More in one half . . .

Thirty minutes before kickoff, Arkansas St. coach Gus Malzahn
gave his credit card to a player and told him to run into town
and buy as many cheap sunglasses as he could. ....

.... It was his desperate solution to help his team and staff
face Oregon's "Lightning on the Sun" helmets.
(Game photos from Oregonian)

After that quarterback performance, we are left to wonder what the controversy was all about. Marcus Mariota did more in one half than what many QB's can do in an entire game. One in particular comes to mind. More on him later.

Completing 18 for 22 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns and rushing 4 times for 24 yards in less than two complete quarters, Mariota showed an amazing grasp of the offense. He looked relaxed, comfortable, and seemed to know where all players on the the field were at all times.

Marcus Mariota has come out from behind
every one's shadow to take the reins of this team.

With fast decisions, accurate passes and quick sprints, Mariota was more than just a quarterback. He was a computer-aided onfield football management machine.

If this is a quarterback....



...this is Marcus Mariota.
Although granted, this illustration
doesn't work with AT&T customers.
They'll tell you this is barely a phone.





Did you see him throw a perfect TD strike with his right hand as he ran left? Did you see him place the ball exactly in the receivers' hands again and again? Did you see him juke tacklers out of their shoes with a little fake flip of the ball and then blow past them? After three years of building and recruiting, this is the guy Kelly has been looking for to master his system.

And then there's DeAnthony Thomas. Scouts of other teams will say to keep a spy on him. But it's clear already that Kelly plans to make that a very hard task. Where will DAT line up play after play? Outer strongside receiver? Outer weakside? Inside slot? Running back? I'll bet Kelly will even put him at tight end just to blow D-coordinators' minds.

Where is DAT? He's in the endzone with the ball.

The Ducks were by no means perfect. Once the starters were pulled, they got outscored. But that's what these games are for. Lots of film to review. Lots of time to practice and get it right with the goal of being a more complete team game-by-game.

But for now, when the front line takes to the field, is there anybody better in the nation? I don't know. But I do know this. Down in L.A., USC celebrated every touchdown and their win over Hawaii like it was a bowl game -- probably because after two years, they finally get to play for one.

And while it took Oregon just the first half to score 50 points, USC celebrated all 49 points they scored in four quarters. In fact leading 42-10 in the fourth, 4th and 3 on Hawaii's 11-yard line, Matt Barkley (Yes, he was still in the game.) threw his final pass into the endzone. Stay classy, Trojans.

Furthermore, (Ya, I'm not done yet. USC is pissing me off.) Hawaii was not allowed to do an onfield walk through in the Coliseum before the game; and that goes for every other team that will play down in Trojan Land this season.  USC says something about  the risk of "messing up the field".

Calling all Pac-12 teams who host the Trojans this year. Do the right thing and flip this crap right back. When USC arrives at their hotel in your city, inform them that they won't be able to practice on the field before the game. Tell them you just repainted the field. It's a new brand of paint -- F.U. Brand -- and it takes an extra day to dry.

And another thing!  We have just learned of another cash/car scandal at USC. It happened back in 2009 while all of their other hooliganisms were occurring before USC's wholesale change of their athletic department and football staff . So it kind of falls under the NCAA's original punishments. But it only came to light recently. So now what is the NCAA supposed to do?

You know what it's like? Picture a few school-age boys on a farm back in the old days. They play with matches and burn down the barn. Pa hollers at them, tans their hides, yells at them some more, whips them so more. He grounds them for the summer, takes away their toys and doubles their chores.

Then as he is cleaning up the charred remains of his barn and preparing to build another, he looks over, only now, to discover that on that same infamous day, the boys also tipped over the outhouse.

Now what is Pa supposed to do? He's already punished them just about everyway he can. The next step would be to sell them to a Gypsy family. But this is just stupid icing on the dumbass cake. 

The football world would suffer if the Trojans were given the death penalty. I say if USC doesn't want another bowl ban, all athletic department staff and players have to forfeit their cars for a year -- even it they own them free and clear. Walk. ride a bike, and while they're at it they can clean all the toilets on campus.

