Ducks Outlast Bruins, Claim Pac-12 Championship

LaMichael James tosses the ball to the referee after his first score.
(Johnathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

It was a historic night in the Pac-12. For the first time in conference history, the conference crowned it's champion. However, what's new in the conference looked much the same as the last two years. The Oregon Ducks got out to a quick start and never looked back as they captured their third consecutive conference crown and earned the right to represent the conference in the Rose Bowl. Even without scoring in the fourth quarter, the Ducks racked up 49 points and as the confetti covered the field in Autzen Stadium, one thing became apparent. Oregon is now the class of the conference.

LaMichael James had his fourth 200 yard rushing game, running for 219 and 3 TD's on the ground and garnered game MVP honors. Darron Thomas added three more scored through the air and rushed for another as he became Oregon's all time leader in touchdown passes.

Nelson Rosario lead the way for the Bruins with 6 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. One of those a full extension one hand grab over Terrance Mitchell in the front corner of the end zone which would be one of the many highlights of the game. Derrick Coleman used his bruising style of running to run for 83 yards and be one of the main stalwarts on the offensive side of the ball.

The game opened up with a UCLA fumble on second down by Johnathan Franklin and Oregon was in business early. After the Bruins held the Ducks on three consecutive plays LaMichael James broke through the line and put the first points on the board with a 30 yard run. The Duck defense forced another 3 and out and Oregon looked to put the game away early. However, the UCLA defense forced two consecutive turnovers. The second was an interception that caromed off of Kenjon Barner right into the hands of a waiting Patrick Larimore who returned the pick all the way for a touchdown.

The Ducks would respond with a quick drive, scoring in under 90 seconds. Josh Huff made a 30 yard reception to get the ball down to the 10 yard line. On the next play Darron Thomas faked the hand off to Kenjon Barner and took it in himself to put the Ducks back in the lead.

Once again, the offenses would trade punts and Johnathan Franklin would fumble for the second time on the day, recovered by Michael Clay, Oregon's leading tackler. Oregon would take advantage of the fumble once again when Darron Thomas would find a wide open Colt Lyerla in the back of the end zone to put the Ducks up 21-7 nearing the end of the quarter.

UCLA would respond, sustaining a drive which was capped off when Nelson Rosario caught a 37 yard pass for a touch down. Quarter Back Kevin Prince ran the ball twice in the drive to keep the Duck defense off balance as he would most of the day. The Ducks continued to have issues defending the pistol offense as they had against Nevada earlier in the season.

Oregon responded, moving the ball up the field until LaMichael James broke free for a 25 yard rush up the sideline down to the UCLA 6 yard line. 2 plays later, James punched it in from 3 yards out to extend the Duck lead. The Bruins would have a chance to respond but once again would put the ball on the turf, this time it was Derrick Coleman. The Ducks would be held on the first three plays but much like their first scoring drive would put points on the board on fourth down. UCLA would punt on their next possession and Oregon would turn the ball over on downs before Kevin Prince connected with Joseph Fauria deep in Oregon territory to set up a half ending field goal.

The Bruins came out with new life in the second half, opening the third frame by forcing an Oregon punt. The Bruins came back down the field and on a read play, Kevin Prince rushed for his only running touch down of the night, the bring UCLA within 35-24.

As they had through most of the year, Oregon responded with a touch down drive. LaMichael James scored his third touch down run going off right tackle and into the end zone. It capped a 46 yard drive which featured a heavy dose of the running game which makes Oregon so dangerous. Thomas' third and final touch down pass would come on the next drive giving the Ducks their last score of the night. David Paulson, in his last game in Autzen Stadium found his way into the end zone on a 22 yard hook up.

UCLA would not go quietly into the night though and Prince would find Nelson Rosario with the aforementioned touchdown reception. Rosario ran a fade to the front corner of the end zone and Rosario climbed the ladder and snagged the ball with one hand over Terrance Mitchell. The touch down gave the game it's final tally of 49-31. Coach Chip Kelly put in back up Bryan Bennett to finish the game taking a knee and running out the clock.

After the game, coach Kelly raised a hand to silence the crowd before dedicating the Pac-12 championship trophy to recently ousted U of O president Richard Larviere. The Ducks now wait for the winner of the Big Ten championship Saturday between Michigan State and Wisconsin. It's a rematch of a game that went down to the wire and featured one of the greatest endings of the year when Kirk Cousins connected on a hail mary pass to end the game.

For the Bruins, they must wait for their bowl invite. They requested a bowl waiver to play in a bowl after finishing the season with a losing record. Whatever bowl they end up in they will have to go without coach Rick Neuheisel who coached his last game on Friday night.

Pac-12 Championship Preview

Nate Costa even got into the action last year
(Johnathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

After thirteen weeks of intense competition, it all comes down to this. Oregon and UCLA will face each other in the Pac-12 Championship game with the Rose Bowl on the line. Oregon (10-2) clinched the North last week against in state rival Oregon State and will play host to the inaugural game. They play host to the South winner UCLA (6-6) who clinched when Utah fell to Colorado at home. These two teams come off very different paths getting to this game, illustrated by their last weeks of the regular season.

The Ducks jumped out to a 42-7 lead on Oregon State before the Beavers scored two late touchdowns to give the final tally of 49-21 as the Ducks cruised through most of the game. For UCLA, they come into the game in a less auspicious fashion. UCLA got ran off the field in a 50-0 shellacking which forced the UCLA athletic department's hand, stating that Friday's game will be coach Rick Neuheisel's last as head coach, regardless of outcome.

Ducks rout Beavers, clinch North Division

Michael Clay celebrates an interception in their 49-21 win on Saturday
(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Darron Thomas threw for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns and LaMichael James added 142 on the ground as the Ducks defeated the Beavers 49-21 on Saturday. The win locked up the North division and Oregon will host UCLA for the inaugural Pac-12 championship, this coming Friday.

