Say it outloud Huskies. A DUCKADE.

Beaten Dawgs are Silent Dawgs. And Silent Dawgs are Good Dawgs.

 Let's just dwell on this achievement for a moment. Ten wins over Washington is by far the longest win streak between the two teams. In particular it is a monster of a streak for Oregon over the Huskies.

The next longest Oregon win streak over Washington? Four. From 1928 to 1931. Since then Oregon has never beaten Washington more than two times in a row on various occasions.

Over the past 100 years, Washington had one 7-game win streak, three streaks at 6, and one streak at 5. They're used to being the dominate team. So this streak, while pleasing and joyful for us Ducks, is Twilight Zone mind boggling for the Huskies.

It is by no means the longest streak of one team over another. Florida, for just one example, is currently enjoying a 27 game win streak over Kentucky. But it isn't just about the streak, it's about who is streaking whom.

Imagine if Kentucky got bit by a radioactive shoe manufacturer and suddenly hung 10 consecutive ass whoopin's on Florida.

Bitter Husky fans have sourly pointed out that it all changed when Phil Knight whipped out his checkbook and "bought" Nike U. But lots of schools including Washington have deep pocketed backers. And Husky fans didn't seem too embarrassed when they were the rich team.

The difference is it wasn't just about the money of one or two backers. It was a strong effort and unified focus of many people including three athletic directors,  four head coaches, and dozens of assistants. It was divided up in several phases stretched out over 20 years. And every step, indeed every win was cherished because Oregon remembers the old days, the low days, the "Dark days of the Purple Haze".

Oregon made a T-shirt to commemorate the milestone.  Would Washington have made a T-shirt for stretching a 10-win streak on the Ducks?

You know what's great about the answer? Ten years ago, the answer would've been 'no'.  But now, Seattle would have a parade with T-shirt cannons a-blazin' if Washington beat Oregon just once.

Although Washington has spun it's lower budgeted
improvements as Spartan and tasteful compared to
Oregon's excessive opulence, Coach Sarkisian is happy
to show off new Husky Stadium and facilities to Coach Helfrich.

Sark: "That's my office. It's got one of those Keurig single cup coffee makers."

Helf: "Wow, that's really nice Steve."

Sark: "Do you have one of those?"

Helf: "Uhh, nope .... No I don't."

Sark: "HA. Wait 'til my boosters hear that. You can't even make your own coffee!"

Helf: "Uhhh Ya, I ...uhhh... have it delivered in from a five-star restaurant."

Sark: "Whoa, that must take forever. Is it cold when it finally arrives."

Helf: "No .... um, the restaurant is actually down at the end of the hall."

Sark: .....(silent)......

Helf: "Hey uhh ... I should probably get back to my team now."

Sark: Ya OK Mark ..... I'll let you go ..... Five stars, huh?

Helf: "Hey forget about it, Steve. You have very nice facilities here."

Sark: Ya, thanks Mark. OK, see ya ................HEY MARK, I GOT WI-FI TOO!"

 

TOUGH ENOUGH?
Coach Sarkisian told his Huskies that they were the toughest team on the planet. And for five games including a nail biter loss at Stanford, they believed it. They could not wait to show Oregon who the tougher, more physical team was. The announcers bought into the hype, saying Oregon had yet to face a team as tough as Washington.

After the first scoring drive, Oregon's answer was, "True, maybe; but irrelevant." Washington's goal line defense held. Then it held again. And then . . . it didn't. And that was that. The Dawgs spent the rest of the day chasing Oregon's turbo sports car, but could never catch up.

WOULDN'T

QB Keith Price was sacked four times, hurried a bunch more, forced to throw the ball away or die on several occasions, and intercepted once. Oregon held Washington 50 yards below their rushing average and eclipsed their rushing-allowed average by 100 yards.

BE

Towards the end was a good news, bad news situation for the Huskies.
Good news: For the first time this season, they were the ones to finally force Marcus Mariota to set down his cup of Gatorade, strap on his helmet and play in the fourth quarter.  They should be commended for putting up stiff competition forcing the starters to play four quarters instead of three.

