Oregon’s Job Is Not Complete

Oregon dominated the Trojans 47-20. The Ducks got a Freshmen QB in Matt Barkley at home, but so did Ohio State, California and Notre Dame. Oregon did what they were supposed to do and that was beat a USC team that is inexperienced and trying to find their way. This was a very impressive win by the Ducks. Oregon’s Chip Kelly is in his first season as the head coach and he accomplished what Jim Tressel, Charlie Weis and Jeff Tedford who are coaches with much more experience could not do and that is defeat the Trojans when you have them at home. USC was ranked #5 in the BCS and this victory should result in Oregon climbing up the BCS Standings.

The Trojans have lost games the last few seasons. Oregon State beat them 27-21 in 2008. Stanford got by USC 24-23 in 2007 and Oregon State slipped by the Trojans 33-31 in 2006. USC has not been beaten as soundly as the Ducks beat them today since Pete Carroll has been the coach. Oregon had 613 yards in total offense. The Trojans gave up 392 yards on the ground. USC could not find an answer for Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli. Masoli finished the game with 221 passing yards and 164 yards rushing. RB LaMichael James finished with 184 yards and averaged 7.7 YPC. The Oregon defense held USC to 4/14 on third down conversions.

What Oregon cannot do is assume they have the Pac Ten Conference wrapped up. The Ducks have a chance to be the first team to win the Pac Ten in the last seven years. Oregon must remember that in 2008 Oregon State had the opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl before the Ducks pounded them 65-38. Before the Beavers get to think about getting their revenge and denying their rival a berth to the Rose Bowl the Ducks have some very tough games coming up. They face the third place Stanford Cardinal on the road on November 7th and if Arizona can beat Washington State and Cal that could set up another major Pac Ten showdown when Arizona gets Oregon at home on November 21st. Assuming the Ducks win the next three games in a row they will be under tremendous pressure to beat Oregon State at home in the Civil War on December 3rd.

The Ducks have put themselves in a great position to qualify for their first Rose Bowl since 1994 and their first BCS game since the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. Now the Ducks will prove how well they deal with the media attention they will receive after blasting the Trojans and how they respect and prepare for the teams remaining on their schedule. If they remain focused with Masoli and James leading the way Oregon could be on their way to the Rose Bowl.

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A Lot On The Line At Autzen Stadium

On Halloween night the #5 USC Trojans travel to #10 Oregon Ducks. Before the season began California and Oregon were expected to challenge USC for first place in the Pac Ten. The Trojans defeated the Bears 30-3 and Oregon beat California 42-3. The Ducks could be the only team remaining on the Trojans schedule that has a shot at beating them. Autzen Stadium is a very difficult place for visiting teams to win. A lot of highly ranked teams have lost at Oregon. In 2006 # 15 Oklahoma lost 34-33. In 2007 #6 Arizona State lost 35-23. The Ducks have beaten USC four out of the last six games at Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks need to play this game at a fast pace and make this game a shootout. Oregon has a better chance of winning this game 42-35. A low scoring game would favor the Trojans. The Trojans defense in a two-week span held Washington State to 6 points and California to 3 points. The last couple of defensive performances by USC might have Oregon believing that it’s possible for them to put a lot of points on the board this Saturday. USC gave up 27 points to Notre Dame and 36 points to Oregon State. The Ducks are second in the conference in scoring at 34 PPG and USC is ranked #1 in the Pac-Ten in scoring defense allowing only 15.1 PPG

This game will come down to how well Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli can throw the football. Freshmen RB LaMichael James is averaging 105 yards per game on the ground for the Ducks. USC is only giving up 79 yards per game on the ground. The Ducks must find a way to move the ball through the air. In six games Masoli is only passing for 150.8 YPG. Expect USC to sell out on defense to stop the run and force Masoli to prove that he can win the game through the air.

USC is still hoping that Iowa and Texas drop a game so they can move up to #2 in the BCS standings. It is possible for the Trojans to move up, but getting past Oregon would be their most impressive win of the season. Matt Barkley has led his team to victories at Ohio Sate and Notre Dame, but the atmosphere at Autzen Stadium will be more intimidating than what he faced at those two venues. It will be important for the Trojans to keep the game close during the first quarter when the Ducks are feeding off their emotions and the fans excitement. This game might come down to experience and USC is use to playing on a big stage with a lot on the line. The Ducks must prove that they can handle the hype and what this game means to the BCS Standings and the Pac Ten race.

