Special For Many Reasons

OK check the office pool. Which of us had Oregon winning by 38? A valuable asset for any team is peaking at the right time. And Oregon is playing it's best football right now in December, going into the playoffs.

Going into the Pac-12 Championship, we were all recalling what Arizona had done the past two times these teams have met. But Friday night, Mariota and Co. worked their magic and erased all those memories. Marcus was the true Superman that Oregon needed. One Arizona fan on social media commented that he couldn't believe this was the same team that beat Oregon in October. The truth was, Arizona was the same team.

It was Oregon who was different.

No Scooby Sacks this time.

Back in October, Arizona sacked Mariota five times and forced two fumbles. This time, nothing and notta. Mariota floated around the pocket like a bubble boy. Whenever Scooby and the gang barely got within arms reach of him, he just rolled away and kept looking down field. His pocket awareness was near perfect.

The second this guy fell on his butt,
he was prey. Mariota saw him and raced
to the corner of the endzone for his second
rushing TD on the night.

 Ball control was incredible too. Mariota was 25 for 38, 303 yards, 2 pass TD's, ran in three more, and no interceptions. In his previous three games against the Wildcats, he had never scored a rushing TD on them.  Freshman Royce Freeman handled the running duties like a boss, carrying 21 times for 114 yards.  

Rolls Royce

The defense stepped up and quieted all of Don Pellum's critics. Arizona's two dangerous weapons, QB Anu Solomon and RB Nick Wilson were both neutered.

Everyone said Oregon HAD TO shut down Arizona's run to have a chance. They held Wilson to 26 yards on 13 carries. Their best rusher was actually their third string QB, Jerrard Randall. He kept the ball 11 times for 74 yards, but couldn't muster a single pass completion in his only 5 attempts.

Solomon going down.

Arizona Coach Rich Rodriguez tried three different quarterbacks. After zero points and repeated three-and-outs in the first half, he put in his second and third string and we saw Solomon on the sidelines in a walking boot.  

Isn't it Rich?

Rich Rod was sulky and short in the post game interview, but he said all the right things. He had plenty of praise for the Ducks, and before he spoke of his team's failures, he said he was out-coached. This was a big statement because I think he was the one coach who consistently had Coach Helfrich's number.

And what of Scooby Wright? I can't find the stats on him, but it's possible he had recorded fewer tackles for losses than losses of lunches. I mean dude was blowing groceries. So was AZ's center as seen in the video below. Did a puke bug drive the team bus?

Wildcat horkin' up a hairball on the field. Oh poor kitty.

All this great win did was solidify good things for the future. Mariota is going to win the Heisman. And Oregon finished #2 in the final national standings and will meet Florida State in the Rose Bowl for the playoff semifinal.

I'll focus on that in the days to come. But let me say how beautifully this is all setting up to be a storied season for the Ducks.

In the regular season, Oregon demolished one of their significant nemesis of previous seasons, Stanford. In the Pac-12 Championship, the Ducks got that rare opportunity in football -- a do-over, a rubber match. They got to face Arizona --the one team that had beaten them this year -- and vanquish them on a big stage.

Now they are facing Florida State, the reigning National Champion with last year's Heisman Trophy winner. Get past them, and the next opponent only becomes more legendary.

They'll face either Ohio State, a previous foe they had lost to the first time Chip Kelly took the Ducks to a BCS Bowl. Or they'll face the perennial National Champion and current SEC Champion Alabama -- the team coached by Nick Saban, the one who said the hurry-up no-huddle was bad for football. Oregon-Alabama is the matchup everyone has wanted to see for years.

But let's not count our ducklings yet. For now. Let's just enjoy these moments.

The Oregon Ducks: Current 11-time winner over Washington. 7-time winner over Oregon State. 8-time winner over Washington State. Current victor over Stanford and Arizona. Such a routine victor over USC and UCLA that it's not even worth counting.

Pac-12 Champions. #2 in the nation. National Champion Playoff Contender.

And there was one more thing. What was it? . . . . . . . . . Oh ya.
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80th Annual Heisman Trophy Presentation. Saturday, Dec. 13th. 5pm Pacific on ESPN.

--KB

Facing Their Kryptonite

ARIZONA
Richard Rodriguez has outcoached Mark Helfrich two times in a row now. While we point with pride at Chip Kelly as the one who changed college football with the no huddle spread, others remind us it was Rich Rod who was the original architect of the system.