DE-

Bad news: Mariota played in the fourth quarter. And so did the top defense. The result was a 14-0 final frame. Showing mercy, the second string came in and kneeled in the final seconds inside the 5-yard line with a 21-point lead.


-NIED.

The tenth win, a 21-point lead, and the Ducks showed mercy. Ya, Oregon's not so tough.

THE OREGON WAY
In the excellent article The Ducks are finding their difficult practices can lead to perfection, Jason Quick wrote about the probable reason why Washington found Oregon unimpressed with all the tough talk. As fast as Washington played, Oregon took it all and gave back change.

Linebacker Derrick Malone shared what he tells new Duck recruits about Oregon's practices.
“I tell them it’s hard and that if you are not ready for it, don’t come here,’’ Malone said. “I tell them it’s the hardest thing you will ever experience and you will never experience anything else like it. I’m not going to lie to them. But I’m also going to tell them it’s the reason we are successful.’’

DON'T TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT,
BUT HE'S THE HEISMAN FRONT RUNNER
"I wouldn't say I'm unaware,'' Mariota says of the Heisman talk. "But I do my best not to pay attention.''

Marcus Mariota is a gem's gem. He is the quintessential All American that dads would gladly throw their daughters at. And he would throw the daughter right back with a perfect spiral. Back and forth, back and forth they would throw. . . the dad, his future son-in-law the All American, and a screaming dizzy girl.

It's not the passing with accuracy or the running with speed that makes him special, but its all that with a super cool and clear head. He is anti-Johnny Manziel (Did you notice no one calls him Johnny Football anymore?) -- all the talent without all the crap. His success is drawing attention as he has been name Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row.

His secret is in his humble, "Aw shucks, No I in team, Good Lord willin', Just here to play ball" style. He's grounded and introverted until he takes to the field. Then he's dangerous like Hannibal Lecter. He'll kill you without even raising his heart rate.

Here comes Mariota. And this time he's brought friends.

DAT A' BOY
DeAnthony Thomas, in this story, admitted he truly wasn't healed from his ankle injury enough to play last Saturday. And he may be questionable at best to play at home against WSU (I'm guessing it's safe for him to sit that one out.).

But his attitude is still in perfect form, as he shows in this comment about his quarterback:
When Thomas will return is anybody’s guess. But Thomas left no doubt about his importance. When asked if teammate Marcus Mariota was the best player in college football, Thomas didn’t hesitate.
“Yes ... beside myself,’’ Thomas said. “He is the best quarterback in the country, you can say that.’’


Next game:Washington State Saturday night 7pm Fox Sports 1

Greased Lightning, Baby

Washington is all woofin' and hollerin' and feeling like they got a really good team this year. And perhaps they do. They were undefeated before they lost to Stanford by a whisker.

Their rise to a more respectable level of performance came this year when they stopped huddling and sped up their offense. They spread their players a bit and started passing quick outs and screens to compliment their run attack.

Why yes, now that you mention it, that DOES sound kind of like Oregon. Very much like Oregon in fact. But don't say that to Husky fans. They get really really mad when you suggest anything other than it was their own idea and invention.

They also rebuilt their stadium and renovated the locker room. They couldn't do it on Oregon's level because, as one Washington booster put it,
"We don't have that one crackpot eccentric CEO that puts his money where his mouth is," Washington booster Jim Kenyon said.

Now who on earth is he talking about?

Washington's new locker rooms
boast Stainmaster carpets and
fun throw pillows for the boys.

It rings of the same bitter 'Jones chasing' and sour grapes that Washington coach Steve Sarkisian demonstrated when he spit out fireworks after the hard fought battle at #5 Stanford that fell short by three points. More on that later.

But for now, Washington's Keith Price is one of the best QB's in the league. And RB Bishop Sankey is the league's top rusher.  What ever are the Ducks to do?

