Showing posts with label Rose Bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rose Bowl. Show all posts

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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Week Two: The Pac Ten’s Race To The BCS

After the second BCS Standings were released there was some movement at the top of the BCS. Boise State (.775) and Cincinnati (.774) are no longer ranked ahead of USC (.794). Most people would agree that the Trojans are a better team than the Broncos and the Bearcats. USC is now looking to pass Iowa. For USC to qualify for the BCS Championship game Texas and Iowa will have to lose. Now that the Oregon Ducks (.646) have moved from the eleventh spot to the tenth spot a must see match-up of the BCS #5 team vs. #10 in the BCS will take place this Saturday when the Trojans travel to Autzen Stadium to battle the Ducks.

The winner of the USC/ Oregon game will qualify for the Rose Bowl if they run the table. There are a few ways to look at the BCS when analyzing the USC/ Oregon game. If USC wins they control their own destiny as far as qualifying for the Rose Bowl and have an outside shot at the BCS Championship if teams ahead of them lose. USC could lose to Oregon and still qualify for a BCS at large bid if they can defeat Arizona St., Stanford, UCLA and Arizona. The Oregon Ducks are currently ranked #10 in the BCS and even with a win over USC this weekend the Rose Bowl would probably be the only option as far as the BCS is concerned.

The Arizona Wildcats (.224) are #20 in the BCS and tied for second in the Pac Ten with USC. The Wildcats have a bye this week, but if Oregon loses to USC the Wildcats will be in a tie for first place. The Wildcats are ranked too low in the BCS to qualify for the BCS Championship Game, but if the win out they would qualify for their first Rose Bowl appearance. After their bye week the Pac Ten picture will be crystal clear for the Wildcats.
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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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