QB Anu Solomon is young but good. RB Nick Wilson is very dangerous. When they play Oregon, those two have been flawless. And every Nick Wilson runs over 100 yards, the Cats win.

Oregonian writer Ken Goe, who sent me a court order to never mention his name, said in his own video blog that Oregon has to stop Arizona's run. Period. Pac-12 talking head Rick Neuheisel laid out in the this well done video just how hard that has been for Oregon. It's scary to watch.

" 'Gonna bust you up."

Scooby Wright is the general of Arizona's 3-3-5 defense -- a formation that Oregon has yet to solve. No other defense has been more successful at befuddling Oregon's O-line and humanizing Super Mariota.

Neuheisel goes on to say that the mental game is a factor as well. Arizona is not going into this game a-hopin' and a-prayin'. They've beaten Oregon. They know they can beat Oregon. They're getting ready to do it again.

OREGON
Marcus Mariota.

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The cocky fan in me wants to stop right there. But this game is everything. Better keep it real.

Something changed in Mariota after that humiliating loss to Arizona back in October. After that knockout he transformed himself into the legend that everybody was already pegging him to be. For the first time, he seemed to put on the Super Mariota suit and act the part.

His reluctance to all the attention was gone. I can't say what happened exactly, whether someone talked to him, or maybe he just stood in the shower for an hour and thought about things. But he came out at UCLA determined to be Oregon's hero.

Today's Mariota will not be the same Mariota Arizona saw before.

Mariota before Arizona. He spent most of his
time in the pocket taking sacks like Clark Kent.
 

Mariota after Arizona. He was literally
flying to the Endzone.

Rolls Royce Freeman. What planet did this freshman phenom come from? He was still tying to find himself in October. Everyone still thought Thomas Tyner was going to be the guy (I still think Tyner will do great things. I hope he still believes it too.) Byron Marshall was still taking handoffs and was only flirting with the receiver thing.

But now all of that is sorted out.

The offensive line -- it's like after the Arizona game, they had a meeting and decided to be better?!?!?  Who does that? And they're healthier too, with or without starting center Hronis Grasu.

Oregon wouldn't have a chance going into this game if they were the same team they were in October. Hell, they wouldn't even be in this game.

That thumping by the Wildcats was probably the best thing that could've happened to them. The Ducks today, they are leaner. They are meaner. They have that look in their eyes.

"Go for it."
(Editor's note: The earring is a little much isn't it?)

To win, the whole team has to be better. But ultimately it comes down to one man.
Super Mariota. We're calling on you once again to be our reluctant hero.

Our humble Superman.


Oh and one other key to the game, Ducks.
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Lose the pink.

Pac-12 Championship game. 6pm Pacific on FOX.
--KB

Come Out and Play

THANKS COUGS. WE NEEDED THAT.
The Ducks' tight 38-31 victory over WSU was good for them. The Cougs passing through Oregon's porous defense. The seven sacks on Mariota. Oregon's struggle to get the running game going. . . .

They escaped with a win and a ton of film to watch. The coaches are confident that all the mistakes and failures in that game are reviewable and correctable.

Despite being sacked seven times,
Mariota threw 21 out of 25 for 329 yards
and five touchdowns.

One area that obviously needs to get better is the offensive line. Injuries to three linemen resulted in the coaches emergency hole-plugging by freshmen, walk-ons, ball boys, a drunk guy throwing pretzels at the TV insisting he could do better . . .  but enough about me.
Hamani Stevens, Oregon's veteran right guard, was personally embarrassed by the line's performance at the Palouse. But it didn't shake his confidence. Said Stevens in this Oregonian article.

"They think the offensive line can't bounce back and be as productive as we were, but I think we have the capability and ability to be that high-producing offense and give it all our best," Stevens said.
For Stevens, encouragement came in the form of Oregon's bye week practices where he said the line made "strides and great improvements" behind closed doors.
"We've just been practicing our tails off," he said. "It was embarrassing for us to give up that many sacks in the Washington State game and we took that with a grain of salt and we have to work on it. We worked on it, and worked on it in the bye week."


What's this? It has to be none other than what
happens when this Cougar dude was the first one to pass out
at a Friday night kegger in Pullman. I'm guessing his bro's 
delivered him at least 10 miles from campus.

