Making the football gods proud.

 Well if that wasn't a case of separating the wheat from the chaff . . . . This win had as much to do with UCLA showing their true selves as Oregon finding theirs.

The Oregonian's Ken Goe said so much when he commented in his video blog:

-- For most of Oregon's 42-30 victory over UCLA on Saturday in the Rose Bowl, the Ducks looked like they did during their 2010 run to the BCS Championship Game.
They had UCLA's defense on its heels. They ran the ball with authority and passed on their terms.
The opportunistic UO defense bent a little, but compensated with big plays.
If the Ducks keep playing like that, they have the inside track to the Pac-12 title. Win that, and they have a shot to make it into the first College Football Playoff.

Hundley lays ball on the carpet.

-- UCLA didn't look like a contender, leaving me to believe the Bruins have been severely overrated.
I don't think UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley bears much resemblance to a first-round draft choice either.
He is a big guy with some sizzle as a runner. But when he looked to pass, I thought it was advantage defense. If I were advising Hundley, I would suggest another year at the college level.

No doubt the Ducks played better this week than last week against Arizona. The running backs ran with purpose. Mariota ran more (Was he healthier? Did UCLA's defense allow him more running opportunities than 'Zona's? Hard to say.).



Whenever Pharaoh Brown is
in the picture, others are sent flying.

But one thing behind this sudden turn around was that the offensive line got back a key injured starter in Jake Fisher. And they doubled down on their training to improve as a unit, albeit a patchworked injured one. The offensive line played better, and magically that makes everything better.

To prove that point further, one only had to watch USC at Arizona later that evening. USC, without any special tricks or gimmicks, went to Arizona and flat out-footballed them. And probably the biggest difference for the Wildcats between that game and their victory in Eugene was that USC's offensive line was quite healthy, deep and sizeable.

The Trojans have probably two of the biggest offensive tackles in the league. All night they were blowing 'Cats off the line. Arizona played about as well as they did in Eugene, but they couldn't stop USC's running game. They couldn't touch USC's quarterback. Are USC's running backs and QB's any better than than Oregon's?

HELL NO!

But they certainly performed better behind that solid offensive line.

The same could be said for Oregon's performance at UCLA. You can say that Mariota and the RB's performed better. But that wouldn't have been possible had the offensive line not significantly improved.

It's looking at games like these that make me realize coaches like Vince Lombardi and Knute Rockne are still right all these years later. It begins and ends with your linemen.

They would've been proud of Oregon last Saturday.

What is it?

"Some kind of probe.
They definitely know we're here."

Wonderful, Joyful, Lovely Hate Week
This is the week when we gather our children and loved ones together to share stories of our hatred and laughter of our dominance of the Huskies.Ten years in a row, we have kicked their asses.

Of the ten, which victory was my favorite? Oh such a question. That's like asking which is your favorite child. To me, they're all very special in their own way.

We'll celebrate the hate more later in the week. But for now here's a photo album of each of those precious wins.

More later.
\/
\/
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OUT TAKE

Ken Goe doesn't do his video blogs from his back deck too often
because he has a weird neighbor (He calls himself Iron Duck) who
constantly photobombs the shot.

--KB

Think you wanna play Oregon?

UCLA was up 7-0, they had just stopped Oregon on their second consecutive drive. The Bruins owned the momentum. Facing 4th and 14 on their own 25, the Ducks were forced into only one choice:

Proof that if you bring the Ducks to their knees, they'll punch you in the gonads.

While this brilliant special teams play sparked the offense to their first score, the talk of the game was the defense.

Nick Aliotti, after cussing out Washington State for continuing to pass with their first string in the closing minutes of that game, took a different approach in this game. Yes, UCLA's QB Brett Hundley was still slinging away in the fourth quarter, but in the end he only netted 64 yards passing for the game.

Oregon's coaches noted that their players were even more eager to get back out on the field in the second half than at the start. In this story by goducks.com Rob Moseley, the players talked about shutting out UCLA for the second half.

Ducks couldn't wait to get their hands
on Bruins in the second half.

Oregon got matched in the first half. They were squarely faced by the Bruins. But they came out in the second half eager to pretend the first half never happened. If the first half was a nightmare, the second half was tying Freddie Kruger to a cactus and beating him with rubber hoses.

Stripped.

