Ask any college football fan, “What is the worst part about college football?” A likely answer you’ll receive is that the seasons feel too short, while the offseasons feel painstakingly long.

In 2020, that gripe rings especially true for fans of college football programs in the Pac-12 footprint. The wait for the start of the season has lingered for roughly 10 months, allowing the majority of Pac-12 fans only one to two months to savor the flavor of the season.

For Oregon fans, the hope is that, despite the delayed start due to COVID-19, they can extend their enjoyment of the season well into January, as Mario Cristobal and the Ducks have their eyes set on not only repeating as Pac-12 Champions, but perhaps vaulting themselves into the conversation for the College Football Playoff.

The Ducks look to embark on that playoff journey this Saturday when they take on the Stanford Cardinal inside Autzen Stadium; a familiar divisional foe that has often proved to be Oregon’s biggest obstacle when it comes to summiting the peak in the Pac-12 North. Due to transfers out of the program and multiple injuries to begin the 2020 season, the Cardinal – on paper – don’t appear to be the challenger in the conference they are accustomed to being. Of course, football games aren’t played on paper, and with the Ducks having their fair share of questions to address themselves, we could be in for a weird, wild evening in the Willamette Valley.

Below, WFOD takes a look at the biggest questions surrounding the Ducks entering Saturday’s tilt vs. Stanford.

1. How different will the Ducks look schematically on offense?

With the Ducks returning (and welcoming) so much talent on the defensive side of the ball, the vast of majority of questions facing this team entering the 2020 season reside on offense, where the Ducks not only break in a new quarterback and five new starters along the offensive line, but also break in a new (albeit vastly experienced and widely celebrated) offensive coordinator who has not had the luxury of a typical offseason to smoothly implement and imprint his offensive philosophy.

When former Ducks offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo was hired away to be the head coach at UNLV, few fans of the green and yellow shed a tear. When it was announced that former Penn State offensive coordinator, and most recently, former Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead was the one to take Arroyo’s place, Duck fans did backflips. That’s because Moorhead arrives with the reputation as one of the premier offensive minds in the game, fancying the kind of run-pass option (RPO) stylized offenses that have taken college football by storm the past few seasons. The question, however, is whether Moorhead can adapt an offensive attack to fit the personnel the Ducks have on offense.

Generally speaking, one of the biggest complaints of Arroyo was the predictable, narrow-minded approach that seemingly put a restrictor plate on quarterback Justin Herbert, and by extension, the rest of Oregon’s weapons on offense. Herbert’s tremendous success as an NFL rookie has only reinforced that narrative recently, but it would be a tad disingenuous to blame all of Oregon’s inconsistencies last season on Arroyo and Arroyo alone. For one, the Ducks’ talent at the skilled positions the past two seasons, in particular, has been a far cry from where it was during the Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly, and Mark Helfrich eras. Secondly, it’s difficult to say whether Arroyo’s relative conservatism on offense was mandated by Cristobal, who undoubtedly knew the Ducks lacked quality depth and talent at key offensive positions.

Regardless, it will be interesting to see Moorhead cook with some of the same ingredients Arroyo had at this disposal last season, as well as how he navigates the inexperience at quarterback and offensive line and what it all looks like when it comes out the other end.

2. What does Tyler Shough look like helming the Oregon offense?

Though Moorhead will be the one responsible for putting together an offensive game plan that takes advantage of Oregon’s offensive strengths and Stanford’s defensive deficiencies, it’s redshirt sophomore Tyler Shough who will be responsible for pulling the trigger. Expected to make his first collegiate start this Saturday, the 6-foot-5, 221-pound Shough has all the attributes you look for in a promising young quarterback when it comes to size, arm talent, and his reported ability to inspire confidence in his teammates. But to paraphrase Chip Kelly, quarterbacks are like tea bags – you don’t really know what you’ve got until you put them in hot water.

It’s anyone’s guess as to how hot it’ll get for Shough facing Stanford, but how he performs when forced to hit the ground running against a very game Pac-12 opponent could be rather indicative of what the Ducks can expect from the Chandler (Ariz.) native moving forward. In the small sample size we do have, Shough has exuded impressive poise and command of the Oregon offense, completing 12-of-15 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns (zero interceptions) in eight career appearances. How that carries over on Saturday should be rather telling.

3. How much of an Achilles’ heel will the Ducks’ revamped offensive line be?

As we touched on earlier, the performance of the Oregon offense – whether good or bad – figures to be the main talking point before, during, and after Saturday’s game. Perhaps more so than Moorhead or Shough, however, the focus of that praise or ire may rest at the feet of Oregon’s new-look offensive line. According to the first “organizational” chart officially released by Oregon, it’s expected that (from left to right) George Moore, T.J. Bass, Alex Forsyth, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, and Steven Jones will be the first individuals to try and fill the enormous shoes left by Penei Sewell, Shane Lemieux, Jake Hanson, Dallas Warmack, and Calvin Throckmorton.

The talk coming out of fall camp has been that Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal have been pleased with the development of the projected starters, as well as a handful of reserves who could figure into the rotation at some point this season. Cristobal and Mirabal have publicly stated that they would like to have at least nine offensive linemen that they can rely on to kickoff the season, and in recent days, it sounds as if they have closed in on that number. The true quality of this group, however, is a complete wild card. Speaking to that notion is the fact this projected starting group has just one combined start and has appeared in a grand total of just 30 career games at the FBS level. Given this, Duck fans would be wise to anticipate there being a fair number of lumps taken on by this group before ultimately coalescing.

Top Photo: Oregon offensive line coach Alex Mirabal (Adam Eberhardt/Daily Emerald)