Oregon as a team came away from that game very unsatisfied and wanting to get better. The offensive line, the defensive secondary, even Thomas Tyner. The sophomore running back has yet to have "his kind of game". Thursday night would be a great time to start.

WHEN DUCKS AND 'CATS MEET
Oregon - Arizona games are always brutal. Winning and losing is far less predictable than other matchups. Hard hits and injuries are not uncommon. Mix in the fans, and it becomes clear that these two team don't really like each other.

When these two teams meet, they're like two brawlers standing toe-to-toe tied to each other's shoe laces. And then each guy takes a turn throwing a haymaker into the other guy's jaw.

Two years ago Oregon blanked the Cats 49-0 in AZ Coach Rich Rodriguez's rookie season. Last year Arizona came back with a vengeance, literally. It was Coach Helfrich's rookie year, Mariota was a little hobbled, and 'Zona swallowed the Ducks whole, 42-16.


Last year.

All of Oregon's major bowl hopes were dashed that night. And they were left all this time to wonder what happened. Helfrich has said the team's preparation for the Wildcats started with reviewing the depressing films of that awful night. What they came back with was confidence. When asked in the Oregonian about whether last year's game motivated the veteran players, Helfrich played it cool:

 Well, I think again, anytime you don't give somebody your best shot, that should leave a bad taste in your mouth. And I think there were some guys that felt that way and certainly looked that way on film. So again, hopefully that contributes to fuel the engine of your process. It doesn't mean like we don't try to kill the Arizona game this year, it means we work that much harder in the offseason to never let off the gas, to never let that even enter our mindset for anybody. And so as you prepare for Game 1, and then Game 2, and so forth, it just reinforces everything that we stand for. Again, when we watch this film, do we feel good about it? No, we don't. And if that contributed to our guys lifting more weights last spring, then great.

Reading between the lines, I think what Helfrich is saying is that the whole team is mad as hell and wants to KILL Arizona. But it goes the other way too.

Coach Rich Rod's team was glad to put the great cover boy Marcus Mariota on the turf last year. Just yesterday, RR had this to say about MM:

 "There are no negatives, I'm talking about none. And everything is not just a positive but it's a high positive. That's why I think he's the Heisman front-runner and maybe the first pick in the draft." -- Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez on Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Reading between the lines, I think what Rich Rod is saying is that his whole team is mad as hell and wants to KILL Marcus Mariota.

Here's what Arizona did last week against Cal to preserve their perfect record. Down by 2, the last play of the game. Their only hope was a hail mary . . .



Here's how the scouting report looks:
UO offense vs. Arizona defense: The Ducks' offense isn't expected to be troubled by Arizona's unconventional 3-3-5 stack defense, which is one of the nation's worst in the passing game and has just one defensive lineman with a sack this year. With just one turnover this season, Oregon has been superb at limiting its own mistakes, which will be a key factor -- UO had five turnovers last year against Arizona -- in stopping a second-straight Wildcat upset. Watch for whether a Duck can gain 100 yards on the ground, too, and snap UO's four-game streak without a century-mark rusher.

UO defense vs. Arizona offense: A Ducks defense that limited top-10 Michigan State to just three second-half points has come under fire after allowing 31 points to Washington State thanks to missed tackles and breakdowns. The good news for Oregon is that even though it'll face a Rodriguez-designed offense -- he's a pioneer of the spread-option -- the key players tasked with executing it amid a hostile Autzen crowd are freshmen. Quarterback Anu Solomon has 13 touchdown passes and three interceptions. The offense is balanced by running back Nick Wilson, who averages 120.5 yards per game.

That was a good shot in the jaw last year, 'Zona. Now come to Autzen and do it again. Let's go. Come out and play . . . .


Gametime 7:30 Pacific on ESPN.

--KB

Kick the Cat Theory*

* Mad Duck 2020 wishes to state that in no way do the following comments and opinions support or endorse the harming of cats or any other animals.

Think the Ducks had a better showing against Utah?

Oregon's rushing was held to a net 145 yards. They could only convert 2 out of 10 third downs while allowing Utah to covert 9 for 18. The new and improved starting kicker MISSED A PAT?!? 

