DSA Tailgate: Husky edition.... Special food this week

This is that time of year; a time when no Duck fan should hold a grudge against anyone that is not a Husky.

As always, we will be tailgating and I want to see all DSA'ers in force ion Saturday afternoon. We used to brag that Autzen was as close to an SEC vibe as there was... well, guess what, in Tennessee they tailgate whereever there is a patch of grass... we have a HUGE patch of grass and I really look forward to seeing every Duck fan that wants to come by and say hello...

National TV audience once again; A night game. Let's not disappoint! It's time to get that old tailgate magic going. We love seeing all of our members at these. Never been to one? Now's the time! Been to all of
them? Keep coming, we love all members showing up and having a good time!

The new TV setup is awesome... we have a portable automatic aiming satellite dish... we had perfect reception once we found the right spot and it was a crisp clear picture!!!!!

Crazily enough, we will still have near picture perfect weather Saturday afternoon... plenty of reasons to come out and enjoy the day with fellow Duck fans!

Please remember that this is 100% financed by me... I hate to "pimp" for donations, but they are very helpful in keeping these going for all... and they are what help me to keep expanding our amenities.

Anyone who wishes to make their donations in advance can do so with the paypal information below, otherwise, feel free to donate at the tailgate. There is no required or minimum cost, but we sure like to see all our members.


Last year there was, at times, confusion about  our location. We will be in the same spot. There are two entrances for the Serbu Youth Center. We are at the WESTERNMOST entrance. If you are headed up MLK towards Springfield, this is the first entrance; and if you are headed towards Coburg it is the second. I have included an overhead screen shot from google maps. Our spot is located on the left side of the image. You
should see a long field (and if you look close, a goal post at the left end of the field), we are at the end near the goalpost . I know it is not the same as tailgating at Autzen, but they are pricing us regular fans out of there, so let's all get together and show them that the average fan still matters (not that I or any of us are actually
average!)

After you go in this entrance you should see a long field to your left... go down the road until you see a bunch of spaces to the LEFT, we are at the farthest end on the left hand side.

As a bonus, we have a huge field for people to hang out, play, etc. There is a porta-potty close to our spot that is almost a private place! It is a pretty sweet set up. Though we only have one parking space this season, because we have the end space, we will have plenty of space to ourselves!


Below are the details!


What: DSA Tailgate - Husky Edition

When: Oct. 6, 2012

Time: ~ 3:30 PM local time tailgating lots open; I will be there!

Where: John Serbu Youth Campus, 2727 MLK Blvd

Space: 223

Donations: Donations may be made at the game with cash or through

PayPal: To pay with paypal you can use my email address:

Email Address: SReed39@canby.com

Cell Phone: 503-807-9543

Twitter: ScottReed_DSA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ScottReedDSA



COMMENTS: Remember that we will have the following amenities:
*-R2FireDuck is bringing Brisket and grilled potatoes!*-TV with cable to watch games during tailgate
*-Food: Burgers, Hot Dogs, Brats*-Beverages: Beer, Sodas, Blended Drinks (thanks to the generator, we can use a blender and have fun with drinks!)
*-Burgers are hand made again this year and I hear that they are VERY good!



*-The picture shows our location!

The Inside Edge

Oregon-Washington Defensive Match-Ups

The No. 2 Oregon Ducks (5-0, 2-0) return home this Saturday to take on the No. 23 Washington Huskies (3-1, 1-0) at Autzen Stadium.

The Washington Husky defense struggled mightily for most of 2011 culminating with an all-time horror against Baylor int eh Alamo Bowl where the Huskies allowed 777 yards of total offense. Shortly after the disastrous performance, head coach Steve Sarkisian overhauled his entire defensive staff. In the process, Sarkisian brought two former Ducks on to the Husky staff luring Justin Wilcox away from Tennessee to be the new defensive coordinator as well as hiring Peter Sirmon as the new linebackers coach.

With the exception of one game this season, the defensive numbers have been dramatically better than last season making the overhaul of the defensive staff appear to have worked.

Oregon comes into the contest off of their first road game. The Duck defense dominated the Cougar offense for much of the game holding Washington State to just 214 yards of total offense through three quarters and did not let up until the outcome was all but decided.

Today Duck Sports Authority continues our weekly look at the in-depth match ups on both sides of the ball turning our attention now to the defense.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

Washington: The Huskies run a 3-4 base defense which leaves them starting one defensive tackle. Getting the nod against the Ducks will be Danny Shelton (6-1, 317) a sophomore from nearby Auburn, Washington. Shelton will be making the fifth start of the season at nose tackle for Washington and his sixth career start Saturday night. Coming into the game Shelton has recorded 16 total tackles. He had a career high 7 of those tackles against LSU earlier this season. Behind Shelton will be Semisi Tokolahi (6-2, 340) a senior from Hawaii. Tokolahi has started 12 games over his career with the Huskies but has missed time with injuries over the past two seasons. Coming into Saturday's contest Tokolahi has 6 total tackles in four appearances.

A third nose tackle, Sione Potoa'e (6-2, 271) has seen time at nose tackle and defensive end this season. He has appeared in all four games for the Huskies notching just one tackle this year.


Oregon: Oregon brings a wealth of experience at defensive tackle. Starters Wade Keliikipi (6-3, 295) and Isaac Remington (6-4, 301) both saw action as starters last season with Keliikipi starting the final 11 games. Keliikipi recorded a career high 5 tackles in the win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl while Remington recorded 31 total tackles on the season. So far this season Remington leads the defensive tackles with 9 total tackles and 3 tackles for loss and one sack. After a great performance against the Cougars Keliikipi has raised his season total to 9 tackles with 3 tackles for loss of his own and 2 sacks.

The real difference for Oregon will come in the reserves as Oregon returns all the defensive tackles from last season. Ricky Heimuli (6-4, 305) showing promise with 22 total tackles in his 14 reserve appearances last season for the Ducks has also recorded 6 tackles in 2012.

Deforrest Buckner (6-7, 265) a true freshman from Hawaii has played well this season notching 8 total tackles and 2 tackles for loss and his first career sack through five game in 2012. The Ducks are also versatile here as Taylor Hart can move inside if needed. The Duck defensive line has been dominant most of the 2012 season.

EDGE: Oregon

The Ducks have superior depth and experience at the defensive tackle position. The team easily goes two deep and, when running a 3-4, Oregon has four defensive tackles capable of playing as well as a couple of defensive ends who can move inside and be effective. Shelton has played well early for Washington, but the Ducks just have too much depth and production out of this group.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

Washington: The strong side defensive end position will be manned by Talia Crichton (6-3, 264) a senior who has started 16 games in his career. Crichton has not been particularly active for the Huskies recording just 4 tackles in his three starts this season. Behind Crichton is Pio Vatuevi (6-2, 281) a true freshman. Through his four appearances Vatuevi has 6 tackles for the Huskies.

On the weakside will be Andrew Hudson (6-3, 249). The sophomore, who appeared in all 13 games last season has recorded 14 total tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack through the first four games of the season. Behind Hudson will be Potoa'e.

Oregon: Oregon has a first team All Pac-12 defensive end hybrid in Dion Jordan (6-7, 243) who terrorized Pac-12 quarterbacks and coaches last season has looked explosive in early action this season recording 22 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. Backing up Jordan will be Tony Washington (6-3, 244) a sophomore who also moved over from defensive tackle. Washington saw action in 10 games as a freshman and recorded 18 total tackles. So far in 2012, Washington has 8 total tackles and one tackle for loss.

The other side has been taken over by Taylor Hart (6-6, 292) a junior from Tualatin. Hart moved over to defensive end after starting 14 games last season as a defensive tackle. Hart received honorable mention All Pac-12 last season. So far this year, Hart has notched 16 tackles with 4 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. Hart leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks through five games.

Behind Hart true freshman Arik Armstead (6-8, 297) has made his mark early in 2012. He made the most of his early arrival and has earned rave reviews early on from coaches and team mates alike. Armstead has 11 total tackles and 0.5 sacks through five games.

EDGE: ...

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Oregon-Washington I Depth: offensive match-ups

The No. 2 Oregon Ducks (5-0, 2-0)return home this Saturday to take on the No. 23 Washington Huskies (3-1, 1-0) at Autzen Stadium.

