Oregon/Stanford Preview

Fourth of July
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Well unless there is a major upset in the actual Pac 12 Championship game today's game in Palo Alto will crown the Pac 12 champion and the winner will at worst find themselves in the Rose Bowl. Since spring practice ended I've liked Stanford to win this game but with the losses they sustained at TE and WR in the last few weeks my thinking has switched to an Oregon victory. The Ducks defense have found their footing and are playing quite well on a yard per play average. The Ducks are forcing a lot of three and outs and the offense is coming back and scoring the next drive - that is deadly. Everyone knows this will be a game of contrasting styles - of speed versus strength and option spread versus power sets. Both of these teams can really execute well on both sides of the ball and make few mistakes, the winning team will likely be the one who's defense can make a stop in the fourth quarter when both squads should be gassed. Health wise Oregon is in better shape than Stanford though the Ducks will likely again be lacking Anthony Gildon at cornerback. Stanford on the other hand is missing Ertz and likely Levine Toilolo as well. In addition Chris Owusu Stanford's fastest offensive player will be out. Andrew Luck will still have all of his backs available plus Coby Fleener and Ryan Whalen but this is clearly a diminished corps from what they had been bringing out earlier in the season. I look for Nick Allioti to bring a lot of pressure on Luck and to mix things up a bunch by dropping his defensive ends in to coverage from time to time. Stanford has been great against the run all year but I think Oregon will be able to get their typical 250-300 yards yet again. I think Chip throws the entire kitchen sink at Stanford and you may even see some sets with James, Barner and DAT all on the field at the same time. Luck may be getting all the press but if Darron Thomas can play an efficient game and have his completion percentage in the high 60's and not make any big mistakes it should put Oregon over the top. In a game that will be an ESPN Instant Classic I like the Ducks to prevail 38-34.

Oregon/Washington Review

Vacation to Maui
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Well Vegas certainly nailed the point spread just about right on for the Oregon/Washington game but many national pundits had claimed pre-game that Oregon should be on upset alert. This of-course didn’t happen for a few reasons. Oregon’s defense played the game of the season and despite Washington attempting to establish a running game Chris Polk was working really hard for his yards. The Dawgs then got in to the mode once they were down a few scores where they had to throw and this lead to Keith Price making poor decisions. The Oregon defense consistently got penetration on Price and the secondary blanketed the excellent UW receiving corps. This lead to six sacks and a bunch of hurries as well and Price was forcing throws and seemed jumpy all game. On the offensive Darron Thomas played a solid game aside from his early fumble. The Oregon running game was dominant as usually. The only real complaints have to be the odd decisions to continue to kick long field goals with Maldonado and a case of the drops by the wideouts. Oregon could have easily won this game by 30 or more but I think the team overall is very happy with the outcome. Helmet stickers to the entire Oregon defense and to LaMichael James.

Oregon/Washington Review

Vacation to Maui
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Well Vegas certainly nailed the point spread just about right on for the Oregon/Washington game but many national pundits had claimed pre-game that Oregon should be on upset alert. This of-course didn’t happen for a few reasons. Oregon’s defense played the game of the season and despite Washington attempting to establish a running game Chris Polk was working really hard for his yards. The Dawgs then got in to the mode once they were down a few scores where they had to throw and this lead to Keith Price making poor decisions. The Oregon defense consistently got penetration on Price and the secondary blanketed the excellent UW receiving corps. This lead to six sacks and a bunch of hurries as well and Price was forcing throws and seemed jumpy all game. On the offensive Darron Thomas played a solid game aside from his early fumble. The Oregon running game was dominant as usually. The only real complaints have to be the odd decisions to continue to kick long field goals with Maldonado and a case of the drops by the wideouts. Oregon could have easily won this game by 30 or more but I think the team overall is very happy with the outcome. Helmet stickers to the entire Oregon defense and to LaMichael James.

Oregon/Washington Preview

Sunset Sail
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Washington certainly has the best skill position players that Oregon has faced this season and I expect the Dawgs to put up a lot of yards and points. The key for Oregon I think is getting some points in the first half. The Ducks should eventually be able to wear down the Dawgs in the fourth quarter but if they find themselves down a few scores at half time that will be much harder to do. Keith Price is a very accurate passer and a dual threat guy with many options. In Chris Polk the Dawgs also have a potential All-American running threat - perhaps the best Montlake has seen since Corey Dillon. Washington has really improved the talent quotient on both sides of the ball but as was witnessed in their games versus Stanford and Nebraska the Huskies have major problems stopping the run.If you can't stop the run versus Oregon you are not going to beat them unless you score Td's virtually every drive (see Stanford game in 2009). I think the Ducks will let the reins loose on LMJ and Barner and the combo should put up 300 between them. In a high scoring battle Ducks win 55-43.

Oregon/WSU Review

Oregon vs Nevada
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Oregon played likely its worst game of the season on offense and struggled against the passing game of the Cougars but all in all I am not seeing the need for alarm that some folks are. DT and LMJ did not look themselves but more importantly both got the chance to shake off some rust. Bryan Bennett was excellent in the second half and because of this I feel that Chip may decide to make a switch at QB early in the Washington game if DT isn’t feeling it for some reason. The lack of big plays on special teams and defense ended with the Ducks blocking an extra point and returning a pick six. Will DeAnthony Thomas be the best offensive player in the nation by 2013 – kid seems to have something very special and will be interesting to see how they use him when James and Barner move on. Kenjon Barner was again excellent and Chip has clearly been keeping is carries down in case they need to lean on him if LMJ just can’t be his normal self for the next three games. Sometimes a team needs a challenge to fight complacency and I am glad that the Ducks got pushed a bit before the meat of the schedule which will seem them face three straight top 25 teams with two of those games on the road. I look for a great week of practice from the players in anticipation of facing a hostile Husky crowd who’s year would be made by knocking off the Ducks (or “zeroes” for you leg humpers out there . . .) Big boo on the noon start time – I could avoid never have that again and be happy . . .