Oregon's incredible taking of a punch and delivering back a wallop was an impressive show of resilience and dominance. So it surprises me when I read misinformed ignorance like this:

BAMA BRAINIACK
AL.com (All Alabama!) writer Kevin Scarbinsky (That's a stupid name. How can you take any writer seriously with a name like Kevin?) wrote the following about which team Alabama might prefer to play in the Natty.

Live at 9 with Kevin Scarbinsky: Alabama wants Oregon, too, not FSU

Oregon wants Alabama. We get it. When the Duck fans aren't chanting it at their games, they're printing T-shirts with that slogan.
But what about Alabama?
What, or more precisely, whom does the Crimson Tide want if they run the table to earn one of the two spots in the BCS Championship Game?
Alabama has to want Oregon, too.

If the choices are Oregon or Florida State, the two teams who've swapped the No. 2 BCS ranking behind Alabama the last two weeks, it's no choice. Give the Tide the Ducks.

Why? Florida State has a much better chance to man up to Alabama.

FSU has SEC-style talent on both sides of the ball, including up front. FSU has a special quarterback in Jameis Winston who doesn't get rattled in big moments.

FSU has a head coach in Jimbo Fisher who's worked for Nick Saban and modeled his program after Alabama's. FSU has a defensive coordinator in Jeremy Pruitt who worked for Saban until last year and knows the Alabama program inside and out, from schemes to personnel.
Pruitt, by the way, has done an excellent job in his first year as a college coordinator.

Of the remaining unbeaten teams, Florida State has the best chance to compete with Alabama for 60 minutes, which no team has done in any of Alabama's three BCS Championship Games.

Of course, it's likely that if Alabama, Florida State and Oregon run the table, Oregon will finish second behind Alabama, and FSU will be unbeaten but unrewarded like the 2004 Auburn team.
That's my story, and I'll stick with it all the way to Pasadena. What's your take? Bring it on Live at 9.

OK first let's sort through the things we can agree with.

Student entrepreneurs at Oregon.
Pssssst..."Hey guys, you're not helping."

"We want BAMA" shirts sold at Oregon?  Bad. Dumb. Embarrassing. It completely violates Oregon's "Win the Day" mantra. It becomes a joke and a dust rag should either team fall between now and then. 

What's more, if these two honor students took any combination of advertising and political science classes, they would learn that calling out your perceived chief competition like that only legitimizes them. You set your own self up as the underdog. You give them the power and position to smack you down in a war of words.

The other thing we can agree on? This all screams for a real playoff system. Florida State, Bama, Oregon, Baylor, Clemson, Ohio State. . . . . . only head-to-head games can truly decide who deserves to play whom through to the championship.

Having said all that, this fool just proves that slashed state education budgets and malnutrition have truly robbed Alabamans' brains of any useful means of common sense, let alone critical analysis. He probably brushes his teeth with his finger. I'll bet he'd pee on an electric fence if you told him Nick Saban said it was safe.  His whole kingdom is bordered by the Rocky Mountains, the Gulf, and the Mason-Dixon line.

 "Hey Scarbinsky, when you tithe at your church, do you write 'to SEC' on your check"?

He said that FSU coaches Jimbo and Jeremy are Nick Saban students. Therefore only they can pull Saban's sword out of the rock. He, of course, is assuming that Nick Saban is The Lady of the Lake, and thusly Coach Jimbo is King Arthur and Jeremy is  . . . . I don't know. . . . Brave Sir Robin I guess.

What he doesn't realize about his beloved Bamalot is that the white rabbit with big  pointy teeth is coming. But he's too dim to realize it, because he said his favorite color was red when it was actually blue, and the duck weighs more than a witch. . . . .

OK sorry, I'll drop the Monty Python metaphors.  But clearly, this guy hasn't even watched -- I mean REALLY watched -- the Ducks play.

Tennessee played both Bama and Oregon. Ask those like ESPN's Alex Scarborough who paid attention to BOTH games. He'll tell you that Oregon compared, at the very least, equally to Alabama.

I loved this line supporting his logic that FSU is better than Oregon: 
 FSU has a special quarterback in Jameis Winston who doesn't get rattled in big moments.
Oh, a SPECIAL quarterback. And he doesn't get rattled, you say? Even after he threw four interceptions? So has Scarbonesky seen any other QBs who don't seem to get rattled?

Why doesn't he ask UCLA coach Jim Mora if he's come across a QB who doesn't get rattled. Ask the entire Washington defense.

