ROSE BOWL THOUGHTS
As we build up towards the Rose Bowl I will do at least three position breakdowns each week culminating with the overall offense and defense with score predictions.
This has been a very interesting year for the football team for a multitude of reasons. Even though most were expecting 2011 to be a bit of a rebuilding year, the Ducks were not far off of a Championship Game return. Incredible, really, if you think about it deeper. If the Ducks 2011 schedule had not included the #1 team in the nation, then it comes down to how the team plays against USC. I like their chances undefeated with USC at home.
Of course, any team can play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game and come up with plausible scenarios for how their team could have had a better season, so I won't think back with too much regret. As I look back, the most important game the Ducks played was Stanford; and the Ducks won. Why was it the most important? Because without that win, the Ducks are not in the Conference Title game and have to HOPE that a BCS bid comes their way. I would prefer to see the team earn it with a victory.
Looking back, with everything that has happened this season, I think all Duck fans should be very happy with where we are at.
*-First game loss
*-Michael Clay injured early in season and missed time
*-Cliff Harris, though he played in six games, never really saw extensive playing time
*-LaMichael James dislocates an elbow, misses two games and plays only about one half of a third
*- Darron Thomas injures both knees and misses a game
*-Lose two senior wide receivers from 2010
*-Lose three offensive line starters from 2010
*-Lose two linebackers from 2010 who are currently playing in the NFL
*-Kenjon Barner misses time with an ankle injury
All of these and others could have caused many a team to fold; not the Ducks. The Ducks simply filled the holes and went out to win the day. For that, fans are now rewarded with a trip to Pasadena. I will be going and will bring some tailgate pictures and memories back with me to share.
REASON FOR THE DEPARTURES FROM BASKETBALL TEAM?
Looking at what Devoe Joseph did in his first game as a Duck, is there a reason that maybe Jabari Brown and Bruce Barron saw something that would limit their time this season?
I have no clue, neither have really given any indication as to why they left, but it seems that maybe Brown thought of himself as a one year player and the presence of a senior like Joseph was going to limit his playing time over the course of the season?
All I know is that Joseph played a heckuva game for the Ducks yesterday and Duck fans should be glad to have him for the one season he is in Eugene.
It seems short-sighted to transfer so early into a freshman season, but Brown and Barron have their reasons. I live by the motto "once a Duck ALWAYS a Duck" and I wish them well in their future and hope they have much success.
Opinion: In The Hands of Man
“Everything is good as it leaves the hands of the Author of things; everything degenerates in the hands of man.” From a simple statement grows a strong opinion about the state of athletics and our places as fans. The pressure of winning is intense; more now than ever. Coaches are paid exorbitant amounts of money to do just that; win. And we cheer for them to win. We hope that whatever it takes to win is legitimate enough to not cause real trouble. And when we roll in the mud with hogs, we are bound to get some dirt under our nails. Everything degenerates in the hands of man.
Breaking Down Match-Ups
Each week during the season, I will take the time to break down the match-ups at each position group for both the Ducks and their opponent. A unique look at which team has the edge at each position as well as an overall preview of the match-ups.
Feature Articles
Every week I will bring new feature articles for the reader to get to know the Duck Empire just a little better. The Duck Empire is vast and complex, these stories will bring you inside the lives of other Duck fans.
Exclusive Stories
We are always working to bring you breaking news and exclusive stories. The Other Side of Duck was the only Oregon member to interview Lache Seastrunk after his transfer. We are working on future exclusive stories and will work non-stop to bring you the very latest news.
The Other Side Of Duck
We are here to bring you a side of Duck sports that no one else brings. There are two sides to every story, our goal is to bring you the side of the story less discussed. In addition, we will continue to provide more content than responses to other stories. Original content, exclusive interviews, strong opinions and feature articles.
Showing posts with label Weekend Wrap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weekend Wrap. Show all posts
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Monday Morning Quarterback: Championship Week
A Look Back the Pac-12 Title Game
Oregon-UCLA
Offense: The Ducks were able, for the most part, to impose their will on UCLA. There were some missed opportunities and some familiar traits to the start of this game that have garnered attention amongst some. Still, the Ducks led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter and this game was never really in doubt. UCLA played inspired early after feeling some new life granted by Utah's loss and pride/guilt at playing for Rick Neuheisel.
Oregon-UCLA
Offense: The Ducks were able, for the most part, to impose their will on UCLA. There were some missed opportunities and some familiar traits to the start of this game that have garnered attention amongst some. Still, the Ducks led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter and this game was never really in doubt. UCLA played inspired early after feeling some new life granted by Utah's loss and pride/guilt at playing for Rick Neuheisel.
Darron Thomas played good but not great and was not helped out by his receivers much early in the game. Late int he game, witha chance to put the nail in the Bruins coffin, Thomas threw a beautiful pass into the end-zone for Josh Huff that was dropped.
The rushing attack showed why it is the best in the conference as LaMichael James capped, possibly, his career at Autzen with his fourth 200 yard game of the season. Darron Thomas proved that even a few carries by him will keep an opponent honest and Kenjon Barner quietly surpassed 900 rushing yards this season.
Defense:UCLA gave Oregon a few troubles, but not as many as many might believe. The Bruins had two long drives in the game that gave them 168 yards. In their other 12 possessions, the Bruins accounted for only 169 yards. From the second quarter until the last drive by the Bruins, the Ducks limited UCLA to 158 yards on 34 plays for an average of 4.6 yards per play.
This UCLA team came in averaging 193.2 yards per game on the ground. The Ducks had held them to 126 yards. Overall, the Ducks still held the Bruins to just 160 yards. Considering the plan UCLA had to control the ball with the ground game, the defense played well. They gave up a couple of big plays, but it is tough to argue with the overall results.
Coaching: Chip Kelly was as aggressive as always and it turned out well for him in most cases. Chip used the clock effectively and managed the teams emotions very well. When De'Anthony Thomas went down, Kelly made the choice to use Kenjon at the tazer position rather than move Huff inside. Though many voiced the opinion that Huff should have been moved inside to the slot and let Hawkins fill Huff's spot, this was a better decision that allowed the best players to be on the field at the same time.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: ASU also fired their coach this week. There are a lot of benefits to coaching at ASU and if the next coach is good at exploiting those benefits, teh Pac-12 South may become a very tough place to win football games.
Arizona: Arizona made a home run hire. While the spread may not have worked in Michigane it will likely have great success in Arizona. Rich Rodriguez will have access tot he type of athletes he needs being so close to Texas and California.
California: The Golden Bears finished 7-5, but their play late int eh season gives them hope for next season. The defense played well at times this year, but the problem was their inconsistent QB play. As the season came to a close, Maynard looked to be "getting it" and that should give them some reason to believe next year will be better.
Colorado: The Buffaloes found that the Pac-12 is no easier than the old Big 12 was. They were able, however, to make a statement by winning their first road game in 24 tries as well as ruin Utah's dreams of a Rose Bowl.
Oregon State: The Beavers have had their worst season since 1997. With their second consecutive losing season, the Beavers will need to fill a lot of holes and do some serious soul searching as a staff int he off-season. Will Mike Riley be on a hot seat next season?
Stanford: The Cardinal once again finished 12-1 and will play ina BCS bowl. Their loss to Oregon, though, kept them from a conference title and probably National Championship Game match-up with LSU. Will Andrew Luck go to the NFL? Will Luck's departure send the team back to the middle of the conference? Time will tell.
USC: The Trojans have made their statement; they believe that they will be back next seasona nd contend for a national title. That hope, though, depends on Matt Barkley's decision. If he leaves for the draft, there is at least one other player, Ryan Kalil, who has said he will do whatever Barkley does. If that happens, expect the Trojans to take a small step backwards as there is no experience at the QB position behind Barkley.
UCLA: UCLA is now at a crossrods. Two consecutive bad coaching hires have left them rudderless. With USC still having not entered the worst part of their sanctions, one more bad hire could leave the Bruins permanently out of the picture in the LA sports scene for high school football players.
Utah: Utah learned that the Pac-12 is tougher than the Mountain West. You have to play your best every week to win in this conference. By losing to Colorado, the Utes also lost out ona Pac-12 Conference Championship Game match with the Ducks. But the Utes have a very good defense and will be a tough game for everyone next season.
Washington: Steve Sarkisian has done a great job turning around the Huskies. But to contend for division and conference titles, he is going to have to get a lot more depth. He has done a nice job of getting quality starters in Seattle, but they need depth to stay competitive throughout an entire season.
Washington State: The Cougars took a gamble and hired a coach with some baggage. But that is what they needed. Mike Leach is a brilliant football mind and will bring some instant credibility to their offense. Will he win? Not right away, but he will make every game they play exciting
UCLA: UCLA is now at a crossrods. Two consecutive bad coaching hires have left them rudderless. With USC still having not entered the worst part of their sanctions, one more bad hire could leave the Bruins permanently out of the picture in the LA sports scene for high school football players.