The Beavers looked as though they were in trouble early as Sean Mannion was intercepted on their opening drive by Michael Clay on the OSU 38 yard line. The Ducks were on the scoreboard only 90 seconds later when LaMichael James punched it in from one yard out.

James was forced out of the game in the third as he put his arm down to regain his balance and tweaked it as his elbow locked against the ground. He's not concerned about it though, in a post game press conference flexing his elbow and reassuring Duck fans that it's alright. The Ducks are going to need James to be healthy going into Championship week and then bowl season as the Ducks look for a potential BCS bowl bid.

The remainder of the first quarter would consist of the Beavers turning the ball over on Mannion's second interception and punting the ball and the Ducks going for it on fourth down and not converting on the attempts. On the day, the Ducks were uncharacteristically 0-4 on fourth down conversions. After the Ducks failed to convert on 4th and 14 from the OSU 33 yard line the Beaver offense took the field. The drive started to show promise but was derailed by a Dion Jordan sack and the Beavers were forced to punt.  Oregon was unable to capitalize as they went 3 and out and Jackson Rice punted the ball away.

The Beavers showed promise as they gave Oregon a taste of their own medicine with a two play scoring drive when Sean Mannion connected with Jovan Stevenson who weaved his way through the Duck defense for a 58 yard scoring pass.

Oregon's defense stood tall through the rest of the half as they did not allow the Beavers a first down through the remainder of the half. In the mean time, Darron Thomas found his rhythm and threw for 3 touch down passes. One a piece to David Paulson, DeAnthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner.

The Beavers struggled to contain the tight end, Paulson who had a career day. He caught 8 passes for 105 yards and the aforementioned score. He held together the Oregon offense as the sure handed tight end often was able to turn the ball up field and add the all important yards after the catch.

After the second half kickoff, the Ducks took the ball up the field and it appeared that De'Anthony Thomas had his second touchdown reception of the day but on review it was ruled that he stepped out of bounds at the 3 yard line. Kenjon Barner punched it in two plays later and the Ducks were in full control.

After the Beavers were unable to convert on their own 4th down conversion the Ducks sustained a drive down inside the OSU 5 yard line. Kenjon Barner looked to get the first down on the fourth down attempt but coughed up the ball on the 2 yard line and Oregon State would recover the fumble, thwarting the drive.

Oregon State couldn't capitalize though as the pressure got to Mannion twice on the drive and forced another punt. The Ducks got to Mannion six times on the day, and never gave him a chance to set his feet and throw the ball down the field. Coupled with the Beaver inability to run the ball, the Oregon defense almost completely shut down Mannion and company.

In a play that seemed to signal a changing of the guard at the tight end position, Darron Thomas threw a pass to Freshman Colt Lyerla who went high to get the ball and rumbled his way 39 yards for Thomas' fourth touchdown pass on the day. This made the score 42-7 and Kelly called off the dogs.

The Beavers found mojo late against Oregon's backups and Sean Mannion threw his second and third touch down passes on the day. The offenses traded punts, then fumbles as the Ducks got their sixth and final sack of the day stripping the ball and recovering the fumble. The Ducks would score again with a heavy dose of the run game as Ayele Forde got into the end zone from 8 yards out on Oregon's last scoring drive on the day.

Out of desperation, the Beavers would drive up the field once again and Mannion would find Brandin Cooks for a 23 yard scoring pass. Their hook up would give the teams the final score 49-21. The resiliency from the Beavers even in the face of certain defeat has to give fans hope for the future as much of the heavy lifting late was done by young players.

Where they absolutely have to improve though, is on the defensive side of the ball. The Beaver defense gave up 670 yards, including 365 on the ground. It won't matter how good the Beaver offense is if they can't slow down their opponents attack.

It is sure to be a disappointment for the OSU seniors who have had to endure 4 consecutive Civil War defeats and have seen their biggest rival's rise to national prominence. The Beavers season is over now where the Ducks have two more games to prepare for, the Pac-12 championship against a UCLA team; that got throttled in their rivalry game 50-0 by USC, and then, finally their bowl game.

#10 Oregon Vs Oregon State : Preview

Oregon celebrated in Reser last year, will the Ducks smell Roses again?
(Johnathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

A lot is on the line this week when the yearly battle of in state rivals commences again this Saturday in Eugene. For the Ducks, if they beat the Beavers, they get the opportunity to play for the Pac-12 championship and claim their third consecutive conference title and the inaugural Pac-12 title. For the Beavers, at this point in the season all they have remaining is to play spoiler to their heated rivals from down south. 

#4 Oregon Vs. USC : Preview

LaMichael James ran wild against USC last year. Can he do it again?
(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

USC comes into Eugene in what promises to be a wild one. The Trojans look to avenge the losses the last couple years at the hands of the Ducks. Last season, in the Coliseum the Ducks came in and got out to a 29-17 half time lead. However, after the Ducks received the second half kick and Darron Thomas threw an interception, USC got out to a quick 15 point flurry to put them on top. It would be the last time the Trojans would score.

Despite the interception, Thomas threw for 4 scores and  288 yards. LaMichael James added 239 on the ground and three rushing touch downs of their own. The win was monumental for the Ducks as they had not won in the LA Coliseum since 2001 and put them one step closer to an eventual national championship berth.

In a losing effort, Matt Barkley threw for 264 yards but was intercepted twice and pressured all night as Oregon forced Barkley to throw, limiting the Trojans to 3.1 yards a carry and Marc Tyler to a total of 69 yards despite his getting into the end zone twice from short yardage.

USC boasts one of the deepest wide receiving corps in the Pac-12. They are going to need that depth as the latest out of the Trojan camp is that Robert Woods is facing nagging ankle and shoulder injuries and according to coach Lane Kiffin there is an "increasing possibility" that Woods will miss the game on Saturday. While SC will miss his productivity if he doesn't play the cupboard is far from bare. Marquise Lee, the Freshman out of Inglewood, CA has accounted for 52 receptions and 732 yards. Lee will have to provide the vertical threat for the Trojans against the Duck secondary which clamped down on Andrew Luck only a week ago.