Why doesn't he ask FOX Sport's Coy Wire, who wrote the following in this good story complete with videos (Thanks RW for sending it to me.) :
So despite Jameis Winston’s burgeoning star and Johnny Manziel’s weekly brilliance, among many others, if we’re discussing the “best quarterback in college football,” it’s Oregon’s Marcus Mariota against the field.

Finally, I'm calling out other sports writers like Goe or Canzano at the Oregonian, Ray Ratto at the SF Chronicle, Bud Withers in Seattle, or Mitch Albom in Detroit. Why don't you end your stories with such bravado and pizzazz like Scardunceski when he says,  "That's my story, and I'll stick with it . . ."?

OR ASK STANFORD WHO THEY'D RATHER PLAY
From the SF Chronical

Stanford-Oregon should be worth wait

Jake Curtis

For the next 10 days, the question will be: Can Stanford's defense stop Oregon's explosive offense again?
Neither team plays until they meet at Stanford on Thursday, Nov. 7, with the winner improving its chances for a berth in the national-championship game.
Here are the numbers worth discussing as the game approaches:
34: Consecutive games in which Oregon has scored at least 34 points - with one conspicuous exception: The Ducks scored just 14 points in four quarters plus overtime in Stanford's 17-14 victory in Eugene last year.
0: Points the Ducks scored in the final 21:35 of regulation plus the untimed overtime in last year's game against Stanford.
1887: The last time a team had started a season by scoring at least 45 points in each of its first seven games before Oregon achieved it this season. The Oregon streak ended when the Ducks were "held" to 42 points in their 42-14 victory over UCLA on Saturday in Game 8. Oregon fell one game short of the 1887 streak achieved by Harvard, which extended its run to eight games of 45 points or more when it edged Wesleyan 110-0.
12: Points Stanford yielded Saturday to Oregon State, which came into the game averaging 44.1 points and had scored at least 33 points in each of its first seven games.
8: Sacks by Stanford against Oregon State.
9: Sacks allowed by Oregon State in its first seven games.
2: Stanford starting defensive ends whose status is in question for the Oregon game. Henry Anderson, who had 2.5 tackles for loss against the Ducks last year, might be ready to return after missing the past six games with a leg injury. Ben Gardner sat out the fourth quarter of Saturday's game against Oregon State with a recurring arm problem that leaves his status in question. Both Anderson and Gardner were second-team All-Pac-12 selections last season, when they combined for 27.5 tackles for loss.
88: Yards passing against Oregon State's mediocre defense by Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, who passed for 211 yards against Oregon last year.
123: Receiving yards by Stanford tight ends against Oregon last year.
30: Receiving yards by Stanford tight ends this season.
4.41: Yards per play allowed by Oregon's defense this season, which is seventh best in the country and better than either Stanford or Alabama.

Makes your mouth water, don't it?
That's my story and I'm stickin' with it. More later.

Well, OK. That's just funny right there.
At least it's Miley amusing.

--KB

Great End to a Great Season

Oregonian photos

THIS ONE! This is the one to hang over my fireplace.

In 1994, I was sitting in a corner of Autzen Stadium with my wife. We were surrounded by Husky fans. The game was over, but we all just sat there, because we had just witnessed Kenny Wheaton intercepting a Husky pass and returning it to immortality.

We had been exchanging mostly, but not always, good natured jabs through the game. But afterwards we all just sat there and took the moment to be a little philosophical and whimsical.

The purply person sitting to my left, a nice lady for a Husky fan, told me frankly how this loss to Oregon had basically ruined Washington's season. Mind you, Washington was just four years removed from winning the national championship. And she went through each season since, year by year, saying how one loss here and one loss there RUINED the season because it prevented them from getting back to the National Championship.

I listened and knodded to her story, although I thought a bit odd. So I stood up and kneed her in the face. And while she was choking on the blood gushing out of her nose, I killed her husband.

OK no. . . but I wanted to; because what I was thinking as she was talking was that if the Ducks were ever in a position -- oh, say 15 to 18 years from that moment -- when they were beating their rivals regularly, winning the league championships, going to the big bowls including the national championship and flirting with undefeated seasons, I would never allow myself to get so highbrow that I couldn't enjoy a less-than-perfect season.

We are Duck fans, not Duck snobs; and we can't forget our roots. One loss? We had years when we worried for one win. Many times we have suffered the night-and-day difference between a 5-6 and a 6-5 season. Beating Washington this season for the ninth consecutive time is as special to me now as it was back then in '94. Sweeping the Arizona schools. Beating UCLA. And how 'bout that game against USC?!?.  I still say "Wow" when I look back at any one-, two-, even three-loss seasons.