Fresno State. Later.
--kb

O-Duck Gangnam Style?

It swept across the Asian continent and is making it's way to the West with over 80 million hits to date. Bigger than the Macarena! You need to watch the following video to better appreciate the video after. Never mind that you don't understand Korean. There are a few Korenglish words to keep you in it.
Warning: This tune will stay with you for the rest of the day.



And now, our beloved Puddles has just released his contribution to international culture: GANGNAM O-DUCK STYLE


I'm just wondering how long it'll be before Kermit and Yoda shut it down for copyright infringement.

--kb

Arkansas, State of

INTERPRETATION IN THE QUEEN'S LANGUAGE:
(Note: The improper and vulgar word "them"
is substituted where a person of civil breeding
might use the pronouns "those" or "they".)

"Them are ducks."
"Them are NOT ducks."
"Yes them are. See them wings?"
"Well, I'll be....Them ARE Ducks!"

This will be the first meeting between Arkansas State and Oregon. In fact it is the first time Arky St. has played any Pac-12 team. I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn not just about the opponent, but the state where they reside.

Arkansas was the 25th state to join the union in 1836. Early settlers named it such because by their reckonin', it rested right smack-dab between Kansas and Arizona.  It's most notable exports are cotton, diamonds and the chicken parts used in McDonald's McNuggets.

Arkansas has the fifth lowest income level per capita in the U.S.  It's biggest employer is Wal-Mart (No joke.)  Arkansans have a love/hate relation with the federal government as they hate it in principle, yet it is their second largest employer.

During it's infancy, the state's chief commodity was slaves; but Arkansas is 81% white today. In fact Arkansas has more whites than Idaho! Arkansas has become so sophisticated with it's whiteness that it divides them into four separate categories:
Tighty White, Bright White, Not-So-Bright White, and old school Bedsheet White.

The Bright Whites go to Arkansas State -- home of the Red Wolves. And even though we may not have heard much about them, they have a good football team. They went 10-3 last year, were undefeated in the Sun Belt Conference, and recorded a losing effort in the Go Daddy Bowl.

Their quarterback, senior Ryan Aplin, is All American. They have a new head coach this year in Gus Malzahn. If he sounds familiar, he was the offensive coordinator for Auburn . . . . Yes, THAT Auburn.

During a six game win streak last season, the Red Wolves outscored their opponents 77-9 in the first quarter. Then in all their fourth quarters they kicked dirt in their opponents faces some more, outscoring them 118-41. 

Malzahn is going to install the hurry-up/no huddle offense similar to Auburn's and Oregon's. And he's got a cocky quarterback to run it.

Said Ryan Aplin in a CBS Sports story about his trip to Oregon:
"A lot of people are probably doubting us and saying we're going to get killed and whatnot, but that's just fuel to our fire," Aplin said. "We're going to go out there and give them hell and do what we do best, up-tempo, and hopefully put a shock to them."

Isn't he just adorable? I love it when QBs who have never before been to Autzen come right out all hissing and spitty with their fuzzy backs arched and their little tails all fanned out.

Frankly, I hope they do score first to get the crowd's attention.

Rob Mosley of the Register Guard talks more about Oregon's preparation in
this article.

And now, here we go . . . . .


Gametime Saturday, 7:30 Pacific on ESPN.
--kb

USC Ranks

The votes keep coming. While USA Today gave USC a third place preseason ranking, The AP and other polls have put USC at the top. Numero Uno. The logic being that with the much ballyhooed Heisman candidate Matt Barkley returning for his senior season to a team loaded with talent on the offensive side -- the same team that beat Oregon last year, no less -- how can you NOT rank them #1?

I share Mr. Burns' sentiment as he would say:  

"Ex-cellent!"

Let the Trojans start the season at the top. Let them begin defending their #1 ranking from the moment their two-year bowl ban ends. Sure, the Trojans may be feeling like they're on a Wheaties box right now, but anyone knows that those who start #1 are very rarely there at the end. And this will be especially true for a USC team with glaring holes. 