As for the USC quarter back, Matt Barkley he has already nearly surpassed his output from last season totalling 2782 yards passing on the season. He will have to be a major factor this week if the Trojans are to upset Oregon. Barkley has performed well, his best game of the season coming against Arizona where he completed 82% of his passes and threw for a USC record 468 yards and 4 touch downs.

On defense, the Trojans are faced with the unenviable task of slowing down the Oregon offense which seems to be hitting it's groove. Last week against Stanford, Oregon got off to a slow start but eventually rattled off 387 yards and 53 points against a vaunted defense. LaMichael James rushed for 146 yards and 3 scores on a defense that is the only defense ahead of USC in the matter of rushing defense in the conference.

On the passing side of the ball, it seemed that Darron Thomas has started to hit his stride. Last week he threw for 3 scores against Stanford as well as 155 yards to keep them guessing as to what facet of this dynamic offense was going to strike next. USC will have to be on the lookout for Oregon's own Freshman weapon, De'Anthony Thomas. Thomas has got into the end zone 9 times  already this season and has done so in a variety of ways, ranging from rushing to receiving. None though, bigger to this point than his reception against Stanford. On 4th and 7, Darron Thomas connected with De'Anthony who turned the ball up field for a 41 yard score to continue giving the Ducks separation against a talented squad. He is just another weapon at Coach Kelly's disposal as they look to attack a gifted and talented USC defense.

Oregon Forces Five Turnovers, Runs Away From Cardinal

De'Anthony Thomas celebrates after his 41 yard touch down reception
(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

"I can't tell you any scheme stuff about the defense but I can tell you that I love 'em" Chip Kelly responded to Erin Andrew's questions about the defense. Oregon's defense forced 5 turnovers and sacked Andrew Luck 3 times as the Ducks defeated the Stanford Cardinal Saturday night 53-30.

#4 Stanford Vs. #7 Oregon: Preview

LaMichael James ran for 3 TD's and 257 yards last season against Stanford.
(Photo By Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

Rarely do expectations in college football meet reality. In the Pac-12 at the beginning of the year, everyone had Oregon and Stanford as the preseason favorites to win the conference. A lot of things can happen through the season, be it injuries, teams not living up to expectations or what have you but this showdown in Palo Alto has maintained it's luster to this point in the season. College Gameday will be on hand for what is sure to be the premier match up of the week. (More after the jump)

#8 Oregon slows Huskies attack in 34-17 win

LaMichael James gets into the end zone against the Huskies in the first quarter.

It was supposed to be a night of celebration for the Huskies as the Oregon Ducks came into town for the last game to be played at Husky Stadium before renovations start on Monday. Prior to the game, Don James and the 1991 national championship squad were honored by the more than 69,000 in attendance. The Oregon Ducks had other things in mind.


In what was to be a battle of offenses, the defenses stood tall throughout the first half. With 30 seconds remaining in the first half, Washington had the ball inside the Oregon 1 yard and Keith Price connected with Michael Hartvigson for Price's first of two touchdowns on the day. The connection brought the Huskies within one touchdown and the momentum seemed to be in the home teams favor but the Ducks responded with a 12 play, 90 yard drive which took little more than 2 and 1/2 minutes. After several Darron Thomas passes, Kenjon Barner took it into the end zone for a 1 yard touch down run to give Oregon two scores of separation.


Washington would not make be denied though as they responded with a 75 yard drive of their own. On 1st and goal from the 10, Keith Price dropped back and hit freshman, Kasen Williams near the sideline with a beautiful catch toeing the out of bounds line. They would get no closer however as the Ducks responded with 10 more points to give the final score of 34-17. 


The Oregon defense stymied a powerful Washington offense early. Eddie Pleasant intercepted Keith Price twice in the first half on overthrown balls which lead to 14 Oregon points. Throughout the day, Washington tried to get their running game in stride but Chris Polk was limited to 80 yards on 24 carries and did not find the end zone. It was a stark contrast to the previous week when Polk scored 5 touch downs in their win against Arizona. At the same time, the defense got to quarter back Keith Price 6 times for sacks, knocking him out of the game briefly on the final sack of the game. Despite completing  24 of 35 passes, Price only through for 143 yards. Late in the third, Price hit a swing pass to Hartvigson but Terrance Mitchell came up in coverage and ripped the ball from him, putting Oregon on the Washington 23 to start their next drive. After a pair of false starts, Oregon was unable to capitalize on the turn over and Alejandro Maldanado missed a 46 yard field goal. When asked about his offenses' performance, Washington coach Steve Sarkisian stated, "Offensively, we didn't perform well enough to win. You can't have three turnovers. You can't have six sacks. You can't give a team like Oregon short fields and expect to beat them."


Price's counterpart Darron Thomas controlled the Duck offense, completing just over half of his passes for 169 yards and a single touch down to Tight End David Paulson. Joining him in the backfield was LaMichael James who played his first full game since a gruesome elbow injury against California. James rushed for 153 yards and a touch down and looked to be back at 100% just in time for the show down with Stanford next week. The Huskies had a tough time tackling Oregon's play makers and often times, the Ducks would find themselves in space after breaking tackles on momentum shifting plays. 


This win for Oregon marks the 8th consecutive victory in the series for the border rivals. It is the longest streak in the rivalry's history. Looking ahead, the Ducks travel to Palo Alto next week for what is anticipated to be the Pac-12 game of the year against Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal. Washington will also be on the road to face USC, who are coming off of a dominating win against Colorado. 

#8 Oregon Vs. Washington: Preview

The Ducks were able to contain Price last year, can they do it again?
(Photo By Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

Over the past 7 years, the border war between Oregon and Washington has been pretty one sided. Not only have the Ducks won each of the previous 7 contests but they have done so by more than 20 points in each game. The Huskies look to change that as Oregon comes into town for what will be the final game played in Husky Stadium before it is renovated.