And then there's Oregon State. Winning at Corvallis, no matter how many times Oregon has done it, is still a great accomplishment. It's never easy.

But it's so rewarding when it happens. You've heard of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem? Because of the following pics, I've come to call the three foot high barrier that rings the stands at Reser Stadium OSU's "Failing Wall." 

From three consectutive Civil Wars at Reser:


Failing Wall: 2008



Failing Wall: 2010

 

And this is my new favorite: Failing Wall 2012.
This poor guy is surrounded by Duck fans all smiling
like they're posing for a Christmas Card. But look at the
girl on the left. She's Beaver-clad as well, but she leans
away from him and smiles with the Ducks.
This poor orange-blooded sufferer is all alone in his own stadium.




Like little kids running around the living room playing superhero,
Super Mariota and . . . .




. . . The Black Mamba both run around the field
with their orange capes flapping in the breeze.



Ah oh. Barn Burner's cape is slipping off.

It looks like the Ducks are going to the Fiesta Bowl to face either Kansas State or Oklahoma depending on whether Texas will get its Bevo on this Saturday.

I lick my smackers at the chance to take on either of those teams this year. And it was the Duck's making the best of their opportunities that makes that possible. Below is an excerpt from the Oregonian article: Oregon's still cresting dynasty at critical juncture 
. . . . logically, Oregon should not have been a national title contender.

A redshirt freshman quarterback, season-ending injury to senior guard Carson York, no emerging go-to receiver and several other injuries along the offensive line increased the degree of difficulty to replace two all-time greats, James and quarterback Darron Thomas.

The defense lost its leader, senior safety John Boyett, and his replacement, budding star Avery Patterson. Injuries along the defensive line led to true freshmen being called upon to carry the load for two weeks. Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and Alex Balducci should anchor the 2014 line.

Still, despite these issues, Oregon went 11-1 and did so in mind-blowing fashion.

The roster's talent level is an abundance of riches that should keep Oregon entrenched in the nation's top 10 teams for at least the next couple of years.

Fentress goes on to talk about better things ahead through the next couple of years provided the overly anticipated NCAA penalties aren't too bad and they survive whatever coaching changes may come.

Meanwhile, its interesting to see other schools react to their misfortunes.

COLORADO, ARE YOU HIGH?
Say you're a house painter. A homeowner calls you and says he needs you to undo a terrible job done by a previous house painter and then get the job done right.

You look at it and see the previous paint is thin and peeling already. You tell the homeowner that while most paint jobs take three to four days, this will take a good ten days to undo the bad and paint it correctly.

The owner agrees.

So just four days in, you've scraped off all the old paint and applied a primer. And you're getting ready to put on the first coat when the owner comes by.

He sees that the job is still far from where he wants it and fires you immediately.

"But I told you this was going to take longer," you said.

"Ya, but it looks worse now than before," he replies.

"Yes, but I've just started," you reply.

"Too bad," is his answer.

And you look straight at him and say, "Man . . . . . Do you know what? . . . .Man . . ."

And you storm out and forget to load your ladder on your truck because you're so mad.

Colorado fired coach Jon Embree after just two seasons of a five year contract that he told them from the start would take the full five years. Good ESPN story here.

When should you fire a coach after only two years or less?

When he's caught in a hotel room with a stripper named Destiny.  When he is seen abusing his players. When he is seen abusing anybody. When he punches an opposing player during a game. When the GPA of his team dramatically drops. When his players constantly get into legal trouble. When he shows blatant negligence or disregard to basic university and NCAA regulations. When he has a gambling problem. When he shows up to work drunk. When he doesn't show up to work at all. When throughout the season, a steady stream of players walk into the athletic director's office and says, "This guy doesn't know what he's doing."

None of that happened at Boulder. In fact Embree's players had the best GPA's in school history. They stayed out of trouble. They respected him. Embree was going to fire at least two assistants and switch to the spread option. He was planning for the next three years, getting ready to add two good coats of paint.

Could he have turned Colorado around? The point is, we'll never know. Colorado gave him five years to bring their program out of the shambles that Dan Hawkins had spent five years putting it in. But they panicked after just two years.

