2009 has been a great year for the Ducks. Started out very low with our loss to Boise State. Clearly the new offensive line was not ready to go, we were lucky to gel by the 4th game. Blount's punc heard round the NCAA was awful, a low point for the year. I did ot want to see him return to the team. I'm glad Chip Kelly allowed him to continue working toward his degree, hopefully he learns from his mistakes.
The Purdue and Utah wins were heart wrenching, really should not have won either of those games.
A good run in the middle of the season with huge wins over top 10 CAL and USC. We destroyed both our foes in spectacular fashion! The Halloween crushing of the Trojans was great to watch.
Unfotunately the season high was followed by another low, the loss at Stanford. Toby ran wild and our defense did not show up. I don't know if we just overlooked them or had a hangover from the previous week, it was ugly.
Then ended the regular season strong. A big win over our rivals...The Beavers!
Over in the video bar is a nice 3 part video recapping the seasons highs and lows.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Pac-10 VS SEC 2009 - Defensive Comparison
Of course I live here in SEC country and all I ever hear about is how much better the SEC is. "Pac-10 doesnt know how to play defense", not a day goes by I don't here that. I decided to do some break downs and comparisons on this years match ups.
Those who know me know tat my point is not that the Pac-10 is better or would cream anyone in every game, but neither is the SEC. The defenses in the Pac-10 give up a lot of points because the offenses are so good, not because of bad defense.
I looked at 3 Pac-10 vs SEC Match ups.....
UCLA over Tenn 19-15 in Tenn
LSU over Wash 31-23 in Washington
Georgia over Arizona State 20-17 at Georgia
So 2-1 SEC VS Pac-10.
The Pac-10 teams that played were the #7, #8 and #9 teams of the conference.
The SEC teams that played were the #2 and #3 of the West and #2 of the East.
So 3 bottom tier Pac-10 played 3 games, 2 games on the road, against 3 top tier SEC teams and came out 1-2.
Let's look at the defenses, to compare I'm looking at the Pac-10 defensive performance vs the top 3 SEC defenses against the same teams.
The University of Tennessee's offense..........
VS.................UCLA........Alabama....Florida....LSU
Points.............15..........12.........13.........didn't play
Total Yards........208.........341........210
Passing............93..........265........93
Rushing............115.........76.........117
Keep in mind this is the #9 team in the Pac-10 compared to the #1 and #2 SEC teams.
UCLA held TN to less yards than AL and FL. While both SEC teams held TN to fewer poins. UCLA's defense performed nearly equal in every category as Florida. Bama's rush defense held better but gave up more than double the passing yards.
LSU's offense........................
VS.................WASH........Alabama....Florida
Points.............31..........15.........3
Total Yards........321.........253........162
Passing............172.........158........66
Rushing............149.........95.........96
Keep in mind this is the #7 team in the Pac-10 compared to the #1 and #2 SEC teams.
Both Bama and FL held LSU a lot better in the scoring department. LSU was able to gain 50 more yards on the ground agaist Washington.
Georgia's offense........................
VS.................AZ ST.......Alabama....Florida...LSU
Points.............20..........DNP........17........13
Total Yards........334....................286.......274
Passing............242....................164.......229
Rushing............92.....................210.......49
This is the #9 team in the Pac 10 playing on the road.
Again we see a better scoring defense out of the SEC schools.
I do see here that the numbers show a better defense in the SEC. But not by much. Considering that some of the top teams in the SEC played some of the worse teams in the Pac-10 makes these numbers look even closer.
Those who know me know tat my point is not that the Pac-10 is better or would cream anyone in every game, but neither is the SEC. The defenses in the Pac-10 give up a lot of points because the offenses are so good, not because of bad defense.
I looked at 3 Pac-10 vs SEC Match ups.....
UCLA over Tenn 19-15 in Tenn
LSU over Wash 31-23 in Washington
Georgia over Arizona State 20-17 at Georgia
So 2-1 SEC VS Pac-10.
The Pac-10 teams that played were the #7, #8 and #9 teams of the conference.
The SEC teams that played were the #2 and #3 of the West and #2 of the East.
So 3 bottom tier Pac-10 played 3 games, 2 games on the road, against 3 top tier SEC teams and came out 1-2.
Let's look at the defenses, to compare I'm looking at the Pac-10 defensive performance vs the top 3 SEC defenses against the same teams.
The University of Tennessee's offense..........
VS.................UCLA........Alabama....Florida....LSU
Points.............15..........12.........13.........didn't play
Total Yards........208.........341........210
Passing............93..........265........93
Rushing............115.........76.........117
Keep in mind this is the #9 team in the Pac-10 compared to the #1 and #2 SEC teams.
UCLA held TN to less yards than AL and FL. While both SEC teams held TN to fewer poins. UCLA's defense performed nearly equal in every category as Florida. Bama's rush defense held better but gave up more than double the passing yards.
LSU's offense........................
VS.................WASH........Alabama....Florida
Points.............31..........15.........3
Total Yards........321.........253........162
Passing............172.........158........66
Rushing............149.........95.........96
Keep in mind this is the #7 team in the Pac-10 compared to the #1 and #2 SEC teams.
Both Bama and FL held LSU a lot better in the scoring department. LSU was able to gain 50 more yards on the ground agaist Washington.
Georgia's offense........................
VS.................AZ ST.......Alabama....Florida...LSU
Points.............20..........DNP........17........13
Total Yards........334....................286.......274
Passing............242....................164.......229
Rushing............92.....................210.......49
This is the #9 team in the Pac 10 playing on the road.