Pollsters have propped Barkley and Company
on top of a rickety ladder to start the season.



The following ESPN video echos what everyone is saying. While USC has excellent personnel on offense -- perhaps even the best in the country-- their defense has question marks, particularly at the front line. USC's D-line lacks the depth a team must have to maintain that #1 ranking. And even though they have Oregon in L.A., they are at Stanford, Utah, Washington, Arizona, and UCLA. Good luck with that.

OREGON DRAWS THE LINE

The more I read about Oregon's offensive and defensive lines, the more excited I get. Old school coaches like Rockne and Lombardi will tell you that it all begins at the line. Ohio State, LSU and Auburn taught Chip Kelly's Ducks that they couldn't beat the big boys until they improved their lines.

In the Oregonian's recent article, Oregon Ducks offensive line jelling on schedule,  Center Hroniss Grasu said, "The pace that we play at, we're going fast," he said. "We're trying to get the defense to get tired, to get them to throw up in the middle of the game." That would include USC's defense.

When the opponents have the ball, I believe that is when we will see the secret about Oregon this year. As great and well publicized as their offense is, the Ducks defense will prove to be the catalyst that takes this team to the top. This will be the defense they wish they had when they faced LSU and Auburn, especially when one of their freshmen is 6-8, 280 lb. man-child Aric Armstead. A defensive end so big, so fast, so formidable, that whenever anyone misspells his first name with an 'E', not only will Aric correct him, but that person will never ever spell any 'Eric' he meets with an 'E' ever again. 

Here's The Oregonian's article on the defense: Evolving Ducks Defense after more Sacks in 2012

MARIOTA'S MEN
At the writing of this post -- well, not exactly at the writing, but a couple of days before while I was vacationing near Mt. Hood . . . (Ya, I have a life, OK so SUE ME.),  I learned with the rest of you that QB Marcus Mariota had been given the keys to the team. The redshirt freshman, who had a superb Spring Scrimmage, continued to show his edge through fall camp and beat out sophomore Brian Bennett to start for the Ducks.

In the Sunday Oregonian, John Canzano's column revisited former QB Darron Thomas' reasons for leaving school early. The chances were high of Bennett beating out Thomas this year. But then Mariota beats Bennett! Canzano wrote:

Mariota will start on Saturday against Arkansas State. It may take two months to figure out if he can win a big game, but we're going to learn right away if the kid has presence, command of Kelly's offense and can run, throw and make good decisions on a football field. We've seen it in a single glimpse on a spring day, but I'm not joining the ranks of critics saying they'll need to see Mariota against USC's defense to know if he can really play.
I suspect we'll know it in a single afternoon.

Matt Barkley threw for 39 TD's and over 3500 yards last year. Mariota's stats read all zeros. Yes, it's a big unknown for Oregon. But it's an unknown for Oregon's opponents as well. And the pollsters have no evidence that Oregon could be any better than #5.

No stats. No game film. No scouting reports. Only that single spring scrimmage, plus the consensus of behind-the-curtain witnesses who say that Mariota could be Kelly's best QB to date.

Later: A look at Arkansas State.

It's Oregon's Time

The Pac-12 beat writers picked USC to win the conference football championship. The USA Today National Poll has Oregon fifth, USC third, and the always popular LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma filling in the rest.

Good!

The pollsters are correct. Matt Barkley is the great senior QB of USC. Oregon still has to choose from two young, practically untested guys for their QB position before the September 1st opener against Arkansas State. The regular season matchup between Oregon and USC is in L.A. The Trojans should be ranked higher. It's conventional wisdom.

Conventional wisdom also reminds us that between USC and Oregon, last year Barkley and the Trojans played a near perfect first half in Eugene and escaped with a three point win over the Ducks. Now USC has the QB, the home field, a talented team, and they just got a good RB from imploded Penn State. Of course you pick them ahead of Oregon.

