An SEC Army couldn't . . . . .

[Following is from the Statesman Journal.
Lyrics added by me from The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army]


Oregon closes in on perennial power status
Written by Gary Horowitz, Statesman Journal

"I'm gonna fight 'em off
A seven nation army couldn't hold me back"

EUGENE — Trivia question: Name the only college football team in the past two years to play in the Rose Bowl and Bowl Championship Series national title game?
 
The answer is Oregon, which has put plenty of substance behind its glitzy image.

Yes, Oregon is on the rise. What the Ducks have been unable to do is finish the job, with losses to Ohio State and Auburn to end their past two seasons.

With a No. 3 preseason ranking in the Associated Press and USA Today/coaches' poll, and the return of Heisman finalist LaMichael James and dual-threat quarterback Darron Thomas, Oregon is poised to make another run at the ultimate prize in college football.

"We can get better," said James, who led the nation in rushing and scoring last season. "The sky's the limit for us."

Oregon is on the verge of perennial power status, but to join the pantheon of the chosen few where schools such as Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and Ohio State reside, the Ducks need to win on the grand stage.

They were oh so close last season.

"They're gonna rip it off
Taking their time right behind my back"

After Oregon tied Auburn late in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard pass to James and a two-point PAT, the Tigers drove the length of the field and made an 18-yard game-winning field goal on the final snap.

"It still lingers," Oregon rover Eddie Pleasant said. "For us to get there and come so close to winning it, it hurts."

"And I'm talking to myself all night
Because I can't forget
Back and forth through my mind
Behind the cigarette"

Oregon opens Saturday against SEC power and No. 4 LSU in a neutral field matchup with national championship implications.

SEC teams have won the past five BCS national titles.

"And the message coming from my eyes
Says "Leave it alone" "

"You can never predict making a (national championship) run," free safety John Boyett said. "What's important is getting a win in week one. Like coach (Chip) Kelly says, one game will not make or break us. We've just gotta go out there and try to win every game."

Beginning his third season as head coach, Kelly's players have embraced his "win the day" mantra. The bar has been raised.

Oregon's no-huddle, warp-speed offense led the nation in scoring last season.

"Everybody knows what we're about," Thomas said. "We're gonna come out fast, work hard. A lot of people think our plays are disguises and stuff like that, all these wrinkles … but they're just regular plays. They're just run to perfection."

Oregon enters the 2011 season facing an ongoing NCAA investigation for its ties to a Houston-based recruiting service run by Willie Lyles, and Cliff Harris' offseason speeding incident has left the all-America candidate suspended for at least the opener.
Midway through fall camp, redshirt freshman tailback Lache Seastrunk - the most highly touted prospect in the Ducks' 2010 recruiting class — was granted his release from the program and has transferred to Baylor.

"Don't wanna hear about it
Every single one's got a story to tell
Every one knows about it
From the Queen of England
To the hounds of hell"

But Oregon is so deep at running back with James, Kenjon Barner and emerging freshman De'Anthony Thomas, that Seastrunk's departure hardly registered.

Besides, LSU has its own issues.

Starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson was arrested Friday and suspended indefinitely after his alleged role last weekend in a fight outside a bar in Baton Rouge, La.

Two other Tigers also are suspended, backup linebacker Joshua Johns (the bar fight) and starting wide receiver Russell Shepard (NCAA code violation).

Despite distractions, the Ducks are 22-4 under Kelly with a 17-1 conference mark.

So how much does last season's national championship run benefit Oregon moving forward?

"We hope a lot," Kelly said. "We're all byproducts of our experience."

Many players on the roster, including James, Barner, tight end David Paulson, offensive tackle Mark Asper, guard Carson York, Pleasant, Harris and Boyett, played key roles on the Rose Bowl and national championship game teams.


Darron Thomas in the Natty.


Thomas is 12-1 as a starter. He said losing the national championship game is "the biggest motivation I've had in my life."

"And if I catch it coming back my way
I'm gonna serve it to you
And that ain't what you want to hear
But that's what I'll do"

But there's no guarantee that Oregon will return to the Rose Bowl or national title game. In the cyclical world of college football — Notre Dame and Michigan have fallen recently — anything can happen.

The Ducks are not without questions. They will be breaking in a new center, likely Hroniss Grasu. There are three new starters on the defensive line, three-year starting linebackers Casey Matthews and Spencer Paysinger must be replaced, and Lavasier Tuinei is the only starting wide receiver back.

But all the uncertainly has not created restless nights for Kelly.

"I don't really look at it as a worry," Kelly said. "Just staying up nights isn't gonna make it different for you, so we'll find out when we get out there on Saturday."

Spoken like a coach who knows what he has.

Oregon has its highest preseason ranking in school history and is the media's choice to win the North Division and inaugural Pac-12 title.

The Ducks never have won three conference championships in a row. That could change this season.

"And the feeling coming from my bones
Says "Find a home" "

 
[The following from Lisbon, Portugal may be one of the White Stripes wilder performances, but the audience in this vid reminded me of something I saw of Oregon fans at Matt Arena last winter. Oregon's band played Seven Nation Army, and all the fans threw up their hands and flashed the 'O' while singing with the song their own lyrics:
"Ohhhhhh, O, O, O, Ohhh, Ohhhh."
Then I saw this. I had no idea there were so many Duck fans in Portugal. . . . . ]

 
[Bonus track. If you hated that one, you might actually like this one. Seven Nation Army is probably the most covered song over the past seven years. But no one could do it much better than a German (but English speaking) punk country western band, The BossHoss]

 
--KB