Utah: Utah learned that the Pac-12 is tougher than the Mountain West. You have to play your best every week to win in this conference. By losing to Colorado, the Utes also lost out ona Pac-12 Conference Championship Game match with the Ducks. But the Utes have a very good defense and will be a tough game for everyone next season.
Washington: Steve Sarkisian has done a great job turning around the Huskies. But to contend for division and conference titles, he is going to have to get a lot more depth. He has done a nice job of getting quality starters in Seattle, but they need depth to stay competitive throughout an entire season.
Washington State: The Cougars took a gamble and hired a coach with some baggage. But that is what they needed. Mike Leach is a brilliant football mind and will bring some instant credibility to their offense. Will he win? Not right away, but he will make every game they play exciting
PAC-12 Bowl Schedule: (All Times PST)
Las Vegas Bowl—Arizona State vs. Boise State (11-1) (5 p.m. ESPN)
Dec. 28Holiday Bowl—California (7-5) vs. Texas (7-5) (5 p.m. ESPN)
Dec. 29
Alamo Bowl—Washington (7-5) vs. Baylor (9-3) (6 p.m. ESPN)
Dec. 31
Sun Bowl—Georgia Tech (8-4) vs. Utah Utes (7-5) (11 a.m. CBS)
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl—Illinois (6-6) vs. UCLA (6-7) (12:30 p.m. ESPN)
Jan. 2, 2012
Rose Bowl—Wisconsin (11-2) vs. Oregon (11-2) (2 p.m. ESPN)
Fiesta Bowl—Stanford (11-1) vs. Oklahoma State (11-1) (5:30 p.m. ESPN)
Monday, November 21, 2011
Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 12
A Look Back at Saturday around the Pac-12
Oregon-USC
Offense: Another week, another slow start for the offense. In reality, though, BOTH offenses started slowly. After three possessions each, the Ducks had 21 total yards while USC had 8 total yards. The difference in this game is that is simply took the Oregon offense a little longer to get into rhythm; in fact a lot longer as they really didn’t get fully into gear until somewhere in the third quarter. The Ducks offense still put up more rushing yards against the Trojans than anyone had all season, but it was not quite enough.
Oregon-USC
Offense: Another week, another slow start for the offense. In reality, though, BOTH offenses started slowly. After three possessions each, the Ducks had 21 total yards while USC had 8 total yards. The difference in this game is that is simply took the Oregon offense a little longer to get into rhythm; in fact a lot longer as they really didn’t get fully into gear until somewhere in the third quarter. The Ducks offense still put up more rushing yards against the Trojans than anyone had all season, but it was not quite enough.
Darron Thomas almost led an incredible comeback win after trailing by 24 points in the third quarter
Defense: For the first time in quite some time, the defense seemed to regress. To be fair, the defense was missing three starters with Anthony Gildon not playing at all and Dion Jordan and Dewitt Stuckey missing most of the game with undisclosed injuries. The defense did an adequate job against the Trojans running game holding them below their season average in total yards and yards per carry.
Unfortunately, the loss of Jordan and Stuckey really affected the Ducks ability to get pressure on Barkley as Barkely did not face any heat the entire game. He was sacked once and did throw an interception on a tipped ball. Nonetheless, Barkley sat back and completed over 76% of his passes for 9.5 yards per attempt. When a quarterback has the time to do those things, it is very difficult to win the game.
Coaching: For the first time this season, I will say Chip was outcoached. This team, as admitted by Josh Huff after the game, was looking ahead after the Friday night upset of Oklahoma State and was clearly not focused early in the game. There were some questionable time management issues as well as a couple of play calls that seemed odd. To give credit where it is due, though, Kelly did get the team to respond to the adversity; just a little too late. With maybe another minute on the clock, the Ducks could have scored and won the game.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: Twitter rumors have started that Dennis Erickson will be spending his last season as Arizona State’s coach. That is as it should be because this team has collapsed. After dismantling USC earlier in the season, Arizona State looked like a lock to win the South division. Now they have lost 4 of their last 5 games and must beat Cal this weekend and cheer for USC to beat UCLA to get into the Conference Championship game.
Arizona: The Wildcats pulled off the Territorial Cup win against their rival ASU Sin Devils and have one game left to this lost season. Louisiana Lafayette is a respectable FCS team and will pose some problems for Arizona, but the win over the Sun Devils will ease the pain of the season this has become.
California: The Golden bears put up a valiant effort against Stanford and actually led 13-7 in the second quarter, but were not able to pull off the upset in the Big Game. California is bowl eligible and will face a reeling Arizona State team for bowl positioning.
Colorado: Colorado’s introduction to the Pac-12 is mercifully almost over. Tyler Hansen tried to play Joe Namath and guarantee a win against UCLA over the weekend. Instead the Buffaloes gave UCLA their most productive game of the season in points and got crushed 45-6. All that is left for Colorado is the hope that they can ruin Utah’s dream of making it to the first Pac-12 Championship Game.
Oregon State: The Beavers responded well to their adversity and dismantled a Washington team that has fallen off of the cliff at the end of the season. Oregon State is left hoping to pull off a major upset against Oregon to knock the Ducks out of Rose Bowl contention. Odds-makers do not like their chances.
Stanford: The game against Oregon seems to have caused a little hangover for the Cardinal as they struggled to put away an average Cal tea,. It was a rivalry game, though, and those can go in any direction. Luck had a good game, but nothing spectacular. Next up for the Cardinal is Notre Dame and a faint hope of a Conference Championship game if the Beavers can pull off a monumental upset.
USC: It looks like the rest helped Robert Woods. He is still not 100%, but the emergence of Marquise Lee has lessened the burden on Woods’ damaged shoulder. The Trojans dominated early and then held on for dear life as Oregon mounted a furious comeback attempt that fell short. Matt Barkley showed why he is likely to be the second pick int eh dfraft next season; maybe even the second overall pick. Barkley played his best game of the year just when the Trojans needed it.
UCLA: The Bruins still have two paths to the Conference Championship game; which is amazing. The most direct path? Beat USC. In the very likely event that UCLA loses that game, they would then need Colorado to upset Utah. They are crossing their fingers in Westwood and hoping that their former assistant coach (Embree) can pull off an upset of Utah.
Utah: The Utes now have a very realistic shot at representing the South division in the Pac-12 Championship Game. If UCLA loses, as expected Saturday, and Arizona State loses, Utah will play the North winner on the road for the right to go to the Rose Bowl. The Utes need some help, but given how poorly the Sun Devils have played of late, that is a very real possibility.
Washington: After opening the season with rave reviews and a quarterback that was as hot as anyone in the country, the wheels seem to have fallen off of the Washington train. The Huskies are also bowl eligible but have a very much improved Washington State squad coming up in the annual Apple Cup. Keith Price came on in relief of Nick Montana Saturday, so I would expect the Huskies to pull out all the stops to get a 7th win in that game.
Washington State: The Cougars have improved this season, but still have just 4 wins to show for all of their hard work. They almost destroyed Utah’s dream on Saturday. Unfortunately, 4 interceptions by their third string quarterback who had played so well against Arizona State did the Cougars in against Utah. They still outgained Utah and took them to the edge before losing in overtime. Now they shoot for state bragging rights.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 13:
Saturday
Colorado at Utah 12:30 PM
Oregon State at Oregon12:30 PM
LA-Lafayette at Arizona 1:00 PM
Washington State at Washington 4:30 PM
Notre Dame at Stanford 5:00 PM
UCLA at USC 7:00 PM
Cal at Arizona State 7:15 PM
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 11
A Look Back at Saturday around the Pac-12
Oregon-Stanford
Offense: The offense started slowly taking over a quarter to get into the positive yardage. Even with the slow start, the Ducks were able to capitalize on an early Stangord miscue and take an 8-0 lead despite having -1 total yards after scoring. From there, though, the Ducks dominated putting up 388 yards on the final 3 quarters. Had they put up that pace in the first quarter, the game may have been out of reach much earlier. The 388 yards in three quarters would equate to 517 yards total offense. LaMichael James looks to be back to 100% as he made a really nice 58 yard run.
Oregon-Stanford
Offense: The offense started slowly taking over a quarter to get into the positive yardage. Even with the slow start, the Ducks were able to capitalize on an early Stangord miscue and take an 8-0 lead despite having -1 total yards after scoring. From there, though, the Ducks dominated putting up 388 yards on the final 3 quarters. Had they put up that pace in the first quarter, the game may have been out of reach much earlier. The 388 yards in three quarters would equate to 517 yards total offense. LaMichael James looks to be back to 100% as he made a really nice 58 yard run.
