The sensational freshman Marcus Mariota has led this explosive Oregon offense to 50-plus points per game average. |
The 12 Days of BCS will provide you with everything you need to know for the five BCS games starting on New Year's Day. Each day will be a different subject finishing on New Year's Eve.
Oregon's offense has been something of a god-send for college football and the Pac-12 as a whole. They not only play an up-tempo style of offense, but their players are absurdly explosive and freakishly athletic, putting forth the kind of exciting brand of college football that people desire. Chip Kelly's offense at times is the eighth wonder of the world, making you scratch your head on how one team can consistently point up so many points.
We all know about Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas who have replaced the great LaMichael James in sensational fashion. Barner is super electric in the open field, making dudes miss with a freakish consistency. Thomas? Well the Black Mamba as they call him, is so mind-numbingly fast that a blink of an eye is sometimes too much time for a defender to give him. They are helped out immensely by an uniquely athletic line that gets out and opens up monster holes for these compact running backs to burst right through. Kelly's zone blocking schemes are as complex as they get for a ground attack, but these lineman are handpicked to execute it to perfection.
Overlooked all season because of the Heisman winning play of fellow first-year guy Johnny Manziel, freshman Marcus Mariota has been amazing at quarterback. In a run-first, pass-second offense Mariota was still able to throw for 2,511 yards at almost a 70% completion rate. His passer rating is 165.4, which for a freshman is mind-blowing. Yet it's not like Mariota is a pocket passer; he's added to the offense with 690 rushing yards (seven yards per carry) and 4 TDs. Chip Kelly might be thinking about leaving for the NFL soon, but with the budding star in Mariota under center, it'll certainly make him think twice.
The legacy of Oregon's offense is much like the legacy of Alabama's defense and Kelly is an offensive wizard just like Saban is on the defensive side of the ball. This year the lore has only grown with the Ducks scoring under 42 points only once all season. No matter what bowl they're playing in, this Oregon offensive unit is a treat to watch.
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