Dan Lanning faces extremely high expectations during his first season as Oregon football head coach. He has the difficult challenge of keeping a successful Ducks football program afloat in the murky seas of the Pac-12 after just winning a national title at Georgia. Ahead of the new season, we'll make a few Oregon football 2022 predictions.
Oregon is a strong competitor in the west this season, so the Ducks should fly together just fine. The Pac-12 is also no longer just a single-power league.
For the Oregon Ducks, there have been two national championship appearances in the previous 12 years. No other team in the Pac-12, including USC, has had any in that time. Oregon football has also notched five Rose Bowls, seven conference championships, and five Pac-12 Championship appearances. That includes three in a row since 1994.
Not surprisingly, a lot of talent is pouring in and money is no longer an issue. In other words, Oregon football has a program that's well positioned for the new world of college athletics and all the madness that comes with it.
In keeping with that, let's look at a few intriguing Oregon football predictions for 2022.
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Oregon Football 2022 Predictions
3. Terrance Ferguson, TE extraordinaire
TE Terrance Ferguson has recently been added to the John Mackey Award watch list for 2022. He joins the likes of Brady Russell (UCLA), Luke Musgrave (Oregon State), and Benjamin Yurosek (Stanford), among other Pac-12 tight ends to keep an eye on.
The John Mackey Award honors the best tight end in college football, and Ferguson has a decent shot of earning that plum by season's end.
Recall that in 2021, Ferguson participated in all 14 games as a true freshman. In eight of those 14 games, he started.
Against Stony Brook, he caught 17 receptions for 141 total yards and two touchdowns. That included his first collegiate score on a ball near the goal line from fellow freshman Ty Thompson. Ferguson, who stands 6'6 and weighs 243 pounds, committed to the Ducks in 2021 and was considered the best player while still in Colorado. He chose to be a Duck after receiving over 30 scholarship offers.
With his size, mobility, and catching ability, Ferguson should play a bigger role in the team's passing game in 2022.
2. Byron Cardwell will rush for 1,000 yards
In coach Lanning's debut season with Oregon football, running back Byron Cardwell is counted on to lead the ground attack. He is a contender for the Doak Walker Award while rushing behind an offensive line with a wealth of experience.
Last year, Cardwell was either third or fourth on the Ducks' depth chart heading into fall camp. Now, he will probably be Oregon's starting running back in 2022 after he showed a lot of promise in a number of snaps in 2021.
Cardwell started to get more playing time when CJ Verdell suffered a lower leg injury that would keep him out of the 2021 season. Cardwell, in fact, gained 417 yards and three touchdowns on 61 runs for an average of 6.8 yards per carry.
He achieved his first 100-yard performance against Colorado in 2021 after rushing for 127 yards and a touchdown on only seven attempts. In November, he carried nine times for 98 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over Washington State. After that, he was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
He should rank among the most-watched RBs this season after experts included him in the 2022 preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award. On that list, he was one of 10 running backs from the Pac-12.
Despite the fact that Oregon will probably deploy a number of running backs, including Noah Whittington and Mar'Keise Irving, Cardwell should be RB1 and has the chance to become one of the best in the country.
1. Bo Nix will be a star QB
Dan Lanning brought a well-known name with him when he accepted the position of Oregon football head coach. After three seasons of competing against Bo Nix, the new head coach will now be in charge of Nix's offensive. Take note that Nix was recognized as the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2019.
He began his career as a legacy quarterback at Auburn, where his dad, Patrick Nix, also played for them in the past. Nix decided to start anew with the Ducks after finishing three seasons with the Tigers. The question in everyone's mind is whether Nix will live up to Oregon football fans' expectations of him as a five-star quarterback.
Additionally, the move brings Nix and new Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham back together. Dillingham was Nix's quarterback coach and offensive coordinator at Auburn when he was a freshman. Nix received the SEC Freshman of the Year award that year, so this could be a really good pairing in 2022.
After three seasons at Auburn, Nix is the anticipated starter for the Ducks at least for Week 1. He is more eager than usual for the season to start after moving across the nation to attend a fresh program.
Remember, though, that Nix completed just under 60% of his throws in 34 games at Auburn. He also passed for 39 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Now he'll get an opportunity to help lead the Ducks in their inaugural season under Dan Lanning. That begins in a week against Lanning's former team, the Georgia Bulldogs.
With a champion coach behind him, an offensive coordinator he knows well, and a lot of weapons at his disposal, Nix should be a star QB in the Pac-12 for 2022.