Again we see a better scoring defense out of the SEC schools.
I do see here that the numbers show a better defense in the SEC. But not by much. Considering that some of the top teams in the SEC played some of the worse teams in the Pac-10 makes these numbers look even closer.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The lack of respect for Oregon
It's always been out there but it is just ridiculous. Pac-10 is coming off a year where they won all their bowl games. The Big-10 went 1-6 last year. So lets examine this weeks big games in each conference.
#5 Ranked Penn State vs Unranked (29th in votes) Iowa
#6 Ranked CAL vs Unranked (30th in votes) Oregon
Looks like an exrtemely comparable match up.
Iowa beats Penn State 21-10 on the road.
Oregon beats CAL 42-3 at home.
So, give a kudos to Iowa for going on the road and playing a great game. Kudos to Oregon for a blowout. I may be a tad biased but I think a 39 point win should count a little more than a 10 point road win. Not by much, but a little.
Lets break down Iowa's and Oregon's other games.
IOWA is 4-0 WINS over #5 Penn State, Arizona, Iowa State and Northern Iowa.
OREGON is 3-1 WINS over #6 CAL, #19 Utah and Purdue, LOSS to #14 Boise State.
Iowa slid up the polls 16 spots while Oregon slid up 14. In the USA today poll Iowa is #17 while Oregon is #25. Wait, 25??? 2 wins over top 25 teams and we are #25?
Now lets take a look at the Top 4 teams. Currently Oregon has played more ranked teams than the top 4 teams combined.
#1 Florida is slated at this time to face 2 top 25 teams. They will undoubtedly face a top 25 in the SEC championship game bringing their total to 3. Florida's strength of schedule this year is somewhere in the 100's. Meaning it is literally one of the weakest in the country. Actually I think it is only slightly stronger than Boise State. FL International, Charleston Southern and Troy, OH MY!
Oregon has faced 3 top 25 teams in 4 weeks. Couple more to come.
#2 Texas has played Wyoming, UTEP, Texas Tech and Louisiana Monroe. They will be faing 3top 2 teams plus the Big 12 championship game.
#3 Alabama gets a kudos for opening with VA Tech, but they also have FL Inernaional, North Texas and Chatanooga on thier schedule.
#4 LSU will actually face 4 top 25 teams, if they make it to the SEC championship game it will be 5. I've watched some LSU games and I think they will not make it past all the ranked SEC teams without loosing 1 or 2. But if they do they will earn it!
If you take a look at VA Tech you will see they are now ranked #6 in the country.
They lost to Alabama and came back to have quality wins over Marshall, #18 Nebraska and #9 Miami. Thier year has been similar to the Ducks.
I've watched each of the Duck games this year. The team is playing very good ball rigt now, the O line was a HUGE question mark coming in this year and it showed against Boise State.
The moral of the story is that you should NOT give the fans what they want. Don't schedule tough games! The Ducks should have played Troy, Charleston Southern, Florida International, Chatanooga, North Texas or Louisiana Monroe. They'd be 4-0 and ranked 5th or 6th right now. Of course if Oregon played any of those teams they would have a "weak strength of schedule because they are not in the SEC."
#5 Ranked Penn State vs Unranked (29th in votes) Iowa
#6 Ranked CAL vs Unranked (30th in votes) Oregon
Looks like an exrtemely comparable match up.
Iowa beats Penn State 21-10 on the road.
Oregon beats CAL 42-3 at home.
So, give a kudos to Iowa for going on the road and playing a great game. Kudos to Oregon for a blowout. I may be a tad biased but I think a 39 point win should count a little more than a 10 point road win. Not by much, but a little.
Lets break down Iowa's and Oregon's other games.
IOWA is 4-0 WINS over #5 Penn State, Arizona, Iowa State and Northern Iowa.
OREGON is 3-1 WINS over #6 CAL, #19 Utah and Purdue, LOSS to #14 Boise State.
Iowa slid up the polls 16 spots while Oregon slid up 14. In the USA today poll Iowa is #17 while Oregon is #25. Wait, 25??? 2 wins over top 25 teams and we are #25?
Now lets take a look at the Top 4 teams. Currently Oregon has played more ranked teams than the top 4 teams combined.
#1 Florida is slated at this time to face 2 top 25 teams. They will undoubtedly face a top 25 in the SEC championship game bringing their total to 3. Florida's strength of schedule this year is somewhere in the 100's. Meaning it is literally one of the weakest in the country. Actually I think it is only slightly stronger than Boise State. FL International, Charleston Southern and Troy, OH MY!
Oregon has faced 3 top 25 teams in 4 weeks. Couple more to come.
#2 Texas has played Wyoming, UTEP, Texas Tech and Louisiana Monroe. They will be faing 3top 2 teams plus the Big 12 championship game.
#3 Alabama gets a kudos for opening with VA Tech, but they also have FL Inernaional, North Texas and Chatanooga on thier schedule.
#4 LSU will actually face 4 top 25 teams, if they make it to the SEC championship game it will be 5. I've watched some LSU games and I think they will not make it past all the ranked SEC teams without loosing 1 or 2. But if they do they will earn it!
If you take a look at VA Tech you will see they are now ranked #6 in the country.
They lost to Alabama and came back to have quality wins over Marshall, #18 Nebraska and #9 Miami. Thier year has been similar to the Ducks.
I've watched each of the Duck games this year. The team is playing very good ball rigt now, the O line was a HUGE question mark coming in this year and it showed against Boise State.