Once again Oregon's starting RB Byron Marshall was anemic in the first half. So was DeAnthony Thomas before his kickoff return for a TD that seemed to finally spark Oregon's famed steamrolling momentum. Mariota still couldn't run. The team committed 10 penalties for 80 yards -- most of them for false starts.

False starts?. . . . . FALSE STARTS?!?!

In games past, we laughed at other teams leading in time-of-possession. But it's not funny anymore when you see that Utah CONTROLLED the ball for nearly 12 more minutes and ran nine more plays than the Ducks.


It was good to see Josh Huff having a great
game after going down hurt last week.

Good for Oregon that the Utes couldn't do more with all that opportunity. But the team before them could. And the teams ahead of Oregon will. Arizona has a supposedly tough defense. Oregon State will bring their typical ferocity to the Civil War.

If Oregon manages those two, they're likely looking at Arizona State in the Pac-12 Championship. ASU leads the league in total defense. They are second only to Stanford in rushing defense.

Should Oregon find it's way past them, they can go to the Rose Bowl -- against Ohio State. Remember the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl of 2010 and their overpowering linemen? Well let's just say for this year they haven't gotten any worse.

Oregon got a fat bloody lip against Stanford. And it would only do them good if that shot still stings; if the unimpressive victory over Utah failed to lessen the taste of their own salty sweaty blood.

But now is the moment for them to taste that bitterness for the last time and move on. The Ducks need to scab over and heal. They need to get their mojo back. More than that, they need to stop feeling bloated and pent up and clear out some inner obstructions.

What Oregon needs right now is a good cleansing. You know how it feels when you've been blocked up for a couple of weeks and you're not feeling your best?

Oregon is irregular.

They could really use a blowout. More than a blowout -- a coffee and prune irrigated colon blowout. And Arizona Stadium seems like the perfect bowl. Last year Oregon blanked the 'Cats 49-0.  Though less likely (It was at Autzen, and Arizona was still trying to find themselves with their new coach.), it would still feel real good to do that again. 

For season altering games, Arizona vs. Oregon has history over the last eight years

Dixon at Arizona.

or so. Kellen Clemens ended his career against Arizona. Dennis Dixon's knee blew apart and so did Oregon's BCS Title hopes at Arizona.

Masoli at his best.

Then came 2009, Jeremiah "Weed" Masoli's finest hour. 'Zona fans were climbing over the walls in the final two minutes ready to storm the field with their Cats up by a TD. Oregon tied it and won that dramatic contest in double overtime.

But this year, no one wearing green is in the mood for drama. Oregon is better -- sometimes far better-- than Arizona in nearly every statistical category. The Cats (6-4, 3-4) have lost to every Pac-12 team with a winning record. Then last week they were completely dominated by Washington State.

They have one good offensive weapon, RB Ka'Deem Carey. Shut him down, they're done. Oregon has a better offense and a better defense, a better team. Period. Arizona will be the last weak team the Ducks plays for the season.

Why not blow away the 'Cats? Why not tee-off on them? Oregon is frustrated right now. They blew another golden opportunity. Ya, I know I said "Don't worry." and "A lot of football left." But damn it anyway.

Once again, Oregon is unlikely to get their shot at the Natty. And this Saturday, it's all Arizona's fault.

Kick the 'Cat.


BUT IT'S STILL ARIZONA
Give Oregon credit for playing a legitimate Pac-12 foe in mid November. I mean who else would they be playing, right?

Did you see who the two teams currently destined to play for the national title have slated this Saturday?

FSU QB Jameis Winston
Heisman candidate,
Tallahassee's favorite son.

Alabama is hosting Chattanooga (That's not even a state. Not even a large city.), and FSU has scheduled this week's sexual battery on Idaho (Might as well be a small city). 

Also in the above linked story, you'll see that if the Sems struggle with Idaho at all, their good-ol'-boy boosters -- the Tallahassee Police Department -- will do whatever is needed to . . . . you know . . . . . make things right.



NOT TO NAME NAMES, BUT . . . .
Washington is in a pitiful position again. Their four losses this season have come at the hands of the truly better teams in the league -- Stanford, Oregon, ASU, and then last week when they lost the game and starting QB Keith Price at UCLA.

Keith Price's damaged shoulder is very iffy for their game at Corvallis at 7:30 Saturday night on ESPN2. Enter the Dawg's backup QB.

