# 2018 Oregon Ducks football team

The 2018 Oregon Ducks football team represented the University of Oregon during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Mario Cristobal who took over for Willie Taggart who departed for Florida State. Oregon played their games at Autzen Stadium and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
Coming off a 7–6 season under Taggart in 2017, Oregon began the year ranked 24th in the preseason AP Poll. After sweeping their non-conference slate, they fell to then-No. 7 Stanford in overtime. The team bounced back with wins over No. 24 California and No. 7 Washington and rose to 12th in the polls before losing three of their next four games. The Ducks finished the regular season in fourth in the Pac-12 North Division with a conference record of 5–4. They were invited to the Redbox Bowl, where they defeated Michigan State to end the year at 9–4 overall.
The Oregon offense was led by junior quarterback Justin Herbert, who finished in second the Pac-12 Conference with 31 total touchdowns (29 passing and 2 rushing). Running back C. J. Verdell finished with 1,018 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Defensively, the team was led by defensive end Jalen Jelks, who was named first-team all-conference.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Lott Trophy | Troy Dye | LB | JR |
| Rimington Trophy | Jake Hanson | C | JR |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Jalen Jelks | DE | SR |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Troy Dye | LB | JR |
| Maxwell Award | Justin Herbert | QB | JR |
| Davey O'Brien Award | Justin Herbert | QB | JR |
| Doak Walker Award | Tony Brooks-James | RB | SR |
| John Mackey Award | Jake Breeland | TE | JR |
| Butkus Award | Troy Dye | LB | JR |
| Butkus Award | Justin Hollins | LB | JR |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Troy Dye | LB | JR |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Jalen Jelks | DE | SR |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Jordon Scott | DL | SO |
| Outland Trophy | Jake Hanson | C | JR |
| Outland Trophy | Jordon Scott | DL | SO |
| Outland Trophy | Calvin Throckmorton | OL | JR |
| Paul Hornung Award | Tony Brooks-James | RB/KR | SR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Justin Herbert | QB | JR |
| Ted Hendricks Award | Jalen Jelks | DE | SR |
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award | Justin Herbert | QB | JR |

### Pac-12 Media Days

The 2018 Pac-12 media days are set for July 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Mario Cristobal (HC), Justin Herbert (QB) & Jalen Jelks (DL) at Pac-12 Media Days. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Ducks predicted to finish in third place at Pac-12 North division.
Media poll (North) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Washington | 249 (40) |
| 2 | Stanford | 198 (2) |
| 3 | Oregon | 178 (2) |
| 4 | California | 108 |
| 5 | Washington State | 98 |
| 6 | Oregon State | 45 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 5:00 p.m. | Bowling Green* | No. 24 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | P12N | W 58–24 | 50,112 |
| September 8 | 11:00 a.m. | Portland State* | No. 23 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | P12N | W 62–14 | 47,210 |
| September 15 | 2:00 p.m. | San Jose State* | No. 20 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | P12N | W 35–22 | 50,049 |
| September 22 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 7 Stanford | No. 20 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR (College GameDay) | ABC | L 31–38 $^{OT}$ | 58,453 |
| September 29 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 24 California | No. 19 | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | FS1 | W 42–24 | 43,448 |
| October 13 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 7 Washington | No. 17 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR (rivalry) | ABC/ESPN2 | W 30–27 $^{OT}$ | 58,691 |
| October 20 | 4:30 p.m. | at No. 25 Washington State | No. 12 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA (College GameDay) | FOX | L 20–34 | 33,152 |
| October 27 | 7:30 p.m. | at Arizona | No. 19 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | ESPN | L 15–44 | 42,845 |
| November 3 | 4:30 p.m. | UCLA | | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | FOX | W 42–21 | 56,114 |
| November 10 | 2:30 p.m. | at Utah | | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | L 25–32 | 46,275 |
| November 17 | 7:30 p.m. | Arizona State | | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | P12N | W 31–29 | 50,485 |
| November 23 | 1:00 p.m. | at Oregon State | | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR (Civil War) | FS1 | W 55–15 | 39,776 |
| December 31 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. Michigan State* | | Levi's StadiumSanta Clara, CA (Redbox Bowl) | FOX | W 7–6 | 30,212 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Bowling Green

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| No. 24 Ducks | 7 | 30 | 14 | 7 | 58 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 23 Ducks | 14 | 21 | 14 | 13 | 62 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### San Jose State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 0 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 22 |
| No. 20 Ducks | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### Stanford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| No. 7 Cardinal | 0 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| No. 20 Ducks | 7 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### At California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 19 Ducks | 7 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| No. 24 Golden Bears | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| No. 7 Huskies | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| No. 17 Ducks | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 30 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### At Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Ducks | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 20 |
| No. 25 Cougars | 7 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 34 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### At Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 19 Ducks | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 15 |
| Wildcats | 10 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 44 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bruins | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Ducks | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### At Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ducks | 0 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 25 |
| Utes | 10 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 32 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### Arizona State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sun Devils | 3 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 29 |
| Ducks | 7 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### At Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ducks | 14 | 7 | 13 | 21 | 55 |
| Beavers | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

### Vs. Michigan State (Redbox Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Ducks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Uniform combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 24 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 19 | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | RV | RV | 23 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 21 | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Players drafted into the NFL

The Ducks had four players selected in the 2019 NFL Draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 4 | 132 | Ugo Amadi | S | Seattle Seahawks |
| 5 | 156 | Justin Hollins | LB | Denver Broncos |
| 7 | 239 | Dillon Mitchell | WR | Minnesota Vikings |
| 7 | 241 | Jalen Jelks | DE | Dallas Cowboys |