The Washington Husky offense had some bright moments in 2011. The team averaged over 33 points per game and nearly 410 total yards per game. With the return of Keith Price, the Huskies expected to play well on offense this season. The loss of their top running back and their best wide receivers, though, have left the Huskies searching for an offensive identity. Through the first four games of 2012, the Huskies are averaging 10 points per game less at 23.2 and nearly 100 yards less total offense averaging just 313.2 yards per game.

Oregon comes into the contest off of their first road game. The trip to Seattle was a bit uneven with the Ducks dominating the first and third quarters, but suffering from self inflicted wounds in the second quarter. Nonetheless, what was a tight game at halftime quickly turned into a blowout for the Ducks in the second half. The offense once again rushed for over 300 yards and scored over 50 points.

QUARTERBACKS

Washington: The starter will be Keith Price (6-1, 202) returning this year for his junior season.
After a stellar season in 2011 that saw Price complete 67% of his passes for over 3000 yards and 33 touchdowns, Price has seen those numbers dip early this season. Price comes in completing 75 of 127 passes for 737 yards with just 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Price has good mobility, but has struggled with escaping pressure early in the season. He has been sacked 9 times for (-) 83 yards through four games. On his non-sack running plays, he has carried the ball 9 times for 58 yards. As a team, the Huskies have been sacked 11 times through four games.

The reserve quarterback for the Huskies is Derrick Brown (6-2, 245) a redshirt freshman who has appeared in just two games attempting five passes this season.

Oregon: Marcus Mariota earns his sixth start for the Ducks against the Huskies. Mariota has played well most of the time, but has suffered the inconsistencies that come along with being a freshman quarterback in the Pac-12 Conference. After a shaky second quarter against the Cougars, Mariota appeared to settle down in the second half. For the season Mariota has completed 99 of 144 passes for 1103 yards with 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. On the ground, Mariota has carried the ball 36 times for 181 yards on the ground scoring his first rushing touchdown of the season last week against the Cougars.

Behind Mariota will be Bryan Bennett. Bennett has one start to his credit coming against Colorado last season. This year, playing a back-up to Mariota, Bennett has completed 13 of 23 passes for 135 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Bennett is dangerous with his feet last year accumulating 200 yards rushing in his brief 6 appearances. Through four appearances this year, Bennett has 13 carries for 57 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.

EDGE: Oregon

The Huskies have an experienced quarterback with Keith Price the incumbent starter from last season. But Price has struggled with accuracy issues early in the season and his mobility has not seemed to help this season. He is completing less than 60% of his passes, his yards per attempt, yards per completion, and touchdown per attempt ratios have all gone down this season.

While Mariota is a freshman and has made some freshman mistakes, he has also shown tremendous poise and has not let one mistake become multiple mistakes. He does not let the game get ahead of him. He has shown better accuracy when throwing the ball and has used his mobility better than has Price.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Washington: Washington uses a three wide receiver set and has Promising sophomore Kasen Williams (6-2, 216) leading the way with 25 receptions for 292 yards and three touchdowns for the Huskies.

Across from Williams will be DiAndre Campbell (6-1, 198) a sophomore from Oakland, California. Campbell and slot receiver Jaydon Mickens (5-10, 170), a true freshman, have not found many opportunities yet for the Huskies. Campbell has 4 receptions for 38 yards and 1 touchdown while Mickens has 5 catches for 33 yards. Kevin Smith (5-11, 213) is the primary reserve receiver and has 6 receptions for 68 yards so far this season.

Oregon: Starting at the wide receiver position for Oregon on one side will be...

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Top Trio: cornerbacks

After opening conference play with two wins, the Oregon football team returns to Autzen for a contest against the Washington Huskies. With the ramping up of the schedule, Duck coaches will also be turning up their recruiting efforts as well.

With the heart of football approaching and more prospective student athletes visiting campuses around the nation, talk about the top recruits is also sure to pick up steam.

Today we continue our weekly series intended to rank some of the most talked about players on Oregon's recruiting board. During each week of the season we will look at a different position and the "Top Trio" at the position. The main factors for choosing which players we discuss will be need, buzz and interest; but not necessarily in that order.

Any and all opinions of these articles are purely that of Duck Sports Authority and do not reflect the opinions or thoughts of the Oregon coaching staff.

The next position we will discuss is one that always stands out. Defensive Coordinator Nick Aliotti loves to use pressure to create havoc, but the pressure leaves one position all alone on an island; cornerbacks. Without good corners, the Duck defense cannot create the havoc they thrive on. Currently, the Ducks are very young at the cornerback position with no cornerbacks set to graduate for at least two more years. The Duck coaches can be a little pickier when looking to fill a position where the need is less. That is the case with corner backs as the Rivals database currently shows just one offer at the position. There are a few other intriguing prospects who may be worth a look to the Duck coaches if their top target chooses to go elsewhere.

#	NAME	POS.	STARS	HT/WT/40	HOMETOWN	VIDEO
1	Will Likely	CB		5'7"/172/4.6	Belle Glade, FL
WHO: Will Likely is the 17th ranked corner back in the nation and the 194th overall prospect by Rivals.com. The 26th ranked player in the state of Florida, Likely has very good speed and field vision. Likely impressed just about everywhere he went during the summer camp circuit. While he is small, he can definitely cover. SAY WHAT: "He had at least two pass breakups against bigger receivers and showed good ability to elevate. If he were a few inches taller, he'd be in the discussion as one of the most complete in the country. "-Mike Farrell at The Opening Likely does not yet have any favorites, but has thought about what he wants to see in the school he chooses. "Just feeling comfortable, seeing what kind of environment, seeing where I fit at the school and then how the players are, seeing what they're like," Likely said. WHERE: At the moment Likely has not named a leader. Most of the schools he is interested in are East Coast schools. One West coast school has received some reciprocal interest from Likely and that school is Stanford. At this point, the Ducks are a long shot for a visit let alone a commitment from Likely. But he is at least willing to consider a West coast school.

To read entire story, click here

Patterson quietly excels

After John Boyett made the decision to undergo double knee surgery, many Duck fans wondered just how well the defensive backfield would perform without their senior leader. To get the answer, Duck Sports Authority looks back to the decision of Avery Patterson to commit to the Ducks.

Avery Patterson began to gain attention nationally with a stellar performance at a Nike summer camp where he ran an electronically timed 4.33 40 yard dash. As the recruiting process picked up, Patterson received offers from several Pac-10 school including Arizona, Cal, Arizona State and Oregon.

Patterson would eventually select the Ducks. Commenting about how important academics were in his decision making process, Patterson told Rivals.com that "Academics are a big deal for me. I plan to graduate so I'm looking at things like graduation rate and the overall academic structure at each of the schools I'm looking at."

Though he played cornerback in high school and originally projected at the same position for the Ducks, Patterson did not come with a prim donna attitude. "I would do what ever the coaching staff asks me to do," Patterson told Duck Sports Authority. "I would redshirt if they wanted me to. I wouldn't have any problem doing that."

With the kind of elite speed Patteson possessed, and his stellar high school career, Patterson would seem to have all the tools necessary to make an immediate impact. It was Patterson's early self-awareness, though, that would show just how maturity can make a player even better.

"There are things I could do better," Patterson continued. "I need to work on my ball skills. I need to be able to intercept better."

Patterson would spend his first season in Eugene recovering from an injury as a redshirt. But he watched as the Oregon Ducks marched their way to their first Rose Bowl appearance in 15 years. The 2010 season saw Patterson begin to make a mark on special teams. Patterson played in all 13 games as a freshman and even recorded a tackle in the BCS National Championship Game. His stellar special teams play would pave the way for his sophomore year which really saw Patterson blossom into a special player. As a reserve defensive back, Patterson was fifth on the team with 55 tackles last season.

When Eddie Pleasant graduated after the season, there would be a spirited battle between fellow 2009 signees Patterson and Brian Jackson for the starting nod opposite fourth year starter John Boyett. In the Oregon defensive scheme, sometimes starter is just a title as the team plays anywhere from 20-25 defensive players in a regular rotation. Patterson lost the bid for the starting role to Jackson, but he did not lose his spirit or competitiveness.