When you need to just get a good idea who is going to win a football game, ask the experts in Vegas. They're the ones who set the odds; but more than that, they analyze the matchup, the trends, the history, and from all of that they come up with a magic number. In this case, Oregon by 14.

All but the most distempered Dawg fans agree that Oregon will win this relatively close game. But it's not satisfying enough for me. I need the "it" that makes the difference. I need to point at something that says, "THIS is why Oregon is going to go into a new Husky Stadium with freshly rabid fans and snuff out the Dawgs' hot streak like pee on their cigarette."

I read the tremendous amount of blah blah in the blogs. I read all the Vegas sites I could without paying for "inside hot tips". But no one could tell me exactly HOW the Ducks would be capable of separating themselves from an upsurgent Husky team.

Finally I looked at this post on Addicted to Quack. No, it didn't really have the answer either, but got me there.

It contained two scientific analysis of football teams: The FEI and the S+P.  FEI is the "advanced statistical measure that tracks drive efficiency instead of per-play-success."  S+P is the "advanced statistical measure which combines success rate, explosiveness per play and opponent adjustments."

Bottom line: Oregon is ranked significantly higher than Washington in almost every category of both measurements. And if I understood what the hell either one was talking about, all of that would mean something to me. Truth is, I got blurry eyed reading about it.

Then I went down to the comments section where someone brought up how the stats can be affected at the end of the game when the score gets out of hand and Oregon's 2nd and 3rd stringers come in. The writer responded that both of these measuring systems throw out garbage time.

Garbage time? . . . . THAT'S IT!!!

PINK SLIPS ON THE DASH.  IT'S GARBAGE TIME!
Oregon has not only blown out it's first five opponents, they've done it in three quarters every time. Washington hasn't. In at least three or four of their games, they had to leave their starters in to the end to score in the 30's.

One could say, well Oregon is in trouble then because their starters don't have fourth quarter experience. Sure you can make that argument, if you're an IDIOT.

What we have here in Oregon is a super charged hot rod. Say you have a Corvette Stingray, Mustang Cobra, Gran Torino, Dodge Charger, Chevy SS. . . . . Pick your beast. And at your high school, you have beaten every other kid you've dragged raced handily without even having to shift beyond third gear.

Now comes some bully from across the border who has been tinkering with his car. He's heard about some of the things you've done to your engine and tried copying them as best he can. He's won same races himself and now he's calling you out.

The race is on. You're lined up with this A-hole. His girlfriend stands between you two, ready to drop the scarf in her hand. It drops, and off you go. He's off to a great start, pulling ahead. He put everything into his gear ration and throttle to give himself the best starts.

Now it's neck and neck. Three quarters of the way to the end. It's anybody's race, until you do something that no one has ever seen you do before. Something that blows him away.

Fourth gear.

How silly must it be for Washington to study a scouting report and build a game plan around everything a serious Heisman candidate and his star entourage does in only three quarters?

Sure, computer programs can throw out fourth quarters and call them "garbage time". But football teams can't. Washington will have to play that fourth quarter.

This Saturday, fourth quarter, the Huskies will BE THE GARBAGE.



Oregon's yellow is called 'Lightning'.
This week it's 'Greased Lightning'.
Let's do this, Dawgs.

The Sarkisian Sulk
Last week at Stanford, the refs overturned a pass play that UW coach Sarkisian says shouldn't have been overturned. Sarkisian didn't watch the replay when he made this claim but he obviously didn't feel he had to. He was sure it was a bad call.

And then there was the alleged fake injury incident. Sarkisian accused Stanford of faking injuries to slow down play. For his trouble he got wicked rebuttals from Stanford's staff along with plenty of criticism from the media.

Oregon got a taste of that when Cal faked injuries and when USC deflated the footballs. The difference is Oregon won those games. And Chip Kelly responded very Kellyesque like when he said, "We don't care about that stuff. We're moving on." And I believe he would've said the exact same thing had the Ducks lost.

Sarkisian has no such class and maturity. Lost is the admirable performance of his players in the noise of his whining.


