Tom & Jerry starring De'Anthony Thomas

As the Ducks head to Washington for their third conference match-up of the 2013 season, it almost seems as if we are being taken back in time; by two years.

In 2011, a night game at Husky Stadium was at a fever pitch. Starting quarterback Keith Price was having a record setting season for the Huskies and there was renewed optimism about the long term prospects for the Huskies. Oregon would go into Husky Stadium and play extremely well on defense quieting some critics en route to a 34-17 victory. The 17 point margin is the closest in the last nine seasons between the two schools.

Fast forward and the Ducks head to renovated Husky Stadium with a rejuvenated Keith Price looking back to his 2011 form. The 2012 season was difficult for Price and the Huskies. Following a miserable defensive performance against Baylor in the Alamo Bowl, the Huskies revamped their coaching staff bringing former Oregon Duck Justin Wilcox back to the Pac-12 as their defensive coordinator. Injuries and failing confidence in the offensive line and play calling plagued Price and the Huskies stumbled home to a 7-6 record despite beating eventual conference champion Stanford 17-13 earlier in the year.

This year the Huskies look more confident and faster on defense.

De'Anthony Thomas' possible absence will be the key story line for the Duck heading into Seattle. The trick is that no one knows whether Thomas will be able to play. On Monday he was spotted leaving practice with no walking boot and no limp. Tuesday? Running backs coach Gary Campbell said he was unsure if Thomas would be ready but that he was “at practice” earlier in the day. Not much definition there.

Then, of course, there is the other “story of the week.” It has been hashed, rehashed and hashed over some more so there is no reason to continue analyzing the situation. Oregon, however, now has Johnny Mundt and Pharoah Brown listed as co-starters on the depth chart released late Tuesday afternoon.

The Mundt story is well known, but Brown may be the better of the two at the moment. Brown looked very solid as a true freshman and was having a spectacular fall camp prior to the foot injury that kept him out of the first four games. Last week, though, he made a very nice catch over the middle. He is the better blocker of the two. It seems clear that Tom Osborne feels comfortable with either or both of them on the field at the same time. Come Saturday, the Ducks may just need every weapon they can get their hands on and these two fit that bill.

Look for the Ducks to get the tight ends involved a little bit more but not always with the traditional “seam” passes. Expect some tight end screens; expect one of the players to line up split some from the line; maybe even with one of them motioning out of the backfield to an “h-back” position. With Lyerla gone, there will need to be some different situational changes to how the new co-starters are used by the offense.

Will De'Anthony Thomas play? Right now, I am not sure anyone knows the answer to that question. And the guessing game has to be happening in Seattle as well. You can be sure, though, that the Huskies will be preparing for his presence on the field Saturday.

Looking at the depth chart offers very little insight. It is released on Tuesday. Last week Lyerla was listed as the starter at tight end and never made the trip. Thomas was also listed as the starter but was clearly never going to play against the Buffaloes.

That begs the question, then, if this week's depth chart lists the starter at running back as Thomas or Marshall, what does that say about his status? Likely nothing. Duck fans will probably not know until Saturday at 1:00 in the afternoon. 

Remember the old cartoon Tom and Jerry, this week feels kind of like that cartoon. It's a game of cat and mouse. Or is it Duck and dog?

Six questions about the Huskies

As part of our expanded coverage of Oregon football, this week we also spent the time to ask Adam Jude, who covers the Huskies for the Seattle Times, for his take on a few topics related to this game.

As part of our expanded coverage of Oregon football, this week we also spent the time to ask Adam Jude, who covers the Huskies for the Seattle Times, for his take on a few topics related to this game.

Q: Keith Price is playing pretty inspired ball early this season. Aside from his own health, what is the difference this season?

Tom Corno
Will the defensive line be able to get pressure on QB Keith Price?

A: His own healthy legs and the health of the offensive line have made a huge difference. Just as important, Price says he has regained trust in that offensive line and in the play-calling, things that he admitted waned at times last season.

Price looks better than ever now, not unlike Dennis Dixon as a senior in 2007. UW’s new up-tempo offense looks perfectly suited for him. He doesn’t run a ton, but he’s able to scramble effectively and has done a nice job limiting his mistakes this season.

Q: The defense played well throughout the game, but struggled with
Stanford in the Red Zone, what is different about the defense this
season?

A: It's UW’s second season under Justin Wilcox. With the likes of Shaq Thompson at linebacker, the caliber of athlete is generally more talented than UW had two or three years ago, and they have a better understanding of what they’re being asked to do.

It's no secret that UW's defense struggled against spread offenses the past couple years (Oregon and Arizona, specifically), so part of Sarkisian's thinking in switching to a no-huddle offense was to help the UW defense get better conditioned to that style by seeing it every day in practice. You've see how effective that has worked for Nick Aliotti and the Oregon defense. It’s starting to pay off for the Huskies, too.