Last season, Washington broke in freshman Keith Price against a raucous Autzen crowd for his first start. A challenge for anyone, let alone a rookie. He performed admirably completing half of his passes for 127 yards and a score in a losing effort. The Duck defense got to him 5 times and limited dynamic running back Chris Polk to 77 yards on 17 carries. Price's counterpart Darron Thomas had a field day against the Huskies, accounting for 3 touchdowns, two of them on the ground. Thomas made an eye popping play where he came to a full stop, juked back, then went toward the end zone on a scoring run that got the Autzen contingent on it's feet. Thomas' 89 rushing yards was only eclipsed by LaMichael James who tallied 121 yards and 3 rushing touch downs of his own.

The Huskies held the Ducks scoreless in the first quarter, but depth and speed played a factor as it often did last season and the Ducks pulled away to a final of 53-16. It was the first time to that point in the year that Oregon had not put any points on the board in the first quarter and the Huskies hung with their rival until the Ducks exploded for 35 in the second half.

This season the Huskies have improved and are looking to get back on the track to Pac-12 prominence. Keith Price has played well, taking over permanently for graduated Jake Locker and has thrown for 1990 yards and connected on 23 touchdown passes. Last week, the Huskies found themselves in a shootout with a suddenly revived Arizona squad in which they won 42-31. It was one of the only times that Price has looked less than spectacular completing just over half of his passes and throwing 3 picks to his one touchdown. Washington really rode the back of Chris Polk who accounted for 5 touch downs and became the first player in Washington history to rush and receive for 100 yards.

The Huskies have an offense that can put points on the board, if they take care of the ball and continue to ride Polk. It's not a question that when he is on the field, he is the most threatening player out there for the offense. He owns a powerful style of running which can give defensive coordinators heart burn as he breaks tackles running down the field. The Washington running game is complimented by a pair of talented wide receivers in Jermaine Kearse and Devin Aguilar who have 395 and 427 yards respectively. Kearse went over 1000 yards receiving last season and gives the Huskies a vertical threat which could give the young Oregon secondary problems on Saturday.

The Huskies only two losses on the year have come against upper teir talents in Nebraska and Stanford. In those losses they have allowed 116 points and at times showed difficulty in tackling. The defense is going to have to be sure tacklers against Oregon's offensive attack. Oregon will likely try to spread the Huskies out and put them into one on one situations to allow their speedy players like LaMichael James, De'Anthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner to make plays. Washington will have to tackle well because if they miss their assignment it could be a big play or a touchdown in a hurry.

The Ducks look to be lead by Darron Thomas who is returning from a knee injury against Arizona State. He sat out against Colorado and only played the first half against Washington State in which Thomas looked rusty, throwing 2 interceptions one of which was returned for a score. He and James will likely be starting against Washington despite a budding quarter back controversy stemming from back up Bryan Bennett's filling in for the injured Thomas.  If Thomas and James are 100% will give defensive coordinator Nick Holt issues in this game. In respect to the quarter back controversy Mark Helfrich has been glowing in his support of Thomas; saying, "I believe 100 percent in Darron Thomas in all ways, shapes and forms. There's nothing else to read into this."

Oregon Will Win If:                        Washington Will Win If:
Contain Polk                                   Force and Capitalize on Turnovers
Get solid play from QB and RB        Tackle on first contact consistently
Limit Price in the Pocket                  Price and Polk dominate

Special Teams Spark Oregon Win Over Washington State

De'Anthony Thomas breaks into the open field against the Cougars
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

LaMichael James and Darron Thomas returned to a loud ovation Saturday afternoon as they looked to shake the rust off against the Washington State Cougars. Thomas connected on a 55 yard touch down pass to Lavasier Tuinei but also accounted for two interceptions and was pulled in favor of back up Bryan Bennett at the half as Chip Kelly commented that he felt Bennett gave them the best opportunity to win the game. Coach Kelly has hinted at the fact that much of the reason for Thomas' benching was as much to protect his injury for later in the season as much as it was riding Bennett's hot streak.

Special teams set the tone early as the Ducks opened the game with a three and out on defense. Avery Patterson broke through around the corner to get his hands on the punt and Boseko Lokombo picked up the ball to put the Ducks on the board first. Jackson Rice completed a short pass to Alejandro Maldenado for the two point conversion to put Oregon up 8-0 after the first quarter. After a WSU field goal Oregon began to drive again. Darron Thomas was flushed out of the pocket and threw a deep pass to a waiting Lavasier Tuinei who turned and stumbled into the end zone to add some separation between the two squads.

Oregon was threatening to blow the doors off the game as they were getting into Cougar territory but on a 4th and 7 play Washington State got their first touchdown on the day when Thomas' second interception was returned 76 yards by Damante Horton to bring the Cougars within 5 points just before the half.

The Ducks got back to form as they rattled of 21 points in the third quarter, including a 45 yard screen pass from Bennett to De'Anthony Thomas who put some spectacular moves on inside the 10 to go practically untouched into the end zone. The Cougars responded with a scoring drive and a 24 yard touch down pass to Jared Karstetter but the momentum swung back the Ducks instantly as De'Anthony Thomas took the next kick off 93 yards for his second touchdown of the quarter.

Kenjon Barner scored to open the scoring for the Ducks in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach but Washington State kept fighting. Marshall Lobbestael lead the visitors on a 13 play drive capping it off with a 9 yard Ricky Galvin run and a two point conversion, again to Karstetter to give the final tally of 43-28. Oregon collected the ensuing onside kick attempt and ran out the clock as the Ducks got out of Autzen with their 21st consecutive win in Autzen Stadium.

Coming into the game, Washington State boasted a top 10 passing attack and it showed as Lobbestael racked up 337 passing yards against a young Oregon secondary. Marquess Wilson turned in a career high 11 receptions to lead all receivers with 126 yards.  In addition to the touchdown Jared Karstetter had 114 receiving yards in his second consecutive 100 yard day against the Ducks.