DUCKS AND COUGS UNITE FOR GAMEDAY!
If you've watched ESPN's early morning college show Gameday, where they show up at campuses of great games all over the country, you know that for the past 10 years the Washington State Cougars have represented with at least one Coug flag waving in the background.

According to this story, with Gameday's first visit ever to Seattle (First visit! Really Huskies? That's kinda sad.), the Huskies are worried that the Cougs might have an entire state full of Coug flags in the crowd. Combine that with Duck flags, Gameday could see "Operation Outnumber", where the number of Duck and Coug flags outnumber Dawg flags.

Wouldn't that ruin the Huskies party? Couldn't happen to a nicer team.

Game time Saturday, 1pm Pacific on Fox Sports 1, or Fox 1 Sports or whatever.

High Times in Boulder

First let me say this to all Pac-12 college football fans. If you want to go to an away game where you know you can have a good time, not be hassled and get the full classic and fun college football experience, go to CU.

Colorado is beautiful. The people are very nice. Boulder is every bit the college town with lots of eateries and drinkeries in and out of the city to choose from.

D.H. is one example of
the enjoyable Coloradoans we met.
Sober too. Not throwing up on my
shoes like a Wildcat or Cougar fan.

And speaking of shoes,
Nike has got NOTHING on those boots!!!

We went to "Ralphie's Corral", the official tailgating venue for Colorado across the street from Folsom Field. We discovered two things:

Colorado's pride and joy: Ralphie

1) It really was Ralphie's Corral. The buffalo was there in a corral with very pleasant and kind handlers to answer all of your buffalo questions (Betcha didn't know Ralphie was actually a girl buffalo from Montana!).

2) Duck fans were welcome and treated as guests. The green on our shirts didn't matter. The green in our wallets did. A barbecued sausage slice on a hoagie roll with pasta salad and potato chips was $10. Wash it down with a silver bullet of Colorado Champaign (Coors) for $6. Who's complaining? We were having fun.

Line to see Ralphie: Hundreds.

Line for beer at one of their many beverage stations: Four.
Is this a great place or what?!?!?!

It was nice to see that thousands of Duck fans took advantage of the nice atmosphere

These three neon clad characters were busy getting
asked for pics by Ducks, Buffs, and the media.

and perfect weather. Oregon really represented well to the surprise of many Colorado fans. And when I commented to CU fans how nice we were being treated, they acknowledged that our not being from Colorado State, Nebraska or Oklahoma had something to do with it.

Fair enough. I wouldn't let a Husky or Beaver fan within 10 yards of my corralled duck.  Plus I'd charge 'em 20 bucks for a Ninkasi.

THE GAME
Colorado did everything they had to do to win. Starting the game with an onside kick was brilliant. It didn't work, but that's irrelevant. Throwing long on their first offensive play, and often times after, put the Ducks on their heels in the first half. They gave Oregon plenty of game film to look at afterwards.

But the inevitable was coming. Everyone in the stadium knew it. Once Oregon got rolling, the Buff crowd resigned and settled into a more philosophical comfort zone. What gets me is the reputation that is proceeding Oregon these days.

In a story from Denver TV station Fox31 about the fans' reaction to being back for the first home game since the flooding, one student said,
“It’s great that we can regroup so well,” said CU student Paige Leuschner. ”It’s like life’s back to normal after such a crazy event.”
On this day it was the crowd that went crazy, thanks to a fast start from the team.
“We’ve scored. We’ve scored against Oregon,” Leuschner said, as the Buffs took an early 10-8 lead. ”That’s fantastic.”
Yes, apparently it is FANTASTIC these days to score on Oregon. It's enough to make you forget all your troubles. 

Mariota getting EXCELLENT protection.

Center Hroniss Grasu and the rest of
the offensive line don't get enough credit.

I sensed other widespread acknowledgement that what the Ducks were doing was real. We Oregon fans can talk amongst ourselves and shake our heads up and down like rear window doggies (Kids under 30, ask your parents what I'm referring to.). But to have it noticed by people who had experienced there own championship caliber team in the 80's and 90's, it confirmed for me that Oregon is on a real path and not just a hot streak.