Q: Ty Montgomery had two big returns, one for a touchdown that was
really the difference, is that a trend or an anamoly for the special
teams?

A: That was the difference in the game. UW made a change in kickoff coverage a week ago, trying to free up one of its best special-teams guys, safety Will Shamburger, but it backfired. Sarkisian said Monday that he will now be using more of his "best guys" i.e., defensive starters on special teams against Oregon.

Q: How healthy is Sefarian-Jenkins and how important is he to the Oregon game plan?

A: Seferian-Jenkins says he’s healthy and I would think he’d be a big part of the game plan. It’s maybe a bit puzzling that he hasn't been more involved the past few weeks, but I think defenses are playing particularly close attention to him, too.

Q: Clearly penalties were an issue especially early, is that a problem for Washington this year?

A: Yes. It's been a big problem. UW has been flagged 53 times in five games, more than anyone in the country.

Q: What do you expect this week?

A: I expect the Ducks to have their toughest test yet. I expect Husky Stadium to be rockin'. I expect Price to play well, and I expect the UW defense to put up a much better challenge than it has the past couple years. Will that be enough to end the nine-year streak? We'll see. Should be fun.

Beyond Top Trio

After a convincing conference win against Colorado, the Oregon football team heads out on the road for what looks to be their toughest game so far in the 2013 season. With ESPN Gameday on hand for the Ducks matchup with the University of Washington the eyes of the college football world will be focused on the game in Seattle. With the ramping up of the schedule, Duck coaches will also be turning up their recruiting efforts.

Today at Duck Sports Authority, I wrote about the Ducks recruiting in the state of Washington looking at the top three prospects from the state.

The Huskies, though, will be looking to set an example of what the "new" Washington is all about hosting several high profile recruits. One of those is former Duck recruit Layth Friekh. Oregon had been recruiting the offensive lineman, but backed off reportedly cancelling his planned trip to Autzen.

After Virginia scheduled their largest ever recruiting visit for the Oregon game earlier this season, only to get beat soundly in front of those recruits, Virginia fans wondered aloud; was it the best idea to host all those talented players with Oregon in town?

Certainly this game will look a little bit different. While Washington may not yet be fully "back" to the top of the Pac-12 conference, they are a much better team than Virginia.

Even so, if the Ducks get on a roll and Washington falls behind early, will having all those high profile recruits standing around watching the fans turn on their team be a good thing?

First crack in Helfrich armour?

Today I saw this quote:

"I don't think so. I think our guys, we have a bunch of guys who have played in big games. Obviously for our newer guys who haven't played a ton there will be some element of newness but yeah, you package that with the new stadium and the nature of the rivalry, it will certainly be a new flavor."

That is a diversion from the Chip Kelly faceless opponent mantra and one I am not sure I like yet.

Yes, he went on and attempted to diffuse that a little bit with another quote:

"The same things we always do. I know that's not a great answer but we try to prepare the same for everybody and our guys have set a very high standard and our expectation and their expectation are extremely high. Anytime we're not knocking those standards over we'll improve and that'll start with how we prepare but the actual structure of how we do things won't be any different."

Nonetheless, Helfrich acknowledged a "rivalry" as if this rivalry is somehow different than the other 11 they will have this season.

Rivalries are for fans, not necessarily teams. A team should never approach a game with animosity towards the opponent. Allowing the opponent to occupy any space of the mind aside from the traditional preparation.

When you allow a team to occupy an angry side of your mind; or some other emotional reaction to the team, you give them a power that they would not otherwise possess.

I love to hate on the rivals and love to see them lose. Make no mistake about that. But I am not playing Saturday and I liked Chip's approach. Every team is the same. Every game is a Super Bowl.

Was this a chink in the armour? I doubt it, but it is something to look for as the season continues to unfold.

Sarkisian complaints hurt team

Three years ago, Oregon played a Jeff Tedford coached Cal Golden Bears squad that gave Oregon its toughest match-up in their run towards the BCS Title game. During the game, Aaron Tipoti was instructed to fake an injury on at least one, very obvious, occasion by assistant Tosh Lupoi.

Many fans round Oregon felt as if Tedford had used Lupoi as a scapegoat; that the game plan and idea was Tedford's with the plausible deny-ability was there for the taking and he took it to save his own reputation. After all, Lupoi was young and his career would surely not suffer in the long run if the balme were laid at his feet.

Tedford was right. But that may have been the last time he was right. His desperation to get back ahead of Oregon ultimately led to more than just that poor decision. The losses mounted and he was fired following the 2012 season.

After that ill-fated game, Chip Kelly used no excuses. He has even gone on the record to say he would "never accuse anyone of faking an injury." He simply gave credit to the Cal defense and their game plan for their effort against the Ducks.

Steve Sarkisian later hired the same defensive line coach who admitted to ordering Tipoti to take a dive to slow down the Ducks.