The Cougars made Oregon earn this one and showed promise moving forward in the year as they were able to slow the Oregon run game in the first half but ultimately didn't have the depth to contend with the Ducks. Oregon made several mistakes through the game and WSU capitalized to keep the game competitive.

For the Ducks, Kenjon Barner lead the rushing attack, turning in his third consecutive 100 yard effort in spite of James adding 53 in limited action. James looked comfortable carrying the ball, even with the large, bulky brace on his elbow.

Moving on for next week, Oregon is on the road to face a tough Washington squad who held off a rejuvenated Arizona squad. There is no love lost between these two teams and the game may very well get chippy as Washington tries to return to Pac-12 prominence. Washington State also is on the road again as they travel down to the bay area to face California at AT&T Park in San Fransisco.

Washington State Vs. #7 Oregon: Preview

LaMichael James can hurt the Cougars if he gets the chance.

Last year's trip to Pullman is one a lot of Oregon fans would rather forget. Oregon ended up winning that game by a score of 43-23 but they paid a price to get that win. On a kickoff, Kenjon Barner fielded the ball just inside his own end zone and started bringing it out. A WSU defender coming off of a block, was propelled forward and laid a scary hit on Barner that forced a fumble and Kenjon Barner out of the game. Barner missed several weeks with a concussion but made a full recovery. That injury really seemed to put a damper on the Oregon offense which had a hard time getting into their rhythm. Then, Darron Thomas went down with a shoulder injury and would not return for the remainder of the game.

The Cougars put up more of a fight than most expected, keeping the game reasonably close throughout and took a 14-8 lead late in the first quarter against the eventual Pac-10 champions. Quarter back Jeff Tuel threw for 245 yards and a score in the loss and the defense forced three Oregon turnovers. Oregon's QB tandem of Darron Thomas and Nate Costa were just too much to handle though. They combined for over 300 yards through the air and between them only threw 5 total incompletions.

This year, the Cougars come into town reeling from back to back blowout losses. In the last two games, Washington state has been outscored 88-35, the most recent defeat coming in Seattle against North rival Oregon State. Senior Marshall Lobbestael will get the start under center as Jeff Tuel re injured his shoulder last week against the Beavers. The Cougars have a prolific passing offense which ranks in the top 10 nationally and that is due in part to Lobbestael's efforts, he has thrown for 1739 yards already this season. It's also thanks to the receivers he has at his disposal. Marquess Wilson is probably the best wide receiver in the Pac-12 that you haven't heard about. Only a sophomore, Wilson has 41 receptions for 763 yards and 6 touchdowns to this point in the year. He is complimented by a pair of senior wide outs Isiah Barton and Jared Karstetter. Last season against the Ducks Karstetter went for over 100 yards on 10 receptions and looks to do the same again this year.

Washington State can pile up the yards through the air in a hurry, as they have shown throughout the year. However, to beat a talented squad like Oregon, they need to have balance to keep the speedy secondary honest. To this point in the season, no rusher for the Cougars has eclipsed the 100 yard mark in a game. A lot of that is due to the potency of the passing game, but they will need to show that the run is a threat to keep Nick Alioti from deploying his speedy DB's to stay back in pass coverage. The rushing attack is lead by Freshman Rickey Galvin who is averaging 6.4 yards a carry. He just hasn't had as many opportunities to carry the ball as someone like LaMichael James.

Early in the week, coach Chip Kelly was still evasive about players injuries, specifically LaMichael James and Darron Thomas. It's speculated but not unreasonably so that Thomas and James will be a full go as it appeared he was capable to start last week, but ceded to Bryan Bennett who lead the Ducks to a 45-2 victory over Colorado. James was suited also for the Colorado and was able to play according to him but did not see action as the Ducks had put that game away early. Both Bennett and running back Kenjon Barner proved to be more than capable to pick up where James and Thomas left off as they have headed wins over Arizona State and Colorado.

Washington State has had it's secondary be exposed by it's last few opponents. It was to be expected that Andrew Luck was going to throw the ball all over the yard, but last week, Oregon State's Sean Mannion threw for nearly 400 yards against them in an offense that has otherwise not looked impressive. The vertical threat will be there with Josh Huff starting to get back into the action and dynamic freshman DeAnthony Thomas lining up all over the field. If WSU losses track of DeAnthony, it could spell trouble for them throughout the day as Thomas to Thomas has started to gain momentum. This is the last game for the Ducks before they start to face a more challenging schedule, starting with a road trip up to Seattle, to face the Huskies, then down to Palo Alto for the conference game of the year against Stanford.

Oregon Will Win If:                           WSU Will Win If:
Thomas spreads the ball around            Lobbestael shreds Oregon's DBs
Oregon gets a big lead early                 Control the ball
Minimize penalties                               Force multiple turnovers

#10 Oregon Vs. Colorado : Preview

LaMichael James may be back this next week after spending last week on the sidelines.
(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

The Ducks travel to Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado to face a new conference foe in the Colorado Buffaloes. The last time these two teams saw each other was in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl in which Oregon routed Colorado 38-16 in a game that put the Ducks in the national spot light. Since then, Colorado has joined the Pac-12 so these two squads will be seeing a lot more of one another from this point on.

Oregon will be making it's first trip to Boulder since 1978 and they will be making it without their two biggest play makers on offense. According to Rob Moseley, Bryan Bennett has been taking all the first team snaps this week, in spite of Darron Thomas being suited up for practice without a brace or limp.

Thomas injured the knee early in the third quarter against Arizona St. and Bennett came in, leading the Duck offense to victory, trailing 24-21 at the time. Bennett was just 2 of 5 but showed promise in running the read option, the cornerstone of the Oregon offense. Also injured is star running back LaMichael James. He, on the contrary plans to make the trip to Colorado and will play if the team needs him. “I definitely could play,” James said. “ Kenjon (Barner’s) doing a great job running the ball, and De’Anthony (Thomas). And Darron and Bryan Bennett, those guys are doing a great job right now. I don’t know if they’ll need me."