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Ducks Continue Their Winning Ways

A month ago the Oregon Ducks season could have easily continued on a downward spiral. Boise State defeated them 19-8 and the Ducks star RB LeGarrette Blount was suspended for throwing a punch. The schedule after the Boise State disaster was Purdue at home followed by Utah at home. At that point most people would have written off the 2009 season for Oregon. The Ducks were able to defeat Purdue 38-36, Oregon beat the 18th ranked Utah Utes 31-24 and they blasted #6 California 42-3 and climbed all the way back up to #13 in the AP Poll.

At the start of the season either Cal or Oregon was expected to challenge the USC Trojans for first place in the conference. Now that Cal is completely eliminated from the discussion the Ducks have put themselves in a great position with six games left to play.

UCLA is probably the best defensive team the Ducks have faced all season. The Ducks were held to zero points in the first half of the game. It wasn’t until the second half of the game when the Bruins could not stop turning the ball over that Oregon was able to take control of the game. After trailing 3-0 at halftime, the Ducks outscored UCLA 24-7 in the second half of the game. The Oregon defense held the Bruins to 6/16 on third down conversions and 0/2 on fourth down. UCLA QB Kevin Prince was 13/25, threw for 81 yards and had 1 interception. Bruins QB Richard Brehaut was 5/10, for 64 yards and 1 interception. The same offensive woes continued for UCLA with their inability to move the ball in the air.

Ducks QB Nate Costa only threw for 82 yards, but RB LaMichael James finished the game with 20 carries for 152 yards. After the Blount suspension James has taken advantage of his opportunity. James has a total of 581 rushing yards, 4 TD and is averaging 6.3 YPC. Without the services of starting QB Jeremiah Masoli and S T.J. Ward this was a big win for the Ducks. Now Oregon heads into the bye week with a lot of momentum. The Ducks have an opportunity to get healthy and their next three games will have a huge effect on where the Ducks end up in the Pac Ten Standings. Oregon is at Washington on October 24th. They get the USC Trojans at home on October 31st and they are on the road against Stanford on November 7th.

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Ducks Take Bears To The Woodshed

California entered Autzen Stadium as the #6 team in the country with the hopes of finally living up to expectations and capturing a Pac Ten Title this season. The Bears leave Autzen Stadium with an embarrassing 42-3 loss to the Ducks. Now the USC/Cal game next week might be an elimination game leaving the loser with no shot at the Rose Bowl. After going down to the Ducks it will be very difficult for the Bears to come back and beat the Trojans next week. Oregon was off the radar after their disappointing 19-8 loss to Boise State in the first week of the college football season. Since that defeat the Ducks bounced back and beat Purdue 38-36 and Utah 31-24. After this impressive win over the Bears, Oregon will be ranked again and are back in the hunt for first place in the conference.

The Ducks were lights out on defense. They held Cal to 3/15 on third down conversions and kept the Bear defense on the field for the majority of the game. The Ducks limited the Bears to only 76 yards on the ground. Oregon won the time of possession battle 32:47 to 27:08. After this performance Jeremiah Masoli is now neck and neck with Jake Locker as the best QB in the Pac Ten. Masoli was 21/25, for 253 passing yards and 3 TD’s. Just a few weeks back when RB LeGarrette Blount was suspended for the season many thought that the Oregon running game took a major hit. Redshirt Freshman LaMichael James has proven that he can be a threat out of the backfield. James finished the game with 21 carries, for 118 yards, 1 TD and 5.6 YPC.

The Ducks have Washington State at home next week before traveling to UCLA. On October 10th at the Rose Bowl the Ducks could be unbeaten in conference play and the UCLA Bruins could be undefeated. This game will be the marquee game in the Pac Ten and the winner will be in a very good position for the remainder of the season. The way the games have been playing out after the first month there is not a team that will separate themselves from the rest of the pack until the last couple weeks of the season.

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