This past weekend, in a twist of irony, saw Sarkisian accusing his opponent, the Stanford Cardinal of the same tactic his own defensive line coach had used three years ago.

The Huskies have been attempting to mimic Oregon's tempo on offense this year and have had varying degrees of success. They have definitely upped their total yardage numbers, but have not had a very big impact on their scoring average. Nonetheless, they have run more "hurry-up" offense this year.

Stanford's injuries happened during drives where Washington had developed a rhythm. Were they faked? I cannot say yes or no to that as I was not there, but the game I saw on television suggested that they were legitimate injuries. Was there maybe some overacting during the time? Sure. The players sold their injuries.

I did see this photo:


That is Shane Skov getting hit in the knee by linebacker James Vaughters of Washington. This is the play Skov went to the turf grabbing his knee. Looks pretty legitimate to me. The fact that he returned a couple of plays later speaks nothing to the reality of the moment; only that it was not as bad as thought.

But, you know what, I have no real problem with fans talking about the issue. it's  relevant to them and worth the conversation.

Unfortunately, Steve Sarkisian did not try to mimic everything from Chip as he went into the press conference guns blazing making specific accusations against specific coaches.

This is bad for business. Giving your players excuses for a loss is not how you build character; it's how you destroy chemistry. The game was not lost because of an injury timeout for Shane Skov or Ben Gardener. It was not lost on an incomplete fourth down pass late in the game.

This game was lost on special teams and a lack of discipline.
Sarkisian's team is the most penalized in the conference. Penalties killed the Huskies Saturday. Stanford returned one kickoff for a touchdown and another to the 19 yard line scoring three plays later.

Both are from a lack of discipline.

That is the lesson Sarkisian should have been teaching his team. Instead he lost twice on Saturday night. It remains to be seen how much the second loss will linger.

Players to watch: Washington

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Washington

October 7, 2013

Scott Reed
Duck Sports Authority Staff Analyst

While the Huskies have been slowly working their way towards the upper echelon of the Pac-12 conference under head coach Steve Sarkisian, they have also upgraded their talent on both sides of the football.

This once proud program has fared better over the last few seasons on the heel of some very good skill players.

Today, Duck Sports Authority takes a look at a player from each side of the ball to keep an eye on this Saturday.

OFFENSE:

WR Kevin Smith

Most recruiting fans know all about Jaydon Mickens and even Kasen Williams. Keith Price and Bishop Sankey? Their successes have also been well documented.

There is another player, though, who has stepped up to be an integral part of the new and improved Husky offense; Kevin Smith.

Smith was not entirely unknown in the recruiting world. He was a four-star rated player in the class of 2010 out of Compton.

He escaped attention of many, though, because he entered as a player whose position was not yet known.

Smith was set as a wide receiver for Sarkisian and had begun to make an impact in 2011 as the teams primary kick returner as well as at the receiver position. After catching 15 passes for 208 yards as a sophomore, bigger expectations were supposed to accompany him for the 2012 season.

Unfortunately for Smith, he was injured in bowl practices leading up to the Alamo Bowl against Baylor. Though he had rehabilitated himself in time for Spring practices, he had very little impact last season catching just 6 passes for 68 yards.

This year, as a senior, he has stepped his game up, though. Smith leads the team in receiving yards (367) and yards per catch (17.5). He is tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions (2) and tied for second in total receptions with 21 through five games.

Smith has enough speed to get by defensive backs and has very good size. If the Duck defensive backs think that they can focus on just one or two receivers, they will have a difficult day Saturday.

So while the commentators and recruitniks talk about guys like John Ross, Jaydon Mickens and Kasen Williams, keep an eye out for Kevin Smith.

DEFENSE:

DE Hau'oli Kikaha

Kikaha, formerly known as Hau'oli Jamora, legally changed his name in the off season to honor his mother.

Kikaha's story this season is one of resilience. After playing extensively as a true freshman in 2010 including starts in the last seven games of the season, Kikaha missed the last eight games of 2011 and all of 2012 to separate knee injuries.

While many find it difficult to come back from such a long absence and be effective, Kikaha is playing the exception to the rule.

Kikaha, in a position where speed, leverage and strength all come into play, has played with the type of abandon that makes a good pass rushing defensive end.

The former three star recruit from Hawaii, who has added over 20 pounds to his frame since arriving in Seattle, has notched 20 total tackles through the first five games for Washington.

More importantly for an improving defensive unit, Kikaha is the teams leading pass rusher with 3.5 sacks as part of his 4.5 tackles for loss on the season.

He is considered an emotional leader and one of the teams most under rated defenders.

While everyone marvels at the athleticism of Shaq Thompson or Danny Shelton's massive frame, look out for number 8 on defense sa he could be their difference maker pressuring Mariota and the potent Duck offense.