SO LONG JEFF AND THANKS FOR THE NEW STADIUM
Hey Jeff Tedford, Ernie Kent returned your call and said, "Ya, tell me about it."


MEANWHILE, BACK AT AUBURN . . .
Overheard in the coach's office: ". . . Well, what did you expect Colorado to do? I mean Embree only had four wins in two seasons -- HA HA HA. . . Hey hold on, I got a call on the other line . . . Hello, this is Gene Chizik . . . .What?  I'm FIRED?!?!?"

It's like Auburn was on a hot date but discovered her bra was stuffed with tissue. Once they saw Chizik naked without QB phenom Cam Newton and genius offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, the thrill was gone.

Sure he won the Natty two years ago. But since then switched from Malzahn's no-huddle/spread back to a pro set. His team went 3-9 this year. Two of his players were arrested for public intoxication. And new NCAA investigations are on the horizon. Suddenly he was very unattractive.

PAC 12 CHAMPIONSHIP:
UCLA cleverly loses to Stanford to set up upset at Stanford?
Did you hear the L.A. reporter accusing UCLA coach Jim Mora of throwing the game against Stanford to avoid having to go to Eugene to play the Ducks?

At very beginning, then again at 4:30 mark.


Thanks for flattering the Ducks, Scoop. But honestly, I think Mora's Bruins lost this game the old fashioned way. They sincerely and genuinely played like crap.

Should UCLA suddenly pull out some secret offensive sets and stun the Cardinal tonight, we'll talk again. But I think Stanford proved that they are worthy champs after beating USC and UCLA and stunning Oregon at Eugene.  Keep in mind also they narrowly missed out on an upset at Notre Dame in overtime.

"Noooooooo!"
That was the lament of a blog writer who learned that Washington Coach Steve Sarkisian was a serious candidate for the job opening at Arkansas. Only this wasn't a Husky blog, it was of Oregon.

Hey Dawgs, it's a bad sign when your rivals are nervous about your coach leaving.


Finally, an excellent recap of the Civil War accompanied by 38 Special. Crank it so Beaver fans near you will ask, "What are you watching?"


Next: Waiting for bowl selections.
--KB

SCOREBOARD, BABY!!!

Darron Thomas and Josh Huff display the number after they connect for a TD.

Fifteen seconds. That was about the length of time from the referees whistle to end a play to the moment the center's hands were on the ball to run Oregon's next play. By comparison, UCLA was averaging a typical 25 to 30 seconds to trash talk, huddle, take a few deep breaths, break and then line up.
   Sometimes QB Darron Thomas was able to rush it as fast as 10 or 11 seconds. Once when it was about 22 seconds, you could see Coach Kelly on the sidelines yelling to hurry up. But he smiled after that play when Thomas threw a touchdown pass.
   Oregon isn't putting on a clinic. They're starting a revolution. Their game against UCLA Thursday night symbolized 21st vs. 20th century football. The Ducks made one of the greatest teams of last century look like a slow, sad, decaying relic.


Richard Brehaut's numbers:
16-23, 159 yards. 1 interception, 3 sacks.
It could've been worse.



Terrell Turner demonstrates a safe sack on Brehaut.
Don't helmet-butt his head. Just squeeze it hard til it pops off.

UCLA RB Derrick Coleman probably wasn't surprised
that Alliotti's defensive plan was to stop the run.

   The word is Oregon practices even faster than they play. Once they've finished practicing all week at a turbocharged pace, the football game seems a little slower to them. Many times you saw the offense standing in position waiting for the referees to place the ball and blow their whistle. Oregon didn't score 60 points in the game, they scored 60 points in only 21 and-a-half minutes of possession.
   Oregon's defense too, after going against their offense at a frenetic pace all week, gets what must feel like vacation time waiting for slower teams to regroup between plays. This is the new advantage in football. Viewers, announcers and the media are marveling over this change to the game, and that's just when the clock is stopped.

   Oregon's offense has traditionally been labeled a spread option. Lately I've watched several teams claiming to run the so called spread, and they look very different. Some pass more. Some hardly spread at all (hence I think they're fooling themselves). Some just don't work. Coach Kelly recently said in comparing the spread to UCLA's pistol offense that you can run any system successfully as long as you have good athletes to make it work.  He demonstrated that Thursday night.
   The Bruins had not yet figured out how to stop Oregon's traditional set-up, when suddenly the Ducks emptied the backfield, and for a quarter they started executing what looked like a classic run-and-shoot offense. Then after scoring a couple of TD's off of that, LaMichael James walked off the field and behind Thomas comes TWO running backs to run the triple option!
   Kelly and his heroes refused to say more than two words about being and defending their #1 status through the week. But when the lights turned on, ESPN's 3D cameras started rolling and the Ducks took the field, they didn't just talk.
   They showed off.