More refreshing was to see Josh Huff display strength and speed on his 59 yard catch and run for a touchdown. De'Anthony Thomas obviously made his mark again with his screen pass touchdown on 4th and 7. Other than a major mental error (that he got away with) Darron Thomas played his best game since returning from the knee injury suffered against Arizona State.
Defense:The Duck defense just gets better and better each week. The insertion of Wade Keliikipi into the starting lineup has made a huge impact on this team. Not only does this defense have great speed, they are starting to match-up well in the size department as well. Dominating Stanford's power attack is not an easy task and the Ducks did so with ease it seemed. If I didn't know better, I would think that there was an SEC defense out there last week.
Coaching: Any questions? Chip had this team ready and had a lot of impressive adjustments throughout the game that really showed why he is the best coach in the now Pac-12. It doesn't hurt that he has great athletes; but he recruited them as well. And, the nickname is now permanent. 4th and 7? And you throw a screen pass? Big Balls Chip is just starting to hit his stride as a coach. 31-5 as a head coach, only Nick Saban has a better winning percentage at an AQ school.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: At the beginning of the season, Arizona State was the South division darling; especially after thumping USC. Now, after consecutive losses to UCLA and Washington State, it may turn out that Dennis Erickson gets the boot before Rick Neuheisel. ASU is fading fast and yet STILL can win the South Division.
Arizona: After playing well for a couple of weeks, Arizona decided to give a welcome gift to the lowly Colorado Buffaloes. Colorado had scored just 33 combined points in its previous three games, yet scored 48 against the Wildcats and put up 500 yards of offense.
California: In a season of ups and downs, Cal used a dominating defensive performance against Oregon State to become bowl eligible. Iso Sofele passed 1000 yards for the season with a career best 190 yard performance.
Colorado: Colorado had a great offensive and defensive performance to natch their first conference victory. How the heck did anyone give this team 500 yards of total offense? Oh, that's right, it was the worst defensive team in the conference that Colorado beat. Rodney Stewart at full strength did not hurt as he rushed for 181 yards.
Oregon State: What has been the worst season in a long time in Corvallis got worse as the Beavers got drubbed by an inconsistent Cal team. OSU could muster little offensive threat and almost no running game. That probably will not change over the last two weeks of the season. This could be a 10 loss season for the Beavers. While fans and coaches will say different, there is not a lot of hope for a great season next year either.
Stanford:The game against Oregon was not as much of a shootout as many expected, but Stanford's lack of speed was exposed. Andrew Luck is still the best quarterback in college football, but without the smoke and mirrors it became obvious that he had no real weapons to rely on down field. All it took was a team with enough depth to withstand the jumbo formations.
USC: Not getting caught in a trap game, USC dominated Washington from the very beginning. Washington went in beat up and demoralized after putting too much energy into one game that they lost. The only downside for USC is that Robert Woods looked gimpy and was not playing well. He has gotten progressively more dinged up as the season has gone along and it looked to have caught up with him last Saturday. Time will tell if he can recover for Oregon.
UCLA: Rick Neuheisel may have saved his job for another season with his mediocre performance this season, but the Bruins had the South Division in their hands; and then laid an egg against Utah. The Utes have a good defense, but UCLA didn't even look like they were trying.
Utah: Somehow, someway, Utah may have a shot at a Pac-12 South title. With no real passing game, the Utes are surviving on defense and a running game. They have a legitimate opportunity to win their final two games, but getting the South division title would take Arizona State losing their final two games one of which is against the worst defense in the conference, Arizona. A long shot at best, but the Utes have a shot at a 5-4 conference record still.
Washington: Reality sets in for the Huskies as they have suffered two blowout losses in a row to Oregon and USC. They are still quite a ways away from contending for a Pac-12 title. Sarkisian has brought them a long way in a short time, but they were so far behind that it is going to be a longer process. The Dawgs do gt to lick their wounds this week with a trip to Oregon State.
Washington State: Washington State coach Paul Wulff is another who has saved his job. Though the team is not great this season, they are certainly improved. With Washington improving and the North division being extremely tough and competitive, the Cougars are still a long way from contending, but they have become respectable again... and that is a step in the right direction.
UCLA: Rick Neuheisel may have saved his job for another season with his mediocre performance this season, but the Bruins had the South Division in their hands; and then laid an egg against Utah. The Utes have a good defense, but UCLA didn't even look like they were trying.
Utah: Somehow, someway, Utah may have a shot at a Pac-12 South title. With no real passing game, the Utes are surviving on defense and a running game. They have a legitimate opportunity to win their final two games, but getting the South division title would take Arizona State losing their final two games one of which is against the worst defense in the conference, Arizona. A long shot at best, but the Utes have a shot at a 5-4 conference record still.
Washington: Reality sets in for the Huskies as they have suffered two blowout losses in a row to Oregon and USC. They are still quite a ways away from contending for a Pac-12 title. Sarkisian has brought them a long way in a short time, but they were so far behind that it is going to be a longer process. The Dawgs do gt to lick their wounds this week with a trip to Oregon State.
Washington State: Washington State coach Paul Wulff is another who has saved his job. Though the team is not great this season, they are certainly improved. With Washington improving and the North division being extremely tough and competitive, the Cougars are still a long way from contending, but they have become respectable again... and that is a step in the right direction.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 11:
Saturday
Washington at Oregon State, 12:30 PM
Utah at Washington State, 2:00 PM
Colorado at UCLA, 4:30 PM
USC at Oregon 5:00 PM
Arizona at Arizona State, 6:30 PM
Cal at Stanford, 7:15 PM
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 10
A Look Back at Saturday around the Pac-12
Oregon-Washington
Offense: LaMichael James, wearing a bulky elbow brace for the second consecutive game, seemed to be his old self again Saturday as he carried the ball 25 times for 153 yards. As a team, the Ducks had 39 carries for 212 yards, nearly 100 yards below their season totals. Part of that looked by design, though, as the Huskies were very effective, especially in the first half, at playing “keep away” from the Ducks. Oregon ran just 24 total plays in the first half, but had still managed 17 points. The Huskies, doing their best to keep the ball away from Oregon’s high powered offense, ran 40 plays in the first half. Nonetheless, the Ducks started to change the tide in the second quarter where the possession was closer to even.
Oregon-Washington
Offense: LaMichael James, wearing a bulky elbow brace for the second consecutive game, seemed to be his old self again Saturday as he carried the ball 25 times for 153 yards. As a team, the Ducks had 39 carries for 212 yards, nearly 100 yards below their season totals. Part of that looked by design, though, as the Huskies were very effective, especially in the first half, at playing “keep away” from the Ducks. Oregon ran just 24 total plays in the first half, but had still managed 17 points. The Huskies, doing their best to keep the ball away from Oregon’s high powered offense, ran 40 plays in the first half. Nonetheless, the Ducks started to change the tide in the second quarter where the possession was closer to even.
The 3rd and 4th quarters belonged to the Ducks as Oregon. In a stat few will have thought about, Oregon had more time of possession in both of those quarters with 8:01 in the third and a clock draining 10:12 in the 4th quarter. The Ducks worked the last 7:02 off the clock with 6 plays, far from the frenetic pace of most games. It was a message that the Ducks could play power football when needed. The re-emergence of David Paulson and josh Huff in the passing game will give upcoming opponents that much more to worry about as well.
Though it seemed the offense was “off” to many people, it wasn’t necessarily off, but different. This was an old-fashioned power football game in the second half. The Ducks had a lead in the 4th quarter and milked the clock.
Though it seemed the offense was “off” to many people, it wasn’t necessarily off, but different. This was an old-fashioned power football game in the second half. The Ducks had a lead in the 4th quarter and milked the clock.
Defense: No questions this week. The Duck defense had their best performance of the season holding a potent offense to just 278 total yards and 2.5 yards per carry in the running game. The defense hounded and harassed quarterback Keith Price all night. Chris Polk, who many commentators referred to as the best back in the Pac-12 conference was stuffed all night long with 24 carries for just 80 yards (3.3 yards per carry).
The Ducks started Wade Keliikipi for this game and he did not disappoint. From the earliest stages of this game, it was clear that the Duck defense had come to play a lights out game. Eddie Pleasant, had a great night and showed that the switch to safety is starting to pay off; just in time too. The defensive backfield continues to improve and impress while the linebackers are steady as a rock with Michael Clay leading the way.
Coaching: Though Coach Kelly will tell you that this game was no more important than the Washington State game, you could certainly see that the team approached this one differently. Everyone was focused on their roles and performed well. Kudos to all the coaches for a great game plan and the great execution. Coach Aliotti deserves a special mention for his brilliant defensive game plan. He will need to match that brilliance this week if the Ducks are going to defeat Stanford.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: Jekkyl? Hyde? Which team will show up on Saturday. All the team needed was a voictory over UCLA to lock up a trip to the Pac-12 Championship game; but they could not do it. The Sun Devils are still a very good shot to get there as UCLA still has USC lying ahead on their schedule.