The problem is, at the start of the 2009 season, conventional wisdom didn't have Oregon going to the Rose Bowl. Conventional wisdom most certainly did not have Oregon earning a spot in the National Championship for 2010. And last year, conventional wisdom couldn't see Oregon beating Andrew Luck at Stanford and going on to win the Rose Bowl.

Those who follow and love Oregon know that -- play-by-play, game-by-game, season-by-season -- when you try to figure out the Ducks, it's best to throw conventional wisdom out the window. The Ducks are rewriting the book on how to practice and play football. And the cover of this book is Kelly Green.
  
Over the past three seasons, Coach Kelly has been urging his team to go faster, faster, faster. This season he's adding a new wrinkle.

He wants them to go faster STILL.

Kelly knows the other teams have their eyes on Oregon. The Ducks are the new measuring tape with which the others compare themselves.

Witness the words to come out of Pac-12's Media Day in July as at least one coach begins to match the tempo and style of the Ducks. Talking about new Arizona coach Rich Rodriquez . . .

Linebacker Jake Fischer said of Arizona's new offense that "every practice felt like we were going against Oregon'' in the spring.

ASU running back Cameron Marshall talked about his spring practice experience under new coach Todd Graham's system that sounds similar to Oregon players' accounts in Eugene:

"It's fast. It's a lot faster than anything we have experienced before at Arizona State, at least for me personally. It was alot more organized, every period was. We had guys doing something; we didn't have any downtime. Everything was explosive. It was a lot of competition in practice throughout the whole practice, and a lot of situational stuff."


It is with pride that Kelly calls his team the fastest and hardest practicing in the country, It is his mission not to allow anyone else to catch up. He won't allow any "We've arrived." mentality in his camp to dull the team's edge.

As for those rankings, let USC have the target on their backs. Let Oregon be the underdog going into The Coliseum November 3rd. All the pressure will be on Barkley and Co. to play that perfect game again, this time in front of their home crowd. It's a two-sided coin. After USC won in Eugene last year, they have Oregon coming to them this year. The bad news for USC: After escaping with a win in Eugene last year, Oregon will be coming for them this year.  For the Ducks, it's an error to be rectified.

And what of those young, practically untested quarterbacks? Who should start, Bryan Bennett or Marcus Mariota? Which bomber should the Air Force use, the B-1 or the B-2? Which superhero do you call to fight an army, Ironman or the Hulk? Which car should you use to get across the country fast, the Mustang Shelby Cobra or the Corvette ZR1?

Bennett or Mariota?  Cobra or Corvette?

The answer to all of these is: Either and both will do the job for you just fine. Bennett started two games last year and was great. Mariota had a great Spring Scrimmage. Both have better skills than Darron Thomas. Both will see action at the start of the season against Arkansas State, Fresno State and Tennessee Tech. By the end of September when conference play starts at WSU, one will be the starter, but both will prove more than capable.


Below are links to the Oregonian's grading of each position. Surprisingly, the best grades were given on the defensive side. The D. backs are talented and deeper than ever. The D. line is bigger and deeper than ever. And the linebackers, while not as deep as the other positions, have starters with tremendous speed and talent.
Put them all together, and it's another Oregon football team setting the standard for the Pac-12.


Quarterbacks:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/07/oregon_ducks_preview_bryan_ben.html

Kickers/Punters:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/07/oregon_ducks_2012_preview_jack.html

Running Backs:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/07/oregon_ducks_preview_here_come.html

Wide Receivers/Tight ends
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/08/oregon_ducks_preview_uo_must_s.html

Defensive Secondary:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/08/oregon_ducks_preview_defensive.html

Kick Returners:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/07/oregon_ducks_2012_football_pre.html

Offensive Line:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/07/oregon_ducks_preview_deep_offe.html

Defensive LIne:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/08/oregon_ducks_preview_deep_defe.html

Linebackers:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/08/oregon_ducks_preview_starting.html

--KB

Don't Let Oregon Football Leave With Kelly

It was all just a bad dream. While we were in bed the other night, we overheard Daddy tell Mommy  he was leaving her for a fancy floozy in Florida.  Sister told us she saw him pack his bag. We heard the door slam. He was gone.

