Storyline: All Oregon fans can do now is sit back, wait, and hope for the best. Written by Caleb Davis, Dallas, GA
It was a dismal season. The Oregon Ducks finished 4-8 and 2-7 in the PAC-12 north, last in the division.
The Ducks were predicted to be middle-of-the-pack, but no one saw “this” coming, even though UO didn’t go into 2016 on a high note. The Ducks blew a 31-0 halftime lead and lost to TCU in last year’s Alamo Bowl, 47-41.
One reason for modest expectations was who’d start at QB. Oregon started a graduate transfer from an FCS school for the second straight year. Dakota Prukop transferred from Montana State where he had lead the Bobcats to a 5-6 record.
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” (photo, Bleacher Report)
Prukop started the first five games of the season and went 2-3, throwing for 1173 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions He was then replaced by by true freshman Justin Huburt. Oregon finished the season losing five of its last seven games, including a blowout loss to to the Washington Huskies and another embarrassing loss to Stanford (the Cardinal doubled the score against the Ducks).
That was it for Head Coach Mark Helfrich. He was fired after four seasons in Eugene, where he had posted a record of 37-16, which included an appearance in the National Championship game. UO appeared in four postseason games under the coach, going 2-2.
But ’16 was Helfrich’s downfall. It was the Ducks first losing season since 2004. One major reason for the bad season was Brady Hoke’s defense, which was …well… awful. Out of 128 FBS teams Duck defenders finished 126th in total defense and 125th in scoring defense. Ouch!
The big question now in Eugene is whether Willie Taggart is “the answer.” For sure, only time will tell, but here is what we do know.
Courtesy: The News-Review
In his career Taggart has posted a combined record of 40-45 in two stops–16-20 at Western Kentucky and 24-25 at South Florida. With West Coast background (Stanford under Harbaugh), Taggart runs a up-tempo, fast paced, getting up-and-down-the-field offense. But with the Ducks so bad on the other side of the ball, what about defense? Last season, USF ranked 86th in total defense.
And what Taggart’s progression in Tampa? He inherited a 3-9 team and the Bulls went 2-10 during Taggart’s first year (2013). The Bulls went 4-8 in year two and had a 8-5 record in 2015.
Coming into ’16 Taggart was on the hot seat. But he delivered, going a remarkable 10-2 season with losses coming to nationally-ranked Florida State and the eventual conference champ, Temple. The Bulls most impressive wins came against Navy and a Memphis team that got better and better as the season progressed (with a win against Houston at season’s end).
Taggart led USF to its first 10-win season in the 16 years the school has played at the FBS level. That’s impressive.
So what does this all mean for Oregon? Is Taggart the answer?
The reality is that fans and analysts are still asking why Helfrich was let go. Some think he was axed at the first sign of failure. But a closer look reveals that what (at first) appeared to be “little things” became bigger issues and, then, spread like wildfire.
Under Fleck WMU went from 0-12 to 12-0 (photo, Locker Dome)
While Oregon’s 4-8 record isn’t good, some people feel that UO rushed to judgment. Consider this. What would have happened at Western Michigan if the administration had fired P.J. Fleck after his first year? He went 0-12 that year. This year, WMU reversed the script, going undefeated. The Broncos are headed to The Cotton Bowl.
You can understand why someone like Strong was fired after three seasons at Texas. Accomplishments were modest in Austin. But the UO administration didn’t feel it could wait to see if Helfrich could turn things around–back to where they were. The powers that be wanted a new coach.
All we can do now is sit back, wait, and hope for the best.
