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

Win One for the Aliottipper

Here's the truth about Texas. They're Texas. Nothing less. Texas is better than Arizona. They could beat Stanford on a good day when the Cardinal locker room is rife with the stomach flu. The Longhorns are plenty good enough to stampede roughshod over Oregon if the Ducks choose to approach this game feeling sorry for themselves.

That downer we all felt when we knew Oregon wasn't going to play 'Bama, Auburn or Florida State? Forget it. Texas will give the Ducks all they can handle. And they have good game film from Stanford, Arizona, and Oregon State.

The good news is Marcus Mariota will be as healthy as ever. He proved to be the most valuable player in the losses as well as wins. When he couldn't run, Oregon's offense didn't run. 

If you were to ask me for the key to the game (and you didn't, but I'm giving it to you anyway), it would be the FIRST QUARTER. Stanford and Arizona were able to take a good lead in the first quarter and then control the tempo with running. Had Oregon been able to keep pace or take the lead, the opponents would have been forced into riskier plays.  The team that controls the first quarter, controls the tempo. 

IS OREGON'S DOMINANCE OVER?
The question is an interesting suggestion I heard recently by a fellow Pac-12 fan who happens to be an avid hater of the Ducks. 

My initial reply was, "SHUT UP, IDIOT!". But after pondering his entitled opinion for a few weeks, my reply today is,

"SHUT UP, DUMB ASS IDIOT!"

Oregon's rise to the top over the past decade didn't merely happen by an infusion of cash, a lucky guess at a new coach and a few good recruits. It came by the methodical building of a foundation reminiscent of a Fortune 100 company. Oregon has set itself up to where they can have a disappointing year or two, and then suddenly come back to win the Pac-12 and get back to the championship again.

A recent article in Forbes Magazine, Why the Oregon Ducks Teach Us that Luck isn't Everything explained it like this.

Oregon's success is based on key management and development models of Entrepreneurial Forethought, Pioneering Innovation, and Disciplined Overachievement.

Nike designed End zone at Alamo
Bowl has winged pattern in background.
So which does this fall under, Entrepreneurial
Forethought, Pioneering Innovation or Disciplined
Overachievement?

In addition, the stability of the coaching ranks has a huge positive impact. Writer Jason Belzer says the following:

There is no better example of consistency for the Ducks than when it comes to the hiring of coaches. The last three head coaches of the university’s lauded football and track programs have all come from within the existing staff, a streak that is unmatched in college athletics. Even more impressive, a number of the current assistant football coaches have been on staff for all three of those head coaching regimes. In fact, under former head football coach Chip Kelly, the football coaching staff had absolutely no turn over for four straight years! Such continuity is simply unheard of in the turbulent profession of coaching, much less for any organization operating on a budget in excess of $21 million.




Aliotti: "I'm retiring after this game."

  
So while Mack Brown is coaching his last game for Texas, Oregon answered that "Win one for the Gipper" motivation with the announced retiring of Defensive Coach Nick Aliotti.

After about 90 years in coaching, roughly 60 of them at Oregon, Aliotti has decided to hang it up. The word is he was ready to retire last year when he didn't get the head coaching position, but felt he should stay one more year to help Helfrich transition.

That's the class of Aliotti. All the college football history books will talk about Oregon's head coaches including Helfrich. But just looking at the past six seasons of 10 wins or more, three coaches owe their success to the one constant, Nick Aliotti.

Rich Brooks couldn't have gone from zero to Rose Bowl bound hero in 1995 were it not for Aliotti's Gang Green defense.

What is Aliotti's legacy? Let him answer that in this Oregonian Article by Jason Quick:

“Bottom line, I’m very satisfied with my career,’’ Aliotti said. “I did it the right way. I did it with integrity. Never cheated to get a recruit. We were a laughingstock; they wanted us to get out of the Pac 8 ... five decades I’ve been here. All those nice buildings they have? Those were parking lots... I’ve been able to watch this thing grow from what was nothing to what it is today. I’d like to think on some level I had a lot to do with that.’’

Thanks for all the great games, Coach Aliotti. Now we ask that you do it just one more time.


Alamo Bowl Game time 3:45 pm Pacific on ESPN

--KB

It Begins

Maybe this will be the year. We got the players, a good schedule, a good, albeit new coach. The NCAA Rules Infraction Committee -- after over two years of shaking their fingers, flapping their jaws and waving their arms -- decided there was just no making a mountain out of Oregon's molehill and slapped them with a benign probation. 

So the stage is set. Take care of business and maybe Oregon will be the team to end the SEC's vise grip on the National Championship.

Are head coach Mark Helfrich and his offensive coordinator Scott Frost ready? These are new positions for both of them. Will the play-by-play communication be tight? Will their "always on" 2-minute offense make the right critical decisions when there are actually 2 minutes left in a tight game?

Helfrich is in a great position. He's had four years with this successful team. The first thing he did was not do anything. He changed very little in the way the guys practice, although one change allowed us to see this.