Game-by-game, QB Darron Thomas' passing is improving.
He was phenomenal Thursday with 22-31, 308 yards, 3 TD's, no sacks. 

UCLA "held" LaMJ to 123 yards on 20 carries
 and two TD's in three quarters.

The offensive line opens a lane as wide
as an airport runway for Remene Alston Jr.
to leap through for a score.

Neuhoser with his back
to the scoreboard.

   The title to the Oregonian story said it best: "Compute this, BCS". And what better witness could they present their case before than ol' Mr. "Scoreboard, Baby" himself, Rick Neuheisel?
    Oregon's favorite villain, humbled and wowed, was left no choice but to say things like, "Well they were terrific tonight," and "That was impressive," and "Overwhelming," and "Dominant."
   The rest of the nation took notice as well. George Schroeder, in his postgame story in the R-G, said:

Right now, and helped along by what happened Thursday night, the common perception is that Oregon is very, very good. Here, a couple of tweets from college football writers, watching (on TV) and riffing:

“If UCLA has a pistol offense, then Oregon’s is some kind of flesh melting ion bomb.”

Or, with 137 characters to spare: “Wow.”

That's it!  Let all the rest of the teams have their spread option, pistol, run-and-shoot, triple option, or whatever offenses. Only Oregon has the FLESH MELTING ION BOMB offense.   


Watching the game in 3D was great.
It was like we were actually there!



Bruins to feel Prince's Pain

It may not matter much, but I managed to find one source out of L.A. who said UCLA QB Kevin Prince sat out practice for a second day this week to "rest" his knee.  This was an injured knee from two weeks ago. He's experienced swelling and pain in it all this time.

   He flew back to his hometown in Texas last week to get a second MRI from the doctor who originally operated on his knee when he was in high school. Neuhoser and Co. said they would not comment on Prince's knee until they heard from the doctor. Lately Neuhoser said Prince's involvement against Oregon would be a "game time decision".

Kevin Prince

  Duck fans, I think it's safe to say that we have all become sort of experts ourselves about knee injuries and how they relate to who is and is not practicing, and what coaches are and are not saying. This ain't our first rodeo, Neuhoser; and you don't fool us anymore. So just come out and say it. Oh never mind. I will.

  SOPHOMORE RICHARD BREHAUT WILL BE TAKING THE SNAPS FOR UCLA THURSDAY EVENING AGAINST OREGON.

  If I'm proven wrong and Prince is in there, we'll all know that somewhere between Eugene and Pittsburgh, Dennis Dixon will be watching and cringing until Prince inevitably goes down. And then Brehaut will come in to try to save the day.

  That's not going to be very easy. Prince is the better passer. Brehaut is not known for his running even with two healthy knees. Although Brehaut had a half decent (50% completion) second half against WSU two weeks ago when Prince went down, he hasn't had much playing time outside of mop-up duty. Plus he has never been to Autzen.

  The following story just makes UCLA's situation sound all the worse.  Greg Beacham, AP writer contributing to NBC Sports submitted this sad story:

UCLA'S AWFUL PASSING GAME TO BE TESTED AT OREGON
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow were willing to do almost anything to get UCLA's running game going this fall, even risking their considerable coaching reputations on the NCAA's latest trendy offense.

   That ground game has been fixed by the Pistol - but an even more confounding problem has popped up in its place.
   The Bruins (3-3, 1-2 Pac-10) head to Autzen Stadium to face No. 1 Oregon on Thursday night with perhaps the worst passing offense in the nation.
   "We have invested heavily in a running game because we felt it was the key to taking the next step in the conference," Neuheisel said. "In no way did we anticipate that in doing that, we would lose our throwing game."

   A year after UCLA struggled mightily to run the ball, the Bruins' ground game is purring in the new Pistol offense, racking up 223 yards per game. [That's good for second place in the Pac-10.  First place is Oregon at nearly a hundred more yards per game.]