The moral of the story is that you should NOT give the fans what they want. Don't schedule tough games! The Ducks should have played Troy, Charleston Southern, Florida International, Chatanooga, North Texas or Louisiana Monroe. They'd be 4-0 and ranked 5th or 6th right now. Of course if Oregon played any of those teams they would have a "weak strength of schedule because they are not in the SEC."
Monday, September 7, 2009
Week 1 Grades
1st week of football is in the bag! Saw some good action, a couple of upsets. All in all it was good to watch some football. Going to give out some grades for the Top 25. I grade with just an old school A-F ranking and will give some brief explanations. (this week is just the top 2 as #17 TCU did not play) I've thrown a couple other teams in as well.
A - For the A's this week I'm going to go with the schools that went out of conference to compete with another top 25 and won. Kudos to the teams that have the guts to not schedule Southwest Puerto Rico Tech in their 1st outing.
Before the normal A's I'm going to go ahead and give Miami and Florida State an A. Great game to cap off opening weekend. I've always been partial to Miami so I'm glad they won but what a game. Had that last play ended in a touchdown I don't think I'd have been to sad about it.
OK State, Boise State, BYU and unfortunately Alabama. (I hate Alabama!)
I'm also going to give Vanderbilt an A. Best game I've seen them play. The young QB seems to be having some trouble with the quick reads but that will come with time. We'll find out a lot more about him next week against a solid LSU defense.
B - B's this week are going to schools that didn't face a top 25 team, but also didn't face a total cupcake. (I define a cupcake school this way - When I see them on the ticker and my 1st reaction is "huh, they have a football team?" They are a cupcake.
Utah, Penn State, Notre Dame, Cal, LSU and Ole Miss. (ever since my trip to Ole Miss last year I've been a closet fan. Great place to tailgate and a great group of fans. The welcomed the guy in the Ducks jersey with open arms and cold beers!)
Cincy also gets a B, good solid performance today from the Bearcats.
I'm going to give Navy and Northern Iowa B's for such a great games.
C - C's are given to schools who picked cupcake schools and dominated them.
Florida, Texas, USC, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
I'm also giving out C's to the schools that lost their opener to a ranked school. (you will note the exception is Oregon, my beloved Ducks can only be found in the F category.)
Georgia, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech.
D - These are schools who scheduled a cupcake and almost messed it up!
Ohio State - although Navy is not a cupcake by definition, they run a 1950's style offense and almost took the game from OH ST. I would have LOVED to see that.
Iowa also almost lost, only a blocked field goal saved them from an F.
F - The lowest grade in the book goes to my beloved Ducks. I am also adding unranked Tennessee. Not the school, the fans! UT fans are terrible, the average UT fan thinks they have won the National Championship every year and that Peyton Manning is still the QB. But back to my Ducks, I do take a little bit of pride in the fact that we didn't play Western Kentucky (like UT). Oregon doesn't get any respect out here so they try to at least schedule some kind of tough out of conference schedule. So I'm glad we played a top 25 team. I wish we had showed up and actually played. That game was aweful. Then of course was the punch. Blount was suspended from play but allowed to finish school. He has already missed a practice and I doubt he will make it to graduation. Which is a shame. An inner city kid withno much of a chance gets one, and squanders it. Even without football he could have got something out of it and maybe he will. It just doesn't look like it.
A - For the A's this week I'm going to go with the schools that went out of conference to compete with another top 25 and won. Kudos to the teams that have the guts to not schedule Southwest Puerto Rico Tech in their 1st outing.
Before the normal A's I'm going to go ahead and give Miami and Florida State an A. Great game to cap off opening weekend. I've always been partial to Miami so I'm glad they won but what a game. Had that last play ended in a touchdown I don't think I'd have been to sad about it.
OK State, Boise State, BYU and unfortunately Alabama. (I hate Alabama!)
I'm also going to give Vanderbilt an A. Best game I've seen them play. The young QB seems to be having some trouble with the quick reads but that will come with time. We'll find out a lot more about him next week against a solid LSU defense.
B - B's this week are going to schools that didn't face a top 25 team, but also didn't face a total cupcake. (I define a cupcake school this way - When I see them on the ticker and my 1st reaction is "huh, they have a football team?" They are a cupcake.
Utah, Penn State, Notre Dame, Cal, LSU and Ole Miss. (ever since my trip to Ole Miss last year I've been a closet fan. Great place to tailgate and a great group of fans. The welcomed the guy in the Ducks jersey with open arms and cold beers!)
Cincy also gets a B, good solid performance today from the Bearcats.
I'm going to give Navy and Northern Iowa B's for such a great games.
C - C's are given to schools who picked cupcake schools and dominated them.
Florida, Texas, USC, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
I'm also giving out C's to the schools that lost their opener to a ranked school. (you will note the exception is Oregon, my beloved Ducks can only be found in the F category.)
Georgia, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech.
D - These are schools who scheduled a cupcake and almost messed it up!
Ohio State - although Navy is not a cupcake by definition, they run a 1950's style offense and almost took the game from OH ST. I would have LOVED to see that.
Iowa also almost lost, only a blocked field goal saved them from an F.
F - The lowest grade in the book goes to my beloved Ducks. I am also adding unranked Tennessee. Not the school, the fans! UT fans are terrible, the average UT fan thinks they have won the National Championship every year and that Peyton Manning is still the QB. But back to my Ducks, I do take a little bit of pride in the fact that we didn't play Western Kentucky (like UT). Oregon doesn't get any respect out here so they try to at least schedule some kind of tough out of conference schedule. So I'm glad we played a top 25 team. I wish we had showed up and actually played. That game was aweful. Then of course was the punch. Blount was suspended from play but allowed to finish school. He has already missed a practice and I doubt he will make it to graduation. Which is a shame. An inner city kid withno much of a chance gets one, and squanders it. Even without football he could have got something out of it and maybe he will. It just doesn't look like it.
