Ducks currently tied for 3rd in Pac-10

The Ducks are 6 games into their season and they are currently 3rd in the Pac-10.

The glass is 1/2 full- At 4-2 we are looking ok. I was hoping to get out of this season 8-4, maybe 9-3. The Ducks have a pretty ugly road schedule facing USC, Cal, ASU and our in state rival OSU all on the road. The defense looked solid early but has been giving up way to many big plays. Team leader Patrick Chung needs to make some kind of statement play or speech or something. They seem to lack intensity right now. I'd like to see some kind of gutsy performance out of him similar to last years big interception in Michigan. Chung didn't make the interception but he did motor down the field to pass the intercepter and make 2 huge blocks, both on MI offensive lineman. He knocked them both to the ground. The run game has been pretty outstanding but USC did expose the lack of throwing capabilities, with no respect given to the passing games teams can really tee off on our run game.

The glass is 1/2 empty - Jeremiah Johnson is not Jonathan Stewart and our QB's are not Dennis Dixon taking pressure off JJ. 3 of our wins, Utah State, Washington State and Washington come against schools that are widely considered in the Low 10. That would be the worst 10 teams in college football. So our win over Purdue, which we squeaked out in OT, is our big one. Since Purdue is only boasting a 2-3 record I'm not real proud that we had to squeak that one out. We are a wounded team. Rolling into games with your 3rd, 4th and 5th string rotating time is not a great formula for any team. This is the 2nd year in a row that we have played more htan 1 game with our 5th stringer. We gotta stay healthy!

The bottom line - We need to play a whole lot better. Our freshman and sophomore QB's are troopers getting in there and trying their hearts out, and I'm looking very forward to the future but they are not yet ready to be leading the ship. When the youngsters are in they have to make good decisions to run this sophisticated offense. They can all run, they need to focus on passing to open up that dangerous run game. Masoli has looked incredible at times, but has made some pretty scary decisions. He has a rocket arm and in another year I think he will prove to be a good one. Frosh Darron Thomas has been better than expected and Chris Harper can run the ball like no one. Both still need some work with the pass and with the system. I look for them to make strides in the future and be big leaders in 2-3 years. Those 2 may have some good competition in the years to come. Defensively we need to quit giving up those stupid big plays and get back to solid D.

This week we face UCLA, after their big home win over Tennessee (haha) they haven't done a whole lot. We should control this game and rack up some big yards in the run game. I look for coach Belotti to challenge the QB's and make them throw rather than take the easy road and just run all over the UCLA defense. That is not to say that I want him to do this at the expence of a win, but I'd like to see us sacrifice a big blow out to learn some lessons.

So at mid-season I still think the 9-3 is attainable, this will get us into a solid bowl game. Roper getting healthy would make that a lot easier. While I like the youngsters Roper has proven that he knows the offense and he is the guy to lead it this year. We have 3 tough road games left, the home games should be wins but teams like Stanford and Arizona do have upset potential, don't overlook anyone.