter Marcus Mariota looked especially sharp and precise, commanding the offense to two quick scoring drives to start the scrimmage, featuring midseason decision making and  execution in  13-15 passing (86%) for 169 yards, ripping off three good runs that displayed his timing and speed. Byron Marshall, one of the select 120 observers who get to watch him practice every day, flatly called him, "the best quarterback in college football." Everything we saw yesterday provided supporting evidence that he could be, that Super Mario and his remarkable collection of offensive weapons could dominate the college football story in 2014. 

Except, yesterday the defense couldn't blitz or tackle the quarterback. And Tyson Coleman, Ricky Havili- Heimuli, Derrick Malone, Avery Patterson, and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu didn't play. The Ducks will face better and more complicated defenses in the fall, at least beginning in October, and when they do the demand load and the pressure and the stakes will be dialed up to 11. 

Saturday was a tuneup, but it was a pretty good tuneup. The effort and energy were high. 77% efficiency is strong even in a skeleton passing drill. In particular Oregon's receivers looked sharp, getting open, taking the ball in with good concentration, cutting upfield after the catch. Bralon Addison showed he could be a play-making weapon with 8 catches for 136 yards. Josh Huff grabbed two touchdowns from Mariota, looks confident and comfortable in the interview room, focused on making his senior season his ticket to twelve to fourteen more wins and an opportunity to join the five Ducks that were drafted into the NFL over the weekend.

Don't hassle the Huff. He's stepped very comfortably into the role of senior leader, and with his gold phone receiver and comic tee shirt, that comfort and confidence will allow him to blossom in his fourth year as a starter. A good Oregon career is likely to finish with a great senior season. With a bevy of young stars in the offensive lineup, the Ducks need him to take that mantle, to be a cornerstone of the 2014 offense, playing in a relaxed, focused state that allows his talent and physical package to bust loose.

On defense, Christian French stood out with nine tackles and a sack. He wore number 96 as a tribute to former roommate and mentor Dion Jordan, and French has the size and speed to be a Jordan-like presence   over the next three years, although Nick Aliotti said, "I'm not ready to annoint him just yet," adding that he needed the same fierce effort from him every day. That was a hallmark of Jordan as a veteran player. Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner looked agile and sufficiently hungry getting after the quarterback, even though they were reduced to two-hand touch once they got to him.

We shouldn't be ready to annoint these Ducks just yet. But the key takeways from the last practice of spring are that under Helf, the Ducks have retained the same commitment to pace and preparation. They look organized and energized, and speak with the same maturity about their goals and desire to improve every day. 

If they can get players healthy, stay out of trouble over the summer, and avoid a high speed collision with the NCAA, the Harley should be at full throttle this fall, and the Duck will have to do a copious amount of those notoriously shortened pushups.

Certain armchair analysts will go on breathlessly about the x's and o's of Saturday's 2013 Spring Game but they'll only be fishing for hits--coaches rarely reveal much in the plain vanilla milkshake that is a spring intrasquad scrimmage, and much of what happens is no more telling than the seventh inning of a Cactus League baseball game. The veterans come out early. No coach wants to give the rest of the league a four-month advance notice on the new wrinkles of the offense, or get a key player banged up in a simulation that's mainly an opportunity to cap spring practice and allow the alumni to work on their tans and tailgate assembly.

But what a great party the Oregon spring scrimmage has become. There's national TV coverage, this year on the PAC-12 Network. There's a salute to the troops, the Oregon rally girls, sunshine and 60 degrees, an opportunity to gather with old friends, wash down blackened brats with a delicious cold beverage, and lie about our golf games.

On the field, it's a great first look at young players in their first extended competition. Particularly interesting will be the progress of understudy quarterbacks Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodrigues. This week Marcus Mariota admitted to being stressed out before his debut last spring, and the poise and playmaking ability he displayed that morning was a harbinger of his successful battle with Bryan Bennett and subsequent four-year assault on the Oregon record book. Mariota ran for two touchdowns and 99 yards, passed for 202 and another score while leading a rout, thoroughly outplaying Bennett, signalling clearly to Duck fans that all the closed-practice rumors were true: Super Mario was the real deal, and about to Donkey Kong the rest of the PAC-12.