In case you didn't know, the window inside practices was opened a little wider. Former Register Guard reporter Rob Moseley was hired by Oregon this season to a fun job: Full time head editor for Oregon's own blog at GoDucks.com. He gets to watch and report (lightly) on daily practices.

A look at the depth charts is promising. When reading stories of position-by-position personnel available to Oregon like in the links below, words like "deep in talent", and "perhaps the best ever" keep showing up.
 
http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2013/8/8/4600754/oregon-position-preview-defensive-secondary

http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2013/08/oregon_ducks_football_offensiv_5.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2013/08/oregon_football_deep_and_talen.html

The whole country is recognizing Oregon's defensive secondary led by All American Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. The defensive line is two deep with talented veterans at every spot. An Alabama fan on their blog "Roll Tide Roll" said that Oregon's defense might be as good as theirs. That's high praise coming from those arrogant A-holes.  

The offensive line is also deep. Marcus Mariota has Hroniss Grasu, his all important center from last year, and two returning starters at the guard positions. The rest of the line are veterans returning from injuries plus some very talented redshirts ready to get into rotation.

The receiving corps is getting a lot of attention. Led by amazing wide receiver Josh Huff, the Ducks are giddy over his supporting cast of Keanon Lowe, Blake Stanton, Daryle Hawkins, and B.J. Kelley, who may be the second fastest player on the team behind De'Anthony Thomas. Colt Lyerla leads a stable of big talented tight ends.

As for running backs, it is clear that DAT, while he's a lightning bolt in cleats, should not, and will not, take a large number of pounding and grinding carries. Byron Marshall is apparently doing well to take over the primary running duties vacated by Kenjon Barner. Marshall doesn't come with the fanfare of a Barner or LaMichael James. But he's turning that into a hunger to make us forget about those other guys.

You may have heard that freshman sensation Thomas Tyner was seen limping off the field in crutches and an owie boot last week. No word on the seriousness of the injury. Coach Helfrich brushed it off as nothing.

For Oregon with all of it's weapons, this is not devastating news like it might have been years ago. No one was expecting Tyner to have a huge impact on this season. If he plays this season, it's just extra gravy on the cake. 

The biggest concern I have is at QB. No I'm not worried about Mariota. He's on track to be amazing this year. But if he goes down, Oregon could have a problem.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130814/UPDATE/130814024/Oregon-football-Backup-QB-position-behind-Mariota-continues

Backups Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodrigues are both talented red shirt freshmen. But they are green, and I don't mean in a good Duck kind of way. Mariota's experience enables him to make decisions like a pro. Oregon's offense doesn't get that with the other two right now.  Can they win games? Sure. But the big goal would be in doubt.

SO HAVE YOU SEEN IT YET?
 Next to the Casanova Center, Oregon built a new Football Perfection Center . . . (sorry) . . . Performance Center. It's making absolutely everybody's faces turn red. Most Duck fans glow with pride, while some blush in over-opulent embarrassment, and the Duck or general college football haters burn with envy and/or disdain.

It's extreme. No expense spared. Privately funded. $68 million. 145,000 square feet. The finest materials shipped from all over the world. World-class chefs. Cutting edge technology. For the most complete slide show with descriptions, go the source at goducks.com.

Or I can give you my own photo tour below.

University of Oregon Football Performance Center...

...with water feature.

Stairs to the front.
"Daddy, is this Heaven?"
"No son, it's Oregon Football."



Head coach's office overlooking practice fields.
 

Weight room.
"Hey are your shoes clean?
No stepping on the "O" with dirty shoes."

Priceless Art Gallery

"Eat Your Enemies" Food Court
The place for Buffalo Wings and Cougar Cheese.

Lobby with a hand made glass duck for
every player who went to the NFL.
Even Herman Ho-Ching?!?!?

Chapel

The coaches' very own hydrotherapy pool.
Didn't every James Bond villain, ever, have one of these?















Las Vegas shows every Wednesday night!



They call this the "War Room".
This is where they gather to laugh at USC.

Petting Zoo

Still, there's one thing I'm not seeing, as we
look upon this players' lounge outfitted with
all the necessary gaming equipment ......

.... I'm not seeing any designated area
for these student-athletes to study.
You know .....STUDY? SCHOOL? COLLEGE?
 Oh never mind. Forget I brought it up.
Don't want to be a fun sucker.

THE SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the teams in the upcoming schedule.

Saturday, August 31st: Nicholls State. I feel sorry for them. More on that next week.

Saturday September 7th: @ Virginia.  After going 4-8 last year, Virginia coach Mike London blew up his staff and brought in a new offensive and defensive coordinator.  We'll see if that fixes the problem when they open against BYU.

Saturday, September 14th: Tennessee. What? An SEC team is coming to Autzen?!?!? The Ducks served notice to all traditional football powers three years ago when they humiliated Tennessee 48-13 in Knoxville. But this year, former Cincinnati Bearcat coach Butch Jones will be in charge at Rocky Top U. Bring it on. Let's light up that scoreboard.