   Yet their passing game has been reduced to nearly nothing, managing just 95.5 yards amid a weekly slew of overthrown passes, unimpressive route-running and poor pocket protection. If the Bruins fall behind the Ducks, they know it'll be almost impossible to catch up.
   It's an embarrassment to Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Chow, who built their reputations on prolific, balanced offenses during their lengthy coaching careers.
   UCLA hit the midway point of its season ranked 118th out of 120 FBS teams in passing offense, with only Army and Georgia Tech managing less production through the air this season. The Bruins also are ranked dead last in the FBS in passing efficiency, a statistic that takes into account completion percentage, yards and interceptions.
   "It's been tough to throw the ball the way we want to," said Kevin Prince, the oft-injured sophomore quarterback who has started five of the Bruins' six games. "It's tough to swallow sometimes, because you don't want to be that team."
   The Bruins haven't passed for more than 128 yards in any game this season, finishing under 100 yards three times - including just 27 in their upset victory at Texas last month. Their quarterbacks are a combined 61 for 132 with six interceptions and just three touchdowns, and none of the Bruins' passes has gone for more than 35 yards.
   The Bruins didn't need a prolific passing game to beat the Longhorns, with even Prince chipping in on their impressive 264-yard ground attack. But then the running game crashed to a halt two weeks ago against California, managing just 26 yards in the Golden Bears' 35-7 rout.
   "We've got to get proficient, and certainly Norm and I have been around proficient offenses in the past," Neuheisel said. "We know what it looks like. We know how to teach, and we're going to get there. But we can't forget what our calling card is, and that's being physical at the line of scrimmage and running the ball."

   Still, it's a constant source of frustration for Neuheisel, the former UCLA quarterback who developed prolific offenses at Washington and Colorado before running the Baltimore Ravens' offense three years ago.
   It's also a downright stunner for Chow, one of the most respected offensive assistant coaches in recent college football history. After 27 seasons working alongside LaVell Edwards in the innovative BYU passing offense that spawned Steve Young and Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, Chow tutored Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC on the way to two national titles.
   Chow sees two main reasons for the Bruins' utter ineptitude through the air: UCLA has been determined to run the ball after managing just 114.6 yards per game on the ground last season, and the passing game was neglected - particularly when Prince missed most of training camp with injuries.
   "You dedicate yourself so much to that phase of the game, and in the NCAA, you only get 20 hours to practice every week," Chow said. "We've got young guys who are learning this from the ground up. We don't have a lot of experience, so we have to get that on the job. But we're disappointed. We should be throwing the ball better."


For all of Prince's struggles with accuracy and backup Richard Brehaut's problems with composure and in-game concentration, [How's that again?  Problems with composure and concentration, and he's coming to Autzen for the first time?  Ya, you and I can chalkboard Oregon's game plan for this one.]the Bruins' receivers haven't distinguished themselves, either. Although Neuheisel has landed three highly ranked recruiting classes at his alma mater, the Bruins haven't developed a game-breaking receiver.
   Nelson Rosario, who could miss his second straight game with a high ankle sprain, leads the Bruins with just 14 catches for 137 yards. Less-than-speedy starter Taylor Embree has only eight catches for 99 yards, while Josh Smith - the Colorado transfer expected to provide speed - has just three receptions and is suspended for Thursday's game for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
   "We don't work at our best unless both phases of the offense are contributing," tailback Johnathan Franklin said. "It's a big change, for sure. You don't expect to startstop passing like that, but we're working on it every week."[Well, good luck with that.]
[OK, here's the plan. Oregon Defense: You load the box and stop the run.  Autzen crowd: You scream in Brehaut's earhole 'til it bleeds. If Prince plays, just wait until he goes down and grabs his knee. Then stick to the original game plan. ]
 
Something to print out and put on your refrigerator.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/10/20/midseason-all-americas/index.html?xid=si_topstories
 
The above link is the Sports Illustrated list of Midseason All Americans. Three Ducks -- LmJ, center Jordan Holmes, and cornerback Cliff "Kash" Harris are first team. Second team lists defensive tackle Brandon Bair, and Harris again for punt returns.
   Pardon me if my naive geekiness is showing, but we Oregon fans have never seen anything like this. To see four Ducks together on anyone's list other than a police blotter. This makes last February seem like a long long time ago.
 
["It's a beautiful day . . . . . Don't let it get away.  It's a beautiful day . . . . . TOUCH ME . ."  --OK, I'll stop now.]
 
