OU leads Texas 21-7 just before half. Tennessee is tied 7-7 with LSU in Baton Rouge. A Vol upset would reflect positively on the Ducks' resume.
Ohio State pulled away from Illinois in the fourth quarter 24-13, the Buckeyes winning their first road game behind a clinching drive led by Terrelle Pryor. Pryor was knocked out of the game in the third. He had to be helped off the field and went to the locker room for treatment.
The OSU has Indiana at the Horseshoe next week, then a road date at Camp Randall with #11 Wisconsin. The Badgers trail Michigan State in East Lansing 13-10 just before half.
TCU cruised to a 27-0 win over Colorado State. #10 Auburn crushed Louisiana-Monroe 52-3, with quarterback Cam Newton connecting on a 94-yard touchdown pass to Emory Blake. The 5-0 Tigers have Kentucky, Arkansas and LSU in the coming weeks, Kentucky on the road. Other top-ranked teams are in the 5 p.m. window and later. UCLA leads Washington State 20-14 at the half.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Fan MVP Duck Sports Now Does a Willis Reed
It's off the bench and in the game at Duck Sports Now, with links to Moseley, oregonlive and the NY Times, all the crucial pregame information needed to get Oregon fans ready for the game of the year. Be sure to refresh the link on your favorites.
If The Quack is Back, They'll Show It Today
Today is the day we find out if the 2010 Oregon Ducks are a great team or merely a good one.Stanford comes to town bent on asserting themselves, and proving the Cardinal brand of football is superior to the sexy, up tempo attack of Oregon. They'll try to play smashmouth football, run it down the throats of the home team, demoralize them with hitting and crushing blocks, wear them down with a relentless power offense and a stinging defense.
Someone forgot to tell the nation that the Oregon Ducks play that way too. They just do it faster.
If Oregon plays the way they are capable of playing, if they maintain the right levels of calm and focus and all-out aggression, if they let their talent express itself, this game will not be close.
Stanford is a plodding football team with one true star. Take away his weapons and advantages, and the Ducks can pick him apart. It won't be easy. It will be a three-quarter battle culminating in a fourth-quarter last-ditched effort, but Oregon has more than enough talent to win the day today.
If they have the will.
Kenny Rowe will get to the quarterback. He's too agile and determined and relentless not to. Cliff Harris and John Boyett will lock eyes with Luck and cut off his passing lanes for a pick apiece. Casey Matthews will continue his brilliant and opportunistic play in the middle, and create one turnover. Zach Clark and Brandon Bair will disrupt and penetrate and defeat the power game at the point of attack. Not every play, but often enough to slow down the running game Stanford depends on to impose their will on inferior opponents.
The Oregon Ducks are not an inferior opponent. They may be the best team in the country, if they want to be.
Offensively, Oregon has to turn this game into a track meet. The offensive line has to create holes for LaMichael James and give Darron Thomas time to find the open receiver. Kenjon Barner is back at full health, and Josh Huff has emerged as an extra weapon. The Ducks have to use the full playbook and exploit all their weapons. They have more playmakers. Jeff Maehl, Lavasier Tuinei, Drew Davis, David Paulson, Brandon Williams all need a chance to run with the ball in the open field.
There's no reason for the Ducks to be intimidated. There's every reason for them to expose the very idea that they could be.
Autzen will roar and soar with life and energy and fierce resolve. The Ducks will answer it with their own. An inspired, fired-up crowd will disrupt the Stanford offense and inspire Tenacious D to their best effort of the season. The Quack is back. It's time to win the day.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Week 5 Preducktion: Stanford at Oregon
All the advantages Stanford enjoyed over Oregon in Palo Alto last year are gone.
They don't have a bye week. They're not likely to enjoy the same fast start with early Duck turnovers and long kick returns. Oregon isn't coming off an emotional, high-profile win over USC on national TV. The Cardinal are not an unknown quantity. The game is in Autzen, on fast turf instead of overgrown grass. Toby Gerhart has moved on to the NFL, where he has 7 carries for 22 yards. Stanford can't motivate themselves claiming to be underrated or unrespected. The national press is all Lady Gaga over the Cardinal, and many pick Harbaugh's "blue collar" team to win.
Seriously, how can a team from a bucks-up place like Stanford claim to be blue collar anything?
Image and reputation don't mean anything when the whistle blows. Stanford gets enormous credit for being tough and physical, but the Ducks can play physical too. They can deliver some hits and evade some as well.
