De'Anthony Thomas has touched the ball 24 times on offense this season (ups to 31 if you figured in punt returns). Through that, he's scored seven touchdowns. Although the competition has been a bit meager, those stats seem to improve upon the figures Thomas put up last year, when he compiled 18 touchdowns on a mere 140 touches.

Not a huge surprise that he ends up on the Sports Illustrated cover at the dawn of Pac-12 play, isn't it?

There's apparently animation too on your mobile device. How does it look on the Sports Illustrated App? Oregon beat writer Rob Moseley gives usvideo of the details!

Of course, there is always the dreaded jinx to worry about. The SI Cover has already claimed several Pac-12 victims as of late like Reeves Nelson and UCLA basketball, as well as Matt Barkley and USC football.

Can Black Mamba avoid the Curse? He certainly could be injury-prone if he gets touched enough (although he seems to barely get hit because of his straightline speed and minimal carries). It's likely Oregon will have to be tested more before Thomas is a threat to see the field.