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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Oregon recruiting: Reggie, Reggie! New verbal commit Daniels is a home run for the Ducks

Secondary coach John Neal and the Ducks got a big verbal commitment today, from four-star defensive back Reggie Daniels of Chandler, Arizona.

photo right: Daniels flies in for another tackle, one of 83 he's made in his senior year at Hamilton High (Pat Shanahan, Arizona Republic photo).

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Handicapping the Heisman: despite a great season, LMJ gets a stiff arm from the Heisman voters

LaMichael James is an outstanding football player with exceptional talent He has more yards per carry than either Trent Richardson or Montee Ball, but he isn't going to New York this season for the Heisman Trophy Awards ceremony. He won't be a Heisman finalist, barring a gigantic game in the last weekend versus UCLA.

photo right: None of the other major candidates has a 90-yard run to his credit, and no one has more runs of 30 yards or more than James (abxnews.com photo).

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Monday, November 28, 2011

The Ducks cram for a final: UCLA comes to town Friday with the Rose Bowl at stake

The Ducks just need to stiffarm the Bruins to punch their ticket for the Rose Bowl (eugeneregisterguard.com photo, Chris Pietsch).

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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Grading the Ducks, Oregon State at Oregon

49-21, and it wasn't that close. The Ducks could have named a score against the Beavers, but they throttled down the offense and emptied the bench late in the third quarter. Jennings Stewart recovered the last fumble and Ayele Ford scored the last touchdown. No chance of a Bobby Petrino/Les Miles lip reading outrage in this game. The Beavers passed for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, against a three-man rush and a secondary fresh off the scout team.


Here are the grades, for the keys DSH identified Saturday morning.

photo right: Chip Kelly has pointed the way to 32 victories as Oregon head coach, and the Ducks need one more win for a third straight conference title.

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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Ducks dispatch Oregon State to win North Division, host first PAC-12 Championship Game

Darron Thomas draws fans' ire with every overthrow, but in Oregon's last three games, he's completed 65% of his passes with eight tds and no interceptions. The offense sputtered at times today but hit their number with 49 points, manhandling the Beavers with 669 total yards even after shutting down the offense for most of the fourth quarter.

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Friday, November 25, 2011

Black Saturday: what the Ducks must do to avoid getting trampled by a door-busting deal

If the Ducks can avoid the curse of the Grello Helmets, they should find running room against the Beavs (oregonscout.com photo).

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Monday, November 21, 2011

Oregon recruiting: Dwayne Stanford II is the receiver the Oregon offense needs

He's announcing tomorrow morning and they may not get him, because a dozen elite schools have him at the top of their board. But Dwayne Stanford II is the type of target Oregon's quarterback needed on the final drive on Saturday night.

Photo left: Dwayne Stanford II, a bright kid with an infectious smile and awesome ability--born to be a Duck. (espngo.com photo).

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Grading the Ducks, USC at Oregon

How they respond, rather than this loss will be the measure of the 2011 Ducks. A third conference title and a Rose Bowl win are still possible, representing a tremendously successful season.

photo right: Matt Barkley celebrates with his teammates and a slim contingent of Trojan fans after conquering Autzen Stadium in what may be the highlight of his college career. (Patrick Gee photo, usctrojans.com)

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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Morbid thoughts on a painful loss, and an invitation to buck up

Oregon joined Boise State as victims of a missed field goal at the end of the game, ending their run at the national championship. Other worthy goals remain. Photo by Thomas Boyd of oregonlive.com.

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Friday, November 18, 2011

USC at Oregon preview: Can the Ducks create "Fright Night 3" for USC?

For three years now, California Golden Boy Matt Barkley has tasted turf in the state of Oregon, going 0-5 in the Willamette Valley, battered and bruised. Zac Clark lines him up in this 2009 file image from prphotos.com

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Oregon recruiting: prospect Gehrig Dieter is si.com's National High School Player of the Week

Check out the accompanying video, which starts with Dieter throwing a key block downfield, and features his coach, Atwon Jones, praising his focus and work ethic. Both Gehrig's parents are police officers, and he's a directed, dialed-in guy, who faces the camera and speaks modestly.


But someone has to do something about that Auburn Tiger sweatshirt.

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Oregon recruiting: new verbal commit Byron Marshall has a plan of his own

Byron Marshall stiffarmed Cal and ASU to become a Duck, and fans will be delighted he did (bearinsider.com photo).

