Oregon Ducks, CHAMPS

Let me start this off by saying this was the greatest Ducks games I have ever witnessed. This game meant so much to the team and they went out, and it was rough, but they executed. Who would have thought they would even make it this far? After 3 starting quarterbacks went down, and a loss to Boise, my Ducks were counted out. BUT, Masoli and the rest of the team stepped up huge. This season definitely surpassed last season in my books. Sorry Dennis, I love you (no homo) but this season delivered. This game changed me, it was so awesome. Our run game was so phenomenal. I sat here for most of the game and got harassed by my friends that were here watching the game with me. Let's just say it became silent. I don't know what more to say, I'm at a loss of words. I'll hit this up tomorrow guys.

Holiday Bowl 2008

I'm going to update this post as one ongoing blog throughout the game

8:08 - Come on Nevada, give up
8:19 - Good hold
8:27 - Gorgeous punt
8:35 - Sit down
8:42 - Best run of the season
8:49 - Pass D = No good
9:18 - Yeah Terrence!
9:19 - Douchebags
9:35 - Masoli trucks Price
9:40 - Interception of the year
9:50 - Half, could have been a lot worse
9:51 to 10:10 - I hate Lou Holtz
10:13 - WT3, way to be
10:44 - Masoli is a truck
10:56 - Dang yo
11:01 - Masoli gets beast status for tonight
11:25 - That's the J-Will I don't know!
11:34 - I can finally yell BLOUNT!
11:38 - "Damn, I thought he was gonna turn it"
11:45 - "Did you see that stork? Naw, that was a scarlet Ibis..."
11:57 - GAME OVER, DUCKS WIN!

Pac-10 Bowl Record: 2-0

Sorry it's a little late, but now Cal beat Miami (FL) in the Emerald Bowl 24-17. Cal had it going with the run game for sure, with Jahvid Best getting 186 yards and 2 touchdowns off of 20 carries. It was probably one of the best bowl games so far this year, and now the Pac-10 is 2-0 in bowls. What do you think now, haters?

Pac-10 Bowl Record: 1-0

Last night Arizona defeated the 16th ranked BYU Cougars in the Las Vegas Bowl with a score of 31 to 21. I managed to catch some of this game and I was impressed with the play of Tuitama. He passed for 325 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushed for another. This is Arizona's first bowl win since the 1998 Holiday Bowl and the loss makes BYU 2-5 in their last 7 appearances.

Fresh T's!

When I arrived home today, I grabbed the mail and had a skeet eruption! My Oregon shirts from DuckTees.com came in! Click the thumbnails for a larger view.

A story about Cancer and UO football

If you feel like reading a little, here's an article about Walter Thurmond III and Patrick Chung, who went to visit a boy in a town in Oregon that is fighting cancer. Good read.

Story Here

A Disgruntled Sports Fan...

I'm going to deviate from my Ducks posts and express my thoughts on a different issue. After watching the Heisman ceremony last night and seeing Sam Bradford win, I found myself in disgust. Everyone got to see pretty boy Sam up on his podium, taking Graham Harrell's award. Gasp! Yes, I said it, Graham Harrell's award. Oh gosh! He didn't go to a storied program, he doesn't deserve it! SCREW YOU. Last time I checked, Texas Tech went 11-1, in the SAME conference as Oklahomo and Tex-ass. Bradford and McCoy were there, but there was no seat for the best QB in the conference. He could have at least gotten invited. Graham not being invited makes me want to throw up. It's grosser than Rosie O'Donnell. Texas Tech has been getting no recognition for the amazing play that their quarterbacks have shown us. Kliff Kingsbury, B.J. Symons, Sonny Cumbie, Cody Hodges. Never heard of them? Didn't think so, and that's what I have their links there for. Just because they aren't from USC or Texas doesn't mean they suck. The Heisman calculating needs to be re thunk, and quick. Colt Brennan should have at least been invited in 2006. Shonn Green and Graham Harrell should have been invited this year. Even if the voters know they won't win, at least celebrate how good these players are, because they deserve the same amount of respect as the other players sitting there.