He's a redshirt freshman with a pretty cool name. At least he HAD a pretty cool name before America witnessed a horrific scene at a music awards show a few months ago.

I mean what could possibly be wrong with a name like Cyler Miles. It was just a good unique name . . . .


Cyler Miles

. . . . . until it became a cruel anagram-like joke for . . . . .


She who must not be named.

I would give Beaver announcer Mike Parker 10 bucks and let him watch me eat a napkin if he gets "confused" and says something like "Miley Cyrus can't escape the Beaver rush and goes down."

"Ain't that a kick in the head?" *

* Mad Duck 2020 wishes to state that in no way do the preceding comments and opinions support or endorse the harming of President Kennedy or any other presidents.  

Game time: Oregon at Arizona 12:30 Pacific on ABC or ESPN2

--KB

There are Losers, and then there are LOSERS.

A couple of years ago, a Cal player fake flopped an injury against Oregon.
Now this. I guess cheating is the insincerest form of flattery.

USC fires student manager who deflated balls in Oregon game
Southern California tried its hardest to keep pace with Oregon‘s high-octane offense on Saturday night at the Coliseum, but at least one member of the Trojans’ staff took that effort too far.

USC has fired a student manager who intentionally deflated game footballs below NCAA-mandated pressure levels during Oregon’s 62-51 win. The university reported the firing of the unnamed student on its Web site late Wednesday night, according to the Associated Press.

Under-inflated balls are easier to grip, making them easier to throw, catch and hold. While the slightly softer balls might have contributed to Matt Barkley‘s 484 passing yards, they did nothing to help a defense that gave up a whopping 730 yards of offense – the most in USC history.

According to the school’s report, the manager admitted that he deflated the balls of his own accord after they were checked by game officials. USC has been reprimanded and fined by the Pac-12 for the incident, the school said.

Last month, USC coach Lane Kiffin came under fire for switching the jerseys of a backup quarterback to that of the team’s punter. Cody Kessler (6) wore punter Kyle Negrete’s No. 35 jersey in an Oct. 20 win against Colorado, which included a failed two-point conversion attempt in which Kessler was involved. The Trojans claim since they switched Kessler’s jersey before the game, it does not violate NCAA game rules, as reported by USA Today.

USC insists that no coaches or players knew of this. OK, I want all of you to run to your attic, basement, garage, closet or wherever you keep your old leather football that you haven't touched in 20 years. Blow it up with your bicycle pump . . . . Ya ya, I know, you can't find that little silvery ball valve insert. Those things disappear faster than socks. . . . NO. Don't bother looking for it. It's lost. Just run to Ace Hardware and buy a packet of five. I'll wait . . . . .

OK now pump the football up to regulation size. Squeeze it. Press on it. Get the feel of it.

Now take a pound or two of air out of it. Squeeze it again. Notice a difference? OF COURSE YOU DO. That's the whole idea. You will notice that the ball is softer, spongier, easier to grip.

You think Matt Barkley or any of his receivers didn't notice?  Is Matt Barkley going to tell us that he believed in his God-fearing heart of hearts the whole time that he was throwing a regulation ball?

CHEATER!!!

As for Kiffin, it's just a matter of time before he gets kicked to the curb. He says he knew nothing about this? Ya right. And those red puncture marks on Lance Armstrong's butt are just bug bites. USC's decision to hire him after suffering severe NCAA sanctions is looking worse and worse as time goes on.

Meanwhile back in Oregon,  Coach Kelly said, "They can do whatever they want. It's no big deal to us."

Typical Kelly. The team just focuses on what the team can control. The game was last week, so it's in the past. But I think Kelly secretly likes the idea that at least one member of the Trojans felt they had to cheat to beat his Ducks.

Finally, I must repeat the best comment I read on this whole affair when one reader said, "Well I always believed Oregon had bigger balls than USC . . ."

As you might imagine, John Canzano has something to add about this.


ARIZONA: A CAUTIONARY FAIL
They blew out Washington. Then they put on their big boy panties and stunned USC. It looked like the Arizona Wildcats had finally found themselves. They were on their way.

So it was so shocking when they went to UCLA and played their absolute worst game of the season, losing 66-10.  Like the attraction of a cable TV special on bad car crashes, I was drawn to watch a replay of the game.