Rodrigues and Lockie aren't likely to be as impressively flashy as MM was. Instead of a red jersey #8 should have worn a red cape, accurate and nimble and fast, looking completely in command the first time he ran the offense in live competition. Tomorrow, Rodrigues and Lockie will be considered successful if they scrape through the day without looking shellshocked and overwhelmed in their extended auditions; they'll face the number one and number two defenses much of the day while Mariota likely won't play more than a series or two.

Two key questions: how well is Rodrigues moving on his repaired leg, 15 months after a devastating injury, and how well does Lockie, primarily a pro-style passer in high school, run Oregon's read option? Lockie's the shortest and smallest of Oregon's four quarterbacks, but looks athletic enough in his high school tape to be effective. He has good field vision and makes good decisions. Reports say Rodrigues has a big arm but still walks with a bit of a limp. Fans will be keeping an eye on his mobility. A key with strong-armed passers is learning what throws to make and which to leave alone. As young players, there's a tendency for them to force the ball occasionally.  Oregon's fast, ball-hawking secondary will help him refine that skill.

Pharoah Brown and Bralon Addison have been mentioned a lot in spring interviews, and one or both of them having a good day on Saturday would be a good sign for the Oregon offense. With some question at running back this year now that both LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner are gone, Mariota needs a wider array of targets and for a couple of those targets to establish themselves as go-to, big-play receivers. If the Ducks passing attack is destined to become a bigger part of the offense, somebody has to prove they are the guy to fill the void left by Jeff Maehl two years ago. The committee approach works well enough as a change of pace, but to have a formidable, big-play, gameplan-changing passing attack, you need two or three receivers who bring strong production and reliablity in the clutch. 

The first step is winning the confidence of the coaches and the quarterback, and there's no time like tomorrow for establishing that.

De'Anthony Thomas, Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner will likely do a capable job spearheading what has been the nation's most explosive running game, but with a laser-accurate quarterback with the ability to make all the throws, the situation simply begs for someone to show they have the goods to be counted on for chunk plays in the passing game. Chance Allen and B.J. Kelley have the size and speed, DAT is his scary self in open space, and Lyerla has the impressive physical package if he ever puts it together every down. Fans would love to see one of these guys, or Keanon Lowe or Josh Huff, establish a foothold on greatness with a five catch, 100-yard day in the Autzen sunshine.

Defensively, the biggest question for Oregon is at linebacker, and Saturday could be a great opportunity for the three or four healthy inside linebackers to show they can be the active, aggressive presence the Ducks need. In particular, transfer Joe Walker hopes to overcome those first-game jitters to make a strong impression. Making some plays and creating some collisions tomorrow would be a down payment on a bigger role in the fall.

Never be carried away with Spring Game results, or those pesky x's and o's. Remember the National Championship Game year, 2010? Nate Costa was sharp and precise, throwing underneath for big gains to Maehl, Chad Delaney and Lavasier Tuinei. The highlight play of the game was a 66-yard flea flicker touchdown heave from Darron Thomas to D.J. Davis. The flea flicker never showed up in the fall playbook, and Davis, a terrific contributor and role player in the receiving group that season, had a long reception of 38 yards in the regular year.

One key glimpse of the future in that game: true freshman Terrance Mitchell, an early enrollee, made an immediate impression with a pick six off Thomas, a poorly thrown ball into double coverage. Fortunately Thomas didn't make more than a half dozen throws that bad while going 13-1, a season that saw him throw 30 touchdowns against just nine picks as first-year, redshirt sophomore starter. Mitchell's big splash in his Duck debut proved to be prescient; he's now one of the best corners in the league, and with Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, one of the nation's best tandems.

Barring something cataclysmic from the NCAA, Oregon will contend for the national title game in 2013.

They have some challenges at running back, offensive guard and linebacker, but there's time to sort that out. This fall's schedule begins at home versus Nicholls State, on the road to Virginia, home versus rebuilding Tennessee, hosting the rebuilding Cal Bears, and traveling to the hopeless, hapless renovation project that is the Colorado Buffaloes.

The Ducks don't get a serious test until an October 12th road game with the Washington Huskies. That means linebacker coach Don Pellum has a full six weeks to assemble his part of the Death Star. 

And Pellum has proven to be very good at getting depth on the plane in the linebacker corps. He has a way of bringing along young players, testing them on special teams and playing them in spots as they acclimate to the speed and complexities of college football.

