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

ASU, KSU, and CU -- The Ugly, The Bad, and the Just Plain Terrible.

Give ASU credit for switching to the offense of the future. But it'll take time and new players to make it work. Against Oregon, they saw what they one day hope to be. Thanks to pics from the AZ Republic, we can review the ASU football game just by looking at the crowd:

Before game....

... 8-7...

... 22-7 ...

... 36-7 ...

...43-7...

But here's my favorite. These two pics show the tiny amount of satisfaction at least one ASU fan got from the game...

See the ASU fan in the hat, upper center-left with his
hand in a throwing motion. Duck fan #5 lower right.
Between them is what looks like a brown cup-- I'm
guessing at least a 20-ouncer.
"Hey Greenie, you think you Ducks are fast?..."

"Well DUCK THAT! Harrr Harrr Har...."
Oh I remember the days when we Duck fans used to
get doused with beverages -- and we were LOSING!
Today? It's all good. Be a good Duck and let it roll off the back....
...or front, as it were.  

Sure, Oregon scored 43 points in the first half and rushed for over 400 yards over in a cruise past ASU in Tempe.

But obviously, crushing their toughest opponent yet on the road isn't good enough. Once again uncontrollable forces like scheduling and polls move Oregon farther away from the National Championship despite their undefeated record. The Ducks woke up today to discover that Kansas State leapfrogged them to take the third spot in the BCS.

Why? K. State has more wins over quality opponents. Plain and simple -- or is it? Oregon was forced to schedule weak opponent Tennessee Tech this year because SOMEBODY pulled out of a home-and-home series with them two years ago. Who? I'll let Jason McIntyre of BigLeadSports explain it:

Why is Kansas State in such a great spot? The greatness of Heisman leader Collin Klein and brilliant 73-year-old coach Bill Snyder, obviously. But also because of something that happened in 2010: The Wildcats decided to cancel a home-and-home series with Oregon. KSU was going to visit the Ducks in 2011, then host Chip Kelly’s powerhouse in 2012. So what happened? Here’s what the Register-Guard wrote in September:

By 2010, Bill Snyder was looking ahead to his second season after returning to Kansas State; with a reputation for avoiding powerhouse nonconference opponents, Snyder and the Wildcats soon backed out of their game at Oregon.

Wise move, Snyder. Are the Wildcats unbeaten today if they had to play Oregon instead of Missouri State or North Texas? Probably not. DEFINITELY NOT!

Snyder, you wrinkled old slug slimed, goat sucking, puppy kicking, chemical-toilet seat licking, dung beetle of a SON OF A BITCH!!! I hope you're enjoying this time of being ranked over Oregon. Enjoy every second of it. Because a RECKONING IS COMING. Soon, you will RUE THE DAY you chickened out of your appointed butt kicking at the hands of the Ducks.

Like David Byrne once said, "Watch out. You might get what you're after." You want a date in the Natty, Snyder? We'll wish that right along with you, you room temperature sheep cheese DIP!!  Let's hope for both Florida and Alabama to lose. Then Oregon will cash in on the rain check for that date you skipped.

STOP THE WORLD. THOMAS TYNER IS TWEETING!!!!
Amazing Aloha high school running back Thomas Tyner sent aftershocks through Eugene last week when he tweeted he wanted to de-commit to Oregon and look at other schools.

In response, we all got in our fetal positions on the floor, rocked back and forth and focused on images of puppies and kittens. . . . You all did that too, didn't you?

The very next day, after talking to Chip Kelly and running backs coach Gary Campbell, Tyner changed his mind and announced he is "100% certain" he will officially sign with the Ducks in February.

Whew. That's great news, kid. Now could you just do us one favor between now and February?

STOP IT!!  Stop tweeting your mood swings. Stop opening your mouth just to watch ESPN go bonkers. Stop messing around. Stick to tweets like "Happy Birthday to my girlfriend." or "Wow that Spanish test was hard." or "I forgot my locker combination again LOL."

Let's get real for a minute. As of right now, you are NOT a Duck. While the real grown-up Ducks are seriously trying to do something big here, you still need to finish high school. You need to focus on getting a 'B' or better in Math and English. You still need to keep out of trouble. You haven't even taken your SAT's yet, haven't you?

You're not a star. Not yet at least. As of right now, you are just a distraction. You want to sign with the Ducks? Fine.  You want to shop around? Great. Do it. Just keep it to yourself for four more months.

HELLO, COACH KELLY? THIS IS COACH JON EMBREE AT COLORADO....YA, I'M DOING GREAT. SAY LISTEN, WOULD IT BE OK IF WE JUST MAIL IN THE LOSS AND SAVE OURSELVES THE TRIP?
Oh if only they could. Coach Kelly has to dig a little deeper in explaining to the team that this is Oregon's Super Bowl of the week.

How bad is Colorado? They let a mediocre USC hang 50 points on them last week. . . . No, my tongue is not in my cheek. I'm completely serious.

The one important thing about playing Colorado is that more than any of Oregon's previous opponents, they best resemble USC's offense. An interesting article in the Oregonian shed light on a coincidence in Oregon's schedule. All the teams Oregon has played to this point have been in the process of playing more like Oregon -- spread option, little or no huddle.

From here on out starting with the Buffaloes (or is it Buffalo?), Oregon will be facing primarily traditional pro sets. So this will be a good scrimmage before the following week's game at USC.

THE MOST UNDERRATED ASSISTANT COACH IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
I think he would make an excellent head coach anywhere, including Oregon. Of whom do I speak, you ask? John Canzano wrote about him here.

Colorado game time Saturday, 12 noon on the Pac 12 network. The first half should last about 90 minutes, after which you should enjoy the rest of your Saturday with family and friends, maybe touring the country side and enjoying the fall colors, or preparing the kids Halloween costumes.

I quoted him. So I better play him. CRANK IT!


--KB