Buffs couldn't pull down #1.

AN OUT-OF-THE-URINARY CONVERSATION
One example was at halftime. Above the West side and connected to the stadium was an older covered indoor track building that had one set of bathrooms. Only one was needed for the men because it had a bunch of those old, long, heavy curved porcelain, multi-user pee troughs that get snake holders in and out in a jiffy.

I sided up next to one CU fan (Caution: The remainder of this story contains graphic language about men peeing.). He was looking up, reading something on the wall. They had interesting football trivia up there like the history of the "red shirt" and other stuff like that.

Anyway he was looking up and reading. I looked down and noticed a cigarette pack in the trough between us.  I said, "Oh THAT'S where I left my cigarettes."

He looked down after a couple of seconds, saw the pack and laughed. "Nice," he replied.

We stood there continuing our business side-by-side. My prostate had decided to stretch it's legs that day, so I was taking my time.

Then suddenly he turns, looks straight at me, and says, "Promise me, please, that you'll beat the sh!t out of Alabama."

I looked at him. His eyes were filled with pain. All the SEC BS. All that Crimson Tide noise. Nick Saban anointing himself the Pope of Football. It was all there, welled up. 

We held the stare for a couple more seconds until I smiled, nodded my head and said, "Ya . . . . Ya . . . . You got it."

Then we both looked back down; and without any cue, we crossed streams. It was a beautiful inter-Pac-12 moment. A brotherhood.

As we walked out I was hoping to find a Tide fan right there to hold down and let my new friend kick the bastard in the ribs.

MARIOTA FOR HEISMAN? DON'T ASK MARIOTA.
The second half went as all second halves have this season. Once the blowout was on, Mariota sat down in the third quarter after finishing 16 of 27 for 355 yards, five touchdowns passing, two touchdowns rushing, and zero interceptions. The focus to win the Natty is so great, he won't finish a game to ring up ungodly numbers if he doesn't have to. The rule is to save him for the next game and let the Heisman go to somebody else.

The Denver Post's Terry Frei did well to capture Mariota's humility as well as Coach Helfrich's priorities in this article: "Mariota could strike the pose".

A TIME OF HATE?
You know what Ducks call this week, don't you? This is "Hate Week". The days leading up to the game against the Washington Huskies.

But after beating Washington nine consecutive times, must we still hate them? Given this time of bewildering violence in our world, must we still direct enmity to our fellow lovers of college football? Our Northwest brethren? 

Perhaps it's time to just appreciate them as a worthy opponent, as kindred sports spirits. They do, after all, have a couple of former Ducks on their coaching staff. Perhaps it's time to be the bigger team and say to Washington that respect and appreciation will be the mantra this Saturday.

Let us dispense with the shallow pettiness and open a new era of decency, sportsmanship and mutual admiration with Washington. Let us take the hands of our enemy and declare them our friend. . . . .


\/

\/

\/

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. HUCK THE FUSKIES!!!!!!
This season they find themselves with updated bathrooms, new carpeting, and an OK team; and suddenly they act like they're already world champions. The annoying. The incessant. The loud, slobbery, bad breathy BARKING echoing off the Northern Cascades. It's so painful to hear.

I've said it 100 times before, and I'll say it as many times as necessary this week:
The only way to shut up barking Dawgs is to BEAT 'EM!!!


More later,
KB

In Colorado

Buffalo. It's what's for dinner.

Ten reasons why Oregon will beat Colorado Saturday afternoon.

1: Oregon is better in every category.

2: Seriously? You need nine more reasons?

It's no knock against the Buffs. They're a rebuilding team. I commend them and their new coach Mike MacIntyre for joining the ranks of the no-huddle teams and changing the way football is played. They're on their way to becoming better.

But they're not there yet. The three week layoff forced on them because of the devastating flood in the Boulder area messed them up. Colorado was not in sync as they got blown out by Oregon State 44-17 last week.