Arizona: Arizona is playing better lately, but it did not lead to a win Saturday. The Wildcats had a better passing game and a better running game than Utah; unfortunately, they could not seem to score points. Turnovers killed the Wildcats as Utah won its second consecutive Pac-12 conference game.
California: California used a strong first half to put away Washington State early. A strong defensive performance was key. The Golden Bears are looking to become bowl eligible and will get a chance to get it’s 6th win of the season on the road against Oregon State this weekend.
Colorado: Colorado put up a fight, like they always do, but were outmanned and outclassed by USC. Coach Embree has a monumental task turning that team around as the cupboard is nearly bare of talent.
Oregon State: Oregon State put up their own fight; into the third quarter, the Beavers were hanging tough with the Stanford Cardinal. But then the wheels fell off and the Beavers were run out of the stadium. Along the way, they were guaranteed a losing season at the earliest point in nearly 15 years (1997).
Stanford: Andrew Luck made a bad early mistake and the Cardinal appeared tight, but that was to be expected with the monumental showdown looming this weekend against Oregon. Expect them to be ready as they believe that they are national title contenders again this year.
USC: USC was sleep walking through much of the game this week. They have had their bowl game, a shot at upsetting Stanford and may have another shot to ruin a teams season in the near future, but with no hopes of making a post-season game, the Trojans are just playing out the string and working towards next season. Given their predicament, it is a little surprising that they are not grooming a quarterback for next season, just in case Barkley decides to leave for the NFL.
UCLA: Who would have thought that UCLA would have a legitimate shot at a Pac-12 Championship Game berth? Well, other than Neuheisel himself. But, that’s where they stand with just three games left; leading the South Division (sans USC who is, of course, ineligible). Time will tell, but they need to beat the two new Pac-12 teams and USC to get there.
Utah: After beating Oregon State for it’s first ever Pac-12 conference victory, the Utes followed that up with another victory over South Division foe Arizona. The Utes have ridden their defense so far and look to be able to generate a couple of more wins as the season winds down. With just UCLA, WSU and Colorado left on the schedule, Utah is looking for a strong close.
Washington: The Huskies are improving, but have not yet caught up to the top of the conference teams; Stanford and Oregon. Their game plan on defense made sense; control the clock and try to keep Oregon off the field. Unfortunately, their offense was dominated in a lower scoring affair than most predicted. Nonetheless, Washington looks like they are close to contending. The Huskies have a legitimate shot at 9 wins this season with USC, OSU and WSU remaining.
Washington State: How quickly a promising season begins to fall apart. The Cougars played Oregon like it was their bowl game; their national championship game. After losing that game, they fell flat to an up and down California Golden Bears team. This was their fifth straight loss and sixth in seven games. It does not get any easier for the Cougars as they face the Sun Devils next followed by Utah and the Apple Cup.
UCLA: Who would have thought that UCLA would have a legitimate shot at a Pac-12 Championship Game berth? Well, other than Neuheisel himself. But, that’s where they stand with just three games left; leading the South Division (sans USC who is, of course, ineligible). Time will tell, but they need to beat the two new Pac-12 teams and USC to get there.
Utah: After beating Oregon State for it’s first ever Pac-12 conference victory, the Utes followed that up with another victory over South Division foe Arizona. The Utes have ridden their defense so far and look to be able to generate a couple of more wins as the season winds down. With just UCLA, WSU and Colorado left on the schedule, Utah is looking for a strong close.
Washington: The Huskies are improving, but have not yet caught up to the top of the conference teams; Stanford and Oregon. Their game plan on defense made sense; control the clock and try to keep Oregon off the field. Unfortunately, their offense was dominated in a lower scoring affair than most predicted. Nonetheless, Washington looks like they are close to contending. The Huskies have a legitimate shot at 9 wins this season with USC, OSU and WSU remaining.
Washington State: How quickly a promising season begins to fall apart. The Cougars played Oregon like it was their bowl game; their national championship game. After losing that game, they fell flat to an up and down California Golden Bears team. This was their fifth straight loss and sixth in seven games. It does not get any easier for the Cougars as they face the Sun Devils next followed by Utah and the Apple Cup.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 11:
Saturday
Arizona at Colorado, 11:30 AM
Washington at USC, 12:45 PM
UCLA at Utah, 2:30 PM
Oregon State at California 3:30 PM
Oregon at Stanford, 5:00 PM
Arizona State at Washington State, 7:30 PM
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 9
A Look Back at Saturday around the Pac-12
Oregon-WSU
Offense: Duck fans have been anxiously awaiting the day that LaMichael James and Darron Thomas would step back onto the field. That day came Saturday against Washington State. There were a few who suggested that Darron needed another week off. I cannot say that I am entirely in agreement with that thought. What we have to wonder is how much of the subpar performance was rust related and how much was injury related? To some extent, both played a factor. Because we are not privy to the specifics of the injury, it is difficult to know which was more to blame.
That being said, all-in-all, Darron Thomas did not play that bad int he first half. There was only one very poor throw and that was on the pass over the middle to Paulson that he sailed. There were three dropped passes in his first 13 attempts, two of which bounced into a defenders hands. Looking at it empirically, Darron was just a few plays away from a really big first half. his struggles were with his footwork, mainly. That is likely a combination of rust and that gnawing feeling in the back of your head that makes your footwork a little more deliberate than normal. From that sense, it was good that Darron worked those things out against a weaker opponent like Washington State. bigger tests await.
The same can be said for James; he was rusty and it showed. He ran more East-West than he has all year and looked less explosive to the hole. But that goes with the territory. I expect LaMichael to have a smaller brace next week and more confidence. A full week of practice will help him immensely.
Defense: There will be another week of media and fans alike openly questioning the defense. It seemed like the Cougars were having their way with the Duck defense. As is often the case, though, looks can be deceiving. Washington State gained a total of 462 yards. The trick? Nearly 20% of those yards, 85, came with the Ducks up by 23 playing the subs in garbage time. Of the 337 yards passing, 21%, or 71 yards came in that last drive. In their first 10 offensive possessions, the Cougars scored on 3 of those drives for a total of 13 points. The Duck defense, while certainly not playing ti's best game of the season, was not as bad as it appears.
Coaching: Coach Kelly has always stressed playing against a "faceless opponent." Unfortunately, that message did not seem to be as clear today. It appears as if the players thought having James and Thomas back in the lineup would provide the spark. They were wrong. Players still need to step up and play big and that just did not happen Saturday. Those players who played without emotion deserve some of the blame. Ultimately, however, the coach is in charge of ensuring that players are ready to play. The Cougars did some unexpected things on both offense and defense and the Ducks did not seem to respond well to those changes. They played on their heels most of the game.
Praise should be given, though, to the gutsy decision to switch to Bennett in the second half; though it may have created a media firestorm, it seems to have helped the team regain some focus.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: Coming off of a bye week, Arizona State got a home game with Colorado. The Sun Devils rolled as expected. The defense, though, probably gave up a little more than they would have liked against a depleted Buffaloes team.
Arizona: The Wildcats played better than expected and made Washington earn a victory. After jumping out to an early 10-0 lead, the Wildcats just did not have the defense to stop the Husky attack.
California: If there was ever a Jekyll and Hyde team, it has to be the California Golden Bears. Zach Maynard threw 4 more interceptions and the Bears got trounced by UCLA. Is Jeff Tedford starting to feel some heat in the Bay?
Colorado: At this point of their venture into the Pac-12 Conference, Colorado has to be hoping that the access to California recruits will have an impact soon. The Buffaloes have no depth and very little top line talent. They look to be several years away from competitive football still.
Oregon State: A week after dismantling Washington State, the Beavers fell flat on their tails in Salt Lake City as Sean Mannion continued to experience growing pains while the Beavers nearly non-existent running game continued to struggle. It is unclear what the long-term future looks like for the Beavers, but the short term future is bleak.
Stanford: The Cardinal got their first test of the season with the best game of the weekend, a 3 overtime thriller at The Coliseum in Los Angeles. The win, though, may have come at a price as the team lost a couple of very valuable pieces and have their toughest foes ahead of them. Andrew Luck proved to be human after all, but much like last year's Ducks, the Cardinal found a way to continue winning.