Were key AZ players injured? Was it 31 degrees and snowing? No. They were just awful. HORRIBLE! At one point it got so bad, the announcer couldn't even be nice.

QB Scott went back to pass what appeared to be some sort of screen (BTW, most of his passes looked like some sort of screen set up because his offensive line wasn't blocking anybody all night.), he threw terribly off his back foot to his receiver who was five yards out and RUNNING BACKWARDS down the field. He jumped pathetically as the pass sailed over him.

The announcer said, "That's not even football." And he was right. Whatever game the Cats were playing, it definitely wasn't football. They looked like a bunch of disorganized playground kids at recess.

Coach Rich Rod, what is the deal? 

The single worst thing you can say about a coach is -- . . . . well wait, I just remembered Lane Kiffin, the CHEATER. So the second worst thing you can say about a coach is -- . . . . .well, then there's Penn State . . .

OK, the third worst thing you can say about a coach is that his team is UNPREPARED. When they come into a game and play like they just don't know what they're doing, that is 100% on the coaching staff. Arizona couldn't throw. They couldn't block. They definitely could not tackle.

I shutter to think that a self-respecting Pac-12 team like Arizona decided to take the week off, feeling like they had "arrived", after putting together a streak of two victories including one over a USC team of emerging mediocrity that has shown it has to cheat to have a chance.

I bring up Arizona's sad story because Oregon is visiting a seemingly anemic Cal team after beating those same Trojans. What could possibly go wrong?

We know that Chip Kelly is all about "Faceless opponents" and "Every week is our Super Bowl". Let's just hope that foolish human nature doesn't creep in and infect even the most disciplined of teams that is our Ducks.

Cal isn't in very good shape however. According to this article in the San Jose Mercury News, they are decimated with injuries all over the roster, including their starting QB.

Raising a Barner
Finally, if you haven't already seen it, I recommend an article in the Oregonian this week: Oregon's Kenjon Barner is mastering the art of the broken tackle. It's an excellent analysis of Barner's improvement as a running back. But it goes on to talk about other great running backs that RB Coach Gary Campbell has tutored. The internet post also includes videos of these running greats.

Oregon at Cal Gametime Saturday evening Nov. 10th, 7:30 Pacific Standard on ESPN.

--KB

Ducks Terrible. Worst 49-0 Win Ever!!!

Even when the Wildcats caught the ball, the Ducks swarming
defense proved too much -- in this case forcing a fumble. 
Photos from Oregonian.

From John Canzano's column in the Sunday Oregonian

Oregon's grade on defense: A+.


The Ducks grade on offense: C-, maybe.

Right now, Kelly has himself one-half of a Top-5 football team. The pollsters will be fooled by the blowout final score. The computers will be fooled by the outcome. But anyone who saw the defense dominate, and the offense rely on two first-half drives of 17 plays and 16 plays that resulted in, ack, the first two field goals of the season knows what I'm talking about. There were bad snaps, and crucial penalties, and a failure to convert open opportunities. All that, washed away by a defense that might not ever play a more complete
game.
Maybe we ought to accept this victory, no questions. Take what you can get, especially given the chaos in the Top 10. Maybe the Ducks defense will be enough this season to make the offense not matter so much. So many maybes, but also that 4-0. But I suspect Oregon knows, down deep, it has a more complete game in it than the one it played on Saturday.

When I read this story, I had to chuckle.  How far the Ducks have come that fans and writers these days would criticize them after beating a 22nd ranked conference foe by a score of 49 to zip.

I get it. A lot of mistakes were made. And now Oregon has moved up to the #2 spot. What if the Natty were held today and Oregon played Alabama? Ya, definitely not ready. Better to continue testing their wings against Washington State.

'Zona was expecting the Reggie Bushesque DeAnthony Thomas.
Instead they got a big dose of Toby Gerhart-like pounding
from 6'5", 240 lb. Colt Lyerla. Move over, DAT.
Put Lyerla on the cover of S.I.

 Arizona was the first serious competition of the season. Despite the score, I think they're a good team. They made a ton of mistakes. Their QB Matt Scott injured his hip in the first quarter, limiting his ability to keep the ball and run, which shut down down a third of their options. But they're on the right track.

Coach Richard Rodriguez called their inability to score with six chances in the red zone "embarrassing". To Oregon's defense, it was a badge of pride for hard work and preparation.