If Colorado's fans need another reason to attend this game (And they do.), it would be the halftime activity.

Former legendary coach and original Promise Keeper Bill McCartney will be honored for his legendariness and Promise Keeping. Coloradoans love him for his 12 years and 93-55-5 record as the Buffs head coach as well as his evangelical ministries.

So Buffalo fans will be able to harken back to fond memories from the previous century while the Ducks butcher their present team like so much livestock.

Bill McCartney celebrating Colorado's 1990
Orange Bowl win to earn them a share of
the National Championship.

WHO ELSE WILL BE AT THE GAME?

Why yours truly. As I write this I am in Colorado visiting family and sharing my testimony with them and any other lost souls of the High Plains who need to hear the good news about the Ducks.

With the "smoke it if you got it" lax marijuana laws here, I am also excited to visit the Colorado campus and see what a LEGALLY stoned student body is like.

Game time Saturday, 3pm Pacific on the Pac-12 Network. Don't know if you get the Pac-12? Check your local listings; or if you are a Direct TV subscriber, call Direct TV and tell them they suck.

More later,

KB

Who'll Stop the Reign?

Photos from Oregonian, SF Chronicle, and SI.

The injury to DeAnthony Thomas, the monsoon-like weather, and Cal's defense holding the Ducks scoreless in the fourth quarter -- it all added up to Oregon's offense being held to its lowest score of the season: 55 points.

No one would've asked Oregon to score 50-plus under those unbelievable conditions. But they, nevertheless, asked it of themselves. This is one tough team.

In today's Oregonian article, Mental toughness just another part of the Ducks' impressive repertoire, center Hroniss Grasu said,
“A lot of other teams could have made excuses with this weather,’’ Grasu said. “But I think our team did a great job of keeping out the distractions of the weather, and just go out and play Oregon football. We set a standard for ourselves, and I think we met that standard.’’

Granted, Oregon had as many fumbles as Cal in the 1st quarter (Four each), but lost none of them. And to running back Byron Marshall's credit, who had three of those drops in his first three carries, he figured it out and secured the ball better to finish the game with 130 yards and two TD's.

Bralon Addison, who had two amazing punt returns for TD's, added this:
Receiver Bralon Addison,.... said head coach Mark Helfrich began establishing a mindset as early as Monday, when the weather forecasts started coming in. Every day, Addison said, Helfrich addressed the weather and delivered a variation of his message: You can’t worry about what you can’t control.

“I thought we showed a lot of discipline and maturity,’’ Addison said. “They said it was one of the worst rainy days in Eugene in some time and we didn’t put our heads down.’’

Cal putting their heads down.

Poor Goff . . .

. . . just could not hold that slippery rock.

While Cal's freshman QB Jared Goff had an absolutely terrible time just holding on to the ball, let alone throwing it, Marcus Mariota and his receivers seemed to play as if the skies were clear and calm for most of the evening. He finished 11 for 25 for 114 yards, 2 TD's, no interceptions plus one rushing TD.

Darryle Hawkins, Josh Huff, Bralon Addison
and the other receivers handled the ball superbly
given the conditions.

Said Mariota in this SI article,
"I've been playing in the rain since I was a little kid. Hawaii has its passing showers," the sophomore quarterback said. "So it really doesn't bother me."

Watching you play like that, Marcus, none of the 50,000 soaking wet Duck fans were bothered by the rain that night.

What rain?

Even Hipster Duck likes it.

How's DAT?
We all saw the way DeAnthony Thomas twisted his ankle. He was clearly injured. It was wise for the staff to put him in a boot, give him a crutch and declare him done for the day.

I'm not a doctor, but I am no stranger to diagnosing myself from stuff I read on WebMD. And since we know that we will not hear word one from Oregon about his condition, what the hell . . . 

Looking at the moment of that twist, I believe it won't be a long rehab. DAT twisted the outer ligaments to their limit, but it was a sideways twist and not like he came down on it with all of his weight.