When we came downstairs the next morning, there was Daddy sitting at the breakfast table. Mom was dishing him a second helping of eggs. All was right with the world; and Daddy told us he would never leave again.

At least until next time.



My poor Oregon State Beaver friends
who were flipping me shovel loads of crap
the night we heard Kelly was most likely gone . . .
Here they were the next morning.


We got a scare, didn't we. The latest word I heard was that Chip did indeed accept an offer from Tampa Bay. But around midnight, after talking on the phone to a (ahem) "significant Oregon booster", he had a change of heart and decided to stay.

Here is a link to the story as A.D. Rob Mullens tells it to the Oregonian.

Speculation is that the Bucs offered him anywhere from 5 to 7 million dollars. But after his $3.75 million buyout clause with Oregon, it didn't amount to much more than what Oregon was paying him.

Still, let's not fool ourselves. Chip is not going to be like Rich Brooks and stay for 16 years. He's not the JoePa type to stay for 1-1/2 generations until he's revered as a god.

The Oregon Athletic Department would be wise to consider this a fire drill and plan ahead for what should happen WHEN Kelly leaves. When Bellotti left, the transition plan was pretty much in place. Oregon should do the same with Kelly.

Names of Kelly's possible replacement consisted of Offensive Coordinator Mark Helfrich, D. Coord. Nick Allioti, Chris Peterson of Boise State, Jeff Tedford at Cal., Tony Dungy -- the unofficial member of Oregon's coaching staff, Gary Patterson at Texas Christian, and -- back by popular demand -- Mike Bellotti.

First of all, why would Bellotti want to come back? If he lost more than two games in a season, he would be considered a failure. Why would he set himself up for that?

And Tedford? Are you kidding? He has raised Cal's level of game from low mediocrity to high mediocrity. He represents Oregon's past, not it's future.

When it's time for Kelly to go . . .
To me, the following would be the perfect scenario for everyone.

A smart NFL team brings in Tony Dungy and Chip Kelly together. They either make Kelly offensive coordinator and let Dungy deal with all the other duties and hassles of a head coach, or they make Kelly head coach and put Dungy in the front office for two main tasks: To secure the personnel Kelly wants, and to occasionally remind the owner of the big picture as Kelly transitions the team.

Meanwhile back at the Casanova Center, A.D. Rob Mullens announces that Oregon's new head coach is none other than (Are you sitting down?) Nick Allioti. That's right, the quintessential assistant finally gets the big desk.

I know. A lot of people don't care for Allioti. I know Duck fans who have called for Allioti's firing in the second quarter of a game -- only to change their minds by the fourth -- EVERY WEEK. But no one else on any short list has Allioti's tenacity, spirit and dedication. And for experience, he's seen it all.

If the AD told him, "Nick, you're the man if you can keep this thing going.", he would work 24/7/365 to do just that. He would keep the same proven pace at practices. He would let Helfrich continue to run the offense. He would make sure every player fed off his fire and energy.

Best of all, he would fill his previous position by calling Justin Wilcox and Peter Sirmon -- who have just signed on as defensive coaches at Washington -- and say,
"Get down here, NOW. . . . Why are you still talking? Why are you not in your car yet? I'm not asking. MOVE YOUR BUTTS!!!"

Stealing those two away from the Huskies would be a real low blow, wouldn't it? It would really piss off the Dawgs.

See? You're liking the idea already!

Why the focus on keeping the coaching change inbred?

It's The System Stupid.
It's not Kelly's charm that took Oregon to the next level, it's his system. The less-talk-more-action fast paced practices. The "blur" offense. Once Kelly leaves, it doesn't make sense to then say, "Well that was fun. Now let's abandon it all and get another coach to do something different."

Oregon's style and system works (Yes, I said Oregon's. Not Kelly's) . It's very successful. Very distinctive. Why change it?  It would make sense to bring in a Chris Peterson or Gary Patterson if Kelly only had the Ducks plodding along with more or less the same success as before.