On the other side of the ball, Colorado is also going to be without their leading rusher, Rodney Stewart. The Buffs will miss Stewart who is well on his way to setting school career records for all purpose yards as well as yards from scrimmage. Stewart sprained his knee in their loss to Washington and will be out at least 2 weeks. Not only does he lead the team in rushing, he is also a very capable receiver out of the backfield, being #2 on the team in receptions. Colorado will turn to a running back by committee and hope that the three running backs on the roster can pick up the slack of the offense's most viable weapon.

Injuries have been a big story for the home team this year. Already on the year, the defense has lost 59 games from it's projected 2 deep from the beginning of the year. Most notably in the medical report for the defense is Douglas Rippy, inside linebacker and the team's leading tackler. Even before the injuries decimated the Buff's defense, the secondary was already thin; due to a suspension for what coach Embree called failure to meet team obligations and responsibilities. What's left of the defense is going to face a tall task in containing an Oregon offense that didn't seem to miss a beat with back up running back and a quarter back. They need to get to Bennett and try to shake him up early and try and rattle him. A first start on the road could prove to be a difficult adjustment for the red shirt freshman and if Colorado can force some miscues they have a puncher's chance in this one.

Colorado Will Win If:                         Oregon Will Win If:
Rattle Bryan Bennett                             Run the ball well
Score Early                                           Protect Bennett
Force Miscues                                      Get production from Bennett

#9 Oregon Vs. #18 Arizona State Preview

ASU and Oregon meet again this Saturday for Gameday

There is much intrigue going into the night cap of a big Saturday night. A potential preview of the inaugural Pac-12 conference championship game, two explosive offenses, flashy uniforms on both sides of the ball and last but certainly not least, the eyes of the country will be on Eugene, Oregon as they wake up for Lee Corso and the whole College Gameday crew.
Last season, Arizona State proved to be one of the tougher tests of the regular season as they held a 24-14 lead over Oregon in the second half. The Ducks responded though, scoring twice on defense and forcing 7 turnovers from the Sun Devils. ASU proved themselves a challenge for the Duck defense though, racking up 597 yards on offense. Steven Threet passed for 3 touch downs but his undoing was the four interceptions he threw and ultimately Oregon's defense is what won this game for Oregon.

Arizona State limited Oregon's run game and LaMichael James, containing him to 98 yards on 28 carries. The bulk of that yardage came early on in the game with a 40 yard sprint up the sideline on which James scored. The Sun Devils forced 11 punts from the Ducks but Jackson Rice was equal to the task, dropping five of them inside the 20 yard line and making ASU gain every yard.

That ASU defense, lead by dynamic Vontaze Burfict looks to stymie Oregon's offense again this Saturday in front of a national audience as the teams face off once again. There are several storylines that litter this game, whether ASU can keep up with Oregon as they did last year, injuries and turnovers.

A lot of what ASU needs to do to keep up with Oregon is to stay on the field offensively. Quarter back Brock Osweiler has been effective, completing 2/3 of his passes for over 1300 yards to this point in the season with 13 touchdowns to 6 interceptions. Where the trouble might come is that the ASU offensive line is giving up an average of 2.3 sacks per game and on the road it's a staggering 4 sack per game average. 6 of those sacks came against Illinois who were able to pressure Osweiler and force him into two interceptions and a pedestrian 25 of 45 passing day. If Oregon can pressure the quarter back like Illinois did, it could be a long day for the Sun Devil offense.

When the Ducks do get the ball they are going up against a defense who has forced 10 interceptions. With star cornerback Omar Bolden out, the ASU secondary looked to be the weakness of the defense when the season started, but so far they have passes with flying colors. They have play makers all over the field but one pleasant surprise for the secondary has been Alden Darby, a sophomore safety who had to be converted to corner. Darby has 3 interceptions in the past two games against Oregon State and Utah. It will be interesting to see how the young corner performs against the top tier of the conference and and experienced quarter back in Darron Thomas. There are two sides to every statistic and while Arizona State's 10 interceptions are impressive. 7 of them came against quarter backs Sean Mannion and Jon Hays, both of whom were making their first collegiate starts. A lot will be shown about this defense this Saturday, whether they are for real or if they have just been feasting on lesser opponents.

Thomas is going to have to step up in this game. Last year against ASU he was a bit wired, throwing the ball harder than he should causing the ball to ricochet off of normally sure handed Jeff Maehl. He started to settle down late in the game hitting a beautiful deep ball to Josh Huff for 54 yards and a score. With LaMichael James listed as day to day, no one really know the status of the shifty speedster so one has to focus on known quantities. Assuming James is out, the load will shift to Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas. Both have performed admirably to this point in the season, but it will be interesting to see how they step up when they are forced to carry the load. Thomas has shown explosiveness but is still a freshman. Getting him in a rhythm and involved early will be key to the Ducks' prolific scoring attack. Darron Thomas is going to have to be accurate, it was noted last week that he has matured as a passer and he is going to need to continue that maturation and get his receivers in the game early and often. If the Ducks can get their play makers into one on one match ups in open space, they have a good shot to move the ball a lot against a ASU defense that is talented but not very deep. Look for the Ducks to attack at home on both sides of the ball where they have the ominous Autzen crowd in their favor. 

ASU Will Win If:                        Oregon Will Win If:
Force turnovers                            Make Osweiler make mistakes
Make Ducks 1 dimensional           Spread the field
Keep Oregon off the field               Win the line of scrimmage

#9 Ducks win game, Lose James

LaMichael James breaks free against California (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

At the half, it appeared that Oregon was on upset alert at home. They trailed 15-14 going into the break after Keenan Allen's 12 yard touch down reception and memories of last season began to well up in the minds of the home crowd. Oregon had a chance to respond, but Darron Thomas' errant pass was intercepted by D.J. Campbell and Cal was on the march again..After driving to the Oregon 23, Giorgio Tevecchio had a field goal blocked by John Boyett and the Ducks took a little momentum back heading into the locker room at the break.  However, the upset effort was shut down as the Duck defense shut down and shut out California in the second half en route to a 43-15 win for Oregon.

