Moments to Remember

Photos from AP sources.

Days later I woke up and thought, No I'm not dreaming. Oregon won it's second consecutive BCS Bowl. Here's another look.

Oregon’s offense was supposed to be the difference maker, but it was the Ducks’ defense that was the story of the game. It limited K-State to 283 yards and had it not been for a pass interference call in the first half, the Wildcats’ only touchdown in the first 48:25 might have been averted.
That is from a story by Bob Lutz of the Wichita Eagle, which stands in sharp contrast to Kansas State running back John Hubert's comment that Oregon's defense were a bunch of prima donnas.

Oregon held Hubert to 55 yards on 17 carries. Senior running back Angelo Pease had 47 yards. Honorable Mention Heisman candidate and QB Collin Klein was dishonored with 30 yards rushing on 13 carries, only 151 yards passing with no TD's and two interceptions.

Here are a few photos of Oregon's "prima donnas" at work.

I count four or five "prima donnas" eager to hug
their old friend Chris Harper.

Prima donnas Hill and Jackson are giving
Harper something to think about other than
the ball -- like "Is this landing going to hurt?"



In the second half, Eric Dargan
prima donnas four feet off the ground
like a freakin' ballerina to snag a rare
pick from Heisman candidate QB
Calvin Klein.




And prima donna linebacker Kiko Alonso sacks Klein so hard,
he brings down the QB's family.



Speaking of which, a note to Mrs. Klein.
Having married into a family of hair dressers,
I can say with competence that if there's ever a
chance you're going to have your picture taken,
Honey, you have GOT TO color those roots.

As for the offense, Marcus Mariota got off to a sluggish start before heating up and earning himself the Offensive Player of the Game Award.

Flyin' Hawaiian leaves 'Cats cryin'.
(Ha Ha . . . I just thought of that. Just now!!!)

Kenjon Barner was his usual spectacular self with 143 yards rushing plus a key TD reception to end the first half and make K. State go to the locker room feeling small and inadequate.  

In a beautiful delayed pass play where Mariota and Barner both
recognize that the defenders have neglected him for a moment,
Barner gets wide open and, with the help of excellent blocking,
sees nothing but purple endzone.

And then there's DeAnthony Thomas. What more can you say about DAT? Did you see the look on all the Kansas State fans' faces when he ran back the opening kickoff? Kansas folk never seen a space shuttle launch before.

I think I'll put this video on my desktop to click whenever I need a boost. One technical note: The clock stopped two seconds after DAT "broke the tape" at the finish . . . or goal line. It took about 10 seconds for him to run that 95 yards. Someone estimated he was going 26.5 mph. That's fast.

Like most teams, Kansas State quickly discovered that they
just don't have the personnel to keep Thomas out of the endzone.
This was his second score; and just like "dat", K State was down 0-15.

I have to wonder if the Wildcats became a little stunned after that opening TD. They might have thought, "Was Oregon really going to score every time they touched the ball?". Perhaps on paper Oregon was only eight points better than KSU as the odds predicted. But their jump to an early lead proved to be self fulfilling prophecy. Kansas State couldn't catch them and they knew it.

A FEW MORE OBSERVATIONS THRU PHOTOS

When the 'O' is flyin' and K State fans are not,
you can guess what's happened.

A lot of players have deliberately flashed the Heisman pose,
but Barner naturally twisted into this perfect "huck and buck"
in the middle of traffic. But if they ever decide to adopt a new
trophy for the Heisman . . . .

Now THAT's a pose. That's a statue.
DAT's taking the opening kickoff across the goal line is
"The Flying Duck".

More trophy pics.
Gold-flek paint and rhinestones never looked so beautiful.

Coach Kelly to Defensive Player of the Game Michael Clay,
"I love you, Man!"

War Eagle!

WAR DUCK!!!

Speaking of mascots:
Kansas State, yours scares children.

And so after three 12-win seasons, three Pac-10/12 Championships and winning two for four consecutive BCS bowls, Oregon fans should spend this time to reflect on these best days to be a Duck. Who knows what the future holds. But we won't fret. It's not our style. For in these four years, someone taught us to not worry about the future or the past, but just "Win The Day".

No Chip, YOU the Man!

But if you still feel sadness or anxiety for the future, I invite you to read the following Oregonian article that puts things in a good perspective: Chip Kelly must do what's best for Chip Kelly

Still pining for Chip to stay? You can sing with the following Eugene songwriter and Duck fan who shares your pain. Very funny.