Passing Yards
Harrell: 4,747
Bradford: 4,464

Completion %
Harrell: 71.5
Bradford: 68.3

Touchdowns
Harrell: 41
Bradford: 48

Interceptions
Harrell: 6
Bradford: 7

Passer Rating
Harrell: 163.03
Bradford: 183.29

It could go either way, but come on, give the guy a break. He was even BETTER last year, so you could consider this season a down year for Harrell.

My final stat: Graham Harrell passed for 536 yards and 2 touchdowns against Eastern Washington week 1. In week 1, Heisman trophy winner super star pretty boy Sam Bradford passed for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns against Chatanooga. Yup, Sam is the man. Not.

Pac-10 All Conference Team

The team came out today:

2008 All-Pac-10 team
December 10, 2008 10:59 AM
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

OFFENSE
QB Mark Sanchez, JR., USC
RB: Jacquizz Rodgers, Fr., Oregon Sate
RB: Jahvid Best, So., California
TE: Rob Gronkowski, SO., Arizona
WR: Mike Thomas, Sr., Arizona
WR: Sammie Stroughter, Sr., Oregon State
OL: Alex Mack, Sr., California
OL: Max Unger, Sr., Oregon
OL: Andy Levitre, Sr., Oregon State
OL: Eben Britton, Jr., Arizona
OL: Kristofer O'Dowd, So., USC

K Kai Forbath, So., UCLA
KR: James Rodgers, So., Oregon State
PR: Jairus Byrd, Jr., Oregon

DEFENSE
DE Nick Reed, Sr., Oregon
DE: Victor Butler, Sr., Oregon State
DT: Brian Price, So., UCLA
DT: Fili Moala, Sr., USC
LB: Rye Maualuga, Sr., USC
LB: Brian Cushing, Sr., USC
LB: Zack Follett, Sr., California
CB: Alterraun Verner, Jr., UCLA
CB: Syd'Quan Thompson, Jr., California
S: Taylor Mays, Jr., USC
S: Troy Nolan, Sr., Arizona State

P: Aaron Perez, Sr., UCLA


Oregon Second Team Players: TE Ed Dickson, S Patrick Chung, OG Fenuki Tupou, RB Jeremiah Johnson
Oregon Honorable Mentions: RB LeGarrette Blount, OLB Jerome Boyd, OG Mark Lewis, WR Terence Scott


I really feel like Oregon got the shaft. Patrick Chung deserves to be on the first team, as well as either JJ or Blount over Best. But I'm just biased, right?

2008 Holiday Bowl

The 2008 Holiday bowl will feature Oregon and Oklahoma State in a shootout matchup on December 30th at 8:00 pm. Oregon finished 17th in the BCS standings with a 9-3(7-2) record, and OSU finished 13th in the BCS with a 9-3(5-3) record. This one is shaping up to be an excellent matchup. Let's take a look at it!

Record
Oregon: 9-3
Oklahoma St: 9-3

Points Forced
Oregon: 503
Oklahoma St: 499

Points Against
Oregon: 336
Oklahoma St: 323

Total Yards Per Game
Oregon: 486.7 (10th)
Oklahoma St: 495.8 (7th)

Passing Yards Per Game
Oregon: 208.8 (82nd)
Oklahoma St: 239.8 (47th)

Rushing Yards Per Game
Oregon: 277.8 (4th)
Oklahoma St: 256.0 (7th)

Points Per Game
Oregon: 41.9 (7th)
Oklahoma St: 41.7 (8th)

The stats are almost identical. This should be one of the best bowl games this year!

Blount Not Testing Draft Waters

Reports from Scout.com says that LeGarrette Blount will be returning next year to play at UO, regardless of who is head coaching.

Taken from Scout.com: "I think it is awesome," said Blount of the coaching move. "I would go to battle for anyone of them as head coach."

As far as High School players go, here are the guys that have signed:


Click the thumbnail to see full image

Joke I Just Saw...