 California opened up the scoring with a Tevecchio field goal after a promising drive. The Cal kicker had a career night going 3 for 4 including a career best 54 yard kick which brought the bears within 5 early on at 14-9. Oregon answered back with a two play 64 yard drive to answer back. The drive was capped off by a 53 yard run by LaMichael James for his only rushing touchdown of the game. James went for 239 yards but encountered a scary moment early in the fourth quarter when on a rushing play, James dislocated his elbow and stayed on the ground for several minutes. In a great sign of support for the injured superstar, 54,000 began to chant his name as they feared the worst. LaMichael, the NCAA's leading rusher left the field with a smile on his face to the relief of the home town crowd.

California quaterback Zach Maynard missed on several passes early, but started to find his rhythm as he threw for 218 yards, Keenan Allen a nice compliment with 170 receiving yards and the only touchdown California would score on the night. As good as Allen and other Cal receiver Marvin Jones were, Oregon's defense was simply better. They put pressure on Maynard early forcing high and errant throws and locked down  Isi Sofele, not letting him get rolling in the second half.

On the other side of the ball, Oregon really got rolling in the second half as fans have grown accustomed to seeing, rattling off 29 unanswered points to put the game away early in the fourth. James had the yardage but the player of the game had to be De'Anthony Thomas who had two receiving touchdowns as well as one on the ground on a beautiful end around after a bit of misdirection by Darron Thomas.

Oregon put the game away with 68 yard touch down run by Kenjon Barner which seemed to break the spirit of the Golden Bears' defense. Coach Tedford was forced to pull Maynard early in the fourth and replaced him with Sophomore Allen Bridgeford. It appeared that Maynard got sandwiched between two defenders and would not return. By that point the Ducks had the game well in hand as Bridgeford was ineffective in running the offense.

The loss gives the Cal Bears their second in the Pac-12 giving them a 0-2 record in conference, both losses coming against fellow members of the North division. Cal has won a game against a conference opponent, Colorado but due to the conference realignment and scheduling conflict the game was not ruled as a conference game. After this game, they have to go home to AT&T field to face a challenging game against the USC Trojans. The Ducks now 2-0 in conference have an extra two days of rest to prepare for #22 Arizona State in a potential conference championship preview. It will be interesting to see if LaMichael James will return against the talented ASU run defense and Vonteze Burfict.

California at #9 Oregon Preview

Chris Conte is gone but it remains to be seen what impact that will hold Saturday.
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America)

Last season's match up between Oregon and California was mired in controversy that left both sides pointing the finger for dirty tactics. Much was made of feigning injuries by California and the illegal pick play by Oregon. Truly, that's all that needs to be said about those two topics. If you feel the need to look them up, Google is your friend. It was a hard fought, low scoring game that saw Oregon held under 20 points for the only time in the regular season. The game turned on a Cliff Harris punt return which made the difference in the game. Oregon made several stops down the stretch and held the ball for the final 9:26 as they escaped Memorial Coliseum with a 15-13 win to keep their national title hopes alive.

This year California makes the trip up to Eugene with revenge on their mind. Last season, they were able to contain Oregon's dynamic offense by playing a Cover-Zero package, meaning they were committing to the run and essentially playing one on one with the wide receivers. They dared Oregon Quarterback Darron Thomas to beat them over the top, which he was unable to do. Cal was able to do this with a disciplined attack on the defensive side of the ball and force Oregon's hand. It will be interesting to see if this years defense which had to replace more than half of its starters can be as disciplined and contain Oregon again this year. Cal loses standouts from every level on the defensive side of the ball. Cameron Jordan, Mike Mohammed and Chris Conte were who made that defense click and their absense could spell trouble for California's efforts.

On offense, the lefty Zach Maynard will get his first taste of Autzen Stadium. Along side him in the back field is, Junior first year starter Isi Sofele. Maynard has played well to this point in the season already throwing for 10 touchdowns, 3 a piece to dynamic weapons on the outside Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones. Both Allen and Jones average over 16 yards a catch and have the ability to break a big one at any point. The key to stopping any offense is to make them one dimensional. The Ducks won't stop Keenan Allen but if they can contain him, they stand a good chance to keep Cal's play makers off the field and do what Oregon is wont to do, run the football and wear down Cal's defense. As far as running goes, Sofele has 380 yards on the year. In his last game against Washington, Sofele went for 98 yards and two catches out of the back field. Standing 5'8", Sofele will remind Oregon fans of LaMichael James for his quickness and explosiveness with the ball in his hands.

For the Ducks, it all starts and stops with the offense. If Thomas and James can push the tempo and get Cal back on their heels early, it could be a long day for the Bears. Last time we saw James he was carving up the Arizona defense to the tune of 288 yards on the ground, a school record. The Golden Bears must stop him if they want to hang tough. On a lot of big plays against Cal, they were often caused by poor tackling. They will have to wrap up and make the stops early to keep players like Josh Huff, Kenjon Barner, DeAnthony Thomas and Darron Thomas from breaking a big one. It will be interesting to see what defensive strategy the Golden Bears come out with to stop the Oregon offense. Darron Thomas has matured as a passer and receivers Rashaan Vaughn and Lavasier Tuinei have stepped up for a graduated Jeff Maehl and a hobbled Josh Huff.

California Will Win If:                    Oregon Will Win If:
Maynard has time to throw                Offense spreads the field successfully
Sofele proves to be a weapon            Contain Allen and Jones
Defense contains running game          Receivers make an impact

Ducks Run Through The Desert, Wildcats

LaMichael James sprints 19 yards for one of his two scores against Arizona.
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Oregon got out to an early lead and rode the efforts of LaMichael James last night in Tucson as the Ducks prevailed 56-31 over the Arizona Wildcats. James lead the rushing attack with a record setting 288 rushing yards, the most since Onterrio Smith set the record against Washington State in 2001. According to James he wasn't even aware how close he was to the record, saying "I was like, 'Oh, hopefully I can stay in the game,'" James also eclipsed former Duck standout Derek Loville's career touchdown mark, scoring his 42nd and 43rd touchdowns on the ground.