But when you have the most successful program in the nation over a three-year period, why would you look anywhere other than within your program? What would you put it into the hands of someone who was doing less?

Putting it another way, the first time a new coach makes the Ducks huddle, I'm going to throw up. When he punts the ball on fourth down more than two times in a row, I'm going to boo.

People including writers like John Canzano are still calling the Ducks way of doing things a "gimmick". It WILL be merely a gimmick if the Oregon brass don't embrace it. All of this would be for naught if Mullens, Knight, Brooks, Pat Kilkenny and other members of the inner circle fail to look at the big picture.


It's not just about Chip Kelly.
It's greater than him.

 They need to see that what Kelly has done here hasn't just changed Oregon. He's changing football. I don't want to just see Oregon continue to play this way. I would love to see ALL teams play this way. I want to see huddles and automatic punting on fourth down go away with other 20th century dinosaurs like the pay phone and the fat box tube TV.

You look at the great football coaches of the past: Woody Hayes, Bear Bryant, Knute Rockne, Vince Lombardi, Len Casanova, Pop Warner, Joe Paterno . . . What do they all have in common?

They're DEAD!  And so should be their style of football. Why do we still have to play the game like they did? Why haven't we seen a significant change since the invention of the forward pass?

Who besides me is bored with "4-yards and a cloud of dust", Lazy, unconvincing play action passes. Street-style football where the QB stands and stares to see who got open.  Wasted time between plays watching a fat old coach stare at a laminated two-sided menu like he's deciding what toppings to put on his baked potato and steak. Then he talks into a microphone. The QB reads something off his forearm. The team circles together and listens intently. "Ready, BREAK" [Clap]. . . . It's like an offense run by the government.

HEY. IT'S BAKED POTATO AND STEAK. Run the damn play and let your quarterback decide the toppings on the fly. 

Have all of you figured out why an average Denver Broncos team made it to the 2nd round of the NFL playoffs? Did you see Tebow putting the ball into the running back's belly for a second, reading the defense, then pulling it out? They wouldn't have gone anywhere had they just stuck to the same ol' generic vanilla pro football. If only they would eliminate the huddle and speed up the pace . . .

I don't watch pro football regularly anymore. Haven't in years. Why? You see one pro game, you've seen them all. They all play the same, look the same. At least college football still mixes up styles and systems. You're more apt to get something different every week, every game even. This is why people across the nation are liking Oregon football.

It's different.

Now I know the arguments can be made that the spread option is not unique. The no-huddle offense is nothing new. Kelly isn't the first to go for it on fourth down (Look at any high school or small college team with a crummy punter). And I'm sure other coaches will claim they practice their teams just as hard and fast.

But Coach Kelly is the latest and greatest to successfully put all of these elements together and make it an ATTITUDE. A BELIEF SYSTEM. A RIGID STYLE. The results are eye opening, jaw dropping.

Today's Oregon football is THE CHANGE to the game that we've been waiting for for over a century.

When Kelly leaves, don't let it leave with him.

--KB

At Last

The key word: "Champions".
No Championship Participation souvenirs this time.

What did Wisconsin learn from this?

1) Don't bet the dairy farm on a wide open shootout with the Ducks. Imagine if the Clantons brought a Gatling gun to the O.K. Corral.

2) Never, NEVER try to kill the clock with only two seconds left. It's already dead.

Playing fearless. I mentioned it last week. Coach Kelly talked about it in the postgame. (That's right. Kelly is as smart as me.)  Wisconsin's style and weaknesses played right into Oregon's hands so that every time the Badgers scored, Darron Thomas and Co. jumped off the bench like kids flying out of their beds and running toward a present-rich Christmas tree.

They couldn't wait to open another gift. "Oh goody. Another can of whoop-ass for Wisconsin!"

And after they scored, the offense just sat down and waited. With Wisconsin's customary high number of plays and time of possession, they waited for Alliotti's defense to exploit a mistake. In the second half, they got three.