USC: USC played what was likely their best game of the season. Their defense played good in spurts and made an exceptional play to turn an Andrew Luck pass into a "pick-6" for the Trojans. Matt Barkley may have sealed his stock as the second quarterback taken in next year's draft. There was one major blunder that lay at the hands of the coach. Coming out of a timeout, teh Trojans threw a pass to the middle of the field. With a timeout left, rather than get down and take the timeout, Robert Woods tried to run to the sideline and get out of bounds. He did, but only after the clock had struck 0:00. Go down after the catch, call a timeout and attempt the field goal to win. That is a coaching error
UCLA: I think Rick Neuheisel may just be a Phoenix. Every time it looks like his career is in ashes, he rises up, gets a win few expect and maybe saves his job for another year. As depleted as UCLA was entering the weekend, the win is a worthwhile accomplishment.
Utah: Utah got their first conference victory since joining the Pac-12 Conference. Whle it is not against the most impressive opponent, they were able to get their running game going with Jon White gaining over 200 yards against the Beavers. If the Utes want to compete in this league, though, they are going to need to upgrade their quarterback position.
Washington: Washington, coming off of a beat down at Stanford, perhaps looking ahead to this week's game with Oregon, walked through much of the Arizona game in a daze. They did end up winning by 11, but showed that their defense still needs a lot of work. Keith Price, after starting the season on fire has thrown 4 interceptions in his last 2 games including 3 to Arizona.
Washington State: What started as a promising season for the Cougars has quickly morphed into more of the same. The Cougars played inspired ball on Saturday and ARE playing better this season. That has not shown in conference play, but the Cougars are making some headway. Paul Wullff has almost assuredly earned himself another year to prove his worth.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 10:
Friday
USC @ Colorado, 6:00 PM
Saturday
Stanford at Oregon State, 12:30 PM
Washington State at California 3:30 PM
Utah at Arizona 4:00 PM
Arizona State at UCLA 4:30 PM
Oregon at Washington 7:30PM
Oregon-WSU
Offense: Duck fans have been anxiously awaiting the day that LaMichael James and Darron Thomas would step back onto the field. That day came Saturday against Washington State. There were a few who suggested that Darron needed another week off. I cannot say that I am entirely in agreement with that thought. What we have to wonder is how much of the subpar performance was rust related and how much was injury related? To some extent, both played a factor. Because we are not privy to the specifics of the injury, it is difficult to know which was more to blame.
That being said, all-in-all, Darron Thomas did not play that bad int he first half. There was only one very poor throw and that was on the pass over the middle to Paulson that he sailed. There were three dropped passes in his first 13 attempts, two of which bounced into a defenders hands. Looking at it empirically, Darron was just a few plays away from a really big first half. his struggles were with his footwork, mainly. That is likely a combination of rust and that gnawing feeling in the back of your head that makes your footwork a little more deliberate than normal. From that sense, it was good that Darron worked those things out against a weaker opponent like Washington State. bigger tests await.
The same can be said for James; he was rusty and it showed. He ran more East-West than he has all year and looked less explosive to the hole. But that goes with the territory. I expect LaMichael to have a smaller brace next week and more confidence. A full week of practice will help him immensely.
Defense: There will be another week of media and fans alike openly questioning the defense. It seemed like the Cougars were having their way with the Duck defense. As is often the case, though, looks can be deceiving. Washington State gained a total of 462 yards. The trick? Nearly 20% of those yards, 85, came with the Ducks up by 23 playing the subs in garbage time. Of the 337 yards passing, 21%, or 71 yards came in that last drive. In their first 10 offensive possessions, the Cougars scored on 3 of those drives for a total of 13 points. The Duck defense, while certainly not playing ti's best game of the season, was not as bad as it appears.
Coaching: Coach Kelly has always stressed playing against a "faceless opponent." Unfortunately, that message did not seem to be as clear today. It appears as if the players thought having James and Thomas back in the lineup would provide the spark. They were wrong. Players still need to step up and play big and that just did not happen Saturday. Those players who played without emotion deserve some of the blame. Ultimately, however, the coach is in charge of ensuring that players are ready to play. The Cougars did some unexpected things on both offense and defense and the Ducks did not seem to respond well to those changes. They played on their heels most of the game.
Praise should be given, though, to the gutsy decision to switch to Bennett in the second half; though it may have created a media firestorm, it seems to have helped the team regain some focus.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: Coming off of a bye week, Arizona State got a home game with Colorado. The Sun Devils rolled as expected. The defense, though, probably gave up a little more than they would have liked against a depleted Buffaloes team.
Arizona: The Wildcats played better than expected and made Washington earn a victory. After jumping out to an early 10-0 lead, the Wildcats just did not have the defense to stop the Husky attack.
California: If there was ever a Jekyll and Hyde team, it has to be the California Golden Bears. Zach Maynard threw 4 more interceptions and the Bears got trounced by UCLA. Is Jeff Tedford starting to feel some heat in the Bay?
Colorado: At this point of their venture into the Pac-12 Conference, Colorado has to be hoping that the access to California recruits will have an impact soon. The Buffaloes have no depth and very little top line talent. They look to be several years away from competitive football still.
Oregon State: A week after dismantling Washington State, the Beavers fell flat on their tails in Salt Lake City as Sean Mannion continued to experience growing pains while the Beavers nearly non-existent running game continued to struggle. It is unclear what the long-term future looks like for the Beavers, but the short term future is bleak.
Stanford: The Cardinal got their first test of the season with the best game of the weekend, a 3 overtime thriller at The Coliseum in Los Angeles. The win, though, may have come at a price as the team lost a couple of very valuable pieces and have their toughest foes ahead of them. Andrew Luck proved to be human after all, but much like last year's Ducks, the Cardinal found a way to continue winning.
USC: USC played what was likely their best game of the season. Their defense played good in spurts and made an exceptional play to turn an Andrew Luck pass into a "pick-6" for the Trojans. Matt Barkley may have sealed his stock as the second quarterback taken in next year's draft. There was one major blunder that lay at the hands of the coach. Coming out of a timeout, teh Trojans threw a pass to the middle of the field. With a timeout left, rather than get down and take the timeout, Robert Woods tried to run to the sideline and get out of bounds. He did, but only after the clock had struck 0:00. Go down after the catch, call a timeout and attempt the field goal to win. That is a coaching error
UCLA: I think Rick Neuheisel may just be a Phoenix. Every time it looks like his career is in ashes, he rises up, gets a win few expect and maybe saves his job for another year. As depleted as UCLA was entering the weekend, the win is a worthwhile accomplishment.
Utah: Utah got their first conference victory since joining the Pac-12 Conference. Whle it is not against the most impressive opponent, they were able to get their running game going with Jon White gaining over 200 yards against the Beavers. If the Utes want to compete in this league, though, they are going to need to upgrade their quarterback position.
Washington: Washington, coming off of a beat down at Stanford, perhaps looking ahead to this week's game with Oregon, walked through much of the Arizona game in a daze. They did end up winning by 11, but showed that their defense still needs a lot of work. Keith Price, after starting the season on fire has thrown 4 interceptions in his last 2 games including 3 to Arizona.
Washington State: What started as a promising season for the Cougars has quickly morphed into more of the same. The Cougars played inspired ball on Saturday and ARE playing better this season. That has not shown in conference play, but the Cougars are making some headway. Paul Wullff has almost assuredly earned himself another year to prove his worth.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 10:
Friday
USC @ Colorado, 6:00 PM
Saturday
Stanford at Oregon State, 12:30 PM
Washington State at California 3:30 PM
Utah at Arizona 4:00 PM
Arizona State at UCLA 4:30 PM
Oregon at Washington 7:30PM
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday Morning Quarterback
A Look Back at Saturday around the Pac-12
Oregon-Colorado
Offense: Though Darron Thomas and LaMichael James suited up for this game, they were but mere spectators. Ensuring that there would be no let down, James led this team with a fiery pre-game speech reminding his team mates to take nothing for granted and to be sure not to take Colorado lightly. Boy did they take his advice.
Most were convinced that the Ducks would win convincingly. However, it is not likely that people thought the Ducks would nearly cover the 32 point spread int eh first quarter. Nor did most people expect over 200 yards rushing in the first quarter. But that's what the Ducks did Saturday, came out, put the foot on the gas pedal and didn't let up until the game was well in hand.
The Offensive line was masterful and Kenjon Barner looked faster than ever. His sprint to the right side and burst for an 84 yard touchdown run was a masterpiece. Well, save for the running out of gas at the end. Looks like the altitude did have some impact on the team.
Defense: The defense played a masterpiece of a game Saturday. Despite their losing record, Colorado had been semi-successful through the air this year. Coming in the Buffaloes had been averaging 240 yards per game through the air. Well, Saturday the team was held just 133 yards passing on a combined 15-33.
This defense has been a different defense with Michael Clay in the middle. He makes everyone better. Josh Kaddu has really stepped up his game over the last 4 games. The defense seems to be improving at just the right time.
