Oregon/USC Review

Taiwan Beer
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Well the wounds are licked and I am ready to talk about the USC/Oregon game. First off the Trojans deserve a hell of a lot of credit for a great game plan and near perfect execution. Matt Barkeley was incredibly accurate and Marquis Lee was just masterful in positioning himself to make some very tough catches. I didn’t think the Oregon corners did a bad job of coverage I think that Lee, Woods and Barkeley just were that spectacular that all they needed was an inch of spacing in front of the Db’s fingers to make the play. Oregon can look back at so many things that could have gone different and kick themselves but crying over spilled milk is pointless. Bottom line is that they were dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and made too many mistakes in the first three quarters to have a good chance to win. The comeback was great but the last 30 seconds were confusing to me. I don’t like the chances of Maldonado hitting from 30 let alone 37 and with 8 seconds and 2 timeouts I would have thought they should do a quick throw for 10-15 yards to have a better chance to make the kick. The Ducks need to move on quickly and now can concentrate on winning their first Rose Bowl since 1917! Helmet sticker to Kenjon Barner who showed he can run between the tackles and is a huge receiving threat. He should pick up the slack big time in 2012 with the almost certain to be NFL status of LaMichael James.

A little bit on Stanford a little bit on USC

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Oregon’s victory over Stanford last Saturday was one of those rarest of rare feats. A victory on the road over a top 5 opponent. So far this year it has only been accomplished by LSU, Texas Tech and TCU. Rankings wise this was the best true road win in the history of the program breaking the mark of the 1997 team who beat a #6 Washington team in Montlake. Oregon made Stanford look slow and confused and Luck lacking playmakers was off his game. Oregon is clearly peaking right now and I think they could give any team in the country a run for their money right now. On to USC . . . USC’s top 22 players are probably among the best if not the best in the country but the team lacks depth and is facing some injury issues. USC also has had major issues playing games in the state of Oregon lately. USC if they bring their “A” game can give Oregon a run for their money as they have a QB who is similar to Luck but without the mobility and a much better receiving core than Stanford’s. USC needs to build up a large lead and kill clock because Oregon will wear down the Trojan defense in the fourth quarter. A factor to look out for is the weather, it may snow and I think that may hinder both teams. The lower a score game the better the chances USC has to win. Will USC be mentally ready for this game or will they fold up their tent? I think this years squad has shown more mettle than the Trojans have brought in awhile and that is due to the leadership of Matt Barkeley. They are not eligible for a bowl this year (screwjob by the way) but still can claim a P12 South title despite what the league says. Look for Barkeley to connect with Lee and Woods and McNeal to have a nice game running. USC leads at half but Oregon runs away late in a game much like last years. Oregon 44 USC 31

Oregon/Stanford Preview

Fourth of July
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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

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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.