Rose Bowl hero Kiko Alonzo snags this blocked field goal attempt.
It was one of Arizona's six failed scoring attempts in the red zone.

Aaron Fentress wrote in the Oregonian:
Defensive tackle Wade Keliikipi blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt. Ekpre-Olomu intercepted his first pass of the night off Arizona Scott at the Oregon 12. Defensive end Tony Washington stopped Scott for a one-yard loss from the Oregon two on fourth down. Oregon made similar tough stops in a win over Fresno State.

"Our coaches prepare us so we know what we have to do in every situation," said Oregon cornerback Troy Hill, who added a 29-yard interception return for the touchdown.

If not for such performances, Oregon easily could have lost this game. The offense had zero explosion plays until the third quarter.

In another article, one of Oregon's players said the D's preparation includes practicing having to defend a short field after a turnover. Definitely came in handy.

This is critical because it won't be the last time this season when the D is called upon to save the day while this young offense works game-by-game to clean up it's act.

But alas, Arizona is now someone else's problem. Have fun USC when you go to Tucson. And congratulations, Trojans, on your underwhelming 27-9 win over the "tough" Cal Bears.

Next, we ask the question: Could this be the Coug-iest Coug team in the history of Cougdom?

Rodriguez, we thank you. Chip thanks you. Urban thanks you...

If you've been able to watch all three of Oregon's games this season, you noticed something. Nobody huddled. All three of Oregon's opponents have adopted a no-huddle, with some of them spreading their offense more than others.

Tennessee Tech's coach Watson Brown said they changed their offense after seeing Oregon's last year. Teams in high school, college and even a couple in the pros are dabbling with this Oregonesque style offense because it works and it's fun to watch.

But where did Chip Kelly get the idea? When Arizona comes to town, we will be introduced to their new head coach Rich Rodriguez -- the Socrates to Kelly's Plato. The Yoda to Kelly's Obi-Wan. The Carson to Kelly's Letterman. The Bruce Lee to Kelly's Jackie Chan. The Amana Radar Range to Kelly's Sharp Carousel. The Diet Coke to Kelly's Coke Zero. The iPhone to Kelly's iPhone 4S. The Viagra to Kelly's Time-Released Cialis.
(Hey, I'm just having fun here kickin' back with the TV on, letting these float into my head......)
The Jack Nicklaus to Kelly's Tiger Woods.
(OK, I'll move on now.)

Kelly got the idea for his offense when he was in New Hampshire and he visited Clemson where Rodriguez was running this offense as their O. Coordinator. The two of them tell the story in an excellent Oregonian article by Aaron Fentress.

Click the above link for the whole article. The following pargraph sums up the gist of the story.
Rodriguez didn't invent the spread, zone blocking, the no huddle or the option. But his use of all four together helped start a revolution in college football. Kelly has taken it a step further by running similar schemes faster than they'd ever been run before for an entire game.


Who will prevail, Socrates....





...or Sharp Carousel?



It is for this that we thank Rich Rodriguez, Chip Kelly, Urban Meyer, and all the other coaches who are revolutionizing football. This will be the fourth consecutive Duck game without seeing a huddle. And this may be the fastest paced spread team to play Oregon yet. Bottom line, its going to be an entertaining game.



I posted a post back in January when Kelly almost left for the Tampa Bay Bucs ( Don't Let Oregon Football Leave With Kelly ).  In it I said the following:

.....what Kelly has done here hasn't just changed Oregon. He's changing football. I don't want to just see Oregon continue to play this way. I would love to see ALL teams play this way. I want to see huddles and automatic punting on fourth down go away with other 20th century dinosaurs like the pay phone and the fat box tube TV.

It appears we have more teams playing huddle-free football today than ever before. I  realized how much I did NOT miss huddles and other boring elements of football when I didn't see them anymore. Now I'm turned off by any team that still huddles.

Why? It's been proven unneccessary. It represents an older and slower form of communication. I think it's beneath the sophistication of today's kids. Finally, second-for-second, it just takes up a huge amount of time in a football game.

Additionally, I roll my eyes when a team faces 4th and 2 on their opponent's 40 yard line and opts to punt. Kelly showed us that given the average punt return, your odds are good to take the chance on the down and go for it.

