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Ted Miller, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Oregon gets ready for winning the day, post-Marcus Mariota

The media narrative was perfectly reasonable before Oregon squared off with Ohio State on Monday. This was Oregon's last chance with Marcus Mariota lining up behind center to win the school's first football national title. The Ducks had the best player in the nation, the best player in school history, one of the best of all-time leading them. They didn't want to waste such an alignment of the planets, such a special -- perhaps unique -- opportunity.

Alas, it wasn't to be. Mariota played fairly well, but the Buckeyes owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and that was enough to overcome Mariota. The Buckeyes rolled to a 42-20 victory, and the overwhelming expectation is that Mariota, who has already graduated, is off to the NFL draft this spring.

The thing about media narratives -- reasonable or otherwise -- is they can become a burden when their unhappy potentiality is realized. In this case, there's some recycling of the hackneyed "Oregon can't beat a physical team," but the more reasonable extension of that previously perfectly reasonable media narrative is that the Ducks look like they might fall into a rebuilding mode in 2015 with Mariota gone. He, of course, leaves behind a massive void that far eclipses past transitions behind center, though it is comforting for the Ducks that their rise to the nation's elite over the past six years preceded Mariota by two QBs.

This is not to say the Ducks will fall off the college football map. Heck, ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach dumped them all the way down to, well, No. 5 in his Way-Too-Early Top 25. But Oregon won't be mentioned as a top national title contender along with the Buckeyes and TCU in the preseason, and some might even become more fascinated with the talent returning in the Pac-12's South Division, most notably for USC and UCLA.

The Ducks are, not surprisingly, yielding nothing. Coach Mark Helfrich said he is "extremely confident" that his program can get back to the national title game again.

"It's really hard, but Oregon is a place that obviously that can happen and has happened," he said in the post-College Football Playoff final news conference. "Everything is in place from a support standpoint and facilities standpoint and infrastructure standpoint, talent; our coaching staff is outstanding and the leadership is outstanding. That's kind of all the ingredients."

If Mariota decides to go pro (he has until Thursday to declare), replacing him will be the Ducks' chief challenge. As ingredients go, that's a pretty choice protein.

Therefore, the quarterback depth chart will become the big story of spring and preseason practices. While Jeff Lockie, who will be a junior in 2015, is the favorite based on seniority and being Mariota's backup for two years, there obviously will be a heated competition. Recall that Mariota came from almost nowhere -- to folks outside the Ducks' closed practices, at least -- to beat out Bryan Bennett, Darron Thomas' backup, before the 2012 season.

Other possibilities are redshirt freshman Morgan Mahalak, Georgia Tech transfer Ty Griffin and incoming freshman Travis Waller. Ducks coach Mark Helfrich also might take the call if one of Ohio State's three QBs wants to transfer to Eugene -- hint, hint, Braxton Miller!

Whoever wins the job will have a pretty darn good supporting cast on offense, particularly at the skill positions, where just about everyone comes back, including standout injured players such as wide receiver Bralon Addison and tight end Pharaoh Brown. The Ducks will be deep and experienced at receiver, running back and tight end with All-Pac-12-type players. The offensive line, despite losing three starters, still will welcome back three "starters," including tackle Tyler Johnstone, who missed the season with a knee injury, as well as four other players with starting experience.

While the Oregon quarterback is rarely viewed as a game manager, he'll certainly be in a comfortable spot to distribute the ball to playmakers and stay out of the way, if necessary.

The defense is perhaps a bigger question, particularly after junior end Arik Armstead opted to enter the draft, and fellow end DeForest Buckner's decision is still pending. Gone for sure are All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, outside linebacker Tony Washington, safety Erick Dargan and corner Troy Hill. They are all established players who have been productive for multiple years.

Further, the schedule upgrades next fall. The Ducks will visit Michigan State and they add USC and Arizona State to the conference slate. Though the Ducks have seven home games, conference road games include trips to Washington, Arizona State and Stanford.

Oregon still looks like the preseason pick in the North Division, but that's in large part due to the North flagging as the South rises. Stanford, Washington and Washington State have plenty of questions, and Oregon State will be breaking in a new coach. California appears to be on the cusp of moving up, but the only other North team that has a chance to join the five from the South in the preseason national rankings is Stanford.

While Helfrich stepped fully out of Chip Kelly's shadow by leading the Ducks to the Pac-12 title, beating Florida State in the Rose Bowl and earning a berth in the national title game, what happens next season -- post-Mariota -- figures to commence his long-term measure. Security is a rare thing for college coaches, and the margin for error at Oregon is small with demanding Ducks fans. Helfrich was questioned after an 11-2 finish in 2013, his first season after being promoted from offensive coordinator. Failing to win the conference in 2015 likely would reignite the grumbling skeptics.

As of this week, Oregon football (probably) has moved into A.M. time -- After Mariota -- and more than a few media folks will linger like vultures next fall, hoping to pounce on a narrative of program decline. It's up to the Ducks to disappoint them.

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