The Ducks Look like a Good Team Through 4 Games, but Are We Sure They're Great?

The Oregon Ducks kicked off their conference schedule with a 21-6 win over the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, marking the first time since 2014 that they've won their first Pac-12 game of the season. Good! Well done.

However, they only managed to score 21 points against a reeling Stanford team that has allowed both UCF and a banged-up USC team to score 45 points in the past two weeks. Not great.

While Oregon's defense was dominant yet again — they've given up just 15 points in the last three games combined — the Ducks offense punted the ball six times in the game and totaled just 61 yards on the ground.

Are you catching my drift yet?

The Ducks will leave Palo Alto with a 1-0 conference record, and their heads should be held high. They did what they needed to do and got a well-deserved victory in the process. However, I couldn't help but want more throughout the game, as the offense at times struggled to get things going, and the Ducks were unable to put many points on the board.

Let me say first that this nit-pick excludes the defense entirely. The Ducks have been lights-out on that side of the ball, and the history speaks for itself. For the first time since 1935, Oregon has gone three straight games without giving up a touchdown, and they've held their opponent out of the endzone during the first half of every game this year. While everyone expected the offense to be the X-factor under Justin Herbert's guidance this season, it's been Andy Avalos and his defense that takes the early-season MVP award without a contest.

Now let's focus on that offense. While the Ducks are still averaging 38.5 points per game, they have still felt a little bit stagnant on that side of the ball. The numbers would say otherwise, as Herbert has gone 68-of-92 for 885 yards and 13 touchdowns over his last three games, and in one of those games, the Ducks tied the Autzen Stadium record for most points scored in a single game (77). Still, if you take away that contest against Nevada, Oregon is averaging just 25 ppg. The rushing attack has been average, with just over 150-yards per game, and a running-back-by-committee approach has fallen stagnant. On Saturday against Stanford, it was refreshing to see CJ Verdell get a bulk of the carries — 24 for 86-yards — but there has definitely been a lack of explosion out of the backfield.

This may seem like I'm playing devil's advocate after a nice win, and I can't argue with that. While I am glad that Oregon is 3-1 and sitting with control over their own destiny in the NCAA landscape, the Ducks have not proved to me just yet that they are deserving of a Top-10 ranking, let alone a College Football Playoff Birth.

The season is still very young, and a bye week will now allow the roster to get closer to full health. If Oregon comes out in Week 6 against No. 23 California and puts on an impressive performance, I'll gladly eat my words. From what we've seen so far, the Ducks are a good team, and they can compete with most programs in the nation. But until we see something more, the question begs to be asked:

Are we sure that the Ducks are great?