The Ducks will get better coverage this year on Doug Baldwin, Ryan Whalen and Chris Osuwu downfield, and better pressure on Andrew Luck. The Stanford running game is strong this season, but nothing like it was with Gerhart running downhill.
The Oregon defensive front must maintain containment on Luck in the pocket, keeping him from shaking loose repeatedly on the scramble. Despite the beefy offensive line they have to get some pressure on him. Stanford has allowed just one sack all season, and the Ducks need a least two tomorrow.
The Cardinal have two capable tight ends in Konrad Rueland and Colby Fleener, and strong safety Eddie Pleasant has to read his keys correctly and not fall victim to the play action pass down the middle.
Oregon's offense has to achieve better balance than it did last week. In the later stages of the ASU game they became careful and predictable, relying on the punt team and the defense to win the fourth quarter. Against a conference leader they'll have to open it up and test the Cardinal with their speed. Darron Thomas is ready for a bigger role in the offense, a bigger role in deciding the game. He's tested now, and he's met up with Andrew Luck before.
If Thomas can back Stanford off the line with some big gains in the passing game, then LaMichael James can have room to operate in the second half. A good start for the home team would ignite the crowd and disrupt Stanford's game plan. They want to run right at the Ducks and wear them down.
Stanford will move the football, but Oregon's defense is opportunistic and resilient. They'll bend occasionally but break rarely, and they can contain the Stanford offense to 24-28 points. Oregon's offense should find the end zone four times and produce one field goal, and the defense and special teams will produce one more score.
Preducktion: Oregon 38, Stanford 27.
They don't have a bye week. They're not likely to enjoy the same fast start with early Duck turnovers and long kick returns. Oregon isn't coming off an emotional, high-profile win over USC on national TV. The Cardinal are not an unknown quantity. The game is in Autzen, on fast turf instead of overgrown grass. Toby Gerhart has moved on to the NFL, where he has 7 carries for 22 yards. Stanford can't motivate themselves claiming to be underrated or unrespected. The national press is all Lady Gaga over the Cardinal, and many pick Harbaugh's "blue collar" team to win.
Seriously, how can a team from a bucks-up place like Stanford claim to be blue collar anything?
Image and reputation don't mean anything when the whistle blows. Stanford gets enormous credit for being tough and physical, but the Ducks can play physical too. They can deliver some hits and evade some as well.
The Ducks will get better coverage this year on Doug Baldwin, Ryan Whalen and Chris Osuwu downfield, and better pressure on Andrew Luck. The Stanford running game is strong this season, but nothing like it was with Gerhart running downhill.
The Oregon defensive front must maintain containment on Luck in the pocket, keeping him from shaking loose repeatedly on the scramble. Despite the beefy offensive line they have to get some pressure on him. Stanford has allowed just one sack all season, and the Ducks need a least two tomorrow.
The Cardinal have two capable tight ends in Konrad Rueland and Colby Fleener, and strong safety Eddie Pleasant has to read his keys correctly and not fall victim to the play action pass down the middle.
Oregon's offense has to achieve better balance than it did last week. In the later stages of the ASU game they became careful and predictable, relying on the punt team and the defense to win the fourth quarter. Against a conference leader they'll have to open it up and test the Cardinal with their speed. Darron Thomas is ready for a bigger role in the offense, a bigger role in deciding the game. He's tested now, and he's met up with Andrew Luck before.
If Thomas can back Stanford off the line with some big gains in the passing game, then LaMichael James can have room to operate in the second half. A good start for the home team would ignite the crowd and disrupt Stanford's game plan. They want to run right at the Ducks and wear them down.
Stanford will move the football, but Oregon's defense is opportunistic and resilient. They'll bend occasionally but break rarely, and they can contain the Stanford offense to 24-28 points. Oregon's offense should find the end zone four times and produce one field goal, and the defense and special teams will produce one more score.
Preducktion: Oregon 38, Stanford 27.
Friday Walk-Through: News, Notes and Web Bites on Stanford at Oregon
The crabby fighting Duck can overcome a little cruelty. He can get a little blood on your bill too.
Number nine Stanford is coming to town and all the talk is how tough and smashmouth they are. Their coach likes to run up the score and call timeouts to ice kickers leading by 34, but the Ducks are capable of running up a score of their own. Oregon is fourth in the country in rushing yards and first in points. If the defense can withstand the Cardinal's power running and play action passing attack, the Autzen faithful could enjoy the first 5-0 start for Oregon since 2002.