We may not see him at Colorado, and frankly I hope we don't. The Ducks don't need DAT to beat the Buffs.

Ducks got his back.

They might need him the week following against the Huskies; but if they can spare him that week too, he can go a whole two additional weeks until UCLA comes to town.

Besides, Marshall is establishing himself. And freshman Thomas Tyner is surpassing all expectations. There's no sense in making DAT play at 70 or 80%. Let him heal and be good to go for the second half of the season.


Who's fired? ME?!?!?!
I once heard a manager say that if the person you're firing acts completely shocked like he's the last person in the company to suspect he might be fired, then you made a good decision.

USC's AD Pat Haden did not even wait for Lane Kiffin to get back to campus after their loss at ASU. He met the plane at the airport at 3 a.m. to tell Kiffin that one of them needed to sleep better at night.

Poor Kiffin didn't even
have his dad to blame.

What astonished me was the report that Kiffin then spent 45 minutes trying to defend his performance and keep his job.

Hey Kiffin, you've lost 7 of your last 11 games. You're 0 for 2 in league play consisting of a home loss to the second tiered Cougars, and another team (Does it matter who?) that hung 62 points on your sorry Trojans. 62 POINTS!!!

Why SHOULDN'T you get fired? You should've been thanking Haden for letting you fly back on the plane.



Next: Oregon at Colorado, Saturday 3pm Pacific.
--KB

The Ducks

Cal likes to pass, and Oregon's secondary has to be ready. Fortunately according to this article from the Oregonian, they are already ready with nicknames. Four of the best athletes you may ever see in Duck uniforms have earned their own handles.

I threw in photos of them, plus a few other members the story forgot to mention.

Oregon football: When it comes to the Ducks' secondary, it's hard to pass on this 'brotherhood'
EUGENE -- He refers to it as a brotherhood, the way these Oregon defensive backs play together and interact with each other, and to Ifo Ekpre-Olomu that means so much more than being considered the best secondary to come through Eugene in some time.
“It’s great that people think of us as a great secondary, but I think I’ve known that since I got here that we have something special,’’ Ekpre-Olomu said. “But we don’t look at it like that. We just look at it as an opportunity to get each one of us better each day. I think we push each other every day to become the best we can be.’’
Their brotherhood, and their legacy figure to be tested Saturday when pass-happy Cal comes to Autzen Stadium averaging 58.5 pass attempts per game (third in the nation) and 438.7 yards per game (second in the nation).
Although Oregon coach Mark Helfrich and secondary coach John Neal said stopping the Bears’ passing attack takes all 11 defensive players, the Ducks’ secondary will be under the spotlight for the first time this season. With freshman phenom Jared Goff at quarterback, and a deep and talented wide receivers corps, Cal is the first pass-first offense the Ducks have encountered.
And that challenge is just fine with the Ducks’ secondary, which has played a role in Oregon ranking second in the nation in fewest yards allowed per pass attempt.
So how do they do it?
It helps when you have a Mad Dog. The Total Package. The Island. And The Student.
“All fascinating guys,’’ Neal says.

Mad Dog is safety Avery Patterson, a senior who last year had interceptions in three consecutive games, including consecutive games when he returned them for touchdowns.




The Mad Dog

“They don’t come tougher than him,’’ Neal said. “He is like mad-dog tough. You hit him with a 2x4 in the face and he will get up and say ‘Do it again.’ He’s really tough.’’[Gosh Coach, I hear Oregon's practices are cutting edge and all, but I really don't think you should be clubbing players with 2 x 4's.]
This game probably means more to Patterson than anyone. He is from Pittsburg, which is near Cal's Berkeley campus, and last season, he blew out his knee at Cal while cutting on a non-contact play, ending his season.


The Situation

“I definitely do owe them a little something,’’ Patterson said. “I’m not going to go crazy out there and do something I’m not supposed to, but I do owe Cal a little something.’’