Friday, September 4, 2009
The punch heard round the NCAA
Oh where to start.
I'm not going to put up a video of Blount punching out a Boise State player, I think it will get more air time than it deserves already. I'm not a big fan of trash talking unless it's with people I know because they all know that I'm not serious. I can dish it out and I can take it. Making comments before games like "we need to deliver an ass whooping" don't get you anywhere, then when you punch someone in the face after you loose and after you've made that quote it really doesn't make you look good at all.
Let's talk about the Boise State player 1st. He talked crap, pushed someone that didn't need to be pushed and got belted for it. Kind of got what he deserved in my opinion. He hopefully has learned his lesson.
Blount will hopefully now get what he deserves. I hope he gets booted from the team. I already hate short tempered athletes that seem to get away with things because they are talented. The punch itself probably wouldn't warrant a dismissal. A punch, then a fight with hs own team, going after the crowd, fighting with staff, all that I believe deserves something harsh. This isn't the 1st time Blount has 'acted up'. I hope Oregon is better than most and makes a complete example of him.
Now let's talk NCAA. It's going to continue to be a dangerous situation when you have a contact sport like football. After the game you have 100+ 18-22 year old kids who just played a violent high intensity game, some who won, some who lost. Now throw in all the 18-22 drunk fans, some of who are idiots. I don't care what school you go to, there are always some idiots. Last night I thought security did a good job of keeping those fans back. I thought Frost, assistant coach for Oregon, did a great job dragging Blount out of there. I'm glad this didn't turn into a Ron Artest.
I'm not going to put up a video of Blount punching out a Boise State player, I think it will get more air time than it deserves already. I'm not a big fan of trash talking unless it's with people I know because they all know that I'm not serious. I can dish it out and I can take it. Making comments before games like "we need to deliver an ass whooping" don't get you anywhere, then when you punch someone in the face after you loose and after you've made that quote it really doesn't make you look good at all.
Let's talk about the Boise State player 1st. He talked crap, pushed someone that didn't need to be pushed and got belted for it. Kind of got what he deserved in my opinion. He hopefully has learned his lesson.
Blount will hopefully now get what he deserves. I hope he gets booted from the team. I already hate short tempered athletes that seem to get away with things because they are talented. The punch itself probably wouldn't warrant a dismissal. A punch, then a fight with hs own team, going after the crowd, fighting with staff, all that I believe deserves something harsh. This isn't the 1st time Blount has 'acted up'. I hope Oregon is better than most and makes a complete example of him.
Now let's talk NCAA. It's going to continue to be a dangerous situation when you have a contact sport like football. After the game you have 100+ 18-22 year old kids who just played a violent high intensity game, some who won, some who lost. Now throw in all the 18-22 drunk fans, some of who are idiots. I don't care what school you go to, there are always some idiots. Last night I thought security did a good job of keeping those fans back. I thought Frost, assistant coach for Oregon, did a great job dragging Blount out of there. I'm glad this didn't turn into a Ron Artest.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Disaster for the Ducks
What an absolutely terrible game.
Let's issue some grades....
Chip Kelly - F, double F. Is there an infinity F? There is now.
That was NOT the Duck offense. Going into the 4th down by 2 scores and you completely abandon the run game? Except of course for the 4th down play when we could have put 3 points on the board. I hope this was 1 game jitters and not things to come. Some people are not meant to be head coaches. I was very unimpressed with his 1/2 time comments. Hell yes you should bring some fire and brimstone into that locker room. THAT TEAM WAS F-L-A-T FLAT! And, the play calling was ridiculously predictable. The dive on 4th and 1. The screen on 4th and long. My 4th grade flag football coach could have called defenses against the Ducks tonight.
Blue Turf - F-
It's just ugly and ridiculous.
Officiating - F
This is not to say I think the Ducks got hosed, it was just bad all around.
Camera Crew - F
We missed an extra point, a kick off, a couple plays. The local high school game had better camera men than this game.
Oregon played like absolute crap tonight and honestly in the 4th QTR I thought we were going to pull it out. Even at the 6 minute mark when Boise fumbled. It's like neither team wanted to win the game. A steaming pile of dog crap that was this game.
Let's issue some grades....
Chip Kelly - F, double F. Is there an infinity F? There is now.
That was NOT the Duck offense. Going into the 4th down by 2 scores and you completely abandon the run game? Except of course for the 4th down play when we could have put 3 points on the board. I hope this was 1 game jitters and not things to come. Some people are not meant to be head coaches. I was very unimpressed with his 1/2 time comments. Hell yes you should bring some fire and brimstone into that locker room. THAT TEAM WAS F-L-A-T FLAT! And, the play calling was ridiculously predictable. The dive on 4th and 1. The screen on 4th and long. My 4th grade flag football coach could have called defenses against the Ducks tonight.
Blue Turf - F-
It's just ugly and ridiculous.
Officiating - F
This is not to say I think the Ducks got hosed, it was just bad all around.
Camera Crew - F
We missed an extra point, a kick off, a couple plays. The local high school game had better camera men than this game.
Oregon played like absolute crap tonight and honestly in the 4th QTR I thought we were going to pull it out. Even at the 6 minute mark when Boise fumbled. It's like neither team wanted to win the game. A steaming pile of dog crap that was this game.
