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

Send The Message

OK Ducks, now you're just showing off.

Just like in the old western movies, Oregon put Tennessee's dead body up over it's horse, pinned a note on it, and slapped the horse's butt to send it running back to the SEC ranch.

What did the note say? If you listened, you heard the Autzen crowd chanting it.

"WE WANT 'BAMA!  WE WANT 'BAMA! ...."

Or LSU, or Georgia, South Carolina, A & M . . . . We don't care. Send out your best. Send out someone who can play against us. Let's finish this.

59-14? Are you kidding? The Ducks coaching staff were left scratching their heads asking, "How did Tennessee ever score 14?".

The point spread was 28. Tennessee was hoping to keep it closer, maybe make it a game, a little bit of a struggle. Instead they got their worst defeat since 1910 -- back when people who were living are now all dead.
Pics from Oregonian and Daily Emerald

Say what?!?
Does somebody need to explain the definition of 'homecoming' to them?

I was really hoping the Vols would have given Oregon a better game. Indeed they came out hot to start, stopped Oregon's first drive, scored first, held Oregon to a rare field goal on their next drive. . . .

Then Oregon fired off eight touchdowns, including one on a 4th and 6 in the middle of the field.

Gotta be the shoes!
The Vols' Adidas failed against Nike U.

The Duck calls it as Huff cruises to the endzone.

 

March of the yellow hi-liters.



Gotta be the shoes 2.
Still not getting to Mariota.



Who will end up with the ball, DAT or Mariota?
Your guess is as good (or bad) as Tennessee's.

Taylor Hart: Yellow People Eater

DAT's fast. But good blocking makes him faster.

OK now that's just pretty.
Like a yellow daisy with an orange center.

Nope. Still not gettin' him.

DID THE DUCKS FIND THEIR GEHRIG?


Freshman Jon Mundt, #83. "The Mundster"

Oregon has a man-child for a third string tight end. True freshman John Mundt,  blasted his 6'4", 232 pound frame over poor defenseless defensive backs with just five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns. He played in the absence of Colt Lyerla, who was out for unclear reasons (He's ill.  No, he's being punished.  He's
being punished for being ill . . . ???)
 
But as Columnist John Canzano tweeted: Colt Lyerla… meet Wally Pipp.
(For you young kids out there, Wally Pipp was a Yankee first baseman back in 1925 who sat out a game and. . . . Oh just google it, dumbasses.  I ain't your history teacher!)

OREGON HAS A DIFFERENT AND INNOVATIVE . . . DEFENSE?!?!?
Another surprise may have been brought to our attention by a Vol player. Just how especially good is Oregon's defense? Read this quote from the Oregonian:
Added Antonio “Tiny” Richardson, the Vols’ 6-foot-6, 327-pound left tackle, who is a preseason All-SEC lineman: “You know what, I don’t want to get too technical, but the defense they ran, it was tough on us. It was hard for us to get any angles, double teams. It was different.’’

What does he mean "different"?  What makes a guy who supposedly has seen the toughest defenses in the SEC and perhaps the nation get taken aback by Oregon's.

At around the 9 minute mark of the third quarter, the commentator begins to explain Oregon's defense. Oregon only has three or four linemen up front playing what he calls "2-gap" assignments, meaning that they are responsible for the gaps on either side of the O-linemen in front of them.

Their primary job is to find and plug the running gaps, then the rest of the defense finds the ball carrier who may be searching for an unplugged gap.

He goes on to note the Duck D-linemens' set stance. "They squat down like frogs," he says, "and they're actually reading the helmets of the offensive line and just trying to build a wall. It's an incredibly difficult technique to learn. It's very hard for a team to get ready to play . . .You don't have anyone on the team of Tennessee that knows how to play this technique." 

And as I look, I see that he's right. They Ducks are in a four-point set with their butts squatted as low as they can. When they come forward, they shift to one side of the offensive linemen or the other, and then the rest of the D fills the other holes.

It's interesting to watch, I just still don't understand WHY it works. Do me a favor. Watch it for yourself, then explain it to me. Click on the video below and if it's not already there, slide the play bar about two-thirds of the way down to the 11-minute mark of the third quarter (1:33:36 on the video time counter). That's when they start talking about Oregon's D and how it is manhandling Tennessee's all star offensive line.