When John Boyett announced his season ending surgery, though, the picture changed. Pegged as a backup after losing the starting nod to Jackson, Patterson had to change his mindset to become Boyett's replacement. "I felt more stable knowing we had him back there," Patterson told us. "But every one of us has to step up now. We all have to fill his void in the secondary."

Patteson had the full support of his team mates and coaches. All were sure Patterson would be able to step in without missing a beat. "I know Avery is here to perform," Jackson said at the time. "He will do what it takes to be that guy. He has been looking good, and we know we can depend on him."

Defensive Coordinator Nick Aliotti had full faith in Patterson as well. "He's a warrior," said Aliotti. "He just plays so hard. He just has a passion for the game. He's very intelligent."

The only question, then, was...

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Oregon pulls away to road victory over Washington State

The No. 2 Oregon Ducks (4-0, 1-0) headed to Seattle for their first road game of the season to take on the Washington State Cougars. The Cougars (2-2, 0-1) came into the contest off of a heartbreaking loss to Colorado last week while the Ducks came into the contest fresh off of a 49-0 shutout of previously unbeaten and No. 22 ranked Arizona.

Kenjon Barner ran for 195 yards against Washington State

The Ducks were looking to expand on their defensive masterpiece and they did not disappoint early holding the Cougars to an early three and out. A short punt by the Cougars left the Ducks with excellent field position to open the game. Kenjon Barner capped a quick four play touchdown drive with a 22 yard touchdown run to give the Ducks an early 6-0 lead.

Washington State, averaging over 300 yards per game through the air coming into the game, would take to the air early looking to move the ball against a Duck defense that looked stout coming into the game. The Cougars found some success on their second possession completing short passes and working their way methodically down the field and into the red zone. A couple of pass interference penalties gave the Cougars a first and goal. Just like last week, though, the Duck defense stiffened and held Washington State to a field goal cutting the lead to 6-3 midway through the first quarter.

Marcus Mariota started hot for Oregon scoring his first rushing touchdown on the Ducks second possession. After fumbling the next kickoff, the Cougars got an emotional lift by holding the Ducks without a score when Bryan Bennett fumbled a fourth down snap and was unable to gain a first down.

After the Ducks held again, the offense went to work quickly scoring a touchdown with a pass to Kejon Barner giving Oregon a 20-3 first quarter lead. A long kickoff return provided some life for the Cougars. After appearing to intercept Connor Halliday, the Cougars kept breathing after a personal foul extended the drive. The Cougars quickly made the Ducks pay for the mistake with a short touchdown run by Carl Winston which cut the lead to 20-9 after a missed point after attempt.

After his hot start, though, Mariota threw an interception on the Ducks next possession giving Washington State possession deep inside Oregon territory. After exchanging field goals, Washington State was able to dial up a couple of long distance passing plays scoring on a 26 yard touchdown pass to Brett Bartolone to cut the lead to 23-19 and it began to look like the Cougars were going to challenge the number two ranked team in the nation. After cutting the lead to four, the much maligned Cougar defense began to control the line of scrimmage getting the ball back inside Oregon territory after a short punt by Jackson Rice. Suddenly Washington State began to look like the vintage Mike Leach offense from Texas Tech and the Cougars, filled with confidence, began to move the ball looking to take a lead into halftime.

Three consecutive sacks by the Ducks, though, left the Cougars with a 4th and 38 with just one minute left in the first half. The Ducks ran out the first half to take a 23-19 lead into the locker room.

After outgaining Washington State by nearly 100 yards in the first half, Oregon would receive the second half kickoff looking to get momentum back on their side of the field.

The Ducks took the second half kickoff and marched methodically down the field on an 18 play drive capped by a 4 yard touchdown run by De'Anythony Thomas to extend their lead to 30-19 with 8:39 left in the third quarter.

The Oregon defense, despite having given up 19 forst half points did not play poorly in teh first half holding the Cougars to negative rushing yards and just 137 overall. The second half, though, would test Oregon's defense and the Ducks would respond early. Avery Patterson, starting for the Ducks after All-American John Boyett went down earlier this season with injuries to both knees, intercepted Halliday and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown extending the Oregon lead to 37-19 midway through the third quarter.

Another three and out by the Cougars led to a 7 play,41 yard drive caped by Kenjon Barner's second touchdown run of the game pushing Oregon to a 44-19 lead late in the third quarter.

Halliday, who was under pressure from the Duck defense all night continued fighting and got the Cougars close to the goal line late in the third quarter, but was unable to capitalize on fourth down giving the ball back to Oregon.

The Duck defense would continue to harangue Halliday while the Cougar defense ran out of gas. Barner scored his third rushing touchdown of the night on an 80 yarder after breaking an arm tackle attempt by the Cougar defense to take a 51-19 lead with nearly eleven minutes left in the game.

The Cougars scored late to narrow the margin to 51-26 with just over four minutes left in the game.

The Ducks rushed for 300 yards en route to the blowout win over the Cougars. Despite giving up over 400 passing yards to Washington State, the Duck defense was in Halliday's face most of the night and recorded 7 sacks in the game. For the game, the Cougars mustered just minus 8 rushing yards.

Oregon returns home for a contest with the Washington Huskies next Saturday night at Autzen Stadium.

In depth: Oregon-WSU defensive match-ups

The Oregon Ducks (4-0, 1-0) take to the road for the first time in 2012 this Saturday heading to Seattle to take on the Washington State Cougars (2-2, 0-1) at Century Link Field.

Though both head coaches are known more for their offense, Chip Kelly has the Duck defense flying around and making plays. After a shutout in their conference opener, can the Ducks repeat their defensive masterpiece? Check out our exclusive in depth look at the defensive match-ups for Saturday nights game.

Coming into the 2012 season, there was renewed optimism in Pullman about the Cougar program and the direction it was headed. With former Oregon Athletic Director Bill Moos at the helm, the Cougars hired Mike Leach in hopes of bringing his Texas Tech "Air Raid" magic to the Palouse. The results, though, have not met the expectations of many Cougar fans early as Washington State has struggled to adopt Mike Leach's pass oriented spread offense. Last weekend, Washington State had a 31-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter with possession of the football inside the red zone, yet found a way to lose to Colorado. The 35-34 loss has emphasized just how difficult the transition of a new coach will be for the Cougars.

Oregon comes into the contest off of what is by far their best defensive effort of the season; an effort that ranks with some of the best defensive performances in school history. Oregon held an Arizona team averaging 596 yards per game and over 46 points per game to 332 yards en route to a 49-0 shutout of the Wildcats. The performance was enough to move the Ducks up to No. 2 in the rankings.

Defense has never been a hallmark of Mike Leach teams and the Cougars are having their share of defensive struggles again this season. Washington State runs a defense similar to Oregon with a 3-4 hybrid system. In this continuing series, Duck Sports Authority now takes a look at the defensive match-ups for Oregon and Washington State.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

WSU: The Cougars run a 3-4 base defense which leaves them starting one defensive tackle. Getting the nod against the Ducks will be Ioane Gauta (6-3, 305) a junior college transfer in his first year with the Cougars. Gauta has played well early for the Cougars with 11 total tackles through four games including two tackles for loss. Behind Gauta will be Kalafitoni Pole (6-1, 277) a sophomore who started three games last season. Early this year, he has played well in his four appearances notching 7 total tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss.

The third nose tackle for the Cougars is a redshirt freshman who has not yet appeared in a game for Washington State.

Oregon: Oregon brings a wealth of experience at defensive tackle. Starters Wade Keliikipi (6-3, 295) and Isaac Remington (6-4, 301) both saw action as starters last season with Keliikipi starting the final 11 games. Keliikipi recorded a career high 5 tackles in the win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl while Remington recorded 31 total tackles on the season. So far this season Remington leads the defensive tackles with 9 total tackles and 3 tackles for loss and one sack. After a good performance against Arizona Keliikipi has raised his season total to 6 tackles.

The real difference for Oregon will come in the reserves as Oregon not only returns all the defensive tackles from last season, that depth took a hit with the injury to Jared Ebert (6-5, 260) who was playing well early after redshirting last year. Ricky Heimuli (6-4, 305) showing promise with 22 total tackles in his 14 reserve appearances last season for the Ducks has also recorded 4 tackles in 2012.

Deforrest Buckner (6-7, 265) a true freshman from Hawaii has played well this season notching 7 total tackles and 1 tackle for loss in the first three games of 2012. The Ducks are also versatile here as Taylor Hart can move inside if needed.

During the first three games the two-deep defensive line has been dominant.

EDGE: Click here to read entire story 

Early Washington State Game Thoughts

So, as I was working on the defensive match-ups for this game, I looked deeper into the Cougar defensive statistics. They are not as bad as they appear. Teams are not running the ball on them much as most teams have gotten sucked into a passing game with the Cougs. Do not expect the Ducks to fall into that trap.

Even though Mike Leach is an offensive minded coach, right now the Cougar defense is performing better than their offense. But that is not saying much as the Cougar offense is worse this season than last. The team averages fewer passing yards per game this season by about 10 yards per game... but that has not translated into a better rushing team as the Cougars are now at almost half of what they averaged running the ball last season.

Defensively, their best unit, BY FAR, is their linebacker corps. It is the one position where they appear to be deep. Five of their top six tacklers are linebackers. But the group is not very athletic and is not very good in pass coverage.

The defensive match-ups come tomorrow. Not too many surprises!

In Depth Match-Ups: Oregon-WSU

Coming into the 2012 season, there was renewed optimism in Pullman about the Cougar program and the direction it was headed. With former Oregon Athletic Director Bill Moos at the helm, the Cougars hired Mike Leach in hopes of bringing his Texas Tech "Air Raid" magic to the Palouse. The results, though, have not met the expectations of many Cougar fans early as Washington State has struggled to adopt Mike Leach's pass oriented spread offense. Last weekend, Washington State had a 31-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter with possession of the football inside the red zone, yet found a way to lose to Colorado. The 35-34 loss has emphasized just how difficult the transition of a new coach will be for the Cougars.

Oregon comes into the contest off of what is by far their best defensive effort of the season; an effort that ranks with some of the best defensive performances in school history. Oregon held an Arizona team averaging 596 yards per game and over 46 points per game to 332 yards en route to a 49-0 shutout of the Wildcats. The performance was enough to move the Ducks up to No. 2 in the rankings.

QUARTERBACKS

WSU: The projected starter is still a game time decision. The listed starter, when healthy, is Jeff Tuel (6-3, 221) a senior who has been injury prone for much of his career at Washington State. Tuel comes into the contest having appeared in two games this season and completing just over 70 percent of his passes going 50-71 for 400 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Tuel has been successful in the past and, when healthy is a good quarterback with the tools to be successful. Tuel is not a fleet footed quarterback having been sacked 5 times in his two appearances losing 42 yards on those sacks.

If Tuel is unable to play, the start will go to Connor Halliday (6-4, 189) a sophomore who had some late season success in 2011. Halliday played in four games for the Cougars last season completing 59 -103 for 960 yards and 9 touchdowns against just 4 interceptions. This season Halliday has appeared in all three games but is completing just 54.3 percent of his passes going 63-116 for 855 yards with 8 touchdowns, but he has thrown 5 interceptions in those three appearances. Halliday is also not very fleet having been sacked 6 times losing 46 yards early this season.

Oregon: Marcus Mariota earns his fifth start for the Ducks against the Cougars. After a brilliant opening game for the Ducks, Mariota was a little shaky against Fresno State. He has appeared to settle down some, though still prone to a turnover. For the season Mariota has completed 78 of 112 passes for 934 yards with 10 touchdowns and 2 interception. On the ground, Mariota has carried the ball 27 times for 125 yards on the ground.

Behind Mariota will be Bryan Bennett. Bennett has one start to his credit coming against Colorado last season. This year, mostly in mop up relief of Mariota, Bennett has completed 13 of 23 passes for 135 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Bennett is dangerous with his feet last year accumulating 200 yards rushing in his brief 6 appearances. Through three appearances this year, Bennett has 12 carries for 61 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.

EDGE:...

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Top trio: offensive line

After a convincing conference win against Arizona, the Oregon football team heads out on the road for the first time in 2012 with a game against Washington State in Seattle. With the ramping up of the schedule, Duck coaches will also be turning up their recruiting efforts. The past weekend saw several official visits followed up by the commitment of highly sought after recruits Tyrell and Tyree Robinson.

With the heart of football approaching and more prospective student athletes visiting campuses around the nation, talk about the top recruits is sure to pick up steam as well.

Today we continue our weekly series intended to rank some of the most talked about players on Oregon's recruiting board. During each week of the season we will look at a different position and the "Top Trio" at the position. The main factors for choosing which players we discuss will be need, buzz and interest; but not necessarily in that order.

Any and all opinions of these articles are purely that of Duck Sports Authority and do not reflect the opinions or thoughts of the Oregon coaching staff.

The next position we will discuss is one that has become a cornerstone of success at Oregon. Without stellar offensive linemen, it is difficult for the speed of Oregon to matter. Without protection, quarterbacks cannot throw the ball effectively and without a hole, the running backs have nowhere to go. Currently, Oregon three offensive line commitments with the earlier pledges of Evan Voeller, Alex Redmond and Doug Brenner. Nonetheless, with just one offensive line recruit signed in 2012, the Ducks look like they still have room for two more on the offensive line.

#	NAME	POS.	STARS	HT/WT/40	HOMETOWN	VIDEO
1	Reeve Koehler	OG		6'3"/280/5.46	Honolulu, HI
WHO: Reeve Koehler is the 6th ranked offensive guard in the nation and the 148th overall prospect by Rivals.com. The 2nd ranked player in the state of Hawaii, Koehler has great technique and is likely to play early where ever he chooses. SAY WHAT: "My overall aggressiveness is really what helps me right now. Local guys from Hawaii we have been raised that if you get punched in the mouth, you always punch back. That aggressiveness always keeps me ahead." "The relationship with the coach and the academic help that I can get," Koehler cited as two key factors in his decision. WHERE: Koehler is on the record as saying he wants to play in the SEC and it looks like the odds on favorite to land his commitment at this time is none other than the Tennessee Volunteers/.

Click here to read entire story

Lyerla breaks out with big performance against Arizona

Last season, Oregon faced the inventor of the pistol offense when Nevada made a non-conference trip to Autzen Stadium. Throughout the rest of the 2011 season, the Ducks showed glimpses of the pistol offense with Darron Thomas and LaMichael James. Saturday evening saw a new wrinkle for Duck fans under Chip Kelly's always imaginative offense. Call it the "Colt 45" package or simply call it using all of your athletes to the highest of their potential.

During a game that many thought offense would be everything and defensive stops a rarity, the raucous Autzen Stadium crowd instead saw a first half defensive slugfest with Oregon leading by a slim 13-0 halftime margin.

The second half would not produce many of the trademark explosion plays out of the running game, but it would give fans something to drool over while giving opposing defensive coordinators Excedrin Headache number 15; that is Oregon Duck number 15, Colt Lyerla.

Lyerla first garnered national attention at the end of his sophomore season in high school. Already 6-5 and 225 pounds, Lyerla attended the Schuman's National Underclassmen Combine in Salem in June of 2009. He put on an incredible show of sheer athleticism. Some folks at the time thought not to worry about his vertical leap because he was so big; then he jumped 38.5 inches. That was the highest vertical jump all year out of over 18,000 competitors in 2009. He followed that up with more impressive numbers on his way to an event record total.

When Lyerla committed to the Ducks during his senior season at the Army All America Bowl, there were quite a few Duck fans that cheered at the news. One of the best pure athletes in Oregon history, an athlete Rivals compared to former North Carolina great Julius Peppers, had committed to a program on the cusp of perennial elite status.

Lyerla addressed this when he committed to Oregon saying, "Oregon is recruiting me as an athlete for offense" Lyerla said earlier in the week. "They have a high-powered offense and I like the coaching staff. Chip Kelly has the program headed in the right direction." He had seen himself as an offensive player and, though there was some original hesitation on knowing for sure which position he was going to play at Oregon, there seemed little doubt that he was headed for offense.

As a freshman, though, he did not see the impact of fellow freshman De'Anthony Thomas. Playing behind David Paulson at tight end, blocking was a bigger deterrent to playing time than  ability. Blocking at the Pac-12 level is a difficult task for a 225 pound tight end. In high school, 225 pound athletic tight ends can have their way with defensive linemen. Not so in Division I NCAA football.

Despite the limited playing time, anyone who watched Colt Lyerla in 2011 could see the potential he brought to the football field. He caught just 7 passes in 2011, but made those catches count as he gained 147 yards and scored 5 touchdowns. Those were impressive numbers for such limited touches.

It would seem that the 2012 season would open up for Lyerla. Paulson was graduated and there were no other tight ends with any playing experience. Lyerla had worked hard in the off season, but missed the first 9 days of fall camp while attending to undisclosed personal matters. Colt had added 20 pounds to his frame and looked the part of a Pac-12 tight end at nearly 250 pounds.

Early in the season, small hints of the emergence of Colt Lyerla as a multi-purpose threat would begin to surface. During...

Click here to read entire story

Oregon Crushes Arizona

The No. 3 Oregon Ducks entered their conference opener against the No. 22 ranked Arizona Wildcats with some questions surrounding their defense and their ability to close games early in the season. While the conference opener against an improved Arizona squad under first year coach Rich Rodriguez may not have been able to completely dispel all of those questions, it could go a long way given Rodriguez' prodigious early season offense at Arizona.

In an early fourth down conversion attempt, the Ducks gave Arizona excellent field position at the Duck 35 yard line. Arizona, showing a good mix of run and pass with Matt Scott doing much of the work, were unable to capitalize, though, when a bad snap on a field goal attempt stopped the Wildcats first drive.

The Duck offense was out of synch early. After regaining the ball inside their own 15 yard line, Marcus Mariota fumbled the ball back to the Wildcats at the 11 yard line but the Ducks quickly turned the tide with an Ifo Ekpre-Olumu interception.

After the interception the Ducks marched down the field to open the scoring on a 17 yard touchdown pass from Mariota to Daryle Hawkins to give the Ducks an early 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing drive the Wildcats, with the aid of penalties, once again moved the ball inside the Duck 5 yard line but were unable once again to capitalize when a fourth and goal attempt failed.

Oregon mistakes kept Arizona in the game early. After moving the ball out of the shadow of its own end zone, De'Anthony Thomas fumbled the ball back to the Wildcats. once again, though, the Duck defense stiffened and blocked a Wildcat field goal attempt.

The Wildcats offense, which seemed to move well in between the twenty yard lines had difficulty inside the red zone.

Oregon extended the lead with a 27 yard field goal with just under six minutes left in the first half.

In a first half that did not see near the offensive fireworks that many expected, teh Ducks took a 13-0 lead into the half after a second Rob Beard field goal from 41 yards with less than a minute to play in the second quarter.

Arizona opened the second half much the same way as the first with some success followed quickly by a Duck stop. After a quick first down, the Ducks punted right back and the first half defensive struggle seemed to be back for both teams.

Arizona worked hard to neutralize De'Anthony Thomas. Two times early in the third quarter, the Wildcats were able to keep the ball away from Thomas on punts, first with a quick kick on fourth and three and then with a beautiful 61 yard punt.

The Duck offense got a jolt from De'Anthony Thomas' 38 ya5rd punt return and quickly turned it into points with a 35 yard pass to Colt Lyerla and a 1 yard touchdown run by Colt Lyerla. A quick two point conversion took the lead to 21-0 midway through the third quarter.

The Duck defense continued to be stingy. Kiko Alonso intercepted Matt Scott late in the third quarter and the Duck offense struck quickly with a two play 59 yard drive capped by a 57 pass to freshman Bralon Addison.

The Duck defense just kept coming in waves as Ifo Ekpre-Olumu intercepted Scott on the next possession and returned it 54 yards for his first career touchdown to put the Ducks up 35-0 early in the fourth quarter .

After another crucial stop on fourth and short, the Ducks took over intent on running out as much of the clock as possible with just over ten minutes left in the game. Taking the ball 86 yards in 12 plays and 6:35 time of possession to extend the lead to 42-0 with just over four minutes left in the game.

From there, the outcome was academic, but the Duck defense wanted to finish the game and shutout the high powered Arizona offense. The defense was not done scoring as they added yet another defensive touchdown on Troy Hill's 29 yard interception return on the very next play for Arizona.

The Wildcats, who came in averaging 596 yards of total offense per game were held to nearly half that total as the Wildcats put up just 332yards of total offense. The running game was largely absent for the Wildcats as they gained just 2.8 yards per carry. Without the threat of the run, Matt Scott, who came into the contest averaging 331 yards per game through the air, finished the game 23-45 for 212 yards and 3 costly interceptions.

Oregon would force a final 3 and out and run the clock out to secure their first conference shutout since 2003 with the 49-0 drubbing over the No. 22 ranked Arizona Wildcats.

Oregon, now 4-0, takes to the road for the first time next week for a neutral site game in Seattle against the Washington State Cougars.

DSA Tailgate: 2012 Arizona Edition

Okay all, the first conference game is finally at hand. National TV audience; DAT on the cover of Sports Illustrated. A night game. It's time to get that old tailgate magic going. WE love seeing all of our members at these. Never been to one? Now's the time! Been to all of them? Keep coming, we love all members showing up and having a good time!

I solved the TV thing... we had perfect reception once we found the right spot and it was a crisp clear picture!!!!!

Well, after our extended summer, it looks like we will be in a more normal pattern, but still a decent overall day with a high temp at 70 or so, plenty of reasons to come out and enjoy the day with fellow Duck fans!

Please remember that this is 100% financed by me... I hate to "pimp" for donations, but they are very helpful in keeping these going for all... and they are what help me to keep expanding our amenities.

Anyone who wishes to make their donations in advance can do so with the paypal information below, otherwise, feel free to donate at the tailgate. There is no required or minimum cost, but we sure like to see all our members.

Last year there was, at times, confusion about  our location. We will be in the same spot. There are two entrances for the Serbu Youth Center. We are at the WESTERNMOST entrance. If you are headed up MLK towards Springfield, this is the first entrance; and if you are headed towards Coburg it is the second. I have included an overhead screen shot from google maps. Our spot is located on the left side of the image. You should see a long field (and if you look close, a goal post at the left end of the field), we are at the end near the
goalpost . I know it is not the same as tailgating at Autzen, but they are pricing us regular fans out of there, so let's all get together and show them that the average fan still matters (not that I or any of us are actually average!)

After you go in this entrance you should see a long field to your left... go down the road until you see a bunch of spaces to the LEFT, we are at the farthest end on the left hand side.

As a bonus, we have a huge field for people to hang out, play, etc. There is a porta-potty close to
our spot that is almost a private place! It is a pretty sweet set up. Though we only have one parking space this season, because we have the end space, we will have plenty of space to ourselves!


Below are the details!


What: DSA Tailgate - Arizona Edition

When: Sep. 22, 2012

Time: ~ 3:30 PM local time tailgating lots open; I will be there!

Where: John Serbu Youth Campus, 2727 MLK Blvd

Space: 223

Donations: Donations may be made at the game with cash or through

PayPal: To pay with paypal you can use my email address:

Email Address: SReed39@canby.com

Cell Phone: 503-807-9543

Twitter: ScottReed_DSA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ScottReedDSA



COMMENTS: Remember that we will have the following amenities:
*-TV with cable to watch games during tailgate
*-Food: Burgers, Hot Dogs, Brats
*-Beverages: Beer, Sodas, Blended Drinks (thanks to the generator, we can use a blender and have fun with drinks!)
*-Burgers are hand made again this year and I hear that they are VERY good!

*-The picture shows our location!

In depth: Oregon-Arizona defensive match-ups

This week, the No. 3 Oregon Ducks open up conference play with a fourth consecutive home tilt against No. 22 Arizona. The Wildcats (3-0) are fresh off of a victory over South Carolina State. Oregon enters the contest having just defeated an FCS opponent of its own having manhandled Tennessee Tech.

Tom Corno
The Duck defense looks to stop the Arizona spread

Neither team has faced a truly stiff challenge. Oregon's best win is likely over a Fresno State team that just beat Pac-12 opponent Colorado by a score of 69-14 last weekend. Arizona defeated Oklahoma State in their second game of the season 59-38.

This is the third out of four teams the Ducks will face with a new head coach. Arizona brought in Rich Rodriguez this past off-season after parting ways with former coach Mike Stoops. Though Rodriguez was unable to successfully implement his spread option offense at Michigan, it appears Rodriguez is on his way to better success at Arizona.

After looking at the offense yesterday, in this continuing series from Duck Sports Authority we bring you the head-to-head match-ups of the Oregon Ducks and Arizona Wildcats. Today the focus is on defense.

Rodriguez brought his former defensive coordinator from West Virginia, Jeff Casteel, to Arizona with him. Casteel runs a 3-3-5 defense, but runs it with a twist. Rather than having linebackers in gaps between the defensive linemen, Casteel runs a 3-3 stack meaning that the linebackers line up directly behind the defensive linemen. With that in mind, let's take a look at the Arizona defense.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

Arizona: The Wildcats will start Sione Tuihalamaka (6-2, 271) at nose guard. Tuihalamaka has plenty of experience entering the season with 14 career starts in his 24 appearances. While Tuihalamaka was effective last season with 19 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, he appears to be on his way to a better season with 8 tackles and 0.5 sacks early this season.

Behind Tuihalamaka will be the well travelled Tevin Hood (6-0, 302). Hood is a junior who is now with his third football team. An intelligent athlete, Hood had offers from Princeton and Coplumbia but spent his first season with the Duke Blue Devils. After appearing in four games as a true freshman, Hood transferred to the University of San Diego. A Chandler, Arizona native, Hood transferred to Arizona in January of this year.

Oregon: Oregon brings a wealth of experience at defensive tackle. Starters Wade Keliikipi (6-3, 295) and Isaac Remington (6-4, 301) both saw action as starters last season with Keliikipi starting the final 11 games. Keliikipi recorded a career high 5 tackles in the win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl while Remington recorded 31 total tackles on the season. So far this season Remington leads the defensive tackles with 5 total tackles and 2 tackles for loss. Keliikipi has recorded 3 tackles through the first three games.

The real difference for Oregon will come in the reserves as Oregon not only returns all the defensive tackles from last season, that depth took a hit with the injury to Jared Ebert (6-5, 260) who was playing well early after redshirting last year. Ricky Heimuli (6-4, 305) showing promise with 22 total tackles in his 14 reserve appearances last season for the Ducks has also recorded 4 tackles in 2012.

Deforrest Buckner (6-7, 265) a true freshman from Hawaii has played well this season notching 5 total tackles and 1 tackle for loss in the first three games of 2012. The Ducks are also versatile here as Taylor Hart can move inside if needed.

During the first three games the two-deep defensive line has been dominant.

EDGE: Oregon

The Ducks have more experience, depth and talent at this position than Arizona and a decided size advantage. The Wildcats will have to play a lot more defensive linemen than they are used to in order to keep up with the Ducks pace. If they do, their inexperience will get taken advantage of; if they do not, then the starters are in for a long day. Their lack of size will become a problem as the game wears on as well.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

Arizona: The strong side defensive end position will be manned by Dominque Austin (6-5, 285) a senior returning from a redshirt year last season. Austin had no starts during his career entering the 2012 season. Through the first three games, Austin has played exceptionally recording 11 tackles and 2 pass break-ups. Behind Austin is Chris Merrill (6-2, 273) another senior. Merrill has 19 appearances with 1 career start. In those appearances, Merrill has notched 10 career tackles entering the 2012 season. In his three games played this season, Merrill has recorded just one tackle.

At the other defensive end position will be Reggie Gilbert (6-4, 252) a sophomore who played in six games last season. Gilbert has 5 total tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss in early action this season. Behind Gilbert is Dan Pettinato (6-4, 265) another sophomore. Pettinato did make three starts last season but has appeared in just one of the Wildcats three games and notched just one tackle.

Oregon: Oregon has....

Click here to read entire story

In Depth: Arizona offensive match-ups

This week, the No. 3 Oregon Ducks open up conference play with a fourth consecutive home tilt against No. 22 Arizona. The Wildcats (3-0) are fresh off of a victory over South Carolina State. Oregon enters the contest having just defeated an FCS opponent of its own having manhandled Tennessee Tech.

Neither team has faced a truly stiff challenge. Oregon's best win is likely over a Fresno State team that just beat Pac-12 opponent Colorado by a score of 69-14 last weekend. Arizona defeated Oklahoma State in their second game of the season 59-38.

This is the third out of four teams the Ducks will face with a new head coach. Arizona brought in Rich Rodriguez this past off-season after parting ways with former coach Mike Stoops. Though Rodriguez was unable to successfully implement his spread option offense at Michigan, it appears Rodriguez is on his way to better success at Arizona.

QUARTERBACKS

Arizona: Matt Scott (6-3, 196) will get the start for the Wildcats. Scott spent last year redshirting after being named the teams co-offensive MVP following the 2010 season. Though his playing time was minimal, he did earn 2 starts in 2010 and was the teams fourth leading rusher. This year, a fifth year senior, Scott has fully embraced Rodriguez' spread option offense. He has completed 88 of 123 pass attempts for 995 yards with 7 touchdowns against just 1 interception. On the ground, Scott has been equally impressive with 36 carries for 227 yards, not including sacks.

Behind Scott will be B.J. Denker (6-3, 177) a junior college transfer from Cerritos College. Denker has appeared in one game for the Wildcats this season completing 6 of 10 passes for 78 yards and 1 touchdown while rushing one time for seven yards.

Oregon: Marcus Mariota earns his fourth start for the Ducks against Arizona. After a brilliant opening game for the Ducks, Mariota was a little shaky against Fresno State. He appered much more comfortable last week against Tennessee Tech. For the season Mariota has completed 58 of 77 passes for 674 yards with 8 touchdowns and 1 interception. On the ground, Mariota has carried the ball, not including sacks, 17 times for 156 yards on the ground.

Behind Mariota will be Bryan Bennett. Bennett has one start to his credit coming against Colorado last season. This year, mostly in mop up relief of Mariota, Bennett has completed 12 of 22 passes for 128 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Bennett is dangerous with his feet last year accumulating 200 yards rushing in his brief 6 appearances. Through two appearances this year, Bennett has 9 carries for 46 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns.

EDGE: Arizona

Matt Scott has a very large experience edge as a fifth year senior. Through the first three games of 2012, Scott has outperformed Mariota in just about every category. Mariota came through with his first 300 yard performance in just more than one half of football against Tennessee Tech last week, but the early season edge goes to the player with more experience and better overall performance this season.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Arizona: After losing Juron Criner, last year's leading receiver for the Wildcats, Arizona returns Dan Buckner (6-4, 215) a senior who played well last season. Buckner had 42 catches for 606 yards and 2 touchdowns last season for the Wildcats. Through 3 games this season, Buckner already has 22 receptions for 261 yards and 1 touchdown. At the opposite wide receiver position will be Terrence Miller (6-4, 226) another senior for the Wildcats. After catching just 11 balls for 136 yards as a junior last season, Miller has stepped up for the Wildcats early this season with 10 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown through the first three games. Starting at the slot receiver position is Austin Hill (6-3, 211) a sophomore. Hill, who caught 21 passes for 311 yards as a freshman has 17 receptions for 319 yards early on for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats have seen four primary backups at the receiver position. The first of these is Richard Morrison (5-11, 183) a junior slot receiver. Morrison caught 22 passes for 201 yards last season. So far this year, Morrison has 16 catches for 127 yards and a team leading 2 touchdown receptions. The next receiver is Tyler Slavin (6-2, 205) a sophomore with 8 catches for 70 yards. Also seeing time will be Johnny Jackson (5-10, 179) a redshirt freshman with 5 catches for 43 yards.

Oregon: Starting at the wide receiver position for Oregon on one side will be Keanin Lowe, a sophomore from Jesuit High School in the Portland area. Lowe has played well for the Ducks early in 2012 and has 8 catches for 92 yards and 1 touchdown. Starting opposite Lowe should be Josh Huff. Huff played well despite battling injuries for most of 2011. After a scare against Fresno State, Huff should be at full strength this week. Huff has managed 2 catches for 22 yards and 1 touchdown in two brief appearances. Daryle Hawkins gets the start at the third wideout position. Hawkins, an all-purpose athlete the prior two seasons for the Ducks has nestled into his starting role well and 5 catches for 58 yards.

	Josh Huff leads a youthful wide receiver group

Not to be forgotten is De'Anthony Thomas. Though he is listed as a running back on the depth chart, he is more frequently spotted lining up as a receiver for Oregon. He is the leading receiver for the Ducks with 11 catches for 154 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns.

Beyond the starters, the Ducks play a lot of receivers. True freshman Bralon Addison is the primary reserve and has 8 catches for 79 yards this season. Rashaan Vaughn has 6 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Another freshman, Dwayne Stanford, has 6 catches of his own for 65 yards. B. J. Kelley and Eric Dungy have chipped in with 3 catches each early this season.

EDGE: Oregon, very slightly

Arizona has bigger receivers and they throw the ball a lot more than the Ducks. Oregon has the most explosive player in all of college football, though, and he frequently lines up at receiver. His explosiveness combined with the depth and speed at the receiver position give the Ducks the slightest of edges at the wide receiver position.

RUNNING BACK...

Click here to see the rest of the offensive match-ups: 

Top Trio: Safety

The Oregon football team is getting ready to enter conference play with this weekends match-up against Arizona at Autzen Stadium. With the ramping up of the schedule, Duck coaches will also be turning up their recruiting efforts. An early list shows three official visitors scheduled for this weekend.

With the heart of football approaching and more prospective student athletes visiting campuses around the nation, talk about the top recruits is sure to pick up steam as well.

Today we continue our weekly series intended to rank some of the most talked about players on Oregon's recruiting board. During each week of the season we will look at a different position and the "Top Trio" at the position. The main factors for choosing which players we discuss will be need, buzz and interest; but not necessarily in that order.

Any and all opinions of these articles are purely that of Duck Sports Authority and do not reflect the opinions or thoughts of the Oregon coaching staff.

The next position we will discuss is one that took on some added significance in the psyche of Oregon fans over the past two weeks as they learned of John Boyett's season ending knee surgery to both knees; safety. Currently, Oregon does not have any commits listed at the safety position. The Ducks have several talented young players at the safety position. Nonetheless, Boyett was scheduled to graduate after 2012 and the two current starters, Brian Jackson and Avery Patterson, will be seniors in 2013. That leaves a hole that may need to be filled in the 2013 recruiting class.

Though Oregon does not have any commits at the safety position at this time, there are a few who are high on the Duck coaches radar.

#	NAME	POS.	STARS	HT/WT/40	HOMETOWN	VIDEO
1	Leon McQuay III	Safety		6'2"/185/4.57	Seffner, FL
WHO: Leon McQuay is the number two ranked safety in the nation. Ranked as the number six prospect int eh state of Florida, McQuay is the 18th rated player oveall in the nation. With good size and speed, he is a perfect fit for safety at the next level. SAY WHAT: "I don't really have any leaders right now. I am going to these schools and trying to see what they are about. If I like it, then when it is time and I am ready I will commit," McQuay told Rivals.com. McQuay has Oregon listed in his top five and is looking to set a visit to Oregon during the season. WHERE: Currently, McQuay has listed USC, Vanderbilt and Florida State as his top three. McQuay visited USC on September 6th but did not commit. Right now it looks to be a dogfight between his top three, but visits can change things, so keep looking for updates.

Want to read who the other two safeties in the top trio are? Click here to read entire story:

No. 4 Oregon handles Tennessee Tech at home 63-24

Coming into the game Oregon (3-0) had some defensive questions after lapses in the second half of their first two games. Tennessee Tech (2-1) was not expected to provide much of a challenge to the defending Rose Bowl champions.

Missing senior leaders John Boyett and Carson York from the lineup, Oregon put aside the shock of losing two experienced leaders early in the game.

The Ducks received a lift with the presence of Josh Huff who many expected to miss the game after a knee injury against Fresno State.

After a quick three and out to start the game, De'Anthony Thomas touched a ball on a punt and turned the ball back over to the Golden Eagles at the Duck 23 yard line. The early mistake cost the Ducks as Da'Rick Rogers caught a short pass from Tre Lamb and took it in for a 23 yard touchdown score to take an early 7-0 lead.

Oregon took the ensuing kickoff 63 yards capped by a Kenjon Barner 1 yard touchdown run to knot the score at 7-7.

The Ducks opened the second half in much the same manner as they closed the first half. Taking the second half kickoff to their own 39 yard line the Ducks used just two minutes and eight plays to travel 61 yards for a touchdown pass to Keanon Lowe who scored his career touchdown on the 3 yard pass from Marcus Mariota.

After taking several hard hits in the first half, Tre Lamb was replaced in the second half by Darian Stone. the results were little better, though, as Stone threw an interception on his first pass to Dior Mathis. Mathis returned the ball 28 yards to the Oregon 4 yard line and on came the back-ups as Bryan Bennett came on to run the offense and quickly scored on a four yard run.

Tennessee Tech was finally able to get some offense going midway through the third quarter. After intercepting Bryan Bennett, the Golden Eagles were able to take the ball 72 yards for a score to make the score 49-14 with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.

Oregon struggled with penalties throughout the game committing 9 for 80 yards in the first half alone. Execution issues, though, would not affect the outcome of this game for the Ducks.

Freshman Byron Marshall was the story of the second half as he looked considerably more decisive with his cuts and ran to his first 100 yard performance at Oregon with 14 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter that pushed the lead to 63-14.

With all the offense for Oregon, the defensive performance was dominant even after the bench was cleared by Chip Kelly in the fourth quarter. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles had managed just 119 total yards and 63 rushing yards.

Marcus Mariota had his first 300 yard passing performance completing 21 of 28 passes for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns before making way for Bennett. The ground game for the Ducks surpassed 300 yards for the second straight game with Marshall leading the way.

Dark horse Heisman candidate Thomas was electric throughout the game. Thomas carried the ball just 3 times but made those carries count for 62 yards. He also caught 3 passes for 73 yards. Despite Tennessee Tech kicking away from Thomas most of the game, he was able to return 4 punts for 96 yards including stellar back-to-back punt returns of 46 and 48 yards respectively. For the game Thomas finished with 231 all purpose yards and 2 more touchdowns.

Oregon rolled to 649 yards of total offense on their way to a convincing 63-14 victory over the Golden Eagles.

Oregon next faces Arizona (3-0) in the first Pac-12 game of the season at home next Saturday with a 7:30 PM kickoff scheduled.

DSA Tailgate: Tennessee Tech Edition

First things first, I should have solved the TV problem... went and got a portable automatic aiming satellite dish today... already tested it out and it works perfectly. (The only downside... I have direct tv still)

The weather this weekend is supposed to be picture perfect again. A great time to get together for food, beverages and conversation. IT is an early game so we will be there bright and early at 8:00


Last year there were, at times, confusion about  our location. We will be in the same spot. There are two entrances for
the Serbu Youth Center. We are at the WESTERNMOST entrance. If you are headed up MLK towards Springfield, this is the first entrance; and if you are headed towards Coburg it is the second. I have included an overhead screen shot from google maps. Our spot is located on the left side of the image. You should see a long field (and if you look close, a goal post at the left end of the field), we are at the end near the goalpost . I know it is not the same as tailgating at Autzen, but they
are pricing us regular fans out of there, so let's all get together and show them that the average fan still matters (not that I or any of us are actually average!)


After you go in this entrance you should see a long field to your left... go down the road until you see a bunch of spaces to the LEFT, we are at the farthest end on the left hand side.

As a bonus, we have a huge field for people to hang out, play, etc. There is a porta-potty right next to our spot that is almost a private place! It is a pretty sweet set up. Though we only have one parking space this season, because we have the end space, we will have plenty of space to ourselves!

Anyone who wishes to make their donations in advance can do so with the paypal information below, otherwise, feel free to donate at the tailgate. There is no required or minimum cost, but we sure like to see all our members.


Below are the details!



What: DSA Tailgate - Fresno State Edition

When: Sep. 15, 2012

Time: ~ 8:00 AM local time tailgating lots open; I will be there!

Where: John Serbu Youth Campus, 2727 MLK Blvd

Space: 223

Donations: Donations may be made at the game with cash or through

PayPal: To pay with paypal you can use my email address:

Email Address: SReed39@canby.com

Cell Phone: 503-807-9543

Twitter: ScottReed_DSA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ScottReedDSA



COMMENTS: Remember that we will have the following amenities:

*-R2FireDuck is bringing some smoked turkey!

*-TV with cable to watch games during tailgate

*-Food: Burgers, Hot Dogs, Brats

*-Beverages: Beer, Sodas, Blended Drinks (thanks to the generator, we can use a blender and have fun with drinks!)

*-Burgers are hand made again this year and I hear that they are VERY good!
 

In Depth: Oregon Tennessee Tech defense match-ups

Oregon continues the 2012 season with their third consecutive home tilt. The opponent in week 3 will be FCS foe from the Ohio Valley Conference, Tennessee Tech (2-0). The Golden Eagles, defending Ohio Valley Conference Champions are coached by Watson Brown. Brown is the brother of Texas coach Mack Brown and worked with Oregon defensive backs coach John Neal while at UAB.

Tennessee Tech (2-0) enters the contest fresh off of a victory over Division II opponent North Greenville last Saturday.

Oregon (2-0) enters the game with two major injuries having taken away the most veteran players on both offense and defense as fifth year starters John Boyett and Carson York both suffered season ending injuries against Fresno State.

Once again, this non-conference match-up gives the young Ducks a chance to compete and become better players.

In this continuing series from Duck Sports Authority we bring you the head-to-head match-ups of the Oregon Ducks and Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Today the focus is on defense.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

Tennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles run a variation of a 3-4 defense which uses a hybrid LB/DE as well as a hybrid Safety/LB. Based on their depth chart, only one player is listed as a defensive tackle and one defensive end, but there are really two defensive ends, they just use slightly different terminology for the positions.

At defensive tackle, a position that the Tech coaches refer to as the "Anchor" position, the Golden Eagles will start LaDarius Verge (6-3, 260) a senior with just one start to his credit. Last season Verge appeared in 10 games and notched 14 total tackles. Through two games this season Verge has 5 tackles. Behind Verge is Zach Bush (6-4, 265) another senior with no real experience. Listed on their roster as a tight end, the senior has played in one game this season and recorded one tackle. Redshirt freshman Avery Rollins (6-3, 280) has appeared in both games for the Golden Eagles thus far and recorded 2 total tackles.

Oregon: Unlike their opponent, Oregon will be bringing a wealth of experience at defensive tackle. Starters Wade Keliikipi (6-3, 295) and Isaac Remington (6-4, 301) both saw action as starters last season with Keliikipi starting the final 11 games. Keliikipi recorded a career high 5 tackles in the win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl while Remington recorded 31 total tackles on the season. So far this season Remington and Keliikipi have 3 tackles each and a pass break up each.

The real difference for Oregon will come in the reserves as Oregon not only returns all the defensive tackles from last season, that depth took a hit with the injury to Jared Ebert (6-5, 260) who was playing well early after redshirting last year. Ricky Heimuli (6-4, 305) showing promise with 22 total tackles in his 14 reserve appearances last season for the Ducks has also recorded 3 tackles in 2012. The Ducks are also versatile here as Taylor Hart can move inside if needed.

During the first 2 games the two-deep defensive line has been dominant against Arkansas State and Fresno State.

EDGE: Oregon

The Ducks have more experience, depth and talent at this position than Tennessee Tech and a decided size advantage. Tennessee Tech will have to play a lot more defensive linemen than they are used to in order to keep up with the Ducks pace. If they do, their inexperience will get taken advantage of; if they do not, then the starters are in for a long day. Their lack of size will become a problem as the game wears on as well.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

Tennessee Tech: Listed as a "Rock" defense end, Jordan Johnson (5-11, 285) enters his junior season having started all 11 games last year. He recorded 40 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Through two games this season Johnson has 5 tackles. The other position we are projecting as a defensive end, Tennessee Tech refers to as a "Bear" linebacker. The starter at this position is Tommie McBride (6-1, 245) a senior who played in 11 games as a reserve last season. From his reserve spot, he tallied 26 total tackles. McBride has been active early recording 10 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss through two games for the Golden Eagles.

Backing up Johnson is Lamar Moore (6-0, 290) a junior who recorded 21 tackles in 11 appearances last season. Moore has contributed 4 tackles in the first two games of the season for the Golden Eagles. The other reserve defensive end behind McBride will be Malcolm Mitchell (6-2, 230) a transfer from Louisville. In two years with the Cardinals, Mitchell appeared in 11 games and recorded 8 total tackles. Mitchell has appeared in both games for Tech this season recording 4 total tackles.

Oregon: Oregon has ...

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Musings around the pond

SPECIALISTS GET THE SPOTLIGHT

Adam Jude has a great piece in the Oregonian about the Duck long snappers. It's funny; they are kind of like linemen, if you don't hear their name, they must be doing their job right. It is one of the toughest positions on the field because even the slightest mistake can be devastating to the team.

I say that most people do not know about them because a few actually know who they are. Readers of Duck Sports Authority are usually well acquainted with the specialists because we cover every position not just the glamour positions!

When both Howell and Palmer committed, there was some actual excitement on the DSA message boards over their commitment to the Ducks.

TELEVISION WOES

Another weekend approaches and the second largest provider of television content, Direct TV has yet to come to terms with the Pac-12 Networks. Now, I, like everyone else, was excited by the concept of a Pac-12 Network. That is when I thought that it would be on Direct TV quickly. Now that I am entering a second weekend without Pac-12 Networks, it is time for me to consider the switch. I had been hanging on with the hopes of a deal. Once Dish caved, I thought for sure Direct TV would follow; guess I was wrong.

Up until now, I did not have a lot of options based on where I live and what the cable companies told me I could get.

Both sides are telling fans to "blame" the other side. The Pac-12 has even gone to the extreme of having the University of Oregon send out a bulk email to all Duck Athletic Fund contributors urging them to inundate Direct TV with phone calls to get them to cave. But if you go to Direct TV's site, they have a completely different story. In some ways I wish I could tell them BOTH to hit the bricks, but if I want Duck games carried only by the Pac-12 Network to play at my tailgates, I need the sides to come to an agreement.

BLACKED OUT

Speaking of the Pac-12 and television coverage, fans can all say good bye to the good old days of looking back to highlight reels provided by fellow fans. The Pac-12 Network will only allow highlight video to be posted for 48 hours at which point the content must be removed.

It seems like a "no big deal" to most, but there were quite a few fans out there providing great content that we will now not be able to see. I often looked back at some of the Wines Family videos to look at formations and re-look at plays when I am doing match up articles... that will make my work more difficult.

Making this a further problem, though the broadcasts of games prior to the 2012 season were not the property of the conference, much like NFL Films, any and all broadcasts of prior years under the Pac-10/Pac-12, regrdless of who aired the broadcast, are no owned by the Pac-12. Want to watch the Kenny Wheaton interception on your own time? Good luck it is now owned by the Pac-12. You can still watch it now, but the big bad wolf can have it removed.

BLACKED OUT PART II

Speaking of black outs, fans better get ready for another NFL style issue, blacking out games.

As the Pac-12 Network has been implemented, fans at many schools, expecting their beloved university to use the new television revenue to help absorb higher costs and not see their ticket prices received a rude awakening this year. Tocket prices rose in spite of the added television revenue.

Naturally, many fans decided that the price hike was too much and chose to not renew their season tickets. Season ticket renewals at Oregon were down to 92% this year compared to 96% last season. This sounds inconsequential. People knew that with the new conference network, they could save the money and watch from home.

But, as schools begin to see their ticket revenue drop due to the ease of watching from home, you can be sure that they will look for a method to protect their revenues. Guess what that method will likely be? That's right, the Pac-12 could (and my money is that they will) decide to black out games within a certain distance from the home team's stadium if the game is not sold out far enough in advance; ala the NFL.

What does this mean to you? It means that last weeks game would have been blacked out in Eugene and Portland. That might make people think twice about their decision to get rid of season tickets. And that is the reason I believe that the Pac-12 will go down that road.