IIIIIIIIITTTTT'S Tiiiiiiiiimmmmeeeee!!!
Oh YES! College football starts tonight and I'm happy to say that my beloved Ducks are on their way to romp some Smurf tail! Saturday we will be invading Vandyville before watching the Dores light up the field for 16 or so points. :)
The Ducks have a pretty tough out of conference schedule this year. Going to Boise State (ranked 14th and 16th in the major polls) and playing host to Utah (18th and 19th). They also play host to Purdue. 3 of the 1st 4 games are against preseason top 25 teams.
Notable stat - No team (in the last 30 years or so) ranked outside the top 8 in the preseason has lost a game and still won the championship. Quite simply this means the Ducks, and the rest of the Pac 10 (minus USC) have to be perfect to even have a shot at the title. Meanwhile 3 SEC, 3 Big 12, 1 ACC and 1 Big 10 all have a chance to loose 1 game and still play for the title. So if you think preseason polls don't matter, you are sorely mistaken. I heard this stat on an ESPN blurb.
Positives - Oregon's QB, Jeremiah Masoli was phenominal over the last 4 games of last year. He started the year as the #5 QB and quickly became #1 through injuries and poor play from some younger guys. According to Chip Kelly Masoli understands the spread offense now better than Dennis Dixon ever did. If that proves to be true and not jsut preseason hype we shoudl be in for a high octane season. Blount also had a great year, he will be getting the lion share of carries and will have to pick up where he left off last year. The ofensive skill positions still have all the potential to put up big points fast. Over the past few years Oregon has had more "less than 2 minute scoring drives" than the other major college teams. The spread offense can put those points up quick.
Negatives and question marks - We graduated a lot of key players last year. to me the most notable is the offensive lineman, Max Unger. Offensive lineman are typically overlooked by the casual fan, Oregon's line will have to come out and prove themselves quick. There is a lot more to blocking than just picking your man and blocking him, especially in an offense like Oregon's. On the defensive side of the ball we're going to have to find inspirational leaders, Patrick Chung and Nick Reed were those guys last year. both drafted and in the NFL now, someone will have to step up. I'm looking to Spencer Paysinger, Walter Thurmond III and TJ Ward. If the line doesn't gel or we don't see some fire on the defensive side our optomistic year could become pretty rough pretty fast.
My dark horse - Every year you look for someone to just break out. This year I have 2. 1st - Casey Mathews. Casey's brother had a dominating year last year for USC, his father and uncle both played in the NFL. So the kid has plenty of people around him to keep him motivated and to seek advice from. All the Mathews clan have been known for being leaders on and off the field. I'm hoping he breaks out with a ridiculous year! On the offense I'm looking for Jamere Holland to step up and make a big impact. He's got a ton of speed and had a couple of flashes last year. The spots are open this year for him to become a key player. If just one of our wide recievers steps up and makes a big impact that could take a ton of pressure off Masoli and Blount and spread defenses so thin they will not be able to stop us.
Ducks VS Boise -
I really think that the 1st half of this game could be quite ugly. This is the 1st time the offensive line will play together. I'm hoping that they can gel quickly and get the ball moving but I believe we will see a slow start followed by a half time butt chewing and a 2nd 1/2 dominance. Very similar to the Holiday Bowl last year. This could be frustrating to watch for Duck fans. But I think in the end we will win by 10 points or so. With the late hits last year I look for this to be a hard hitting battle! Should be fun to watch.
Boise state - I have nothing against them, routed for them in all their underdog wins the past couple years. Just can't love you today! they should have a prety solid team but I think The Ducks will be fired up and ready to go for this game.
The Ducks have a pretty tough out of conference schedule this year. Going to Boise State (ranked 14th and 16th in the major polls) and playing host to Utah (18th and 19th). They also play host to Purdue. 3 of the 1st 4 games are against preseason top 25 teams.
Notable stat - No team (in the last 30 years or so) ranked outside the top 8 in the preseason has lost a game and still won the championship. Quite simply this means the Ducks, and the rest of the Pac 10 (minus USC) have to be perfect to even have a shot at the title. Meanwhile 3 SEC, 3 Big 12, 1 ACC and 1 Big 10 all have a chance to loose 1 game and still play for the title. So if you think preseason polls don't matter, you are sorely mistaken. I heard this stat on an ESPN blurb.
Positives - Oregon's QB, Jeremiah Masoli was phenominal over the last 4 games of last year. He started the year as the #5 QB and quickly became #1 through injuries and poor play from some younger guys. According to Chip Kelly Masoli understands the spread offense now better than Dennis Dixon ever did. If that proves to be true and not jsut preseason hype we shoudl be in for a high octane season. Blount also had a great year, he will be getting the lion share of carries and will have to pick up where he left off last year. The ofensive skill positions still have all the potential to put up big points fast. Over the past few years Oregon has had more "less than 2 minute scoring drives" than the other major college teams. The spread offense can put those points up quick.
Negatives and question marks - We graduated a lot of key players last year. to me the most notable is the offensive lineman, Max Unger. Offensive lineman are typically overlooked by the casual fan, Oregon's line will have to come out and prove themselves quick. There is a lot more to blocking than just picking your man and blocking him, especially in an offense like Oregon's. On the defensive side of the ball we're going to have to find inspirational leaders, Patrick Chung and Nick Reed were those guys last year. both drafted and in the NFL now, someone will have to step up. I'm looking to Spencer Paysinger, Walter Thurmond III and TJ Ward. If the line doesn't gel or we don't see some fire on the defensive side our optomistic year could become pretty rough pretty fast.