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Not so fast, my friend: Dano "Coastal Duck" Dunn offers the opposing view on a BCS playoff

Special guest post by Dano "Coastal Duck" Dunn



(photo left) King of the hill, top of the heap: Les Miles doesn't see anything wrong with the current playoff system, at least not yet. But around the country, fans of a dozen different schools think they deserve a crack at The Hat and his Tigers.



Let's explore the playoff - WAY too many questions to be answered first.
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Solving the BCS mess is so easy even a girl-crazed 18-year-old can do it

Special guest post by Adam "Indiana Kendall

[Editor's note: Adam Kendall, a sharp-shooting basketball forward from Roosevelt High in Seattle, is a lifelong Duck fan. He tweets prolifically under the handle"The WisequacK" and eschews capitals, much in the manner of e.e. cummings]

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

De'Anthony Thomas' Oregon career off to an historic beginning

De'Anthony Thomas is not the next Reggie Bush. He's not the next anyone. He's the first De'Anthony Thomas.

photo left: A familiar sight in Oregon's drive to a third straight conference crown: the player they stole from the Trojan's backyard, claiming some more valuable real estate for the Oregon offense. (insidesocal.com photo).

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Sometimes can't-miss superstars do exactly that

An athlete's career is uncertain. For every John Elway or Robin Yount, with a long tenure of sustained excellence, there are a dozen Joe Charbonneaus or Mark Fidryches, guys who had a taste of fame and flamed out for one reason or another.

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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Grading the Ducks: Oregon at Stanford

It was the most complete team victory and focused effort since last week.

photo right: Oregon's pint-sized superman, LaMichael James, darted and bulldozed for 146 yards and three touchdowns in a 53-30 victory over Stanford Saturday night. But the Ducks have to produce an encore against a USC team that is already talking trash. (photo Ezra Shaw, Getty Images).

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Friday, November 11, 2011

The Duck Stops Here on The Johnny Ballgame Show

Appearing on The Johnny Ballgame Show 1450 AM in Eastern Oregon, 4:05 this afternoon. Watch live: http://johnnyballgameshow.com/live/




We'll be previewing Oregon-Stanford and the rest of the PAC-12 and Top Twenty schedule.

Interview with a vampire--well no, just a blood-red Cardinal blogger

Hank Waddles of the website GoMightyCard.com dropped by to ask some Oregon-Stanford questions.

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Darron Thomas vs. Andrew Luck, in high school, 2007

The two Houston-area quarterbacks locked up in a district playoff game in the fall of their senior years. Luck's team won, but Thomas had better stats, including 101 yards rushing.

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Grading the Ducks: Oregon at Washington

It wasn't a massive stat accumulation, but it was the most complete victory by the Oregon team this year.


photo left: Right now, he might be the most maligned and muttered about 19-2 starter in the country. Fans are restless about Darron Thomas, who is plagued by inconsistency but continues to pad an impressive Oregon resume. Will he rise to the challenge, facing two top-drawer quarterbacks in the season's next two weeks? (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens).

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Keys to the game: Oregon at Washington

The Northwest football writers are chittering like squirrels as Husky Hate Week reaches its culmination. The tree branches and telephone lines of the interwebs are filled with upset talk, much of it coming from Seattle. Art Thiel and Bob Condotta of the Emerald City papers, along with Ted Miller of ESPN and even Adam Jude of the Oregon are opining that the Ducks have likely flown high long enough, and in The Last Game in Old Husky Stadium, with Don James tossing the coin and the The 1991 National Champions honored at halftime, the foghorns of the yachts steaming out of Lake Washington will blow loud and long in historic triumph.

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Friday, November 4, 2011

Scouting the Huskies

For much of the year the Duck defense has given up chunks of yards between the 20s, and this week they face an offense with the firepower to exploit that weakness. The Huskies are much tougher in the red zone than Arizona, California or Colorado, the gamut of also-rans the Ducks have pummeled on their way to 7-1. UW has a 1,000-yard rusher in Chris Polk, and a quarterback who's shocked the conference with his first-year effectiveness.

photo right: Can the Ducks hang on to their share of first place against Washington? A lot depends on wrapping up Chris Polk, who thrives on yards after contact (nfldraftmonsters.com photo).

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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

New stories at duckstopshere.com

At our new url, duckstopshere.com, we have the following features so far this week:

Recruiting updates on Fabian Moreau and Gehrig Dieter.

Tales from the stat sheet: which Oregon defense will emerge in November?

The Washington-Oregon rivalry--this is how long it's been since the Huskies won.