The new century is the perfect time to ask "Why do we still do it this way?" Coaches like Kelly and Rodriguez have been asking that very question, and football is better for it.

And now for your viewing entertainment pleasure, I present Stephanie Powers, Powers Boothe, Betty Boop, Honey Boo Boo, Bebe Rebozo and Mukhalmood the Wonder Camel in the Cinimagraphic classic that's setting the world on fire: "No Time For Muslims."


With empathy for Duck fans on the east coast, gametime is Saturday night, 7:30 Pacific on ESPN. Gonna be another late one.

Thought of another: The Regis Philbin to Kelly's Michael Strahan.
--KB

Arizona, Time to Stop Being Stoopified.

Photos from AZCentral.com. Video from goducks.com.

Best Offense of the Season

Darron Thomas
11 out of 20 for 101 yds and 2 TDs

In the opening drive, that was some of the best decision making by QB Darron Thomas we've ever seen. It appears he decided that if Arizona was going to key on LaMichael James, he was going to take full advantage and run the ball himself.

Thomas ran the ball four times and passed twice before finally handing the ball to LaMJ. The Heisman worthy running back then scored on his second touch.

The stage was set for the rest of the game. Oregon gave Arizona the message, "You can key on our star running back if you want. But we have a dozen other ways to score on you."  With indecision firmly planted in the Wildcats' minds, add some solid blocking, and LaMJ had the best day of his career with 288 yards on just 23 carries.

But he only had two of Oregon's eight TD's. Kenjon "Welcome Back" Barner scored three times with two runs and a catch. David Paulson caught one. And Darron Thomas kept the ball twice for scores. It is amazing how much Oregon spread the ball around, yet LaMJ still carried his share of the load with his career day.

Wildcat defense . . .

. . . spent entire game . . .

. . . behind LaMJ.

The first step, Arizona, is to admit that you have a problem.

Of course none of this would have been possible had Arizona not been so pitiful. But don't blame that on QB Nick Foles. If I was in a Fantasy Flag Football league, he would be my first pick. There's no one better at throwing a perfect spiral upon counting "3-Mississippi". Granted he got hammered anytime after that. But he well represented the Arizona players who want to shout to the world, "Hey, we're trying!"

No, Zona's problems lie with one person. One pathetic loser of a person. I'm sorry Zona fans, but it's time you hear the truth and get real about your program.



Your coach sucks. He sucks in every way.  Weren't you embarrassed watching him on national TV with his bulging eyes and red face yelling at every living thing that came within ten feet of him? If he were Old Yeller, Ma would tell you to get the gun. The last time I saw someone like him carrying on as he does was in downtown Portland on a street corner until paramedics came and took the poor homeless guy to the hospital to get his medication refilled.



"I'm telling you, he's mad, Son.
We've got to put him down."



And it might be arguable if his tirades resulted in motivated over-achievers who won for him. But that's not the case. His players face a tough team, run into adversity on the field, come to the sidelines, get yelled at, go back onto the field for more of the same, back to the sidelines for more yelling. . . .  Are you proud of that? Do you stand behind it? You call that coaching?



Coach Stoops Squeeze Toy
Watch his eyes bug out!



You want your Wildcats to be a winning program? Mike Stoops is not the guy to get you there. Never was. Never will. His best records were 8-5 in 2008 and 2009. Last year was 7-6. It's only going to get worse as top recruiting prospects ask themselves if they want to play for a guy like Stoops. In an Oregonian article, 'Was the 2009 Version of Oregon-Arizona a Turning Point for Both Programs?', writer Lindsay Schnell points to the following fact.

In February of 2010, the Ducks signed the 13th-best recruiting class in the country, highlighted by players like Josh Huff and Bryan Bennett. Arizona signed the 37th-best class. Last winter, the separation got bigger: Oregon signed the ninth best class in the country, and Arizona wasn’t even ranked in the top 50.

We opponents only have to look at Stoops ugly face once a season. You AZ fans have to see it year round. You have to ask yourselves if you want to continue looking at it along with the mediocrity and embarrassment it produces. And if the answer is 'No'. Make your opinion known by keeping your wallet closed and your seats at Arizona Stadium empty.

That's the best advice I can give you, other than becoming Duck fans.

OK, I threw this one in because that's just funny right there.
I don't care who you are.

 Next game: October 6th, Thursday against Cal.

--KB