The Accumulation

The Total Package is Ekpre-Olomu, the junior cornerback who last year was a first-team All Pac-12


The Total Package

selection and third-team All-American.
“He is one of the best all-around football players I have ever coached,’’ Neal said. “He is a one-in-a ... one-in-a-lot player. He doesn’t have a weakness.’’
Ekpre-Olomu says there are two things he studies as a receiver is running his route: their hands and their eyes. When he sees their hands raise, or their eyes turn, he knows it’s time to look for the ball.
“He’s real smart,’’ Patterson said. “He has a lot of things you can’t teach. He’s not just a cover corner - he’s good in run support. He is like the total package.’’ [He's by far the smartest. Never once did he ask to be hit in the face with a 2 x 4.]

The Total Recall

The Total Idiot

The Island is junior cornerback Terrance Mitchell, who has one of the Ducks’ three interceptions this season.

The Island

“Terrance has unbelievable balance  and is an unbelievable tackler,’’ Neal said. “He is really strong in his hips and legs and is really tough.’’
Mitchell credits the Ducks’ system for much of the secondary’s success, saying the coaches have

The Edge

The Lake

devised ways that help the defensive backs from being “picked” when offenses use a cluster of receivers on one side. Patterson said it might not matter what scheme the Ducks employ; Mitchell can just flat-out cover
“He’s that lock-down corner,’’ Patterson said. “You put him on that island, and he will go and shut your number one receiver down. You put him on that island and he will do his job.’’





The Student

The Student is safety Brian Jackson, the senior who already has one degree from Oregon (sociology), is close to a second one (psychology), and who uses film study to anticipate plays on the field.
“I like to see the big picture,’’ Jackson said. “If I’m at practice, but not in, I like to watch the whole
field. I’m pretty good with my eyes, so I like to see what this person is doing, what that person is doing, what the linebackers are doing .... that way, you see how everybody is working together, what your job is, and why it’s important.’’

The Professor

Neal says Jackson’s acumen isn’t his only asset.
“He’s extremely smart, and has off-the-chart work ethic,’’ Neal said. “Nobody in college football works harder than him, and he’s like that all the time.’’
And those are just the starters. Like many units on the Ducks, the secondary uses players liberally. Ekpre-Olomu says Erick Dargan and Reggie Daniels have the best hands in the secondary, and Neal said Troy Hill would start at most schools. And Dior Mathis this season at Virginia had a 97-yard interception return, which is tied for the longest non-scoring interception in school history.

and Mary Ann

“We are fearless, opportunistic and smart,’’ Patterson said. “ And we all have a lot of experience. Put us all together and it makes a nice little group.’’
--Jason Quick






 It's pretty clear that Oregon's offense can throw up a bunch of points. But while they may be able to score 49 this Saturday, it is reassuring that they wouldn't have to score more than 18 or 22 to win.

Cal got off to slow start this season, but they're improving. Although they lost, they scored more points on Ohio State (34) than any other Buckeye foe this season.

The New Pro

It'll take all of Oregon's cool named talent to shut down Cal's passing machine. And if they pass this test, they'll be better prepared moving on to better teams.

The Old Kahn

SCHOOL FINALLY STARTS
This will be the first game with the students officially enrolled, moved in, booked up, and already begging their parents for money. A few observations between this generation and when I went to Oregon.

   In 1986, the University of Oregon's computer department  had about two dozen state of the art machines called Apple IIe's (That reads "two-e's"), and their memories literally doubled when you inserted a double sided floppy disk.

   Go to the Oregon Bookstore today, not one IBM Selectric cartridge ribbon available.

   My roommate and I were popular because our dorm room had its own phone.

   Most Duck alums who really wanted their kids to go to Oregon don't know how much it costs because they would just rather not know.

   Over 1/3 of the freshmen young men are named Connor. And half the girls are named after either a month or a river.

   In my day, Oregon fans got excited whenever the football team didn't huddle because we all knew the 'swinging gate" was coming.

   Ask kids these days, they don't care what Frankie says.


Game time: Saturday Evening 7:37 pm Pacific on Pac-12 Network.

--KB