EUGENE -- Seven months ago, in a nondescript hallway underneath San Antonio's Alamodome, the double doors of Oregon's locker room slowly opened.



Out walked a mix of administrators, staffers and influential Ducks donors. After witnessing Oregon squander a record-tying 31-point halftime lead, their look was that of a collective thousand-yard stare.



Plenty of eyes are on the Ducks once again as they start practices for the 2016 season Monday.



Nineteen months after playing for the College Football Playoff national championship, the closest Oregon is expected to get to this year's playoff is the presence of athletic director Rob Mullens, who this fall will serve his first season on the selection committee.



It's not necessarily a knock on the Ducks; vying to be in college football's version of the final four is a grind that allows few, if any, missteps over the span of a 12-game regular season. New in 2016, however, are questions of whether UO's foothold in the Pac-12 North is loosening.



In May, Las Vegas bookmakers pegged Oregon for an over-under of eight victories. Two months later, a Pac-12 poll of media picked Oregon to finish third in its division, behind reigning champ Stanford, which, like Oregon, is searching for a new starting quarterback, and rival Washington.



Those projections and the loud drumbeat of hype surrounding the young, talent-laden Huskies, has irked many in the UO flock who take issue with the notion that Oregon might be usurped in the Pac-12 pecking order by its purple-and-gold rival -- one that hasn't beaten UO since 2004.



There's only one way to prove it -- on the field. The division title will still run through Eugene, as the Ducks host both the Cardinal and Huskies at Autzen Stadium this fall.



To upend some forecasts of a step-back season, Oregon must address the caveats that linger in each UO season preview. The hedges are due in part to Oregon's collapse in the Alamo Bowl, which nearly blotted out all the momentum from UO's six-game winning streak that led into the bowl and positioned it as one of the country's hottest teams.



From that roster, the Ducks return the caliber of offensive talent to produce a top-10 scoring offense for a ninth consecutive season. They added more firepower on signing day, as well. The jump balls corralled by freshman receiver Dillon Mitchell in May's spring game were a tease for fans imagining how defenses will attempt to cover him, Darren Carrington, Olympic hurdler Devon Allen and tight end Pharaoh Brown, who is healthy after sitting out 2015 due to injury. And that's before taking into consideration the other options at receiver and the threat of Royce Freeman, who reset Oregon's single-season rushing record a year ago with 1,836 yards, and now is 1,881 yards away from snapping LaMichael James' career mark, too.



And yet ... what about the quarterback competition?



NCAA efficiency leader and one-year transfer Vernon Adams Jr. is gone. Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie, the only quarterbacks with game experience at Oregon, were gently ushered out of the competition this spring. That leaves the race for the starter to Dakota Prukop, another graduate transfer from the Big Sky Conference, and freshmen Travis Jonsen and Terry Wilson. Each earned praise during spring practices, and the winner will be surrounded by a wealth of talent. But the struggles of Lockie and Alie last season, when Adams was hurt, proved that Oregon's QB job isn't as plug-and-play as some believe.



Coach Mark Helfrich, who is 33-8 in three seasons UO, is joined again by the nation's longest-tenured staff.



But ... what about the new faces in key roles?



Two first-time coordinators are in charge of Oregon's offense and defense. Together, along with Helfrich, they will attempt to nudge the Ducks back toward calmer waters after the boom-or-bust ride of last season, where inexperience on defense and at quarterback left UO with a slim margin of error in a 9-4 season -- its first without at least 10 victories since 2007.



Matt Lubick's turn at the controls of Oregon's video-game offense follows the December departure of Scott Frost to Central Florida. Well-regarded throughout his career for his communication and detail-oriented nature, Lubick has promised few tweaks to Oregon's signature uptempo attack. Lubick will continue to coach receivers, as he has with the Ducks since 2013, while new hire David Yost will be tasked with developing quarterbacks, the position of greatest scrutiny.





On defense, the changes Oregon has made since it trudged off the Alamodome turf have been major, if not entirely wholesale.



If Oregon's offense performs up to its potential, its defense must only be serviceable, not otherworldly, to win.



But ... after ranking 100th or worse, out of 127 teams, in six categories a year ago, can the defense regain its disruptive reputation?



One of those statistics was points per game, of which UO allowed a school-record 37.5 points in Don Pellum's second season as coordinator. It resulted in the longtime UO assistant accepting a demotion to coaching linebackers two days after UO's three-overtime Alamo Bowl loss. Erik Chinander, a young outside linebackers coach praised for his recruiting skills, followed his close friend Frost to Central Florida but the rest of Oregon's defensive staff returns in John Neal (secondary) and Ron Aiken (line). Their challenge is meshing their combined four decades of experience at Oregon with the vision of their new boss, Brady Hoke.





The comfort level Hoke has with his colleagues is similar to that of running a defense full-time for the first time: He's hung around both for a long time, but never quite been this close before.



Hoke has known Oregon coaches, including Pellum, since coaching at Oregon State in the early 1990s, and crossed paths recruiting the West Coast with Helfrich at various points. His experience as head coach at Ball State, San Diego State and Michigan is something Helfrich noted was attractive; Helfrich can tap into it when questions arise.



Out of that familiarity emerges a defense that UO hopes will look brand new in many respects. Hoke's switch to a 4-3, which Oregon hasn't run since 2008, is a nod to his background coaching aggressive defensive lines and is his bet on how to spark a turnaround. Spring practices became a lab, of sorts.



Players adjusted to the scheme, which creates new responsibilities primarily for linemen and linebackers. Meanwhile, coaches looked at the depth chart with fresh eyes after the departure of six starters -- five seniors, plus Charles Nelson, who will focus on offense in 2016.



The Ducks could challenge for their second conference title in three seasons if the breaks go their way. Their schedule features eight opponents that played in bowls last season.



The caveat, as always, is if.



Oregon begins its search for answers Monday morning.

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif