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
A couple of years ago, a Cal player fake flopped an injury against Oregon. Now this. I guess cheating is the insincerest form of flattery.
USC fires student manager who deflated balls in Oregon game
Southern California tried its hardest to keep pace with Oregon‘s high-octane offense on Saturday night at the Coliseum, but at least one member of the Trojans’ staff took that effort too far.
USC has fired a student manager who intentionally deflated game footballs below NCAA-mandated pressure levels during Oregon’s 62-51 win. The university reported the firing of the unnamed student on its Web site late Wednesday night, according to the Associated Press.
Under-inflated balls are easier to grip, making them easier to throw, catch and hold. While the slightly softer balls might have contributed to Matt Barkley‘s 484 passing yards, they did nothing to help a defense that gave up a whopping 730 yards of offense – the most in USC history.
According to the school’s report, the manager admitted that he deflated the balls of his own accord after they were checked by game officials. USC has been reprimanded and fined by the Pac-12 for the incident, the school said.
Last month, USC coach Lane Kiffin came under fire for switching the jerseys of a backup quarterback to that of the team’s punter. Cody Kessler (6) wore punter Kyle Negrete’s No. 35 jersey in an Oct. 20 win against Colorado, which included a failed two-point conversion attempt in which Kessler was involved. The Trojans claim since they switched Kessler’s jersey before the game, it does not violate NCAA game rules, as reported by USA Today.
USC insists that no coaches or players knew of this. OK, I want all of you to run to your attic, basement, garage, closet or wherever you keep your old leather football that you haven't touched in 20 years. Blow it up with your bicycle pump . . . . Ya ya, I know, you can't find that little silvery ball valve insert. Those things disappear faster than socks. . . . NO. Don't bother looking for it. It's lost. Just run to Ace Hardware and buy a packet of five. I'll wait . . . . .
OK now pump the football up to regulation size. Squeeze it. Press on it. Get the feel of it.
Now take a pound or two of air out of it. Squeeze it again. Notice a difference? OF COURSE YOU DO. That's the whole idea. You will notice that the ball is softer, spongier, easier to grip.
You think Matt Barkley or any of his receivers didn't notice? Is Matt Barkley going to tell us that he believed in his God-fearing heart of hearts the whole time that he was throwing a regulation ball?
CHEATER!!!
As for Kiffin, it's just a matter of time before he gets kicked to the curb. He says he knew nothing about this? Ya right. And those red puncture marks on Lance Armstrong's butt are just bug bites. USC's decision to hire him after suffering severe NCAA sanctions is looking worse and worse as time goes on.
Meanwhile back in Oregon, Coach Kelly said, "They can do whatever they want. It's no big deal to us."
Typical Kelly. The team just focuses on what the team can control. The game was last week, so it's in the past. But I think Kelly secretly likes the idea that at least one member of the Trojans felt they had to cheat to beat his Ducks.
Finally, I must repeat the best comment I read on this whole affair when one reader said, "Well I always believed Oregon had bigger balls than USC . . ."
As you might imagine, John Canzano has something to add about this.
ARIZONA: A CAUTIONARY FAIL They blew out Washington. Then they put on their big boy panties and stunned USC. It looked like the Arizona Wildcats had finally found themselves. They were on their way.
So it was so shocking when they went to UCLA and played their absolute worst game of the season, losing 66-10. Like the attraction of a cable TV special on bad car crashes, I was drawn to watch a replay of the game.
Were key AZ players injured? Was it 31 degrees and snowing? No. They were just awful. HORRIBLE! At one point it got so bad, the announcer couldn't even be nice.
QB Scott went back to pass what appeared to be some sort of screen (BTW, most of his passes looked like some sort of screen set up because his offensive line wasn't blocking anybody all night.), he threw terribly off his back foot to his receiver who was five yards out and RUNNING BACKWARDS down the field. He jumped pathetically as the pass sailed over him.
The announcer said, "That's not even football." And he was right. Whatever game the Cats were playing, it definitely wasn't football. They looked like a bunch of disorganized playground kids at recess.
Coach Rich Rod, what is the deal?
The single worst thing you can say about a coach is -- . . . . well wait, I just remembered Lane Kiffin, the CHEATER. So the second worst thing you can say about a coach is -- . . . . .well, then there's Penn State . . .
OK, the third worst thing you can say about a coach is that his team is UNPREPARED. When they come into a game and play like they just don't know what they're doing, that is 100% on the coaching staff. Arizona couldn't throw. They couldn't block. They definitely could not tackle.
I shutter to think that a self-respecting Pac-12 team like Arizona decided to take the week off, feeling like they had "arrived", after putting together a streak of two victories including one over a USC team of emerging mediocrity that has shown it has to cheat to have a chance.
I bring up Arizona's sad story because Oregon is visiting a seemingly anemic Cal team after beating those same Trojans. What could possibly go wrong?
We know that Chip Kelly is all about "Faceless opponents" and "Every week is our Super Bowl". Let's just hope that foolish human nature doesn't creep in and infect even the most disciplined of teams that is our Ducks.
Cal isn't in very good shape however. According to this article in the San Jose Mercury News, they are decimated with injuries all over the roster, including their starting QB.
Raising a Barner Finally, if you haven't already seen it, I recommend an article in the Oregonian this week: Oregon's Kenjon Barner is mastering the art of the broken tackle. It's an excellent analysis of Barner's improvement as a running back. But it goes on to talk about other great running backs that RB Coach Gary Campbell has tutored. The internet post also includes videos of these running greats.
Oregon at Cal Gametime Saturday evening Nov. 10th, 7:30 Pacific Standard on ESPN.
Hurricane Oregon breaches wall of L.A. Coliseum This is SO going over my fireplace.
Photos by Thomas Boyd, Oregonian
Beautiful. Like watching a sunrise.
321 yards. Five TD's. USC's barns were BURNING!
See you on Sundays Marqise Lee. Give USC credit. Despite record, 2012 Trojans one of the most amazing passing teams in college football history.
Guess what: He's undecided for president too.
Nine. The number of times Ducks lifted player up to celebrate TD in endzone at USC. Never been done before by anyone.
Matt Barkley threw for 484 yards on 35 of 54 passing and five touchdowns, and USC racked up 615 yards and hung 51 points on the visiting #2 ranked Oregon Ducks.
And they still lost. In fact, the Trojans never led in the game.
Oregon went up 14 -3 in the first quarter, and then they just held serve -- answering every USC score with one of their own.
We saw the truth Saturday evening. As good as USC can be -- and their offense was very good in this game -- they simply could not keep up with Oregon. Figuratively, literally, any way, every way, USC was always one or two steps behind the Ducks. Now the rest of the world knows what we always believed.
I've been having fun looking at stories from L.A. and elsewhere about this game. Ken Goe's blog page offers some great stories. I've featured a couple below.
One story from ESPN that stands out is this apology from the BCS computers:
ESPN.com LOS ANGELES -- Hi. I'm the computer component of the BCS standings and, well, I'd like to apologize to Oregon.
There are six of us -- by us, I mean, six computer formulas used to help determine the BCS standings -- and we haven't exactly been quacking up the Ducks. Truth is, we weren't buying what Oregon was selling.
Two of us have calculated Oregon as the fourth-best team in the country. And we were giving the Ducks the benefit of the doubt.
Three of us have Oregon rated fifth and one of us -- I'm not going to say who (yeah, I will: Jeff Sagarin) -- has the Ducks eighth. That gives them a computer average of No. 5 and an overall No. 4 BCS ranking.
And then they played USC on Saturday night in the Coliseum.
I'm good at numbers, but I don't even know where to start after watching this Ducks-Trojans game. Neither did the press box stat crew. When asked if there were postgame notes, an official said, "They're typing them up right now. There are so many records, it's taking them a long time."
OK, let's start with something simple, such as the score: Oregon 62, USC 51. You read that right: USC scored 51 points at home … and lost.
That's the most points USC has given up. Not just this season, but ever. From coaches Henry Goddard and Frank Suffel in 1888 to Lane Kiffin in 2012.
"Obviously they moved the ball," Kiffin said.
And obviously USC couldn't stop them. The Ducks rushed for 426 yards. They threw for 304 yards. That's 730 total yards, or almost a first down per play. That's also the most yards USC has ever given up in the history of the program. The next closest was 623 yards -- in 1946.
We computers knew the Ducks were good, but not this good. No wonder USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin looked like he wanted to go back to the NFL, where it might be easier to stop teams.
No wonder former Oregon star running back LaMichael James, a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers, said outside the Ducks' locker room, "They definitely could score."
He was talking about scoring against NFL teams. And by the way, there were a half dozen pro scouts here Saturday night. Like I said, I pay attention to numbers.
Oregon punted once. It converted both of its fourth-down attempts and 7 of 8 red zone chances.
Meanwhile, this senior running back named Kenjon Barner rushed for 321 yards and five touchdowns. That's also the most yards and TDs USC has ever given up to a player.