My dark horse - Every year you look for someone to just break out. This year I have 2. 1st - Casey Mathews. Casey's brother had a dominating year last year for USC, his father and uncle both played in the NFL. So the kid has plenty of people around him to keep him motivated and to seek advice from. All the Mathews clan have been known for being leaders on and off the field. I'm hoping he breaks out with a ridiculous year! On the offense I'm looking for Jamere Holland to step up and make a big impact. He's got a ton of speed and had a couple of flashes last year. The spots are open this year for him to become a key player. If just one of our wide recievers steps up and makes a big impact that could take a ton of pressure off Masoli and Blount and spread defenses so thin they will not be able to stop us.
Ducks VS Boise -
I really think that the 1st half of this game could be quite ugly. This is the 1st time the offensive line will play together. I'm hoping that they can gel quickly and get the ball moving but I believe we will see a slow start followed by a half time butt chewing and a 2nd 1/2 dominance. Very similar to the Holiday Bowl last year. This could be frustrating to watch for Duck fans. But I think in the end we will win by 10 points or so. With the late hits last year I look for this to be a hard hitting battle! Should be fun to watch.
Boise state - I have nothing against them, routed for them in all their underdog wins the past couple years. Just can't love you today! they should have a prety solid team but I think The Ducks will be fired up and ready to go for this game.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
New Uni's and Preseason Rankings
The Ducks have had some big press conferences to release their newest version of uniforms. I've been a fan of the Ducks attempt to get more media exposure, I may not like every combination of colors they choose but any press is good press right?
They say preseason rankings don't mean that much, but it is true that the newspapers all select who they believe are the best teams out there and your strength of schedule is based on those influences, which can effect your BCS ranking. This year the Ducks are all over the place. Most preseason polls have them within a couple spots of #10. Which I think is pretty fair. Coming off a great season and a couple of standout performances by Jeremiah Masoli, if he can mirror the success of his last 5 games the Ducks will have a great chance to be in the hunt at the end of the year. Of course, you also have people like Phil Steele who has his top 40 out and the Ducks are not in it. You read that correct, Steele doesn't have the Ducks in the top 40! Talk about a lack of respect. He has at least 5 Pac-10 teams ahead of the Ducks this year. pfft!
Athlon gave a lot of respect to the Ducks and to Masoli in particular. They ranked the Ducks QB unit at 4th behind FL, OK and TX. If you'll remember last year the 3 QB's from those teams were all at the Heisman presentation hoping to win. Masoli outperformed all of them in the last 5 games of the season putting up better numbers than we've seen out of a Ducks team. Blount also saw some success in a limited role last year, we'll have to see what he's like in a starting role.
On the ???? side we will need a receiver to step up. Masoli cannot do it all. The defense is also a question mark. Patrick Chung is near impossible to replace as a player and a leader. We need a playmaker back there!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Fying in Style
Here's a glimpse of how the Ducks fly around the country.
And the take off.......
Yes, when football season is over I do get bored!
And the take off.......
Yes, when football season is over I do get bored!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Best conference in 2008....
OK, I'm going to regret this and never hear the end of it but if you know me or read my blog you know that I am honest 100% of the time. I have to pick the best conference and you know I'm going to hate this.
#1 - Head to toe the best conference in 2008 was the SEC. Truth be told I almost always think it is the SEC. What I don't buy into is that the SEC is SOOOOOOOOO much better that everyone else shouldn't even play. The SEC fans make is so hard to give them any credit.
1 - Preseason every year the SEC has 4-5 teams in the top 10. At the end of the year they do not. That is a fact! The SEC gets BCS bnus points for beating themselves up. Case in point this year = Tennessee. Preseason rank #16 in the AP and coaches poll. Real rank = THEY SUCKED!!!!!
I tell you, every year the SEC ranks High and the other conferences catch them. Nesides that FL was a GREAT team, yes, GREAT. Alabama, dispite a coach who is a LOSER, did great job. Did I mention that Nick Saban is a LOSER. Nick Saban is a LOSER.. The bowl game shoudl have confirmed that. His kids played as he asked them too.... Cheap shots that a LOSER resorts to.
(please GOD, let me meet Nick Saban in a cage or ring or dark alley. To anyone listnenig...if you can make this happen...this is not a joke. I will fight Nick Saban in a cage, ring, dark alley or at a football practice. I HATE him that much. I will fight him!!!!!!
#2 - The Big 12 - Dispite a dismal bowl showing and as much as it pains me to say it, the Big 12 had an outstanding year. TX, OK, OK ST and yes even MO had great years. There bolw performance closed the gap between them and the PAC 10 but they still had an outstandin year.
#3 - PAC 10 - Yes, it would be easy for me as a Duck fan to point out all the strengths of the Pac 10. But we had a lackluster year at best. Although I do think that USC deserved a title shot they did not take care of business and go undefeated as they should have. Thier loss to OR ST was thier demise! I love OR (and you know this) but they only discovered Masoli a couple games into the season and he only showed how good he could be late in the season. Pray for 2009!!!!! Masoli, in the last 4 games was better than Tebow, Straford and all the others. Doubt me????? Look at the last 4-5 games. Masoli had more rushing yards, more pts per down and led in virtually every category you can base a Heisman off of. YES, he WAS thatg good. Look it up.
Does it really matter who ranked #4-#10??????? The big 1-0 got clobbered again!!!! Utah showed us how inept our system really is. I don't care who you route for, if you like college football you MUST agreee that UTAH should have played for the National Championship.
