Oregon/Colorado Review

Maui Tropical Plantation
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

I mean is there really much to discuss on this one other than Cliff Harris’ bonehead punt return (which really is meaningless aside from preventing the shutout). Oregon toyed with the Buffs and could have easily put up 60-60 points. Colorado is really feeling the effect of the roster turnover that Embree oversaw. This is a really young team that has no chance even playing on the same field as a team as loaded as Oregon. The Ducks showed great depth at both QB and running back and the first quarter brought back memories of last year’s New Mexico game. Colorado looks like they are about as good as the 2009 Cougs which is not good at all. I’ll check back in two years to see how this team has changed but I’d be shocked if they aren’t the #6 team in the Pac 12 South until 2013 at the earliest. Helmet stickers to Josh Kaddu who had a Charles Jefferson versus Lincoln first half and to Bryan Bennett who showed off both a strong arm and good running ability. Back to Autzen for the Cougs before the season gets a lot harder (well maybe not too sure about that Husky run defense) in Seattle on November 5th.

Oregon/Colorado Preview

Trip to Gearhart
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

I will admit it I have seen about 5 minutes of CU this year and can name hardly any of their players. From all the stats and results of this year, not to mention the point spread, I have no reason to think Oregon will have any problems winning this game. So for non-gambling Oregon fans what are the things to look for in this almost assured to be a blow-out game? Health. Can Oregon survive this game without an injury to a key player? The Ducks have been not as lucky this year as they were in 2010 with avoiding the injury bug. All Duck fans have to hope that no one goes down against CU and if they do it is not for any long period of time. Second biggest question is QB play. I think it is safe to say that DT will be starting but could we see Bryan Bennett after halftime or even earlier? Hopefully Oregon can get up 21 or 28 by half and let BB get some throwing time which he hasn’t had much time to showcase. Third can Oregon break 300 yards rushing again? I think the chances are quite good and I think that Kenjon Barner will get over 200 yards as LMJ sits another game. I’d like to see Tra Carson get some more carries this week and facing a less than stellar defense missing its top linebacker I think the chances are good. Final score Oregon 58 Colorado 22.

Oregon/ASU Review

Fresh Hop Fest at Oaks Park.
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

A bit late yes but just wanted to write a bit about the Oregon/ASU game. I was lucky enough to be able to go to the game which was the first one I have attended since Nevada. The Sun Devils came to play and are a team who plays much like a classic Dennis Erickson squad. Hard hitting aggressive defense and an offense that likes to get vertical. In addition like many Dennis Erickson teams of the past the Sun Devils sometimes play out of control and this leads to stupid penalties (see Burfict, Vontaze). For the second time in two weeks Oregon fans had a throw up in your mouth moment when Darron Thomas grabbed his knee and exited the game. In came Bryan Bennett for his first meaningful playing time and to the delight of all Duck fans Bennett led Oregon to back to back td drives and put the game away. I am not sure we learned much about Bennett’s ability to throw the ball but I think it is pretty clear that is more of a running threat than Darron Thomas is. I don’t think ASU had any idea he was so quick and Bennett made them pay when they didn’t spy him. Oregon put up over 300 yards on the ground which was a pretty impressive performance against what was considered the Pac 12’s top defense. Had it not been for a pointless clipping penalty by Lavisier Tuinei, Kenjon Barner would have put up 200 yards rushing which would have meant four straight games an Oregon running back put up that figure or better. Kenjon proved that he can put up a 30 carry game, run between the tackles and still showed the flashes of his breakaway speed. We had a Cliff Harris spotting as well who might have made the key play of the game with his pick and long return of a Brock (6 foot 8!) Osweiler. Helmet stickers to Kenjon Barner and Mark Asper. Oregon by the way has now won 15 consecutive conference games it would take another 13 to break USC’s remarkable run in the previous decade. This week Oregon is off to Boulder in a game I expect Oregon to give players like Bryan Bennett, Tra Carson and Rashuan Vaughn some meaningful playing time. The game might not be as large a blowout as one may expect (giving 34 points on the road to a conference foe is pretty absurd) but Oregon should easily win.