You know how to make Beaver cookies? Beat ‘em for three hours and then take them out of the bowl.

DEEP BURN!

Oregon Ducks New Uniforms!

Along with their current uni's, Oregon will have yet ANOTHER uniform to wear whenever the others get played out, if that's even possible.


LaGarrette Blount rocking the new black uniform


Team with uniforms


The Mailman in the new uniform

Along with the new uniforms will be a "patent-pending cooling vest" that Oregon says uses "compressed air pumped into the vest to decrease the body temperature of players."

Interesting...


On another note, I have finally acquired an autographed Dennis Dixon 8x10 for a decent price, so it will be here soon!

Ducks 2008 Player Stats - Offense

Here are some of my favorite players with their stats this season. Click the player name to view a picture of them.

QB #2 - Jeremiah Masoli

• 118/207 (58%)
• 1,486 Yards
• 12 TD's / 4 INT's
• 111 Rushing Attempts for 612 Yards and 12 TD's
• 132.58 Passer Rating

RB #24 - Jeremiah Johnson

• 156 Attempts
• 1,082 Yards Rushing
• 6.9 YPC
  
• 12 TD's
• Longest TD Run: 83 Yards (vs. Oregon St.)
  
• Game High Rushing Yards: 219 Yards (vs. Oregon St.)
  
• Game High Touchdowns: 3 (vs. Washington St.)

RB #9 - LeGarrette Blount

• 130 Attempts
• 980 Yards Rushing
• 7.1 YPC
  
• 16 TD's
• Longest TD Run: 72 Yards (vs. Purdue)
• Game High Rushing Yards: 132 Yards (vs. Utah St.)
• Game High Touchdowns: 3 (vs. Washington St.)

WR #8 - Terrence Scott

• 42 Receptions
• 626 Yards
• 14.9 YPC
• 5 TD's
• Longest TD Reception: 76 Yards (vs. Oregon St.)
• Game High Receiving Yards: 117 Yards (vs. Washington)
• Game High Receiving Touchdowns: 1 (5 game tie)

Honorable Mentions:

• WR #23 - Jeff "The Mailman" Maehl: 37/420/5
• QB #1 - Darron Thomas: 16-33/268/3/140.6PR
• TE #83 - Ed Dickson: 33/479/3

Chip Kelly Named Bellotti Successor!

Today, UO Athletics department announced that when Mike Bellotti steps down from the head coaching position, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will step in and take over. Fear not, Bellotti lovers! Our 115-55 hero will be be seated in the UO Athletics Director's chair, still supervising the campus sports.

For those of you who don't know much about Kelly, he is in the midst of a 4 year, $355,000 annual contract. Since he joined the Ducks last year, Kelly turned struggling but promising QB Dennis Dixon into a Heisman contender (damn that knee). He runs one of the most punishing spread option offenses in the NCAA, and turned the once pass-happy Ducks into a more powerful run first team. As of right now, UO ranks 4th in the nation with 277 some odd rushing yards per game, and are eighth in total offense with 467 yards a game.

New Purchases

I recently started getting into sports memoribillia, and regardless of what anyone says (Jon!) it's fun and I enjoy collecting stuff. My most recent purchases have been autographed 8x10's. So far I have Jeremiah Johnson and Patrick Chung. Tonight, I bought Daunte Rosario and Brian Paysinger!





The final plan is to have my DENNIS DIXON autographed, framed, authentic jersey hung on the wall above my bed, with three signed 8x10's on each side. Right now I have 4 of the 6 that I want. The next two purchases will more than likely be J-Stew and Jaison Williams, granted I can find two good looking ones for cheap. Wish me luck, I'll post a photo of it when it is completed.

First Post!

I know that it's a little late in the season, but I'm going to start this now. Better late than never I guess! In this weekly blog I'll discuss everything UO football, such as game previews and recaps, predictions, stats, etc. Hopefully this will continue on to the many seasons to come!

Go Ducks!