In Brett Bafaro, Danny Mattingly, Torrodney Prevot, and Tyrell Robinson, he has a quartet of young athletes that have ability and potential to become early contributors to the rotation. Christian French and Tony Washington got valuable experience last year that should boost their confidence as they step into larger roles. French is a freakish athlete with length and speed who played safety in high school. Washington has some of Dion Jordan's work ethic and leadership ability.

Derrick Malone and Tyson Coleman have shined in reserve roles and on special teams in their early exposure as Ducks. Getting them healthy is a huge key to the season, particularly Coleman, who seems ready to blossom into stardom as he prepares to step in for Michael Clay. Coleman rushed for 1580 yards and made 78 tackles in his senior year at Lake Oswego High, leading his team to the state semi-finals. At 6-1, 222 he's lighter than the traditional middle linebacker, but so was Clay. The Duck system favors speed and smarts over bulk anyway, especially in the PAC-12, where most teams run wide-open offenses with an emphasis on the passing game. Coleman had 34 tackles last season, and the Ducks need him to double or triple that production as a sophomore.

Reports from spring camp indicate junior college transfer Joltin' Joe Walker is making good progress in picking up the defense. At 6-2 225 he has the size and intensity to be a force in the middle for the Ducks, and he has that five-game cushion to complete his transition to the D-1 game.

Getting this group to gel and assert itself is the biggest challenge on the Oregon defense in 2013, a key to the season. After Washington there's Washington State at Autzen, a rising UCLA squad after a 10-day break, then the November 7 showdown with Stanford in Palo Alto.

If the Ducks are still healthy and undefeated by that time, this could be the year. The players can't think that way, but as fans, it's a very real consideration.

Don Pellum finds your lack of faith disturbing.

In the bad old days, watching the Oregon Ducks try to play defense used to be a cringe-worthy misery, a couch pillow chewing, remote smashing descent into fan hell.  Twenty years ago they lost games 42-41 and 38-34. It wasn't bend but don't break, it was bend and break repeatedly. Even in the Bellotti era, there were clunkers like a 50-21 loss to Oregon State in the 2004 Civil War, or a 38-8 pasting by BYU in 2006 Las Vegas Bowl.

For years, Oregon put all its best athletes on offense and tried to outscore people. Megatalents like Dante Rosario lined up at H-Back and tight end while the defense tried to make do with John Bacon.

Thankfully, times changed.  Unleashed by Chip Kelly to play an aggressive, attacking style closer to his personality and vision, Nick Aliotti blossomed as a defensive coordinator, employing a swift, athletic, hockey line change style of defense that limited big offensive plays while creating big plays of its own. Last year, the Ducks led the nation in takeaways and defensive touchdowns. And next week, Oregon outside linebacker/defensive end Dion Jordan might be the number one pick in the NFL draft. NFL teams covet his unique blend of size and agility, and he's high on the list for teams like Kansas City and Jacksonville that employ a 3-4 defense.

Add Jordan's fierce work ethic, character and onfield motor, and it's no wonder the scouts are salivating over his potential. It's a testimony to the evaluation and coaching ability of the Oregon staff, as Dion started his Oregon career as a skinny tight end. Nicknamed "The Preying Mantis" by defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, the Duck star had 29 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks in his three seasons in the lineup.

Jordan's ascent signals a new era in Oregon defense. The newest generation is loaded with versatile athletes who excelled as preps in multiple sports. Arik Armstead doubles as a forward on the Duck basketball team. Christian French and DeForest Buckner also were top rebounders and scorers on the prep hardwood. Safety Oshay Dunmore has Olympic potential in the decathlon. Linebacker Brett Bafaro was a standout centerfielder who hit over .500 his senior year, so fast he once stole five bases in one game at 6-2, 235. Then there's defensive end Cody Carriger, who starred in three sports in high school, able to dunk a basketball with either hand and run an 11.3 100 meters at 6-7, 230.

It's a new age in Oregon football when the defense sports reserves and young players with this kind of athletic ability. It's no wonder when you see Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Avery Patterson and Boseko Lokombo turning turnovers into sudden strikes for six. It used to be bend but don't break. Now it's 24 angry men flying to the football.

The athletic gap with SEC defenses is closing. With Marcus Mariota, De'Anthony Thomas and Josh Huff leading the offense, the Ducks have a complete team that can compete with anyone. Now they just need to identify the linebackers that step up to replace Jordan and fellow NFL draft prospects Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso.