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.

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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/.

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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...

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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....

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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.

In depth: Oregon-Tennessee Tech 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 cach 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 offense.

QUARTERBACKS

Tennessee Tech: Tre Lamb (5-9, 185) Is the starter for Tennessee Tech. A senior, Lamb started 11 games for Tech last season. He was successful at the FCS level completing 65.2% of his passes on 204 for 313 passing for 2,342 yards and 17 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. Lamb was also the teams third leading rusher with 90 carries for 355 yards. He was sacked 19 times, though, lowering his oveall totals to 109 carries for 213 yards.

Against Iowa last season, Lamb completed 14 for 24 passes for 128 yards and 2 interceptions.

Behind Lamb is Darian Stone (6-0, 185), a sophomore who has thrown 5 career passes in two appearances last season.

Lamb is a dangerous runner and scampers around looking for plays. In 2011, Lamb scored 6 rushing touchdowns including a 50 yard run.

Oregon: There were some questions for Oregon at the quarterback position heading into the 2012 season. The named starter, Marcus Mariota had never played in a college football game prior to Saturday's match-up against Arkansas State. Through two games this season, Mariota is completing 75.5% of his passes with 37 completions on 49 attempts for 366 yards and 4 touchdowns. Mariota, who fumbled twice in last week's win has yet to throw an interception in his college career

Like his Tennessee Tech counterpart, Mariota is able to run the ball effectively. Mariota has 18 carries for 91 yards through two games in 2012 including a 28 yard run against Fresno State.

Behind Mariota is a redshirt sophomore who appeared in 8 games for the Ducks in 2011 including the first start of his career. Bryan Bennett played well when he was in during 2011 completing 25-46 for 369 yards with 6 touchdowns and no interceptions. Bennett was an electrifying runner in 2011 carrying the ball 23 times for 200 yards. In his lone appearance of 2012, Bennett went 10-17 for 108 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also carried the ball 4 times for 34 yards.

EDGE: Oregon

Lamb is experienced and has the ability to carry the ball and make plays with his feet, but he has struggled with the passing game when opponents are able to contain him to the pocket. His height becomes a disadvantage against teams with tall defensive linemen. While Mariota struggled with ball security in the second half against Fresno State, his ability to put throw the ball down the field as well as his zip and touch on passes make him a considerably better passer than Lamb.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Tennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles returned no wide receivers who started for them last season. They did, however, get the leading receiver in the SEC last season via transfer as Da'Rick Rodgers (6-3, 205) who caught 67 passes for 1,040 yards and 9 touchdowns for the Tennessee Volunteers transferred after off-season trouble led to his dismissal from the Volunteer program.

The Golden Eagles use three wide receivers in their version of a spread offense. The second starter will be Ryan Tilghman (6-2, 190) a junior who caught 6 passes for 72 yards last season. The other starter will be Zack Ziegler (6-0, 200) a senior who was second on the Golden Eagle squad in 2011 with 37 receptions for 375 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Golden Eagles have two primary reserve receivers. Cody Matthews (6-2, 190) is a sophomore who caught 12 passes for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns as a freshman last year. So far this season, he has 3 catches for 89 yards through his first two games. The other receiver to see time for Tennessee Tech is Jordan Smith (5-10, 175) a freshman who has 4 catches for 83 yards and one touchdown.

Oregon: Listed as the...

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Barner emerges as a leader

When Kenjon Barner arrived at Oregon, he was promptly moved to defensive back. Despite a stellar career and exceptional senior season at Notre Dame High School, the Riverside, CA, native was willing to do what ever it took to see the field as an Oregon Duck.

Barner rushed for 3,124 yards and scored 46 touchdowns as a senior in high school. His ability as a running back was always there, but coaches felt that the depth and talent Oregon had at running back combined with Barners ball-hawking skills on defense (he also had 6 interceptions as a senior) made Barner a better fit on defense.

Barner told Duck Sports Authority after his November 2007 commitment, "If at corner is where I will get the chance to play then that's where I want to play. Of course I want to have the ball in my hands."

And when he arrived at Oregon, defense was the plan. In Spring 2009, however, due to limitations on LeGarette Blount and fellow freshman LaMichael James, Barner was moved back to offense where he began to show flashes of what Duck fans would see on display this past Saturday against Fresno State. "I don't think anybody on our coaching staff knew how dynamic he was going to be with a football in his hands," said coach Chip Kelly as fall camp opened in 2009.

A fact lost on many Duck fans over the past two seasons, thanks to the electrifying play of De'Anthony Thomas, is that Barner was the original "tazer" back in Chip Kelly's offense. Though he was not the instant sensation as his best friend LaMichael James, Barner was crucial and important to Oregon; and not just on offense. The primary kick off returner and punt returner as a freshman, Barner set the Oregon single season record for kickoff return yards in 2009. Included among his many exceptional returns was a 100 yard return for a touchdown on the road against UCLA to open the second half. That return propelled a strong second half that helped Oregon return to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 15 seasons.

Barner was a quiet player on the field, though, preferring to let others lead vocally. Barner just kept working hard and improving. After his solid freshman season which included a breakout performance in the Rose Bowl, Barner saw an increased importance in his role in 2010. Barner had added weight and looked as fast as ever. After returning a punt 80 yards for a touchdown against Tennessee, he appeared to be a true all-purpose threat.

Four weeks later, though, Barners life on the field would change. Against Washington State in October, Barner took a clean but gruesome looking hit to the head while returning a kickoff with four minutes left in the first half.

Immediately his father and ...

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Oregon Rolls Past Fresno State

Oregon (2-0) entered the second contest against Fresno State (1-1) looking to validate their performance from the first game against the rebuilding Bulldogs.

Coming off of a victory over Arkansas State that was not even as close as the 57-34 final might have suggested, the Ducks had some questions with their depth. The starters for the Ducks raced to a 50-3 lead in the second quarter of their opening week win before coasting to the victory. Defenseive coordinator nick Aliotti was not happy, though with the defensive effort in the second half of last weeks game.

Fresno0 State jumped to an early 21-0 lead against FCS foe Weber State before coasting to a 37-10 victory. Fresno State was able to run the ball and throw the ball at will in their first contest, but have yet to face a challenge from a defense.

The Bulldog defense looked improved against Weber State giving up just 274 yards after giving up over 435 yards per game a year ago.

On the first drive of the game, Fresno State used a fake punt to move down the field and get into the red zone. A third down sack forced a Bulldog field goal that opened the scoring giving Fresno State an early 3-0 lead.

Oregon, though, took just four plays to march 68 yards to take a 7-3 lead with De'Anthony Thomas taking a pitch from Marcus Mariota for a 39 yard touchdown scamper.

After a three and out by Fresno State, Oregon marched 73 yards in five plays to go up 14-3 and the rout was on for the Ducks.

The running game for Oregon was on display in the first quarter as the team rushed for 155 yards with Kenjon Barner getting 8 carries for 77 yards in the first quarter. "My linemen did a great job blocking, the receivers did a great job blocking downfield and Mariota did a great job drawing defenders away. It was just a good day," Barner told Duck Sports Authority after the game.

Marcus Mariota looked good if not spectacular in the first half completing 11 of 17 passes for 104 yards and one touchdown. But the first half was a story of Oregon's powerful rushing attack which featured two running backs cracking the 100 yard barrier with Barner carrying the ball 17 times for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns while Thomas carried the ball 5 times for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns of his own.

The first turnover of the game went to Fresno State as Mariota attempted to evade a rusher and lost control of the ball fumbling it away to the Bulldogs at the 27 yard line. Fresno State capitalized on the mistake two plays later with an 18 yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Isiah Burse. That cut the lead to 35-13 midway through the third quarter.

After the kickoff, Oregon freshman Bralon Addison fumbled the ball giving Fresno State great field position at the 12 yard line. After completing a fourth down pass to create a first and goal at the one yard line The Bulldogs went backwards and had to settle for a field goal cutting the lead to 35-16.

After a lackluster third quarter, Mariota got the offense rolling with a bootleg right that went for 28 yards. It looked like the offense for the Ducks would roll to another score, but a sack and fumble lost by Mariota gave the ball back to Fresno State.

Asked about the lackluster third quarter, coach Chip Kelly admitted afterward, "we sputtered at times. Hopefully things that are correctable for us. Obviously we put our defense in some difficult positions in the second half giving them a short field like that. We've gotta clean that up. I give Fresno State credit; that's a good football team," coach Kelly continued.

A long run by Robbie Rouse gave the Bulldogs life getting inside the Duck 40 yard line. The Bulldogs were able to extend the drive thanks to a pass interference on third down from the 35 yard line. The Duck defense, once again, stiffened up and held Fresno State to another field goal cutting the Duck lead to 35-19 five minutes into the fourth quarter.

"We talk about that. Response after turnovers is a key thing," Kelly told Duck Sports Authority after the game. "I thought our defense did some real good work for us, especially with the short field," Kelly continued.

The Duck offense finally came to life as Kenjon Barner carried the ball 10 times on the next possession culminating with a 16 yard touchdown run on his 34th carry of the game to carry Barner to his first career 200 yard rushing performance. Barners third touchdown run of the game took the Oregon lead to 42-19 with less than four minutes to play assuring the Ducks their second win of 2012.

After the game, freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota told Duck Sports Authority just how important that last drive was to the team. "To overcome it and have that long drive, just to kinda get things going a little bit after we struggled was very good for us, that's going to help us down the road," Mariota said.

The game was not as easy as some had predicted as Fresno State played tough on defense and won the turnover battle taking three fumbles away from Oregon while taking care of the football without a turnover in the game. First year head coach Tim DeRuyter maintained a pledge to play the game at Oregon's pace which the Bulldogs did running a hurry-up offense for most of the game.

The Duck defense, though, was able to turn back most of the Bulldogs efforts and keep the Fresno State offense largely in check.

Derek Carr aired the ball out attempting 48 passes for the Bulldogs. For the game, Carr completed 30 of 48 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown. The Bulldogs did not have much success on the ground gaining just 132 yards on 32 carries. Rouse, who led the WAC with 1,549 yards last season carried the ball 27 times for 115 yards and one touchdown. Fresno State scored a late touchdown to cut the Oregon margin of victory to 42-25.

Oregon's offense rolled up 540 yards including 380 on the ground en route to the 17 point win.

Senior running back Kenjon Barner summed up the game afterward admitting, "Fresno State did a great job adjusting at halftime and we kinda game out like we had the game in hand. We didn't come out with the same intensity as we came out with in that first half and that's something we have to learn from."

Next week Oregon hoses Tennessee Tech (2-0) at 12:00 Saturday.

Oregon-Fresno State: Defense

Oregon continues the 2012 season with their second consecutive home tilt. The opponent in week two will be a rebuilding Fresno State (1-0) team. The Bulldogs, who went just 4-9 last season are working under new head coach Tim DeRuyter. A defensive coordinator at Texas A&M before being hired as the head coach, DeRuyter's defenses have always been very solid.

Fresno enters the contest fresh off of a victory over FCS opponent Weber State in week one. After jumping out to an early 21-0 lead, the Bulldogs coasted home to a 37-10 victory.

Oregon (1-0) enters the game having answered many questions about the ability of the defense to play at a very high level, but some questions as to how good their depth will be this season. After jumping to a huge 50-3 lead midway through the second quarter, Oregon emptied its bench and let the reserves take it home. But they struggled being outscored 31-7 down the stretch.

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 Fresno State Bulldogs Today the focus is on defense.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

Fresno State: Fresno State runs a true 3-4 defense. Starting at nose guard will be Tyeler Davison (6-2, 311) a redshirt sophomore who started his first game against Weber State. Davison did play in all 13 games last season as a reserve and notched 16 total tackles for the Bulldogs.

The only reserve nose guard to see time last week is Nikko Motta (6-2, 285) a fourth year junior who did not play last season. As a freshman, Motta played in six games and recorded 11 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.

The real difference for Oregon will come in the reserves as Oregon not only returns all the defensive tackles from last season, but they got even better with Jared Ebert (6-5, 260) coming off of a redshirt year and Ricky Heimuli (6-4, 305) showing promise with 22 total tackles in his 14 reserve appearances. The Ducks are also versatile here as Taylor Hart can move inside if needed.

In the opener against Arkansas State, the Duck defensive line was dominant until replaced in the second quarter. The starters completely shut down the running game for Arkansas State.

EDGE: Oregon

The Ducks have more experience, depth and talent at this position than Fresno State and a decided advantage. Fresno State 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.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

Fresno State: At one defensive end position will be Andy Jennings (6-2, 278) a fourth year junior. Last season, Jennings saw action in just five games recording four total tackles. Across from him will be Anthony Williams (6-2, 296) a fifth year senior. Like the rest of the defensive line, this is Williams' first experience as a starter. He has missed two of the past three seasons with injuries playing in 11 games in the 2010 season. As a reserve that year he recorded 16 total tackles with three tackles for loss and two sacks. His sack against Illinois helped the Bulldogs preserve a late lead and victory.

Against Weber State, only one reserve defensive end saw action. Ben Letcher (6-2, 241), a fourth year junior saw his first game action. Letcher recorded one tackle last week.

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 en route to 42 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. The other side will be taken over by Taylor Hart (6-6, 292) a junior from Tualatin. Hart moves over to defensive end after starting 14 games last season as a defensive tackle. Hart was second among all defensive linemen last season recording 44 total tackles and received honorable mention All Pac-12 last season.

Behind Hart is possibly the most highly touted defensive linemen at Oregon since NFL All Pro Haloti Ngata. Arik Armstead (6-8, 297) graduated high school early and participated in Spring football for the Ducks getting a jump on others. He made the most of his early arrival and has earned rave reviews early on from coaches and team mates alike. In his first action as a college football player, Armstead was steady if not yet spectacular. In addition to Armstead, another true freshman has made his mark as Hawaii native Deforrest Buckner will likely see significant action this week. The loss of Jared Ebert to injury will likely change rotations and get both of the freshman more minutes on the field.

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.

EDGE:...

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Oregon-Fresno State: Offensive match-ups

Oregon continues the 2012 season with their second consecutive home tilt. The opponent in week two will be a rebuilding Fresno State (1-0) team. The Bulldogs, who went just 4-9 last season are working under new head coach Tim DeRuyter. A defensive coordinator at Texas A&M before being hired as the head coach, DeRuyter's defenses have always been very solid. With that in mind, DeRuyter hired Dave Schramm from Utah to guide the Fresno State offense.

Fresno enters the contest fresh off of a victory over FCS opponent Weber State in week one. After jumping out to an early 21-0 lead, the Bulldogs coasted home to a 37-10 victory

Oregon (1-0) enters the game having answered many questions about the ability of the new starters on offense to play at a very high level, but some questions as to how good their depth will be this season. After jumping to a huge 50-3 lead midway through the second quarter, Oregon emptied its bench and let the reserves take it home. But they struggled being outscored 31-7 down the stretch.

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 Fresno State Bulldogs Today the focus is on offense.

QUARTERBACKS

Fresno State: Derek Carr (6-3, 210) will make the start for Fresno State. The younger brother of former number one overall pick David Carr, Derek started 13 games last season and performed well in the WAC. Completing 62.6% of his passes in 2011 on 279-446 for 3,544 yards with 26 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, Carr played well for a team that won just four games. He began this season with a good performance against Weber State completing 80% of his passes going 20-25 for 298 yards and 2 touchdowns. Carr did not spread the ball around much, though, completing passes to his two main targets at wide receiver and the running back out of the backfield.

Carr is not going to win many foot races, but he is mobile enough to escape pressure if given a lane. Against Weber State, he carried the ball 3 times for 31 yards, but did suffer one sack for a 13 yard loss to reduce his total rushing to 18 yards on 4 carries. This is similar to his rushing in 2011 where he had 57 total carries for 72 yards but had taken 20 sacks for 144 yards lost.

Behind Carr the Bulldogs have virtually no experience. There is a true freshman (Myles Carr), a redshirt freshman (Marcus McDade) and a sophomore (Greg Watson). Watson appeared in one game last season attempting one pass in a blowout loss to Boise State.

Oregon: There were some questions for Oregon at the quarterback position heading into the 2012 season. The named starter, Marcus Mariota, had never played in a college football game prior to Saturday's match-up against Arkansas State. Showing no signs of his youth, Mariota proceeded to complete 12 of his first 13 passes for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. Before he was done for the day, he had gone 18-22 for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Mariota is much more fleet than his Fresno State counterpart. In the opener, Mariota had 3 carries for 33 yards but did suffer an early sack that lost 9 yards.

Behind Mariota is a redshirt sophomore who appeared in 8 games for the Ducks in 2011 including the first start of his career. Bryan Bennett played well in during 2011 completing 25-46 passes for 369 yards with 6 touchdowns and no interceptions. Bennett was an electrifying runner in 2011 carrying the ball 23 times for 200 yards. On Saturday in a mop up role, Bennett went 10-17 for 108 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also carried the ball 4 times for 34 yards.

EDGE: Oregon

Derek Carr certainly has more experience. Marcus Mariota, though, showed that he is the Oregon starter for a reason. When Mariota was in the game, he led seven drives that resulted in seven touchdowns for the Oregon Ducks. He overcame his mistake very quickly and continued marching the Ducks down the field. From a depth perspective, if either team has to go to the bench, Oregon has the obvious edge with Bennett's experience.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Fresno State: Two starters from last season, Rashad Evan (5-9, 187) and Josh Harper (6-1, 182) did not play against Weber State. Evans was suspended for the Weber State game for violating an undisclosed NCAA rule while Harper (missed the game with a hamstring injury. Last season, Evans was the third leading receiver for the Bulldogs with 44 catches for 351 yards and 3 touchdowns. Harper, meanwhile caught 35 balls for 497 yards and 5 touchdowns. In Saturday's victory over Weber State, Fresno State saw an impressive debut from Davante Adams (6-2, 200) with 7 receptions for 118 yards and both of Derek Carr's touchdown passes. Across from him was another returning receiver from last year's squad Isaiah Burse who caught 40 passes for 436 yards and a touchdown in 2011. Against Weber State, Burse caught 6 passes for 86 yards. One trick the Bulldogs exposed on Saturday was using back-up quarterback Greg Watson (5-10, 211) in a slot receiver position.

Oregon: The departure of Lavasier Tuinei left the Ducks a little thin on experience at the wide receiver position. No need to worry, though, as the Ducks can simply line up De'Anthony Thomas as a wide receiver and let him make plays. In his brief appearance Saturday, Thomas caught 4 passes for 55 yards and 2 touchdowns. Across from Thomas, Josh Huff looked good in the opener catching 2 passes for 22 yards and an early touchdown for the Ducks. Keanon Lowe made his first start and looked very good catching 4 balls of his own for 34 yards. Daryle Hawkins is the third starter for the Ducks and had 2 catches for 22 yards.

Behind the starters and Thomas, the Ducks do not have a lot of experience with three wide receivers making their career debuts Saturday night. Nonetheless, there is depth for the Ducks with players like true freshmen Bralon Addison and Dwayne Stanford getting some early playing time for the Ducks along with redshirt freshman B.J. Kelley who all looked good in their college debut. In all, 10 Oregon wide receivers caught a pass on Saturday night against Arkansas State.

EDGE: Even

Fresno State has the experience at the position with at least 4 players who have started a game in their career. Three of the players returning for the Bulldogs caught 35 or more passes for Fresno State last season and newcomer Davante Adams looks to be as talented as any of their receivers. Oregon, though, has more explosive talent with Thomas and Huff along with incredibly talented depth.

RUNNING BACK

Fresno State: The Bulldogs bring back Robbie Rouse (5-7, 190) who carried the ball 329 times for 1,549 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2011. Rouse, barring injury, will leave Fresno State as their all time leading rusher. In the opener, Rouse carried the ball 22 times for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. Behind Rouse is former UCLA running back Milton Knox (5-9, 205) who played mostly on special teams in 2011. Knox carried the ball 20 times for 84 yards last season, but should improve those numbers in his final year. Against Weber State, Knox carried the ball 6 times for 42 yards and his first touchdown as a Bulldog. The Bulldogs used a third running back, Marteze Waller (5-11, 205), on Saturday. Waller carried the ball 5 times for 28 yards. Waller is a true freshman from Georgia.

Oregon:...

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