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As disappointing as the result of Monday’s national championship was for the Oregon Ducks, the program as a whole has never been in a better place.

For the Ducks to reach the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship in Glendale, Arizona, in 2016, they must continue to build on the foundation that has been set over the past 20 years.

While the Ducks will lose their best player, Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, they’ll be bringing back a large portion of a team that won the Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl in 2014. Moreover, Oregon may have the best group of playmakers in the entire country in 2015.

Oregon’s running backs—Thomas Tyner, Royce Freeman—will both return and should be expected to each have 1,000-yard seasons.

At wide receiver, the Ducks will return Byron Marshall—Oregon’s best receiver in 2014—along with Darren Carrington, Charles Nelson, Dwayne Stanford and Bralon Addison—who was one of Oregon’s best weapons in 2013. They’ll also have the services of two solid tight ends in Evan Baylis and All-Pac-12 first-teamer Pharaoh Brown, assuming he’s healthy by September.

Defensively, the Ducks will lose some major players such as Erick Dargan, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Arik Armstead, Troy Hill, Derrick Malone and Tony Washington. However, due to Oregon’s tempo on offense, the defense is forced to face more snaps, meaning the younger players have played more than they would at other schools. That will benefit the Ducks as they attempt to replace some of their best defensive players.

The Ducks are well-positioned to make another run at the title; however, they must first find their quarterback for next season and get him ready to shoulder the burden of replacing an all-time great.

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The Future Quarterback

As chronicled in Wednesday’s article, the Ducks have a history of being able to move on from quarterback to quarterback and still improve as a team. While filling Mariota’s shoes is an unenviable task that should come with tempered expectations, it is possible.

Oregon has seamlessly shifted from Dennis Dixon to Jeremiah Masoli to Darron Thomas to Marcus Mariota since 2007. The program as a whole is more prepared now than ever to move on from the best player in school history.

The Ducks aren’t short on QB options next season. Within the program, the Ducks could turn to Jeff Lockie, Morgan Mahalak, Ty Griffin, Taylor Alie or incoming freshman Travis Waller. While Lockie, a redshirt sophomore, seems to be the prohibitive favorite, he’s not a sure thing. In fact, if we’re using past results to predict what will happen this time around, Lockie may actually be the underdog.

If the Ducks decide to go outside of the program, they could try to snag Braxton Miller from Ohio State. As Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee explained recently, Miller could be the perfect fit in Eugene.

In three seasons for the Buckeyes, Miller has thrown for 52 touchdowns and has rushed for 32 more. In short, he’s one of the best QBs in the nation. While Miller is recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered before the 2014 season, his presence in Eugene would vault the Ducks into national title contention.

Another name that may be in play is Eastern Washington’s Vernon Adams Jr. Adams, who graduates in the spring and has one more year of NCAA eligibility, threw for 35 touchdowns in 10 games this season after throwing 55 in 15 games in 2013. He’s also rushed for 10 touchdowns over the past two years and has completed 66 percent of his passes along the way.

Oregon will have QB options and will hold an open competition to find the best man for the job. With the number of weapons at Oregon’s disposal next season, it’s possible that the Ducks' QB job may be the best in the country.

Oregon’s next QB has to keep it simple. Get the ball in the hands of the playmakers and don’t turn the ball over. If he does that, the Ducks offense should continue to zip along swimmingly.

Win the Trenches

It was thought that the Ducks may have turned over a new leaf when they beat the likes of Michigan State and Stanford this season. Oregon went face-to-face with the nastiest defenses in college football and was more physical on both sides of the ball. The Ducks had finally shed the "soft" label.

Well, they may have shed the soft label, but they haven’t earned the tough label quite yet. That was most evident against Ohio State, as the Buckeyes throttled Oregon in the trenches. It wasn’t just a decisive victory; it was a Mike Tyson-style knockout.

As Aaron Fentress of Comcast Sportsnet Northwest opined, the Ducks have the focus on recruiting the trenches in order to finally bring home a title to Eugene:

If Oregon wants to improve its chances of winning a national title - especially in the post-Marcus Mariota era - it had better improve recruiting in three key areas: offensive line, defensive line and linebacker. That's where the Buckeyes did a number on the Ducks. Ohio State rushed for 296 yards and five touchdowns while holding Oregon to 132 yards and zero touchdowns on the ground. People can talk all they'd like about dropped passes, missed tackles, injuries and suspensions. But the national title game at AT&T Stadium came down to simple rushing statistics. OSU had them. Oregon did not.

The Ducks are going to have to find some replacements along both the offensive and defensive lines. On offense, Oregon will be without Hamani Stevens, three-time All-Pac-12 first-teamer Hroniss Grasu and Jake Fisher, who may have been Oregon’s most important player outside of Marcus Mariota this season.

Due to the number of injuries Oregon suffered along the O-line this season, a lot of the Ducks backups saw significant playing time in 2014. Players such as Cameron Hunt, Doug Brenner, Tyrell Crosby, Matt Pierson and Jake Pisarcik were thrust into action and should be ready to hit the ground running come spring ball.

On defense, Oregon will have to find a replacement for Armstead who declared early for the 2015 NFL draft. The Ducks will lean on multiple defensive linemen to make up for this loss, including 247Sports' 5-star recruit Canton Kaumatule.

In order for the Ducks to finally get over the top and win a title in 2016, they’re going to need to win in the trenches and become one of the most physical teams in the nation.

Oregon took a step forward in this department against teams such as Michigan State, Stanford, Utah and Washington. However, as Ohio State proved, the Ducks can still be beaten with physicality. That can’t be the case going forward.

The Ducks are never going to be Alabama. They’re never going to run a ground-and-pound-type offense like Stanford. But in order to bring home a title, they’re going to have to be able to fend off more physical opponents and impose their own will.

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Keep Swinging

Despite the fact that the Ducks are 0-2 in national title games, it’s still impressive that Oregon has been able to reach the national championship twice in five years. Only Alabama and Auburn have played in as many title games over that span.

The Ducks are clearly on the right path, and Oregon is one of the finest programs in the country. With the College Football Playoff in place, there will be more opportunities for the Ducks to play for a national title, especially if they continue to win Pac-12 titles.

What Oregon needs to focus on is continuing to build on their past success. That means recruiting the right players and putting those recruits in a position to succeed. The Ducks didn’t take a step back after the 2010 BCS Championship Game. The program used it as a launching pad.

Now, after playing in two of the three most watched cable programs in history, reports Amanda Kondolojy of TVbytheNumbers.com, the Ducks have a similar opportunity to capitalize on their success.

There’s no reason for the Ducks to change up their philosophy at this point. Clearly, it’s working. Yes, the Ducks have struggled at times against physically demanding opponents; however, the program is still in a better place than it’s ever been.

In order for the Ducks to reach the College Football Playoff next season, the Ducks must stick to their guns, develop the next “franchise” quarterback and get just a bit tougher.

In other words, Oregon needs to continue to live by the sword and die by the sword. Keep knocking at the door, it's bound to open at some point.

Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise stated. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.

Jason Gold is Bleacher Report’s lead Oregon writer. Follow Jason on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33.