The crabby fighting Duck's no braying donkey, kicking up dust in a league full of spuds. He takes on all comers in a conference of champions. This week he's got some pesky bruins nosing around the tailgate, led by an old weasel in a new place. The Duck saved them a knuckle sandwich: POW!
The Oregon Daily Emerald has the scoop on how the legend of Cliff "Kash" Harris began. Rob Moseley sent it out to Duck fans in his daily links, which include the news that Mike Bellotti might be the favored candidate for the newly vacant Minnesota job. Harris has the brash confidence to declare he's ready to lock (stuff) down, and the exuberant athletic ability to back it up. I wonder if he'll make a big play to announce himself on national TV on Thursday night. Wouldn't it be something if the Ducks won the NC, the Heisman, and the Jim Thorpe in one year? Harris has flair, and playmaking ability like few athletes you will see in your lifetime.
The Bruins, though, are not a particularly good matchup for his first start. They don't throw much, and throw poorly when they do. Their best receiver, Nelson Rosario, is out with a high ankle sprain, and their best remaining receiver is possession guy Taylor Embree, who goes about 6-3, 200. UCLA has one pass completion all season of more than 30 yards. They haven't got much going through the air in any of their games, but have had some success pounding the ball on the ground with power backs Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman. Both are tackle-breaking downhill runners with good balance, and Coleman is 6-0, 231. If Harris sticks his nose in there in run support tomorrow night, he may be able to win Nick Alliotti's confidence about his willingness to conform, and earn a bigger role in the defense.
Coleman is an interesting story. He was born deaf, an impairment discovered when he was a toddler because he was slow to learn to speak. He reads lips and wears a pair of $5000 hearing aids under his helmet, and has worked hard to overcome this and other challenges, earning a "B" in his college Spanish class despite his professor's skepticism, bouncing back from a sprained neck and concussion in the Stanford game. He's made himself available as a role model for deaf children in the Los Angeles area, and been a steady contributor in his three years in the UCLA offense.
Backfield mate Johnathan Franklin is second in the PAC-10 in rushing this season behind LaMichael James, averaging 113 yards a game. A redshirt sophomore from Dorsey High in Los Angeles, he had a 74-yard touchdown run as a freshman and ran for 5 total tds and 566 yards. This season he's won the starting job and flourished, breaking out for three tds and 158 yards in the win over Houston, 119 yards versus Texas, and 216 versus the Cougars. He's tough to bring down and has a burst, and Oregon must tackle better than they have against Deantre Lewis and Stepfan Taylor.
UCLA's starting quarterback Kevin Prince is questionable with a knee, and the Bruins are likely to go with sophomore Richard Brehaut, who has one start this year, against Washington State, a season passer rating of 86.52, and a long completion of 19 yards. Brehaut hasn't shown himself to be a running threat operating the Bruin's pistol formation, with 9 carries for a scant six yards.
The crabby fighting Duck knows most bears have a big growl but a soft nose, just the right size for a double flying bolo punch or three. No bear wants to lumber around and keep up at ten seconds a play. Things might get misty in the Oregon night. The yellow-clad crowd will have their index fingers high in the air, and maybe another finger for that old weasel. Quack!
The Oregon Daily Emerald has the scoop on how the legend of Cliff "Kash" Harris began. Rob Moseley sent it out to Duck fans in his daily links, which include the news that Mike Bellotti might be the favored candidate for the newly vacant Minnesota job. Harris has the brash confidence to declare he's ready to lock (stuff) down, and the exuberant athletic ability to back it up. I wonder if he'll make a big play to announce himself on national TV on Thursday night. Wouldn't it be something if the Ducks won the NC, the Heisman, and the Jim Thorpe in one year? Harris has flair, and playmaking ability like few athletes you will see in your lifetime.
The Bruins, though, are not a particularly good matchup for his first start. They don't throw much, and throw poorly when they do. Their best receiver, Nelson Rosario, is out with a high ankle sprain, and their best remaining receiver is possession guy Taylor Embree, who goes about 6-3, 200. UCLA has one pass completion all season of more than 30 yards. They haven't got much going through the air in any of their games, but have had some success pounding the ball on the ground with power backs Johnathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman. Both are tackle-breaking downhill runners with good balance, and Coleman is 6-0, 231. If Harris sticks his nose in there in run support tomorrow night, he may be able to win Nick Alliotti's confidence about his willingness to conform, and earn a bigger role in the defense.
Coleman is an interesting story. He was born deaf, an impairment discovered when he was a toddler because he was slow to learn to speak. He reads lips and wears a pair of $5000 hearing aids under his helmet, and has worked hard to overcome this and other challenges, earning a "B" in his college Spanish class despite his professor's skepticism, bouncing back from a sprained neck and concussion in the Stanford game. He's made himself available as a role model for deaf children in the Los Angeles area, and been a steady contributor in his three years in the UCLA offense.
Backfield mate Johnathan Franklin is second in the PAC-10 in rushing this season behind LaMichael James, averaging 113 yards a game. A redshirt sophomore from Dorsey High in Los Angeles, he had a 74-yard touchdown run as a freshman and ran for 5 total tds and 566 yards. This season he's won the starting job and flourished, breaking out for three tds and 158 yards in the win over Houston, 119 yards versus Texas, and 216 versus the Cougars. He's tough to bring down and has a burst, and Oregon must tackle better than they have against Deantre Lewis and Stepfan Taylor.
UCLA's starting quarterback Kevin Prince is questionable with a knee, and the Bruins are likely to go with sophomore Richard Brehaut, who has one start this year, against Washington State, a season passer rating of 86.52, and a long completion of 19 yards. Brehaut hasn't shown himself to be a running threat operating the Bruin's pistol formation, with 9 carries for a scant six yards.
The crabby fighting Duck knows most bears have a big growl but a soft nose, just the right size for a double flying bolo punch or three. No bear wants to lumber around and keep up at ten seconds a play. Things might get misty in the Oregon night. The yellow-clad crowd will have their index fingers high in the air, and maybe another finger for that old weasel. Quack!
Quack........quack, QUACK QUACK!
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