Coaching: This week Chip Kelly and the staff deserve every bit of the praise and accolades they have received. Jon Embree called Oregon a "system team" after the loss. He meant it as a compliment, but I think that it is an inaccurate statement. They did not win Saturday because of a system; they won because of the players. The best teams in college football are not always the ones with the best starters. College football is about quality depth. That is something that Chip Kelly knew instinctively he needed to compete at the highest level. In his third season as head coach, he has really begun to develop depth the likes Oregon has never seen before. That isn't the result of the system, it is the result of great recruiting and great preparation by the coaches.
Without preparation, Bryan Bennett would not have been ready to play. Without preparation, Kenjon Barner would not have been nearly as good as LaMichael James. All credit for their success goes to them for their work ethic and their respective coaches for getting them read. Great job Coach Campbell, Helfrich and Kelly.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: The Sun Devils had a bye this week. Not much news for them this week which is probably a good thing.
Arizona: The Wildcats looked like a completely different team under interim coach Tim Kish. They ran the ball better than they have in nearly 10 years and demolished UCLA. Unfortunately, their great effort will be remembered more for the stupidity of a fan and the fight that broke out.
California: Apparently the best medicine for an ailing Pac-12 North team is a foe from the Pac-12 South division. Cal was able to heal some of their wounds against a Utah team that is just starting to understand why so many people said that those WAC and Mt. West teams would struggle in an AQ conference. Cal still had some struggles running the ball, but played exceptional defense.
Colorado: There are not many positives for a team that is playing so poorly in their first season in a new conference. This team has been hammered by injuries and Saturday was no different. The silver lining is that there should be a lot of kids returning next season with quality playing experience which should help their depth. They need to improve team speed, but they are well coached.
Oregon State: Jekkyll and Hyde. That is the story of the Beavers this season. They looked good Saturday night against what everyone thought was an improved Washington State team. Mannion played his best game of the season and the Beavers run defense played strong.
Stanford: Stanford showed something no one knew they had; a dominant ruhsing game. This will be important for them down the stretch as they face teams that they will need to try and "put away" if they get a lead. The jury is still out on them, though. Are they really that good? Or did they simply expose that Washington is not as good as people thought? We might find out the answer to that question over the next couple of weeks.
USC: I have not been on the Notre Dame bandwagon yet this season and still am not. USC had a nice win Saturday, but they still let a team that turned the ball over 3 times and had virtually no running game (41 yards on 14 carries) stay within striking distance way too long. Not sure that USC has enough horses to hang with Stanford or Oregon this season.
UCLA: What more can you say about this team? It has quit on it's coach and it might get even uglier. No amount of guitar playing can save them. Then again, somehow, this team still controls it's own destiny in the Pac-12 South division.
Utah: Without quality depth, Utah is struggling in their first season in the Pac-12. The team completed 50% of their passes for 165 yards, and that is the best part of their offense on Saturday. Their running game was worse than pitiful accounting for just 13 total yards on 26 carries. This has been a tough year on both of the Pac-12's newest members.
Washington: Stanford exposed Washington some on Saturday. They had their moments on Saturday, but those were on offense. They have some good offensive talent, but their defense has not improved this season. They will score some points on everyone and gain some yards, but they will be hard pressed to beat good offensive teams. It looks like the Nebraska game was more indicative of their capability this season than many thought.
Washington State: The return of Jeff Tuel did not seem to do much for the teams psyche. Inf act, they looked less disciplined than they had all season. The defense made far too many mistakes and the offense just could not protect the quarterback much. They have better athletes than they did three years ago, but it does not seem to matter much. They still have a ways to go in this rebuilding process.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 9:
Saturday
Washington State at Oregon 12:000PM
Colorado at Arizona State 3:30PM
California at UCLA 4:00PM
Stanford at USC 5:00PM
Arizona at Washington 7:30PM
Oregon State at Utah TBA
Oregon-Colorado
Offense: Though Darron Thomas and LaMichael James suited up for this game, they were but mere spectators. Ensuring that there would be no let down, James led this team with a fiery pre-game speech reminding his team mates to take nothing for granted and to be sure not to take Colorado lightly. Boy did they take his advice.
Most were convinced that the Ducks would win convincingly. However, it is not likely that people thought the Ducks would nearly cover the 32 point spread int eh first quarter. Nor did most people expect over 200 yards rushing in the first quarter. But that's what the Ducks did Saturday, came out, put the foot on the gas pedal and didn't let up until the game was well in hand.
The Offensive line was masterful and Kenjon Barner looked faster than ever. His sprint to the right side and burst for an 84 yard touchdown run was a masterpiece. Well, save for the running out of gas at the end. Looks like the altitude did have some impact on the team.
Defense: The defense played a masterpiece of a game Saturday. Despite their losing record, Colorado had been semi-successful through the air this year. Coming in the Buffaloes had been averaging 240 yards per game through the air. Well, Saturday the team was held just 133 yards passing on a combined 15-33.
This defense has been a different defense with Michael Clay in the middle. He makes everyone better. Josh Kaddu has really stepped up his game over the last 4 games. The defense seems to be improving at just the right time.
Coaching: This week Chip Kelly and the staff deserve every bit of the praise and accolades they have received. Jon Embree called Oregon a "system team" after the loss. He meant it as a compliment, but I think that it is an inaccurate statement. They did not win Saturday because of a system; they won because of the players. The best teams in college football are not always the ones with the best starters. College football is about quality depth. That is something that Chip Kelly knew instinctively he needed to compete at the highest level. In his third season as head coach, he has really begun to develop depth the likes Oregon has never seen before. That isn't the result of the system, it is the result of great recruiting and great preparation by the coaches.
Without preparation, Bryan Bennett would not have been ready to play. Without preparation, Kenjon Barner would not have been nearly as good as LaMichael James. All credit for their success goes to them for their work ethic and their respective coaches for getting them read. Great job Coach Campbell, Helfrich and Kelly.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: The Sun Devils had a bye this week. Not much news for them this week which is probably a good thing.
Arizona: The Wildcats looked like a completely different team under interim coach Tim Kish. They ran the ball better than they have in nearly 10 years and demolished UCLA. Unfortunately, their great effort will be remembered more for the stupidity of a fan and the fight that broke out.
California: Apparently the best medicine for an ailing Pac-12 North team is a foe from the Pac-12 South division. Cal was able to heal some of their wounds against a Utah team that is just starting to understand why so many people said that those WAC and Mt. West teams would struggle in an AQ conference. Cal still had some struggles running the ball, but played exceptional defense.
Colorado: There are not many positives for a team that is playing so poorly in their first season in a new conference. This team has been hammered by injuries and Saturday was no different. The silver lining is that there should be a lot of kids returning next season with quality playing experience which should help their depth. They need to improve team speed, but they are well coached.
Oregon State: Jekkyll and Hyde. That is the story of the Beavers this season. They looked good Saturday night against what everyone thought was an improved Washington State team. Mannion played his best game of the season and the Beavers run defense played strong.
Stanford: Stanford showed something no one knew they had; a dominant ruhsing game. This will be important for them down the stretch as they face teams that they will need to try and "put away" if they get a lead. The jury is still out on them, though. Are they really that good? Or did they simply expose that Washington is not as good as people thought? We might find out the answer to that question over the next couple of weeks.
USC: I have not been on the Notre Dame bandwagon yet this season and still am not. USC had a nice win Saturday, but they still let a team that turned the ball over 3 times and had virtually no running game (41 yards on 14 carries) stay within striking distance way too long. Not sure that USC has enough horses to hang with Stanford or Oregon this season.
UCLA: What more can you say about this team? It has quit on it's coach and it might get even uglier. No amount of guitar playing can save them. Then again, somehow, this team still controls it's own destiny in the Pac-12 South division.
Utah: Without quality depth, Utah is struggling in their first season in the Pac-12. The team completed 50% of their passes for 165 yards, and that is the best part of their offense on Saturday. Their running game was worse than pitiful accounting for just 13 total yards on 26 carries. This has been a tough year on both of the Pac-12's newest members.
Washington: Stanford exposed Washington some on Saturday. They had their moments on Saturday, but those were on offense. They have some good offensive talent, but their defense has not improved this season. They will score some points on everyone and gain some yards, but they will be hard pressed to beat good offensive teams. It looks like the Nebraska game was more indicative of their capability this season than many thought.