With Duck Sports Now still on the disabled list, here are some links to get you ready for tomorrow's titanic clash:
Boise State is slated for the cover of the October 4th Sports Illustrated. Could the jinx rear its ugly head? They host Toledo on October 9th, and visit San Jose State the following Saturday. Doesn't matter: if the Ducks keep winning they'll pass the Broncos on merit and schedule strength, hands down. 12-0 twice on that Wac-ky schedule doesn't equal one trip around the PAC-10. Blue turf vertigo aside, BSU would finish 6-3 if they had to play in the conference of champions.
Adam Jude of the Register-Guard has a great feature on Duck linebacker Bo Lokombo, whose family escaped war-torn Zaire to build a new life in Canada. Lokombo didn't begin playing football until 8th grade, and parlayed a year as an exchange student at South Eugene into a college scholarship. His family is driving down from British Columbia for Saturday's game. Meanwhile Rob Moseley has a Q&A with Oregon punter Jackson Rice, who had his best career game in the win over ASU. Interesting tidbit: Rice grew up in the Bay Area, and both of his parents went to Cal.
Supwitchugirl has a new video, "Return of the Quack" and oregonlive has a link. This one features a cameo by Duck legend Joey Harrington. Does he smell roses? No, meatloaf. The video is funny and spirited, and should sell a few thousand more tee shirts. Elsewhere at oregonlive, Ken Goe has a feature on linemen Mark Asper, who knows the words to every song from Disney's animated musicals, including "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan. Goe reports the 6-7, 322 redshirt junior has already completed two degrees at Oregon, in Spanish and Sociology, and is working on a graduate degree in education. He has a baby daughter with a second child on the way, and he and his wife manage an 200-unit apartment complex.
The Ducks profit tremendously from some mature team leadership, with Brandon Bair and Asper being two notable examples. It's a key reason why the team responds so well to adversity and maintains such a positive focus in the growing hype that accompanies a number four ranking
ESPN GameDay's Desmond Howard says defense will be the key to the Stanford-Oregon game, and Lou Holtz picks Oregon, citing the home field advantage and the Ducks' kicking game.
The crabby fighting Duck can kick it, and when he gets open, he can fly.
Number nine Stanford is coming to town and all the talk is how tough and smashmouth they are. Their coach likes to run up the score and call timeouts to ice kickers leading by 34, but the Ducks are capable of running up a score of their own. Oregon is fourth in the country in rushing yards and first in points. If the defense can withstand the Cardinal's power running and play action passing attack, the Autzen faithful could enjoy the first 5-0 start for Oregon since 2002.
With Duck Sports Now still on the disabled list, here are some links to get you ready for tomorrow's titanic clash:
Boise State is slated for the cover of the October 4th Sports Illustrated. Could the jinx rear its ugly head? They host Toledo on October 9th, and visit San Jose State the following Saturday. Doesn't matter: if the Ducks keep winning they'll pass the Broncos on merit and schedule strength, hands down. 12-0 twice on that Wac-ky schedule doesn't equal one trip around the PAC-10. Blue turf vertigo aside, BSU would finish 6-3 if they had to play in the conference of champions.
Adam Jude of the Register-Guard has a great feature on Duck linebacker Bo Lokombo, whose family escaped war-torn Zaire to build a new life in Canada. Lokombo didn't begin playing football until 8th grade, and parlayed a year as an exchange student at South Eugene into a college scholarship. His family is driving down from British Columbia for Saturday's game. Meanwhile Rob Moseley has a Q&A with Oregon punter Jackson Rice, who had his best career game in the win over ASU. Interesting tidbit: Rice grew up in the Bay Area, and both of his parents went to Cal.
Supwitchugirl has a new video, "Return of the Quack" and oregonlive has a link. This one features a cameo by Duck legend Joey Harrington. Does he smell roses? No, meatloaf. The video is funny and spirited, and should sell a few thousand more tee shirts. Elsewhere at oregonlive, Ken Goe has a feature on linemen Mark Asper, who knows the words to every song from Disney's animated musicals, including "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan. Goe reports the 6-7, 322 redshirt junior has already completed two degrees at Oregon, in Spanish and Sociology, and is working on a graduate degree in education. He has a baby daughter with a second child on the way, and he and his wife manage an 200-unit apartment complex.