"Knowing who you're playing, it puts it in perspective," said USC quarterback Matt Barkley, who threw for 484 yards and five touchdowns himself.
We're a little late to the perspective party. We looked at Oregon's schedule (non-conference wins against Arkansas State, Fresno State, FCS-member Tennessee Tech; Pac-12 wins against struggling Washington State and gruesomely awful Colorado) and thought, "What's the big deal?"
Our bad. Putting up 62 points against the No. 17 team in the country, that's a big deal.
"They don't flinch," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. "It's a team that can last over the whole course of a season."
"I was impressed," Ducks' defensive end Taylor Hart said.
So are we. And we'll be able to provide a more tangible form of appreciation for Oregon on Sunday night, when the latest BCS standings are released.
We still have a few questions. For instance, what should we think about a team that gives up 51 points?
"I don't really want to sit here and talk about how many points and yards we gave up," Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said.
But to Aliotti's credit, he did.
"Let's face it, their offense played better than our defense," he said. "But our offense played better than their defense. That's the first bad [defensive performance] we've had."
We'll take that into account when we crunch the numbers. And remember, Oregon did force three turnovers and make two stops in the red zone. And it was facing a USC offense that features two of the country's best wide receivers (Marqise Lee and Robert Woods) and one of the best quarterbacks (Barkley).
"Big-time NFL players out there," Oregon linebacker Michael Clay said of the Trojans' talent.
Luckily for us, Oregon doesn't hold a grudge. Reporters tried asking big-picture, BCS-type questions to Kelly, Clay, Barner -- you name it -- but none of the Ducks ripped our algorithms. They also didn't campaign for more votes in the polls.
"I don't really care because we're 9-0," Aliotti said. "Really, that's the best answer, we're 9-0."
They're 9-0 with a star next to their name. We'll move them up; we have to, right?
No. 3 Notre Dame needed triple overtime at home to beat unranked Pittsburgh.
No. 2 Kansas State lost quarterback Collin Klein to an undisclosed injury, but it still beat No. 24 Oklahoma State in Manhattan by two touchdowns.
And No. 1 Alabama needed a touchdown with 51 seconds remaining to beat LSU in Death Valley.
So we've got some thinking to do. And some apology notes to write.
Ours starts, Dear Oregon,
We're sorry
Obviously the computers made good on correcting their error and put Oregon back at #3 over Notre Dame. One comment about the two games, Pitt at Notre Dame and Alabama at LSU. I watched both of them and was stunned how they both had the same kind of ending.
Pitt and LSU had clear control of their respective games until about the 2:00 minute mark. Then they each just rolled over and died. Stupid coaching decisions. Their defenses froze up and began hoping instead of playing for the win. Notre Dame and Alabama were both anemic and inept until it became panic time. And amazingly Pitt and LSU both allowed them to panic their way out.
Had those two managed the upsets, Oregon and Kansas State would've been pretty well locked in.
LaMichael James, who's 49ers were bye this week, went down to L.A. and stood on the sidelines during the game. He had the following analogy about the start of high school games when cheerleaders hold up a big banner as their team charges onto the field:
"You know before high school games when they run through the paper? That's what it looked like out there," James said. "It's probably the most impressive offense I've seen in my life."
And here, Schroeder brings up a key intangible:
But possibly the Ducks' best attribute was on full display at the Coliseum: relentless unconcern. A showdown becomes a shootout? Unfazed. They just don't care. Barkley was at his best. Lee and Redd and Robert Woods and Nelson Agholor kept making plays. For one night, USC put together the kind of offensive performance that had the Trojans near the top of all the preseason polls.
And it didn't seem to matter a whit.
And one more story from the L.A. Times allows me to offer a little sympathy for the old man. A story titled Trojans simply defenseless against high-flying Ducks by Bill Plaschke is representative of a growing tar and feather rally cry for USC Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin, Head Coach Lane Kiffin's dad. He is becoming the least liked father of a public figure since that of Luke Skywalker.
Once again, for a second consecutive week, that work must start with the coaches, with the seats growing warm under a defensive staff led by Kiffin's father, Monte. Remember last week's mess in Arizona? When is the last time the Trojans have allowed 1,318 yards in consecutive games? Try, never?
Darn the luck, Monte. Maybe you should go to a desperate Colorado where you might be more appreciated.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. . . NOT. Oh joy. Another night game. The TV gods have scheduled the Oregon-Cal game for 7:30 pm next Saturday on ESPN.