Utah fans. I feel your pain. Unfortuantaely you will never play for a National Championship as long as we have no playoff. If I were in charge your great season would have not gone to waste. You would have had your shot. And I think it would have been a good one.
#1 - Head to toe the best conference in 2008 was the SEC. Truth be told I almost always think it is the SEC. What I don't buy into is that the SEC is SOOOOOOOOO much better that everyone else shouldn't even play. The SEC fans make is so hard to give them any credit.
1 - Preseason every year the SEC has 4-5 teams in the top 10. At the end of the year they do not. That is a fact! The SEC gets BCS bnus points for beating themselves up. Case in point this year = Tennessee. Preseason rank #16 in the AP and coaches poll. Real rank = THEY SUCKED!!!!!
I tell you, every year the SEC ranks High and the other conferences catch them. Nesides that FL was a GREAT team, yes, GREAT. Alabama, dispite a coach who is a LOSER, did great job. Did I mention that Nick Saban is a LOSER. Nick Saban is a LOSER.. The bowl game shoudl have confirmed that. His kids played as he asked them too.... Cheap shots that a LOSER resorts to.
(please GOD, let me meet Nick Saban in a cage or ring or dark alley. To anyone listnenig...if you can make this happen...this is not a joke. I will fight Nick Saban in a cage, ring, dark alley or at a football practice. I HATE him that much. I will fight him!!!!!!
#2 - The Big 12 - Dispite a dismal bowl showing and as much as it pains me to say it, the Big 12 had an outstanding year. TX, OK, OK ST and yes even MO had great years. There bolw performance closed the gap between them and the PAC 10 but they still had an outstandin year.
#3 - PAC 10 - Yes, it would be easy for me as a Duck fan to point out all the strengths of the Pac 10. But we had a lackluster year at best. Although I do think that USC deserved a title shot they did not take care of business and go undefeated as they should have. Thier loss to OR ST was thier demise! I love OR (and you know this) but they only discovered Masoli a couple games into the season and he only showed how good he could be late in the season. Pray for 2009!!!!! Masoli, in the last 4 games was better than Tebow, Straford and all the others. Doubt me????? Look at the last 4-5 games. Masoli had more rushing yards, more pts per down and led in virtually every category you can base a Heisman off of. YES, he WAS thatg good. Look it up.
Does it really matter who ranked #4-#10??????? The big 1-0 got clobbered again!!!! Utah showed us how inept our system really is. I don't care who you route for, if you like college football you MUST agreee that UTAH should have played for the National Championship.
Utah fans. I feel your pain. Unfortuantaely you will never play for a National Championship as long as we have no playoff. If I were in charge your great season would have not gone to waste. You would have had your shot. And I think it would have been a good one.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Oregon Ducks dominate in the Holiday Bowl
I've been waiting to talk about this for there to be some highlight videos up on youtube. The quality is not great but here we go....
The 1st half was very slow. Oregon either 1-forgot they were a run team Or 2 - wanted to give Oklahoma State a false sense of security. Either way it was frustrating the hell out of me.
Basically 1 highlight from the 1st half. Jeremiah Johnson with a Holiday Bowl record run right here.
The second half brought some big big highlights. Masoli running over people, watch te end of this run.
But he didn't just run over one guy, here's another.
Zac Robinson, QB of Oklahoma State needs some advice from Masoli. He doesn't quite run over our guys....
Blount seals the deal with this effort!!
The 1st half was very slow. Oregon either 1-forgot they were a run team Or 2 - wanted to give Oklahoma State a false sense of security. Either way it was frustrating the hell out of me.
Basically 1 highlight from the 1st half. Jeremiah Johnson with a Holiday Bowl record run right here.
The second half brought some big big highlights. Masoli running over people, watch te end of this run.
But he didn't just run over one guy, here's another.
Zac Robinson, QB of Oklahoma State needs some advice from Masoli. He doesn't quite run over our guys....
Blount seals the deal with this effort!!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Utah over Alabama
WOW! Utah has a legitimate claim to the National Championship. Undefeated and a good quality thumping of Alabama. Those kids deserve the right to play for it all. They were robbed, and so were the fans!
Utah jumped right out to a 21 point lead and dominated this game. Alabama started to crawl back into it and got to witin 4 but Utah would not be kept down.
Florida beat Alabama 31 to 10 (took the lead and won in the 4th quarter). Had 358 total yards, 142 rush and 216 passing. Thier defense held AL to 323 total yards, 136 on the ground and 187 in the air.
Utah beat Alabama 31-17 and had the lead all night and was dominate for most of the game. The offense had 361, 336 in the air and 25 on the ground. They held AL to 208 total yards, 177 in the air and 31 on the ground. All stats just a little bit better than FL. If you watched the game Utah looked much much more in control than did Florida when they played Alabama.
The injury of one of Alabama's lineman really showed as Utah was able to rack up sack after sack. Alabama gave up only 17 sacks in this season. Utah had 8 tonight.
I really don't like Nick Saban, you rarely hear good things about him. He's a cry baby and he allows his team to act like he does. Late in the game there was a lot of late pushing and shoving by an upset Alabama team. Come on Nick, you got beat, teach your kids to loose with class and be better than you are.
Utah jumped right out to a 21 point lead and dominated this game. Alabama started to crawl back into it and got to witin 4 but Utah would not be kept down.
Florida beat Alabama 31 to 10 (took the lead and won in the 4th quarter). Had 358 total yards, 142 rush and 216 passing. Thier defense held AL to 323 total yards, 136 on the ground and 187 in the air.