Washington State: The return of Jeff Tuel did not seem to do much for the teams psyche. Inf act, they looked less disciplined than they had all season. The defense made far too many mistakes and the offense just could not protect the quarterback much. They have better athletes than they did three years ago, but it does not seem to matter much. They still have a ways to go in this rebuilding process.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 9:
Saturday
Washington State at Oregon 12:000PM
Colorado at Arizona State 3:30PM
California at UCLA 4:00PM
Stanford at USC 5:00PM
Arizona at Washington 7:30PM
Oregon State at Utah TBA
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday Morning Quarterback
A Look Back at Saturday around the Pac-12
Arizona State-Oregon
Offense: The obvious headlines surround injuries, but as Chip Kelly reminds all fans, injuries happen and good teams have to overcome them when they occur. Oregon was in position Saturday thanks in large part to Darron Thomas' very good first half throwing the ball. With only one really horrendous throw, he showed why he is a clear favorite as the starter.
Let's not discount, though, the job the offensive line has done since the loss to LSU. This unit gelled very quickly and are performing as a unit very effectively. Their cohesion and effort are a large part of the 314 yards per game on the ground, including another 327 against the Sun Devils.
Defense: Many will look solely at the yards gained by ASU, 460, and make some assumptions that this was just another one of those bend don't break type games. But that would be a very unfair portrayal of this game. With the game in hand at 41-27 with just 4:30 left, Oregon made the decision to keep everything underneath, giving up the short passes to protect against an explosion play that might have allowed the Sun Devils a glimmer of hope. The Devils gained 87 yards on that last drive, 30 on the ground and 53 through the air. Prior to that the Oregon Defense, especially in the 3rd quarter was playing lights out.
After taking their first possession 67 yards for a touchdown, ASU managed only 2 total yards the rest of the quarter. During that stretch, Osweiler was harassed and hounded including being sacked twice on consecutive plays on their last possession of the quarter. In the meantime, the defensive stops gave the offense life. Oregon scored 17 unanswered points to take control of the game.
Coaching: I have seen some wonder why it takes so long to make adjustments to what the other team is doing. This strikes me as rather ironic as the main complaint during Bellotti's coaching tenure is that the team would come out very hot, then the other team would adjust and the Ducks would "hang on" for a victory. It seems the "complaint de'jour" during Mike Bellotti's tenure is that we did not make halftime adjustments; now the complaint is that we don't make adjustments early enough. When all is said and done, the Duck offense is a rhythm offense, it needs time to "do it's thing." That is a tough pill to swallow at times, but it is difficult to argue with the results.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: The Sun Devils have some deficiencies that were exposed late Saturday night, but their remaining schedule should make for an easy road to the Pac-12 South title.
Arizona: The Wildcats had the week off; and used it to move a new direction firing Mike Stoops. The rest of this season is, essentially, lost for the Wildcats, save for the hope of ruining Arizona State's plans in their rivalry game.
California: The Bears are a mess. Their best athletes, Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones, are relying on a quarterback seemingly in over his head. Against USC, Maynard was not very good; and that is putting it kindly. Their defense is not at the level it was last season. With their exceptional recruiting over the last several years, one has to wonder how much longer Tedford has to "work it out." He has the talent to win, but not enough wins.
Colorado: The saving grace is that their new coach has the team playing extremely hard every game. They do not give up. That being said, there just is not much talent on either side of the ball in Colorado. Their lackluster recruiting will make this a longer term rebuilding job.
Oregon State: the Beavers, like Colorado, are a product of several years of poor recruiting. There just is not that much talent in Corvallis. The departure of Quizz Rodgers has left a void that the team has been unable to fill. The "guys in the trenches" are not doing their job on either side of the ball. Injuries have hit the team hard, the lack of quality depth is beginning to show in Corvallis.
Stanford: Stanford, looking somewhat like Oregon from last year, started slow again on Saturday, but finished strong. Leading just 10-7 against a revitalized Washington State, Stanford used 28 unanswered points to down the Cougars. Stanford's defense played another solid game as the team relied on the golden arm of Andrew Luck for most of their offensive production.
USC: The Trojans looked good in stretches against Cal on Thursday night, but they are far from their days of ruling the Pac-12. In a watered down South Division, if not for sanctions, they might have a chance to steal the division, but their toughest games still lay ahead. Their running game was not very good, but their run defense held Cal to just 1.2 yards per carry on the ground. The defense sacked Maynard 3 times and forced 3 interceptions.
UCLA: the Bruins also had the week off. Rick Neuheisel may be able to stave off the axe for another season. The Bruins have four winnable games ahead (Colorado, Arizona, Utan, Cal) as well as the finale against the Trojans.
Utah: Utah was able to gut out a tough win Saturday, but that victory said more about the weaknesses of the Big east than Utah's strength. The offensive line did not look very good most of the game. The defense did a nice job of containing Ray Graham of Pitt, but they still look like their only chance for conference wins are going to be against Arizona and Colorado.
Washington: Washington is looking like a real deal mid-way through 2011. Keith Price threw for another 4 touchdowns against Colorado as the Husky defense controlled the Buffs for most of the game. their depth is not great, but their starting units are good and the Huskies will have a say in who wins the North division title. The meat of their schedule begins this Saturday with a trip to Stanford.
Washington State: The Cougars are an improved team this year. Marshall Lobbestael, the back-up QB has played well in Jeff Tuel's absence. Though the Cougars are improved, they still have three very tough games ahead of them. The Cougars will need to beat Oregon State, Utah and Cal to become bowl eligible. Who would have thought that the words "bowl eligible" and "Washington State" would be uttered in 2011? They have a legitimate shot.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 7:
Thursday
UCLA @ Arizona 6:00PM
Saturday
Oregon at Colorado 12:30PM
Utah @ California 4:00PM
USC at Notre Dame 4:30PM
Washington at Stanford 5:00PM
Oregon State at Washington State 7:30PM
Bye
Arizona State
Arizona State-Oregon
Offense: The obvious headlines surround injuries, but as Chip Kelly reminds all fans, injuries happen and good teams have to overcome them when they occur. Oregon was in position Saturday thanks in large part to Darron Thomas' very good first half throwing the ball. With only one really horrendous throw, he showed why he is a clear favorite as the starter.
Let's not discount, though, the job the offensive line has done since the loss to LSU. This unit gelled very quickly and are performing as a unit very effectively. Their cohesion and effort are a large part of the 314 yards per game on the ground, including another 327 against the Sun Devils.
Defense: Many will look solely at the yards gained by ASU, 460, and make some assumptions that this was just another one of those bend don't break type games. But that would be a very unfair portrayal of this game. With the game in hand at 41-27 with just 4:30 left, Oregon made the decision to keep everything underneath, giving up the short passes to protect against an explosion play that might have allowed the Sun Devils a glimmer of hope. The Devils gained 87 yards on that last drive, 30 on the ground and 53 through the air. Prior to that the Oregon Defense, especially in the 3rd quarter was playing lights out.
After taking their first possession 67 yards for a touchdown, ASU managed only 2 total yards the rest of the quarter. During that stretch, Osweiler was harassed and hounded including being sacked twice on consecutive plays on their last possession of the quarter. In the meantime, the defensive stops gave the offense life. Oregon scored 17 unanswered points to take control of the game.
Coaching: I have seen some wonder why it takes so long to make adjustments to what the other team is doing. This strikes me as rather ironic as the main complaint during Bellotti's coaching tenure is that the team would come out very hot, then the other team would adjust and the Ducks would "hang on" for a victory. It seems the "complaint de'jour" during Mike Bellotti's tenure is that we did not make halftime adjustments; now the complaint is that we don't make adjustments early enough. When all is said and done, the Duck offense is a rhythm offense, it needs time to "do it's thing." That is a tough pill to swallow at times, but it is difficult to argue with the results.
Around the rest of the conference:
Arizona State: The Sun Devils have some deficiencies that were exposed late Saturday night, but their remaining schedule should make for an easy road to the Pac-12 South title.
Arizona: The Wildcats had the week off; and used it to move a new direction firing Mike Stoops. The rest of this season is, essentially, lost for the Wildcats, save for the hope of ruining Arizona State's plans in their rivalry game.
California: The Bears are a mess. Their best athletes, Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones, are relying on a quarterback seemingly in over his head. Against USC, Maynard was not very good; and that is putting it kindly. Their defense is not at the level it was last season. With their exceptional recruiting over the last several years, one has to wonder how much longer Tedford has to "work it out." He has the talent to win, but not enough wins.
Colorado: The saving grace is that their new coach has the team playing extremely hard every game. They do not give up. That being said, there just is not much talent on either side of the ball in Colorado. Their lackluster recruiting will make this a longer term rebuilding job.
Oregon State: the Beavers, like Colorado, are a product of several years of poor recruiting. There just is not that much talent in Corvallis. The departure of Quizz Rodgers has left a void that the team has been unable to fill. The "guys in the trenches" are not doing their job on either side of the ball. Injuries have hit the team hard, the lack of quality depth is beginning to show in Corvallis.