The Ducks profit tremendously from some mature team leadership, with Brandon Bair and Asper being two notable examples. It's a key reason why the team responds so well to adversity and maintains such a positive focus in the growing hype that accompanies a number four ranking
ESPN GameDay's Desmond Howard says defense will be the key to the Stanford-Oregon game, and Lou Holtz picks Oregon, citing the home field advantage and the Ducks' kicking game.
The crabby fighting Duck can kick it, and when he gets open, he can fly.
National Games with Duck Implications
None of these games matter a bit if the Ducks don't beat Stanford. The winner tomorrow is in the driver's seat for the conference championship and perhaps even more. The loser is playing for the Alamo Bowl.
photo at left: Urban Meyer and Lou Saban meet at midfield before the 2008 SEC championship game and agree to divide the football world between them.
#7 Florida at #1 Alabama
Amazing to think that this game is on the schedule, plus the Red River Rivalry, and the nation's premier college football show, ESPN GameDay, is setting up at Autzen today. These are not your grandfather's Ducks.
Alabama is a seven-point favorite to win at home coming off a win over Arkansas, in a game that will be broadcast 5 p.m. on CBS opposite the Oregon game, the chief reason GameDay is in Eugene instead of Tuscaloosa. Talk about a home field advantage: Bryant-Denny stadium holds over 101,000, and the vast majority of them will be screaming, "Roll, Tide!"
Alabama holds a decided statistical advantage. So far they've gained 511 yards per game compared to Florida's 355. They run and pass better than the Gators, by wide margins. The Florida offense under new starter John Brantley is still finding itself, although he did have his best game of the year last week against Kentucky, throwing for a touchdown and 248 yards. The big news for the Gators is the emergence of freshman Trey Burton quarterbacking the Wildcat formation. The freshman ran for five touchdowns, caught a pass for another, and completed his only throw for 42 yards coming off the bench last week. It will be interesting to see how Nick Saban and his fast Alabama defense handle that Tebow-like challenge. Speedy Florida Tailback Jeffrey Demps is out of a walking boot and should be ready to go. Mark Ingram will test a Gator defense that has given up just 94 yards on the ground.
Both teams are 4-0 and the winner becomes the frontrunner in the SEC, but the two will probably see each other again in the SEC championship game. Alabama solidifies their number one ranking with a win. Their defense is ranked number one in the country in points allowed at 9.8 a game. The Tide travels to South Carolina a week from Saturday, and the Gamecocks have a bye this week to get ready.
#2 Ohio State at Illinois
The first road game of the year for the Buckeyes, who travel to Champaign to meet the run-minded Illini. Illinois sticks to the ground game on 69% of their plays, led by tailback Mikel Leshoure who has 58 carries for 398 yards this season, a 6.9 yard average. They had a bye week to prepare for an upset, like the one they engineered in 2007 behind Juice Williams and Rashard Mendenhall.
#21Texas vs #8 Oklahoma
The 105th edition of the Red River Rivalry from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which is just over 190 miles from both schools. UCLA's pasting of Texas last week took some of the luster from this game but it's still fierce. The Sooners have looked underwhelming in three of their four wins. UO quarterback Landry Jones leads them with 1221 yards passing while completing 64.5% of his throws. The Longhorns have struggled on offense behind new starter Garrett Gilbert, who has thrown four interceptions and fumbled twice in the last two games.
One tough game and ten patsies non-ATQ division:
#3 Boise State at New Mexico State, #5 TCU at Colorado State. These two face one ranked opponent each in their remaining schedule, Boise State traveling to Reno to face Nevada in November, TCU locking frog horns with the Utah Utes on November 6. The rest of their games are cakewalks against the also-rans of college football, and the pollsters are likely to downgrade them a little each week even if they win convincingly.
Something's Gotta Give: Attacking Cardinal Defense Set on Stuffing the Ducks
Stanford's starting defense has allowed one touchdown in the season's first four games.
All four were routs against unaccomplished offenses, and the Cardinal have sacked opposing quarterbacks 14 times, sixth in the country. Eight different players have a sack. They've allowed just 13.8 points per game and 256 yards. New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, a 26-year veteran of the NFL and USFL, has installed an aggressive, attacking 3-4 defense, transforming a unit that ranked 90th in overall defense last year with largely the same personnel. They only got 21 sacks all of last year playing a 4-3.