3-Deep in Epicness.
Remember Pong, the first video game?  Remember the first VCRs?  Remember when your favorite radio station switched to playing "All CD's".  And then came the first plasma TV's. Technology is changing so fast, the next big thing is right upon us.
   ESPN announced that Thursday night's game at Autzen will be the first game on the West coast broadcast in 3D. What does this mean for you, the viewer?
  Right now, you need to look in your closet, junk drawer, garage, basement, glove compartment and wherever else to find those dang 3D glasses they gave you at the theater when you saw Avatar.  Then just tune in to ESPN HD when the game starts, put on your glasses . . . . .
   Oh it won't work. It'll probably just give you a headache. You need to call your cable or satellite company and order ESPN3D, right after you buy a booquoo-thousand dollar 3DTV!  But for now at least, you'll still feel like you're a part of the history-making epic event. Just take some aspirin first.
Here's a link for techno geeks: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/07/espn-3d-review-college-football-kickoff/
 
Gametime: Thursday, October 21st. 6pm Pacific on ESPN. 
I will be at the game. Thank you, Matt.  When I get home around midnight, I expect to be hoarse, and the Bruins will be toast.
--KB

Humans #1, BCS #2

Let me be clear. I would call the BCS a big stinkin' #2 regardless of where they ranked the Ducks.
   In case you've been in a Chilean mine for the past 48 hours, Oregon reached the #1 ranking in the human polls -- AP, USA Today, and Harris -- after Wisconsin beat previously #1 Ohio State on Saturday.  (See latest R-G article.)
  The BCS however, plugged Oregon in at #2 behind Oklahoma because the computers ranked the Ducks in 8th place!
   What's the problem? Both teams are 6-0. But if we dissect those records, we see the situation. 
   Of Oklahoma's six wins, four are impressive over Florida State (currently 6-1), Air Force (5-2) Texas (4-2) and Cincinnati (3-3).
   Oregon's top four wins feature Stanford, a solid trophy at (5-1), then ASU, mediocre at (3-3), Tennessee is looking worse every week (2-4). And for a fourth quality win, take your pick from Washington State, New Mexico, or the PSU that is NOT Penn State.

   Computers are brainless, but they can crunch numbers better than humans can. And Oregon's first half of their schedule simply wasn't as tough as Oklahoma's. In fact looking back,  the Ducks schedule to this point looks almost dangerously (Dare I say it.) Boise State-ish.
   Humans on the other hand are far better nuanced to see style, understand trends, interpret gut feelings, analyze intangibles, and such. And they are the ones who are saying that despite what the numbers say, Oregon is just playing better football than anyone else right now, including Oklahoma. 
  More to the point, Oklahoma (Yes, they're still mad about that whole replay thing in Eugene.) had to struggle to get those wins.  They beat Utah State by a touchdown, beat Air Force by three, and Cincinnati by only two.  Meanwhile the Ducks are clobbering teams to the point where they were disappointed to have beaten Washington State by only 20.

   So why do humans like Oregon better? Let me recall back to my days on a farm in Eastern Oregon to explain this to Sooner fans.  Say you've got two farmers faced with the task of keeping wolves away from their respective barnyard areas; and they each have their own way to use electricity to do it.
   One farmer strings up an electric fence. Simple, efficient, it gets the job done. Not one single wolf has gotten past it.
   The other farmer is a little more creative and inventive. He can throw lightning bolts. And anytime a wolf gets too close to the border, he summons a fiery bolt from the heavens down to BBQ the wolf, every other critter within 10 yards of it, and sets the surrounding grass on fire.
   Now perhaps the computer is programmed to also look at the quality of wolves. And it sees that Farmer #1 has bigger and stronger wolves, and he's prevented every one from intruding so far.  And Farmer #2, while he has met that same zero intrusion objective, has faced smaller, skinnier wolves. The computer credits Farmer #1 on perfectly sensible criteria.  But if you want to see a good show, all eyes are on the lightning.

   Oklahoma, humans do not see you playing in the championship game because . . . . well, they just don't want to see you playing in the championship game. --not when there's a hot sizzling lightning storm raging out west.

Oregon calls their yellow color "Lightning" for a reason.

   Boise State is in the equation too, of course. They're #2 in human polls, but in the BCS, they're just outside looking in at the National Championship.
   This is only the first BCS poll. There is a lot of football still to play. Who knows where any of these teams will be in six weeks.
   But right now, the message is clear. Human beings, the ones who watch and enjoy good football games, would love to see Oregon and Boise State light it up.
--KB