Utah beat Alabama 31-17 and had the lead all night and was dominate for most of the game. The offense had 361, 336 in the air and 25 on the ground. They held AL to 208 total yards, 177 in the air and 31 on the ground. All stats just a little bit better than FL. If you watched the game Utah looked much much more in control than did Florida when they played Alabama.
The injury of one of Alabama's lineman really showed as Utah was able to rack up sack after sack. Alabama gave up only 17 sacks in this season. Utah had 8 tonight.
I really don't like Nick Saban, you rarely hear good things about him. He's a cry baby and he allows his team to act like he does. Late in the game there was a lot of late pushing and shoving by an upset Alabama team. Come on Nick, you got beat, teach your kids to loose with class and be better than you are.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
USC Makes it a perfect 5-0 in 2008/09 Bowls
USC beats Penn State in big fashion, the score, like last year against Illinois was a lot closer than the game looked. Penn State was dominated in this game.
As I've said before the Pac 10 had a rough year and it could have been worse being the underdog in 3 of their games but they came out on top. Great bowl season when you can come out and win all your games. The Pac 10 haters will have a million excuses as to how this proves nothing and how if USC was in the SEC they would not have won a game. I saw a couple comments on ESPN that said how tough the MAC was???? That had to be some kind of joke.
In my personal opinion the SEC was the best conference top to bottom this year. The Big 12 and the Pac 10 right behind them. Truth is that most years the SEC is the best, I don't dispute that. They have a lot of solid teams and a lot of tradition down here. I'm happy to be a Vandy season ticket holder and watch some very talented football teams every year. Where my SEC friends loose me is that they seem to think that the SEC is sooooo much better that Mississippi State would win every other conference in college football. That, is ridiculous. The Big 12 looked good this year, better than the Pac 10. But the last couple of bowl games will show us who has what.
Give credit where credit is due. The Pac 10 had a great bowl season.
As I've said before the Pac 10 had a rough year and it could have been worse being the underdog in 3 of their games but they came out on top. Great bowl season when you can come out and win all your games. The Pac 10 haters will have a million excuses as to how this proves nothing and how if USC was in the SEC they would not have won a game. I saw a couple comments on ESPN that said how tough the MAC was???? That had to be some kind of joke.
In my personal opinion the SEC was the best conference top to bottom this year. The Big 12 and the Pac 10 right behind them. Truth is that most years the SEC is the best, I don't dispute that. They have a lot of solid teams and a lot of tradition down here. I'm happy to be a Vandy season ticket holder and watch some very talented football teams every year. Where my SEC friends loose me is that they seem to think that the SEC is sooooo much better that Mississippi State would win every other conference in college football. That, is ridiculous. The Big 12 looked good this year, better than the Pac 10. But the last couple of bowl games will show us who has what.
Give credit where credit is due. The Pac 10 had a great bowl season.
Congrats to the Commodores
What a year. As I've said before I am a season ticket holder to Vanderbilt. Sure I tailgate at the Oregon tent and wear my Oregon gear to the games but I support them as my SEC team of choice. They had a solid year, the defense played great and the offense had it's moments. Good wins over South Carolina, Ole Miss, Auburn and now Boston College.
The Ole Miss game was the highlight for me. It was a road trip so we spent 2 nights in Tunica gambling and having a great time. The game was a good one and it was nerve racking. The offense apparently missed the bus because they never showed up. The defense played an outstanding game ad showed what they were made of. The Groove (is what Ole Miss calls their tailgating area) was a great time! Those people definately know how to party. Even with my Oregon stuff I was welcomed in and offered a beer almost everywhere we turned. There were a couple of people who were obnoxious but that's to be expected. I found their fans and atmosphere to be one of the best I've encountered. They created 1 extra fan that day as I have found my self pulling for them in all their games.
Vandy's offense kept me skeptical all year, I thought that Auburn lost more than Vandy won in there game. Auburn abondoned their run game for some unknown reason. But Gameday was their and Corso picked the Tigers so we were happy to see him be wrong again!
Going into this bowl game I didn't gve Vandy much of a shot but boy they played a good solid team and beat them. The defense played their usual game and the offense was able to do enough to win. The QB by committee worked well in this game.
Very good season capped off by their 1st bowl win since the 1955 Gator Bowl!!!! Bobby Johnson was voted SEC coach of the year!!! Great season guys.
The Ole Miss game was the highlight for me. It was a road trip so we spent 2 nights in Tunica gambling and having a great time. The game was a good one and it was nerve racking. The offense apparently missed the bus because they never showed up. The defense played an outstanding game ad showed what they were made of. The Groove (is what Ole Miss calls their tailgating area) was a great time! Those people definately know how to party. Even with my Oregon stuff I was welcomed in and offered a beer almost everywhere we turned. There were a couple of people who were obnoxious but that's to be expected. I found their fans and atmosphere to be one of the best I've encountered. They created 1 extra fan that day as I have found my self pulling for them in all their games.
Vandy's offense kept me skeptical all year, I thought that Auburn lost more than Vandy won in there game. Auburn abondoned their run game for some unknown reason. But Gameday was their and Corso picked the Tigers so we were happy to see him be wrong again!
Going into this bowl game I didn't gve Vandy much of a shot but boy they played a good solid team and beat them. The defense played their usual game and the offense was able to do enough to win. The QB by committee worked well in this game.
Very good season capped off by their 1st bowl win since the 1955 Gator Bowl!!!! Bobby Johnson was voted SEC coach of the year!!! Great season guys.
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