Oregon vs Cal Review

Oregon vs Nevada
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Oregon’s victory over Cal last Thursday was in many ways a typical Oregon game versus a Pac 12 opponent. Cal’s defense came out tough early and their offense was able to put some points on the board and make it a competitive game at half time only to see Oregon run away with things in the second half. For Oregon LaMichael James was dominant the entire game however the offense only really started to roll when Darron Thomas was able to make downfield connections with Josh Huff and DeAnthony Thomas in the passing game. Once the receivers became a threat Cal couldn’t key on James and this led to Oregon rolling on 3 straight scoring drives in the third quarter which put the game away. Keenan Allen for Cal is showing himself to a complete beast at wideout but his brother (thanks for reminding us Jesse . . .) Zach Maynard doesn’t appear to have the needed accuracy to be a true dual threat qb capable of beating at team at Oregon’s level. Cal has the looks of team that will be fighting to get to six wins and if they are not bowl eligible for the second consecutive year you have to wonder if some pressure will start to mount on Tedford. I don’t see him getting fired this year but a 5-7 in 2011 followed up by another 5-7 in 2012 could do him in. I think Cal is lucky to have him as coach as they were a tire fire before he got there but it may be time for a change of scenery for both of them. With a new stadium finally in place for 2012 and a nice recruiting base I see Cal as being a pretty plum job. Well back to the game, in particular the play that made many Oregon fan’s throw up in their mouths: the LaMichael James elbow injury. I seriously felt like I was reliving the 1988 Bill Musgrave injury, the 1998 Reuben Droughns injury and the 2007 Dennis Dixon injury all in one setting. Elbows are not made to do that. To find out later that LMJ (do we even know if he is human?) popped his dislocated elbow back in by himself on the field was pretty amazing. James was on pace to break the Oregon rushing record for the second straight game and had played himself right back in to the Heisman race. No running back at the FBS level has put up three straight two hundred yard games since Matt Forte in 2007 for Tulane. Talk is now that LMJ could actually play against ASU. If he does and play effectively it will have to conjure up memories Emmitt Smith versus the Eagles on MNF those many years back . . . helmet stickers to LaMichael James and DeAnthony Thomas for Oregon and Keenan Allen for Cal. Special kudos to Colt Lyerla on his great downfield block on Kenjon Barner’s scoring running. It was a thing of beauty. Back to Autzen next week for ASU and I will be there in person, missed the Cal and Mizzou State games so excited to see Oregon in person again.

Cal/Oregon Preview

Sunset Sail
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Cal was the only team that was able to slow down the Oregon offense during the 2010 regular season so you’d think that they would have a good chance of repeating that formula in 2011. You could think that but you’d be wrong. I like Oregon to roll Cal on Thursday night in a manner that will be much more like the 2009 game at Autzen than the 2010 game in Berkeley. Cal has a lot of really nice young talent on the defensive side but this is also a unit that saw five of its players from 2010 drafted to the NFL or getting camp invites including first round pick Cameron Jordan who was a key piece in stalling out the Oregon offense in 2010. The biggest factor in the 2010 game being close in my opinion was that Oregon was not healthy at running back at the time that game was played in Berkeley and Cal did an amazing job of making tackles in space. It is very rare for Oregon to go through an entire game without breaking a long TD score on offense and Cal prevented this by staying in their lanes and wrapping up. LaMichael James was dinged up in that game with a painful ankle injury and was putting up huge numbers of carries per game (in fact he had gone over 25 carries in five of his previous six games at that point), while Kenjon Barner was still trying to get healthy after his scary concussion at WSU a month earlier. This year the Ducks have a fully healthy LMJ who has not had to carry the rock for as many carries per game while still leading the country in rushing. In addition to Kenjon Barner, the Ducks are able to throw two highly touted freshmen in to the mix with DeAnthony Thomas and Tra Carson at the Cal defense. Oregon will not need to ask LMJ to win this on his own by taking 25-30 carries because he will have healthy backups who are capable of running the ball against a P12 defense. The Bears also have done little over the last three seasons on the road to make me think that they will become the first team since 2008 to beat Oregon in Autzen Stadium. To slow down the game Cal will need to be able to run the ball effectively to keep Oregon’s offense off the field and at the same time have an efficient passing game to keep the defense honest. Taking a glance at Zach Maynard’s stats this year and you see a player that has thrown the ball a lot but is not playing very efficiently with a completion percentage in the mid 50’s. To beat Oregon I think Cal has to have balanced attack and complete those key third down and long situations. If he is not approaching 70% completions I find it pretty dubious that Cal will have much luck on third down. Cal sports a nice 1/2 wide-out combination in Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones who should put up some nice numbers but in the end I think Cal will have trouble running the ball consistently for the entire game and this will allow for Oregon to run away with the win. The Ducks will put up at least 250 yards on the ground and I think it will be nice day for Cal if they can put up 150. Thomas will pick and choose when he wants to pass and the strength of the Oregon running game has made it pretty easy for Thomas to be selective (note his completion percentage of over 65% and his 12 to 1 TD to interception ratio). I see the final score of this game being 55-21 with the Ducks going to 2-0 in conference play. Cal, sporting a 3-0 OOC record should remain on track to get to six wins this season and back to a bowl game after a subpar 2010 season but will be looking at starting league play 0-2 (the win versus Colorado was a non-league game). For Oregon fans awaiting the return of Cliff Harris in a meaningful role keep waiting. Terrence Mitchell has played quite well since getting picked on a bit against LSU and doesn’t show any signs of giving up his job to Harris or anyone else for that matter. After last year I thought it would be a no brainer that Cliff would be a three and out player but barring an injury to guys in front of him Harris may spend 2011 as a non-factor and this along with his character questions can’t put him in the best light to NFL front offices. My bold prediction for this week is that Cliff Harris is a Duck in 2012.

Via Flickr:
Emily and I took a vacation to Maui in September 2011 without the girls.