--KB

Play like it's your last time together.

Modern Family's Ty Burell is from Oregon and a huge Duck fan. His co-star Eric Stonestreet graduated from Kansas State. Meanwhile there's a third guy in the video. Notice the T-shirt he's wearing. Very funny.



I don't think I'm the only one who has been guilty of focusing on the Chip Kelly/NFL drama at the risk of almost forgetting that Oregon has one more game to play -- a huge game -- what many are calling the biggest bowl game next to the Natty.

Let's all just start off by easing our minds about something: Coach Kelly will be coaching an NFL team next season. The latest has him meeting with the Cleveland Browns on Friday. Maybe it won't happen, but right now it's best for everyone to let go of all the speculation and contemplation and just resolve our mindset to the probability.

But for now, this great Oregon team has one more encore with it's "Win The Day" creator. (Ken Goe got a head start on Kelly's impending collegiate career obituaries in this article about Kelly's "WTD" legacy at Oregon.)

Thursday, with Kelly leaving in the back of their minds, everyone in that locker room needs to make this game special. Play for each other. Play for their coach. Play like it's the end of an era.

The storyline for Oregon's date with Kansas State is interesting. The Ducks will be facing a team coached by a very smart man.  Coach Bill Snyder showed wisdom in deciding he never wanted to play the Ducks. Three years ago, he cancelled a home-and-home series with Oregon. The risk of loss, especially this year at Autzen, didn't fit into his strategy.

And it worked. The Wildcats got a win where they might have had a loss; and for a whole week KS was ranked #1 with Oregon right behind.

But now, irony of ironies, his roll of the dice has turned against him. Had Snyder faced Oregon earlier this season, he would've faced a young redshirt freshman quarterback that had barely cut his teeth on Arkansas State. He would've had the first real shot at unleashing his talented defense on a young Mariota who had yet to win any days against league opponents including at L.A. Coliseum.

Had he played Oregon as originally scheduled, he would've faced a young team that had yet to get it's mouth bloodied by a Rose Bowl bound Stanford -- a team with a defense far better than his. The Cardinal gave Oregon some valuable experience in how to face a big D that's tough on the run.

Hey Snyder, do you have Alanis Morissette's
"Ironic" on your Ipod? Because THAT would be ironic!

Certainly the same can be said for Kansas State. They're no doubt better than they were four months ago. But their experience is more troubling. Their one loss was a slaughter against the one opponent (with a losing record, mind you) that played Oregon style football.

Baylor pasted the Wildcats with a running back who had easy success on them, Lache Seastrunk. Sound familiar? Yes, that Lache Seastrunk who was fifth on Oregon's depth chart a year earlier. 

The Portland Tribune wrote about it. Here's an excerpt from Tuesday's article.

• Coach Chip Kelly, whose Ducks have the same 11-1 record as K-State going into their bowl meeting at Glendale, Ariz., had these observations of the Wildcats' loss to Baylor:


"On the defensive side, they just missed some tackles. Schematically, it wasn't that (Baylor) exploited something from K-State where you were like, 'Wow, we can add that to our arsenal as we prepare for this game.' ... When you look at that game, then you look at the totality of the season, there's not one thing that (K-State) did drastically different in that game. I think Baylor has a lot of speed, speed in space. They made kids miss tackles. When they missed tackles, they hit some long runs. Didn't happen the rest of the year."

By the way, Oregon has speed in space as well.

  It's like this, Snyder. If you didn't think you could beat Oregon before, what makes you think you can beat a more experienced Oregon team now? An Oregon team that could crush the Baylor that crushed you. An Oregon team that will only be better for playing a Stanford that could also beat you. 

Snyder, you left an Oregon team and it's coaches very disappointed when you weasled out of your contract to play them. So what might you think of Oregon's desire now to . . . . uhh . . . make the most of this opportunity?

Thursday evening will be the time when the Ducks demonstrate a simple statement -- a statement that I sincerely hope a Duck fan in the stands of the Fiesta Bowl will have the wisdom to write on poster board along with the usual letters "ESPN". A statement when, at the appropriate moment in the game, a cameraman will turn to it to summarize for the world what will already be clear:

"This is why Snyder didn't want to play the Ducks."

Excuse me? Did he say prima donnas?

Go for it, Hubert. Oh and tell your tough defense they'd better get a good night's sleep tonight.



Fiesta Bowl Thursday, Jan. 3rd. 5:30 on ESPN.