OTHER GAMES:
Hey 'Bama, 49-42 winners over Manziel's Aggies, congratulations on squeaking past the quarterback who decided not to come to Oregon when he heard Mariota was going there. (True story.)  At Oregon, Johnny "Football" would've earned his nickname for holding the football perfectly for point-after-kicks after every touchdown scored by Mariota. And then he would've been kicked off the team for being a pin headed idiot.


Oregon State went to Utah and defeated the Utes in a hard fought back-and-forth overtime battle. This win helps to make their fans forget they started the season with an embarrassing loss to Eastern Washington.
  So I'll remind them: HEY BEAVS. YOU LOST TO EASTERN WASHINGTION! 
HA HA HA HA HA HA . . . .


NEVER ASK A BADGER TO MANAGE YOUR TIME
Wisconsin was down by two to ASU. They drove down the field and got to the 17 yard line with 18 seconds left and no timeouts.

Stop the clock. Kick the field goal. Badgers win, right?

Watch this video.



Flash back to the Rose Bowl in 2012. Oregon and those same Badgers. Oregon is up by seven. Wisconsin is driving hard. Two seconds left, out of timeouts, they've given themselves one shot at the endzone, right?  Do you remember? Watch this:


Clock management in the final two minutes of a ball game is a game in itself. It requires a cool head, good instincts, belief in your team, knowledge of the rules, and most importantly, an awareness of the time.

Russell Wilson (a great QB for the Seahawks today) learned the hard way that you cannot spike the ball to down it with two seconds left. In fact these days it's an official rule in college football. Three seconds must show on the clock in order to spike the ball. If he had it to do over, he would've just run the play.

BREAKING NEWS: It has just been reported during the writing of this dribble that the refs of the ASU game have been reprimanded for their part in letting the clock run down. Fair enough.

But still, QB Joel Stive, WHAT WAS THAT? Don't make it hard for the refs. You've seen it a thousand times. Your coach says you practiced it. Drop FULLY to one knee, then give the ref the ball.

The truth is he panicked. He lost his cool. He lost.


Next week, BYE week. No game.
Oregon fans, surprise your sweetie next Saturday and tell him or her you want to skip your dumb ol' Duck game that day and do something special, just the two of you!

--kb

Vols: "Don't be Cruel Ducks!"

Iconic stamps of Tennessee's favorite son.

Remember these stamps some 15 cents ago? Two iconic Elvis images were released for the enjoyment of stamp collectors and fans of The King.

One was young, slender, jacket-and-tie Elvis. The other? Fat, old, make-up and sequined white jumpsuit Elvis.

The first was him at his best. Beautiful, fresh, healthy. The second was still enjoyable, but very different.  Watching him as a dated Vegas act might give you the opportunity to remember the early years when he was at his prime. But when you weren't thinking of the good times, you were watching him in the present. And that was kind of sad.

The Tennessee Volunteers of today are like fat old Elvis. Oh sure, they got a great new coach in Butch Jones, formerly from the Cincinnati Bearcats; and he's the man to raise them back to a great level again. But for now, he's little more than a brand new rayon-silk blend sequined suit. This season's fat and sad Tennessee Volunteer team looks better than last season. But it's nothing like the kings of college football back in the 90's and particularly '98 when they won the National Championship.

The Vols are off to a great start having thoroughly dispatched of Western Kentucky and Austin Peay. (It's too bad the BCS computers don't score you very high for defeating a team with a word like "pee" in it's name.) But they and everybody else all know the same thing. They're going to lose at Autzen.



Coach Butch Jones:
"I'm eager to see how my boys
react to this loss .... uh, I mean
trip to Oregon."

Yes, they're all talking the brave talk. They believe in themselves and are looking forward to the trip. But Coach Butch is realistically looking at this as more of a learning experience. He's already wondering about his team's resiliency.
This article from The Chattanooga Times Free Press pokes the usual fun at Oregon and it's uniforms and Nike connection. Then it faces facts, then Coach Butch throws in some tough talk and strategy (They're going to work the clock.)

And then comes this final paragraph.
Whether it begins Saturday or somewhere down the road, you get the feeling that Oregon’s shiny helmets aside, when it comes to coaching, Tennessee could well have the brighter future of the two schools.
I'm going to give the writer the benefit of the doubt that what he meant was that Tennessee's future will appear brighter because they have so much farther to go. With the exception of winning the National Championship -- Oregon's primary goal -- the Ducks have nowhere to go but down. Tennessee, on the other hand, has hundreds of goals ahead of them. So he meant the Vols have more opportunities for bright spots . . . . either that or he's just an idiot.