#92 Nose Tackle Sione Fua, a 6-2, 306 senior anchors the middle. He's a fierce run stuffer, tying up blockers so the Cardinal's athletic, hard-hitting linebackers can roam free. OLB Chase Thomas, #44, leads the team in sacks and tackles for loss, and inside linebacker Owen Marecic (#48) has made a name for himself playing both ways. He had a fourth quarter interception for a touchdown against Notre Dame last week after scoring on the previous snap as a fullback, diving in from the one and putting a close game out of reach.
The Cardinal's 3-4 features #94 Thomas Keiser, 6-5, 244, in a role similar to Oregon's Kenny Rowe as a "drop end". Depending on formations or situations he puts his hand down give the offense a 4-3 look, or stands up as an outside linebacker. This gives the defense a lot of flexibility and allows them to bring pressure from multiple angles. Duck offensive line standout Mark Asper told reporter Robert Husseman of the Daily Emerald that the Cardinal linebackers like to time the snap count and get disruptive penetration inside, a tactic that gave the Ducks fits last week against Vontaze Burfict and ASU.
Sophomore Shane Skov has emerged as the other inside linebacker, after making 62 tackles as a freshman. Skov wears #11, 6-3, 243. He's not as fast as Burfict but he's in the same class as a hitter, and plays with much more discipline.
The Stanford defense is physical, intelligent, and cohesive. They rarely miss assignments and work very well as a unit. Fangio and Harbaugh have instilled a new toughness, and Oregon's offensive line has to block better than they did in Tempe, get LaMichael James room to run and Darron Thomas time to throw. The Cardinal pass defense has been spectacular so far, chiefly due to the quarterback pressure, but it may take a hit this week as their best defender, free safety Michael Thomas, #3, injured his ankle in the win over the Irish.
If Oregon wants to win another PAC-10 championship, they will have to find a way to outrun and outflank this defense. So far, no one has. But no one on Stanford's schedule has as many weapons as the Ducks.
All four were routs against unaccomplished offenses, and the Cardinal have sacked opposing quarterbacks 14 times, sixth in the country. Eight different players have a sack. They've allowed just 13.8 points per game and 256 yards. New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, a 26-year veteran of the NFL and USFL, has installed an aggressive, attacking 3-4 defense, transforming a unit that ranked 90th in overall defense last year with largely the same personnel. They only got 21 sacks all of last year playing a 4-3.
#92 Nose Tackle Sione Fua, a 6-2, 306 senior anchors the middle. He's a fierce run stuffer, tying up blockers so the Cardinal's athletic, hard-hitting linebackers can roam free. OLB Chase Thomas, #44, leads the team in sacks and tackles for loss, and inside linebacker Owen Marecic (#48) has made a name for himself playing both ways. He had a fourth quarter interception for a touchdown against Notre Dame last week after scoring on the previous snap as a fullback, diving in from the one and putting a close game out of reach.
The Cardinal's 3-4 features #94 Thomas Keiser, 6-5, 244, in a role similar to Oregon's Kenny Rowe as a "drop end". Depending on formations or situations he puts his hand down give the offense a 4-3 look, or stands up as an outside linebacker. This gives the defense a lot of flexibility and allows them to bring pressure from multiple angles. Duck offensive line standout Mark Asper told reporter Robert Husseman of the Daily Emerald that the Cardinal linebackers like to time the snap count and get disruptive penetration inside, a tactic that gave the Ducks fits last week against Vontaze Burfict and ASU.
Sophomore Shane Skov has emerged as the other inside linebacker, after making 62 tackles as a freshman. Skov wears #11, 6-3, 243. He's not as fast as Burfict but he's in the same class as a hitter, and plays with much more discipline.
The Stanford defense is physical, intelligent, and cohesive. They rarely miss assignments and work very well as a unit. Fangio and Harbaugh have instilled a new toughness, and Oregon's offensive line has to block better than they did in Tempe, get LaMichael James room to run and Darron Thomas time to throw. The Cardinal pass defense has been spectacular so far, chiefly due to the quarterback pressure, but it may take a hit this week as their best defender, free safety Michael Thomas, #3, injured his ankle in the win over the Irish.
If Oregon wants to win another PAC-10 championship, they will have to find a way to outrun and outflank this defense. So far, no one has. But no one on Stanford's schedule has as many weapons as the Ducks.
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