Saturday, September 28th: Cal. After a bye week, a great way to start off Pac-12 play. First year Cal Coach Sonny Dykes selected a true freshman to quarterback the team as they open their season against No. 22 Northwestern, No 2 Ohio State, and No. 3 Oregon. He says he hopes to put Cal "on the map." The map of what, I'm not sure. 

Saturday, October 5th: @ Colorado.  Colorado is another team with a new head coach. Mike MacIntyre brings a hurry up, no huddle style from San Jose State to try to turn around the 1-11 Buffs of last year. Oregon should offer them a good educational clinic on how that kind of system works when done well.
 "You're welcome, Colorado. Happy to help."

Saturday, October 12th: @ Washington.  The Dawgs are pretty proud of their newly renovated Husky Stadium. The Ducks need to go up there and help them BREAK IT in.

Saturday, October 19th: Washington State. The Cougs ended last year's 3-9 season with a stunning upset over Washington. Hopefully they'll continue to improve now that they've figured out the cagey part of their helmets goes on the front of their heads.

Saturday, October 26th: UCLA. This is the game that worries me. With this contest at home before a bye week and the anticipated matchup at Stanford, it's the classic trap game. UCLA may be the best team in the South Division.

Thursday, Nov. 7th: @ Stanford. The game everyone is talking about. The possible decider of the Pac-12 Champion and perhaps even the National Championship berth.

Saturday, Nov. 16th: Utah.  The Utes are . . . . Oh who cares?

Saturday, Nov. 23rd: @ Arizona.  Desert Storm was last century. While Coach Rich "Rod" Rodriquez has the offense working pretty well, his defense was more like Dessert Storm. Opposing offenses ate it up. Most of the defense's starters return. Is that good news?

Friday, Nov. 29th: Oregon State.  Last year at this time, people were asking if it would be Coach Mike Riley's last season. Would dissatisfaction ultimately burst his bubble? Today, he is the Dean of Pac 12 coaches and his team is ranked #25. The Beavs started last year with six wins and cruised to a nine win season. No one in the conference gets more out of his players than Riley. He and his team deserve respect. The Ducks will still give them an ass-kicking, but it should be as respectful as it will be respectable. Riley has earned that.

Teams Oregon will not play: USC and Arizona State. That's not good. Those are two ranked opponents that could've helped Oregon's strength of schedule. Utah, Colorado and WSU just don't fill that gap.

Next week, a sympathetic look at Nicholls State.

--kb

It's Helfrich's Team Now

Note to Duck opponents for 2013: You know all those scouting reports and defensive schemes you had drawn up to load up the box and stop the running game? Oh you'll still need to hang on to those, but it just got harder -- to the point of being totally unfair.

This link to the Oregonian takes you to Mark Helfrich's first hire of his coaching era: Matt Lubick, son of Colorado State coaching legend Sonny Lubick, was named this year's top receivers coach in the nation by footballscoop.com and is considered a great recruiter as well.  Helfrich named him "Passing Game Coordinator" and Receivers Coach.
____________________________________
Helfrich is the Godfather
A release from Oregon:

EUGENE -- University of Oregon defensive back James Scales has been dismissed from the Ducks' football team for a violation of team rules, head coach Mark Helfrich announced.

The redshirt sophomore from Greensboro, N.C., appeared in 10 games over the past two seasons and recorded 12 tackles.

I was talking to others about Helfrich coming off as a really nice guy, a new guy, a young guy. How is he going to handle the first time one of his players tests him? Is he going to do that classic mistake of trying to be everyone's friend until he gets burned and is forced to toughen up?

I'm thinking of when Al Pacino became the new Godfather, how he had to (ahem) "tie up loose ends".

It's almost customary that when the new guy comes to power, whether its next in line in the Corleone or the Kim Jong family, somebody needs to get whacked. Bullets must fly, missles must be tested to create a cornerstone of strength for the new establishment.

We don't get to know the details behind Scales infractions or dismissal. But the result was very public. It was the shot heard around Duck Nation reporting the new sheriff in town. Helfrich sent the message. He's in charge.

_________________________________________
Yes Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus!!
Finally we got some cooperation from a legitimate team east of the Rockies. Oregon will travel to Virginia September 7th instead of Nevada according to this article. This will give Oregon Tennessee AND Virginia this season. That should please the BCS computers.


______________________________________
"Hello Kenjon, Joey Harrington here.
I'm just calling to give you some advice . . .
RUN!  RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!"

In the following article from the Detroit Free Press, look who likes Kenjon Barner
Lions have the need for speed at running back
Oregon's Barner could help fill void

The Detroit Lions: Where good careers go to die. 

_______________________________________________________
Leading the League in BASKETBALL!!
And ranked #10 in the nation, Oregon is undefeated in the Pac-12 including sweeps in L.A. and over the Arizona schools at home. At the risk of jinxing them, they're playing fantastic ball right now. Here is an R-G write-up of their win over Washington. Next they travel to the Bay area with a Wednesday, 8 pm tipoff against Stanford.

Carlos Emory dunks on the Cougs.
Why are these Ducks so good?

E.J. Singler models for you as he drains a three.
Gotta be the shoes . . . . .  and the socks.

--KB