Kiko Alonso was the defensive player of the game because before Monday, his most noticeable stat was the number of games he was suspended for alcohol related trouble. He was destined to watch the game from a couch somewhere next to Cliff Harris.

He took his punishment like a man and came back with great courage.


Great shot by Orange County Register just before interception.




It was a good pass. Kiko just "Wheatoned" it.



After game, Kelly can't say enough about how proud he is of Kiko.

The second mistake was what will forever earn Coach Kelly the name "Air Kelly". After Russell Wilson completed a 29-yard pass to Jared Abbrederis, Terrance Mitchell stripped the ball to watch it lay on the carpet for what seemed like an eternity. Michael Clay pounced on it, and a second Wisconsin drive was killed.

Kelly leaps as Michael Clay recovers fumble.

Below is what Duck fans know of as Oregon's "other" fight song featuring Air Kelly and the Fumblettes. Thanks to Mad Duck reader E.Z. for showing me this.


The third and final mistake, as mentioned before. Wisconsin tried to kill the clock and they killed themselves. What is Oregon's motto? Win the Day: Fast, Hard, and the most important, FINISH.

In the postgame, Badger QB Russell Wilson talked about losing three games this season in a total of about 40 seconds and just a handful of points. That's got to be harsh. Yet in this game alone, they can look at two pointless timeouts early in the second half to go with the clock-stopping blunder.

Finishing has to do with playing smart. And that partly comes with experience.  Looking for their first BCS win in three tries, I saw some very smart Oregon coaches and players the other night. Sure they had a couple of turnovers. But they didn't hurt themselves with stupid penalties, panic or mental blunders. They finished this thing.

What was that moment like for you when you saw Wilson spike the ball with 00's on the clock?
"It's over," I said to the other people in the room. But even after uttering the words I didn't believe it myself. This is the Rose Bowl after all -- the kind of game Oregon loses. They haven't lost yet. Shouldn't the football gods give Wisconsin one more chance to ruin it all?

The silence and chaos in the stadium transmitted through every TV in the nation. We were watching the most important official replay review in Oregon Duck history. Then the ref flipped on his mike.

"After further review . . . Prior to the spiking of the pass, the clock went to zero. The game is over."

This is what I saw and heard. The ref walked up and tapped on the TV screen, "Hey Killer Bee, the game is over. Pinch yourself. It's real. Your Ducks have just won the Rose Bowl."

The next sound I heard was from across the room -- a gasp from my wife. She was as stunned as I was. We just looked at each other forever. I walked over to her, still gazing into her eyes.

I can only think of two other moments when her eyes were that beautiful. Our wedding, and the Kenny Wheaton interception.

And right then and there, I pressed my lips to hers, and we just started making out wildly in front of seven other adults and at least one grandchild.

OK maybe it didn't happen exactly like that. And maybe the referee didn't say those precise words to me. But it was still that kind of moment. Real, yet unreal. True, but unbelievable.

The Oregon Ducks are Rose Bowl Champions.
The Oregon Ducks are Rose Bowl Champions.
The Oregon Ducks are Rose Bowl Champions.

Go ahead, say it three times. Then say it about 300 more. Don't ever get tired of saying it, because as a long suffering Duck fan like me, you've earned it.

Here's to us, Ducks.

Etta, get well soon. And could you sing that song just one more time while we peruse the following pics we've waited so long to see?

"After further review . . .The game is over."

D.T. was only sacked twice during the game,
 but numerous times after.



Barner



Offensive linemen aren't afraid to hug.


 

Duck Banatic?

Finally. Green and yellow confetti.



All season long, Darron Thomas said,
"Put the team on my back."

 



(Whew) Did the room just get warm?

DAT all smiles.



The Mayans predicted a Duck holding a Rose Bowl trophy
is the first sign of the coming 2012 apocalypse.
Sorry world. But, you know . . . priorities.



Letting the fans touch it.



Injured Carson York holds trophy.



--KB