Stanford: Stanford, looking somewhat like Oregon from last year, started slow again on Saturday, but finished strong. Leading just 10-7 against a revitalized Washington State, Stanford used 28 unanswered points to down the Cougars. Stanford's defense played another solid game as the team relied on the golden arm of Andrew Luck for most of their offensive production.
USC: The Trojans looked good in stretches against Cal on Thursday night, but they are far from their days of ruling the Pac-12. In a watered down South Division, if not for sanctions, they might have a chance to steal the division, but their toughest games still lay ahead. Their running game was not very good, but their run defense held Cal to just 1.2 yards per carry on the ground. The defense sacked Maynard 3 times and forced 3 interceptions.
UCLA: the Bruins also had the week off. Rick Neuheisel may be able to stave off the axe for another season. The Bruins have four winnable games ahead (Colorado, Arizona, Utan, Cal) as well as the finale against the Trojans.
Utah: Utah was able to gut out a tough win Saturday, but that victory said more about the weaknesses of the Big east than Utah's strength. The offensive line did not look very good most of the game. The defense did a nice job of containing Ray Graham of Pitt, but they still look like their only chance for conference wins are going to be against Arizona and Colorado.
Washington: Washington is looking like a real deal mid-way through 2011. Keith Price threw for another 4 touchdowns against Colorado as the Husky defense controlled the Buffs for most of the game. their depth is not great, but their starting units are good and the Huskies will have a say in who wins the North division title. The meat of their schedule begins this Saturday with a trip to Stanford.
Washington State: The Cougars are an improved team this year. Marshall Lobbestael, the back-up QB has played well in Jeff Tuel's absence. Though the Cougars are improved, they still have three very tough games ahead of them. The Cougars will need to beat Oregon State, Utah and Cal to become bowl eligible. Who would have thought that the words "bowl eligible" and "Washington State" would be uttered in 2011? They have a legitimate shot.
PAC-12 Schedule for Week 7:
Thursday
UCLA @ Arizona 6:00PM
Saturday
Oregon at Colorado 12:30PM
Utah @ California 4:00PM
USC at Notre Dame 4:30PM
Washington at Stanford 5:00PM
Oregon State at Washington State 7:30PM
Bye
Arizona State
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Weekend Wrap: Week 6
Cal-Oregon
The Cal defense almost looked like the Cal defense from a year ago. But this game had a different feel. Though Cal had succeeded in making this look like an ugly game again, taking a 15-14 lead into half time, the defense was not the same. Cal allowed 170 yards rushing in the first half alone. Hardly the stuff of "legendary" defensive game plans. Oregon went on to score 28 unanswered second half points to secure a 43-15 lead.
The obvious downside to this victory was a 4th quarter injury to LaMichael James. After accounting for another 200+ yard performance with 30 carries for 239 yards, James dislocated an elbow early in the 4th quarter. As with all Ducks his status; day-to-day.
Arizona State-Utah
With 18 minutes left in the game, Utah led 14-10. Their defense had played well against Arizona State. Much like they had done to Oregon State, though, Arizona State turned a close game into an easy victory, scoring 25 unanswered points in those final 18 minutes to secure a 35-14 victory.
Neither team was very effective in the run game, but Brock Osweiler was the difference throwing for 325 yards and 3 scores. Jon Hays, making his first start for Utah threw 3 interceptions.
Arizona-Oregon State
Oregon State and Arizona entered this game desperate for a win. One of them was going to come away with some relief; Saturday, that team was the Beavers. Oregon State jumped out to a quick 30-6 lead. Arizona rallied to close to within 30-27 before a Mannion to Halahuni pass secured a 37-27 win for the Beavers.
Nick Foles threw for 378 yards and a touchdown, but also threw 2 interceptions. Mannion played his best game as a starter, but also threw two more interceptions.
Colorado-Stanford
As expected, this game was ugly. Colorado did their best to make a game of it, but in the end, just did not have the players to even stay close. After getting the game close at 13-7, Colorado intercepted Luck deep in their own territory, but were unable to capitalize on the mistake. From there, Stanford marched to an easy 48-7 victory.
Luck had his most prolific day as a collegian throwing for 370 yards and 3 touchdowns with the one interception. He completed 26-33 attempts in the game. Colorado found very little success on offense gaining only 264 total yards.
Washington State-UCLA
In the closes game of the weekend, UCLA scored a late touchdown to secure victory from the jaws of defeat. Trailing 25-20 after a Cougar field goal, UCLA responded with a 5 play 71 yard drive that took only 1:34 off the clock to take a lead. The drive was highlighted by an incredible one hand catch and run by Nelson Rosario that took the Bruins to the 10 yard line. The Bruins scored two plays later to take a 28-25 lead.
But the game was far from over, Washington State QB Marshall Lobbestael, who had been effective all night completing 70% of his passes, began moving the ball with the short passing game that had worked well all night. On a 3rd and 5 play from their own 47, Lobbestael threw an inexplicably poor pass while rolling out that was intercepted by Andrew Abbott on another exceptionally athletic play. UCLA was able to get one more first down and then ran the clock out to take the game by a final score of 28-25.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Next week will provide a real challenge for the 2-time defending conference champion Oregon Ducks as Arizona State and ESPN's College GameDay come to Autzen Stadium.
Pac-12 Week 7 Schedule: (all times Pacific)
USC @ Cal (Thursday, 6:00PM)
Utah @ Pitt (9:00 AM)
Colorado @ Washington (12:30PM)
BYU @ Oregon State (1:00)
Stanford @ Washington State (4:30PM)
Arizona State @ Oregon (7:15PM)
The Cal defense almost looked like the Cal defense from a year ago. But this game had a different feel. Though Cal had succeeded in making this look like an ugly game again, taking a 15-14 lead into half time, the defense was not the same. Cal allowed 170 yards rushing in the first half alone. Hardly the stuff of "legendary" defensive game plans. Oregon went on to score 28 unanswered second half points to secure a 43-15 lead.
The obvious downside to this victory was a 4th quarter injury to LaMichael James. After accounting for another 200+ yard performance with 30 carries for 239 yards, James dislocated an elbow early in the 4th quarter. As with all Ducks his status; day-to-day.
Arizona State-Utah
With 18 minutes left in the game, Utah led 14-10. Their defense had played well against Arizona State. Much like they had done to Oregon State, though, Arizona State turned a close game into an easy victory, scoring 25 unanswered points in those final 18 minutes to secure a 35-14 victory.
Neither team was very effective in the run game, but Brock Osweiler was the difference throwing for 325 yards and 3 scores. Jon Hays, making his first start for Utah threw 3 interceptions.
Arizona-Oregon State
Oregon State and Arizona entered this game desperate for a win. One of them was going to come away with some relief; Saturday, that team was the Beavers. Oregon State jumped out to a quick 30-6 lead. Arizona rallied to close to within 30-27 before a Mannion to Halahuni pass secured a 37-27 win for the Beavers.
Nick Foles threw for 378 yards and a touchdown, but also threw 2 interceptions. Mannion played his best game as a starter, but also threw two more interceptions.
Colorado-Stanford
As expected, this game was ugly. Colorado did their best to make a game of it, but in the end, just did not have the players to even stay close. After getting the game close at 13-7, Colorado intercepted Luck deep in their own territory, but were unable to capitalize on the mistake. From there, Stanford marched to an easy 48-7 victory.
Luck had his most prolific day as a collegian throwing for 370 yards and 3 touchdowns with the one interception. He completed 26-33 attempts in the game. Colorado found very little success on offense gaining only 264 total yards.
Washington State-UCLA
In the closes game of the weekend, UCLA scored a late touchdown to secure victory from the jaws of defeat. Trailing 25-20 after a Cougar field goal, UCLA responded with a 5 play 71 yard drive that took only 1:34 off the clock to take a lead. The drive was highlighted by an incredible one hand catch and run by Nelson Rosario that took the Bruins to the 10 yard line. The Bruins scored two plays later to take a 28-25 lead.
But the game was far from over, Washington State QB Marshall Lobbestael, who had been effective all night completing 70% of his passes, began moving the ball with the short passing game that had worked well all night. On a 3rd and 5 play from their own 47, Lobbestael threw an inexplicably poor pass while rolling out that was intercepted by Andrew Abbott on another exceptionally athletic play. UCLA was able to get one more first down and then ran the clock out to take the game by a final score of 28-25.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Next week will provide a real challenge for the 2-time defending conference champion Oregon Ducks as Arizona State and ESPN's College GameDay come to Autzen Stadium.
Pac-12 Week 7 Schedule: (all times Pacific)
USC @ Cal (Thursday, 6:00PM)
Utah @ Pitt (9:00 AM)
Colorado @ Washington (12:30PM)
BYU @ Oregon State (1:00)
Stanford @ Washington State (4:30PM)
Arizona State @ Oregon (7:15PM)
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