YA, ABOUT THAT BRIGHT FUTURE . . . . .
This just in: Tennessee Defensive End Maurice Couch is one of five current and former SEC football players who were identified as taking cash payments while in college. Coach Butch Jones has ruled him ineligible for the Oregon game pending further investigation.
 
The story here from Fox Sports says that along with Couch was a former Tennessee QB, two players from Mississippi State, and D.J. Fluker -- a former Alabama offensive tackle who started in both National Championship games. Furthermore, former Bama defensive end Luther Davis was the key link between NFL agents, players and their "financial advisers".

Alabama . . . . Alabama? . . . . .That rings a bell.  I seem to remember Alabama coming into the conversation the last time there was a "huge" scandal.

Back in the summer of 2011 a writer for the blog "Roll Bama Roll" characterized Oregon as a school "in trouble" when they overpaid back alley scout Willie Lyles for connecting them to hot recruit Lache Seastrunk. Here's a paragraph.
For Oregon, though, this is just plain damn ugly, and it's easy to see why they recently secured the services of a high-end boutique law firm that specializes in NCAA enforcement issues. It's almost impossible to read any of this and legitimately believe Oregon AD Rob Mullen's contentions that they are doing everything the right way. If it looks like thinly-veiled pay-for-play and smells like thinly-veiled pay-for-play, well... you know how this ends. How can you legitimately defend handwritten letters and e-mails from key institutional figures? It's possible, to be sure, but exceedingly difficult.

Pay-for-play? He was in error. Oregon didn't pay anyone to play. But it remains that if you want to see "pay-to-play" defined and explained, you'll apparently still want to ask someone from Bama.

Bama coach Nick Saban, the greatest football coach he's ever known, said yesterday that he was confident the university will "handle the situation appropriately". He went on to offer this vote of full confidence of his players.
''For as many high-profile players as we've had around here, I'm fairly pleased with the way most of them, for the most part, have managed their circumstances and their situation and focused on what they need to do for the University of Alabama,'' he said

"Fairly pleased ... with most of them, for the most part".

With that fairly mostly assured statement for the most part, you can understand how shocked and disappointed Coach Saban was when reporters only wanted to talk about Alabama's paid players and not about the Tide's upcoming game against Texas A & M and their star paid player. See the short video of his interview in that same "story here" link from Fox Sports above.

All eyes are now on the NCAA to see how they kid glove these latest violations in the SEC (Stash Extra Cash?).

Tennessee at Oregon game time: 12:30 Pacific on ABC or ESPN2

Lighting it up.

People on the East Coast saw a spectacular sight last week.
They saw Oregon light up the scoreboard and rocket past
one of their traditional powerhouses.
(See what I did there? Light up? Rocket?
You thought I was going to talk about . . . . OK, moving on.)

It looked like it was going to be a long tough game. It looked like Virginia was going to shut down Oregon. The Ducks were struggling -- for four plays.

Then Marcus Mariota demonstrated his Heismaness. Although his stats were relatively pedestrian (14-28, 2TDs, 0 int. 199 yards), he set the tone and led the way, starting with that 71-yard keeper up the middle for the first score. Said Scott Frost on calling the draw play.
"We were hoping to get a certain coverage and we did and he read it right," said offensive coordinator Scott Frost, adding it was a play in UO's original game plan after seeing a weakness of Virginia's "man free" defense during video study. "Man free is kind of feast or famine ... but when you hit them they're going to be big plays." 

Video of selected plays over whole game. Mariota's rushing TD is featured with replays near beginning.



 From that point on when Virginia stopped one play, Oregon had another. The Cavs couldn't plug every hole. And they certainly couldn't stop DeAnthony Thomas.

Whenever Virginia fans had seen anything blow by as fast
as DAT in the past, it usually had the word "Hurricane" in
front of it's name.

Photos from Oregonian.

"Oh cheer up, Lyerla. Ya big goober.
Just know that we got your back.
And if you drop any more balls,
we'll slap that back pink."

