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Mark Helfrich and Scott Frost have directed an offense in 2013 that averages 7.6 yards per play -- a full yard more than the 2012 team did.

(Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)

EUGENE – Though there is one final game, No. 12 Oregon’s sixth-consecutive 10-win season was marked by some of the gaudiest statistics in school history but stopped short of a national championship berth during Mark Helfrich’s debut season as head coach by struggles in creating turnovers and red-zone scoring.

Those are two takeaways from a breakdown of Oregon’s statistics following the completion of its regular season, one in which UO (10-2) actually bettered the 2012 Ducks in yards allowed per play, yards gained per play, total offense, passing efficiency and sacks per game, among other categories.

All 2012 averages included the bowl game, but this season’s team must wait until Sunday to know where it will play for a 13th time. The destination could range from a fifth-consecutive BCS bowl after New Year’s Day in either New Orleans or Miami to the Pac-12’s No. 2 bowl, the Alamo, in San Antonio on Dec. 30.

Here are highlights of Oregon’s statistics so far this season:

OFFENSE: Though 2013 marked the departure of Chip Kelly and debut seasons for Helfrich as head coach and Scott Frost as the offensive play caller, Oregon's offense actually became more efficient by many measures despite slightly slowing the gears of its famous "blur" offense.

Despite a dip of 37 rushing yards per game, the Ducks averaged 7.6 yards per play – a full yard more than in Kelly’s outfit did 2012. The spike can be explained by an offense gaining 573.0 yards while averaging six fewer plays per game each.

Oregon's average of 75.4 plays per game is its fewest since 2011, when UO ran 72.5 plays each game yet set school records for total yards and 522 yards per game -- a mark that Frost’s unit is on pace to destroy.

“There are some games where we're intentionally trying to slow it down and some games we'd like to play faster, the last game being one of them,” Helfrich said of the changing tempo. “The ability to snap the ball quickly is something where you have your foot on the gas and you're the aggressor and that's something you never want to lose.”

Oregon also threw more efficiently, with a passer rating bump of six points, and for more yards (a 72-yard gain to 294.7 per game in 2013) than the previous season as the reins around quarterback Marcus Mariota’s right arm were loosened during his second season as starter. He’s averaged just three more attempts per game but has 735 more total yards than his freshman campaign -- in one fewer game.

Though the timing of Oregon’s offensive breakdowns played key roles in the losses to the Arizona and Stanford, they also were represented at large.

Though more efficient overall, Oregon’s offense fell from the nation’s 12th-best offense inside the red zone – scoring 90 percent of the time last season – to 91st this season, at just 78 percent. That drop could hinge on Oregon’s grisly completion rate of 45.3 percent inside the red zone -- 17 percentage points lower than its overall completion rate.

DEFENSE: Like its offense, the Ducks' defense has made gains this season. Nick Aliotti's group allowed the same amount of points per game (21.6) as 2012 while shaving 0.2 yards per play off its average for 4.7 yards allowed, the nation's ninth-best mark. Despite big losses to Stanford and Arizona, Oregon is allowing just seven more total yards per game this season.

Even Oregon’s maligned rushing defense, which allowed an average of 20 more yards this season than last (a drop of 22 spots in FBS rankings), didn’t fare terribly compared to its conference peers. The Ducks’ rush defense ranked fourth among Pac-12 teams a year ago and was sixth this season.

It was when those rushing gains came into play that have hurt most.

The Ducks third-down defense fell from 14th in FBS in 2012 to 79th in 2013, allowing foes to convert 41 percent specifically because of failing to stop the run. Opponents averaged 3.4 yards per rush on third down against the Ducks, more than a full yard more than UO allowed on similar plays during its run to a Fiesta Bowl title.

TURNOVERS: Helfrich might point to Oregon's dropoff in turnover margin as its most critical dropoff of all. After all, after beating California in September in a game marked by 10 fumbles and an interception, Helfrich called turnover margin and points scored off turnovers "the No. 1 contributing factor to winning or losing."

“That’s the biggest stat in football,” he said.

Here’s an equally big one: Oregon’s 40 turnovers gained led the nation a year ago, as did its turnover margin of 1.62. But despite returning seven defensive starters, Oregon isn’t close to matching those numbers even with one game left. The Ducks have forced 26 turnovers, with a margin of 0.7.

FOURTH-DOWN CHOICES: Along with the speed of his offense, Kelly's penchant for eschewing kicks on fourth downs made him famous. During his four years as head coach, UO averaged 29.5 fourth-down attempts per year and, even in its worst season, converted 45.1 percent of the time.

Oregon’s attitude didn’t change this season despite the switch in play callers, but its effectiveness dipped. Oregon converted 48 percent of its 31 fourth-down attempts this season after converting 64 percent of fourth-downs a season ago, also on 31 attempts. That meant, again, Duck kickers rarely saw the field.

Matt Wogan and Alejandro Maldonado have combined for seven made field goals on 10 attempts this season. They would need a disastrous performance in the upcoming bowl game to match last season’s mark, however, of seven field goals in 14 attempts.

Comparing the Ducks (per-game averages, unless noted) 2012 (averages for 13 games) 2013 (averages for 12 games) Yards per play 6.6 7.6 Rush offense (yards gained) 315.2 278.3 Pass offense (yards gained) 222.2 294.7 Total offense (yards gained) 537.4 573.0 Passing efficiency rating 158.2 164.9 Sacks allowed 1.5 1.3 Scoring defense 21.6 21.6 Rush defense (yards allowed) 144.9 164.3 Tackles for loss 6.4 5.3 Total defense 374.1 381.3 Yards per play allowed 4.9 4.7 3rd-down conversions allowed 32.1% 41.0% Red zone offense scoring 90% 78.6% Red zone defense 68.6% 81.8% Turnover margin 1.6 0.7 Sacks 2.1 2.3 Pass defense (yards allowed) 229.2 216.9

-- Andrew Greif,