Oregon jumped out to a 35-3 lead when Nick Foles started to bring the Wildcats back to make the game competitive at 35-24. "We knew, especially against Nick Foles, that this game never is in hand," Coach Chip Kelly said. "We were aware that we were going to get a great shot from them in the second half, and I thought our offense responded well." With the momentum set on the side of the home team, memories of similar comebacks by Arizona started to well up, mainly 2008 when Oregon jumped out to a 45-17 half time lead, only to hold on 55-45, thanks to a key run by LeGarrette Blount. Darron Thomas calmly lead the Duck offense on a 8 play 75 yard drive that eclipsed a little more than 2 minutes which was capped off by a hard 5 yard run by Thomas himself.

Coach Kelly commented talking about his prolific rushing attack "We're starting to find our rhythm. We've still got some issues up front that we've got to clean up at times, but when our running back's running like that -- it makes us a real tough team to defend from a running standpoint when the quarterback can hit it, Kenjon can hit it, and LaMichael can hit it." The visitors amassed over 400 yards on the ground and when they can move the ball like that, they are very tough to defend.

The Ducks pressured Nick Foles all night who still managed to throw for 398 yards and 3 scores. It was a testament to the caliber of quarterback Foles is, who received little help from a green offensive line and an anemic running game. Late in the game, under duress Foles appeared to be wrapped up for a sack but switched the ball to his off hand and flipped the ball to Keola Antolin who rambled for a big first down. Despite Foles passing numbers, the Wildcats were held under 100 yards on the ground, an issue that has plagued the team all season. Despite his efforts, Arizona has lost 8 of the last 9, all losses to FBS opponents, the only win against Northern Arizona to start the season. The road doesn't get any easier as they have to travel to Los Angeles to play against a USC team who lost their last game against ASU 43-22 and likely looking for retribution. If Mike Stoops doesn't turn this season around he could begin to feel his seat as coach starting to get warmer as the season progresses. Oregon goes into their bye week with a week and a half to prepare for California coming to town. Last season, the Ducks got their biggest test of the regular season scoring only 15 points in Berkley last year.

Ducks, Thomas bounce back, rout Nevada 69-20

De'Anthony Thomas #6 of the Oregon Ducks runs for a touchdown against the Nevada Wolf Pack on September 10, 2011 at the Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Oregon returned home Saturday, hoping to bounce back from their opening day loss to LSU, and did so in a big way, defeating the Nevada Wolf Pack 69-20 in front of nearly 59,000 fans. Oregon took their opening drive 79 yards and even though they failed on the 2 point conversion, they never looked back.

Darron Thomas threw for 295 yards and freshman De'Anthony Thomas added 81 yards on the ground including a 62 yard sprint to lead the offense and  All American LaMichael James found his way into the end zone 3 times; once on the ground, through the air and even on a punt return as he put in a quality performance to keep the Nevada defense off balance all day. Oregon had a balanced attack amassing 603 yards from scrimmage without turning the ball over once.

Freshman DeAnthony Thomas continued to impress, learning from his mistakes. "I've been working hard all week," he said. "Just hold the ball high and tight. High and tight." Thomas had two catches for 93 yards both going for touchdown receptions, one on a fantastic individual effort. Darron Thomas hit him on a roll out, made a man miss and was off to the races.

Oregon's defense was in control much of the first half, intercepting Tyler Lantrip twice and once the Wolf Pack started to get something going, John Boyett blocked Nevada's first field goal attempt. Nevada didn't score until late in the second quater to make the score 34-7, but was answered quickly before half when Thomas and Thomas connected for De'Anthony's first score on the day. Coach Kelly had reinstated both Kiko Alonso and Cliff Harris who were suspended indefinitely but played minimally on defense.

Junior quarter back Darron Thomas tied an Oregon record, throwing for 6 touch downs, five in the first half which was a record for the Ducks. Bryan Bennett came in to replace Thomas late in the third quarter, coach Chip Kelly pleased with his starters performance to that point in the game.

Oregon will face their final tune up game against Missouri State next week, before they begin conference play while Nevada will go on the road to face San Jose State who held their own, but ultimately fell to UCLA 24-14.

Oregon Vs. Nevada: Preview

The Oregon Ducks open up Autzen stadium with a test from the Nevada Wolfpack. Last year, Nevada tied for the WAC division title, mostly thanks to a wild November night in Reno when they defeated the Boise St. Broncos. Last year, Nevada was the type of team that no one wanted to see due to their dynamic pistol offense and trigger man, Colin Kaepernick. When Kaepernick wasn't running the ball or throwing it down field he would turn and hand the ball to Vai Taua who rushed for 1610 yards and 19 touchdowns. Combined they put together a powerful offense that lead them to a 13-1 record and a bowl win over Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

What a difference a year makes. Nevada's offense was decimated by a senior laden squad last year and they return only 4 starters, one at a skill position in talented senior Rishard Matthews. If he is going to get going, Nevada is going to need production from QB Tyler Lantrip. Lantrip, a senior who played in mop up duty last year. In his career he has thrown a total of 24 passes, completing half of them. The senior has the unenviable task of opening his starting career at Autzen Stadium, one of the loudest in the country.

Conversely, Oregon looks to bounce back from a disappointing performance against LSU last week in the Cowboy Classic. Autzen will be a welcoming sight as Darron Thomas and LaMichael James look to get back on track. After a dismal first performance it may take some more effort to get this offense back to the way it was last year. James is expected to be a little more physical of a runner this week and it would be a disappointment if he was held under 100 yards for the second consecutive week. Oregon looks to be an overwhelming favorite with Vegas seeing the line at 26 1/2 for Oregon.