Even with Colt Lyerla dropping three out of four passes thrown to him and starting running back Byron Marshall carrying the ball 15 times for only 31 yards, the Ducks still found ways to get the ball out of Virginia's hands (three interceptions, a blocked punt and one fumble recovery) and into the hands of a their own playmakers (Five Ducks scored touchdowns.) to put 59 points on the board -- a score beyond most anyone's expectations.


As time wore on, so did Virginia. All fired up and flying in the first quarter, they were clearly gassed by the third. The fast pace and constant guessing of who had the ball took its toll.

Virginia's offensive line is doing such a good
job blocking that they don't even notice
Tony Washington has separated their QB
from the ball.

Dior Mathis returns an interception 97 yards.
More like 105 when you count where he picked
the ball deep in the endzone.

Then Oregon did something downright mean. Included in their package of

Tyner. Brutal.

benchwarmers to play in the fourth quarter was their third string freshman running back. Five star recruit Thomas Tyner carried the ball just four times, but punished the tired Cavalier defense for 51 yards and two touchdowns.

As amazing as the win was, the story of what happened in the locker room afterwards was even amazinger. Under the leadership of Helfrich, the players criticized their own performance. They expressed dissatisfaction with 11 penalties for 105 yards including way too many personal fouls. Here is an excerpt from Monday's great Oregonian story by Jason Quick

Some members of the offense didn’t like the four sequences when the Ducks went three-downs-and-out. Or the shoddy execution deep in the red zone, which included a botched shovel pass from Marcus Mariota and Byron Marshall unable to gain a yard on fourth and goal from the one.
Even the defense, which endured 86 plays in 80 degree heat, lamented a missed arm tackle here, a jock strap left there, and damage all around from Virginia’s tight ends. [Note to Ken Goe: Could you do us a favor and follow up on that 'jock strap' story?]

Coach Mark Helfrich summed up their self assessment this way . . .
"We want to be perfect. We want to be great. We want to be elite," head coach Mark Helfrich said. 

The team is hurrying the offense even faster this year than last. They are critiquing themselves. They practice as hard as ever. They talk to the younger guys about the "Oregon Way" of doing things to create a proper attitude and culture.

These are a group of super mature and focused guys who don't wait around for the coach to tell them how to prepare, how to play or how to behave. They know what they want, and it ain't another Rose Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.
  “We look at other teams that say, ‘I can’t wait to get to the Rose Bowl’ and we are like ‘What? Is that really a goal for people?’’’ [left tackle Tyler] Johnstone said. “That’s like, not a failed season obviously, but it’s not where we want to be headed.’’

"Strange man from another planet."
If the score didn't make Virginia fans head for the exits early,
Josh Huff's Superman pose most certainly did.

Ya. I love my Ducks.

OTHER TEAMS
Is Washington State that good, or is USC that bad?  After playing Auburn tough down south, the Cougs posted a major upset over an anemic Trojan offense. With ferocious 'D' and patient 'O', WSU beat USC 10-7 at The Coliseum. Cranberry and gold-clad mobs were seen walking the streets of L.A. with a rope tie for Lame Kiffin's neck.

The Cal Bears fought hard at home to come from behind and defeat the always tough . . . . . (wait for it) . . . Portland State Vikings. At one point the Viks led 20-10, but couldn't hang on as the Bears escaped with a 37-30 win. New Cal coach Sonny Dykes said of Portland State, "We were fortunate to win. They outplayed us and outcoached us."

Cheer up Sonny. Maybe Portland State will be the toughest team you face all year.

CALL THEM THE PHILADELPHIA DUCKS
Everybody is talking about the game last night when Chip Kelly debuted his style on Monday Night Football as his Eagles defeated the Redskins 33-27.

The Eagles ran 53 plays in the first half. By Duck standards, that's about average. In the NFL, that's a marathon sprint.

Ken Goe and the Oregonian have done a great job gathering all the stories, videos and quotes here, including the significant Oregon connection in Philly.

"TENNESSEE FOOTBALL IS TENNESSEE FOOTBALL."
That's what Coach Helfrich said. Not sure what it means; but when you sing it to the tune of Rocky Top, it sounds downright scary.

More on the Vols in the days to come.

The Fieggens were at the Virginia game.
That's Bruce with the 3/4 selfie, the twins Jack and Liam,
Connor, and there's Kathy waving.
Connor is enrolled to go to Oregon this fall!!!
Study hard, Connor. Oregon's a really difficult school . . .
. . . .OK not so much, but study hard anyway.

--kb