Oregon's Blount Calls to Say He's Sorry

According to "sources," the puncher called the punchee Saturday to apologize for cold-cocking him after the game.

At Kelly's suggestion, Blount phoned Boise State coach Chris Petersen Saturday to apologize, an Oregon spokesperson said. And Blount also was able to apologize directly to defensive end Byron Hout, the Boise player he struck following the Ducks' 19-8 loss to the Broncos on Thursday night.

Still waiting for sources to confirm* that Hout admitted to Blount that he "had it coming" and "totally deserved" to be "punched in the face."

*Not really. But it would be cool if we did.

ESPN's Todd McShay and Kevin Weidl (registration required) are convinced that Blount's punch will cost him not only this season, but a spot in the NFL. Sorry, but if I know the NFL, I know that you pretty much have to kill a guy to get kicked out of the league for good. Or suspended for 30 days. Little Legarrette will be just fine.

CBS Sportsline tweets that it is so: LeGarrette Blount has been suspended for the rest of the season by Oregon for getting punchy after Thursday night's game. He will also not be eligible should the team make a bowl game.

Blount will remain a member of the football program and keep his scholarship. He'll have full access to the athletic facilities, as well as be able to practice with the team.

From the AP:

A statement from Boise Police said they would not investigate unless someone filed a report.

“The incident will be reviewed by BSU, Oregon, and NCAA officials. At this time, no one has contacted Boise Police about filing a criminal complaint. That means, Blount has not been charged and won't be unless someone contacts police wanting to file a complaint.”

OUTRAGED columnists certainly won't like this decision. Although the Pac-10 is still conducting its own investigation and could hand out a suspension as early as today.

From John Canzano of The Oregonian:

Blount punched Boise State's Byron Hout in the face on the field after the game. Then, Blount put a fist to the helmet of Ducks' teammate Garrett Embry, who was trying to play peacemaker. And what we have here is a low moment that can not be greeted with tolerance. [...]

The Ducks running back should be arrested and charged with assault today for slugging Hout, who wasn't even looking. Also, Blount should be served up by first-year head coach Chip Kelly as a reminder of everything the program should never become.

It was cheap. It was embarrassing. It was disgusting.

Seems a tad excessive. Sure, Blount deserves to be suspended for some amount of time. But let's be honest with ourselves here -- Hout kind of had it coming. Which isn't to say he (technically) deserved it, or what Blount did should go unpunished. But in the heat of the moment, when a dude is in your face taunting you -- and putting his hands on you, as Hout did -- moments after you've just lost an enormously important football game ... well, we saw the outcome. Cheap, embarrassing, disgusting? Sure. But hardly shocking.

If this had gone down in a bar between two guys -- one talking trash to the other, who in-turn got punched in the face -- the cops would probably take both to jail for the night. In this case, none of that seems necessary. It's a violent game played at the peak of human emotion. That, combined with the taunts, should be taken into consideration here.

SB Nation's One Bronco Nation Under God (OBNUG, if you'd rather) mentions the punchy incident, mocks Blount a bit (he had 8 carries for negative 5 yards), and then quickly moves on to actual analysis of Boise St.'s performance. Which I think is the stuff we'd all be focused on had everyone calmly walked to their respective locker room after the game.

Duck fans are not in a happy place this morning. SB Nation's Addicted to Quack expressed embarrassment over what happened. Hundreds follow in the comments. Their star running back punching another player in the face after a loss probably isn't how they envisioned their opener going. Just a guess.

Because this is really what everyone is talking about this morning, here's the punch:

In what was billed as "the biggest home game in Boise State history," the Broncos played like it was anything but. Thankfully for them, the Oregon Ducks played even less inspired than them.  Despite two missed field goals, multiple turnovers and extremely sluggish play, the Broncos won 19-8 to open the 2009 season.

As if the game wasn't ugly enough, things took an even worse turn when Oregon tailback LeGarrette Blount  punched Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in the face. It was an apparant retaliation for Hout taunted Blount just before. Fans, players and coaches all got involved,  Blount had to be restrained by coaches and security took it from there.

In a game that featured five 4th quarter turnovers, Boise State scored the first 19 points of the game and never relinquished the lead. Kellen Moore threw for 197 yards and a touchdown while D.J. Harper led the Broncs with 88 yars rushing and a TD of his own.

It was the 50th straight regular season home win for Boise but more importantly it immediately moved them to the top of the BCS-Buster list ahead of Utah and BYU. This was considered their toughest non-conference test of the season and they passed, even without flying colors.

Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman was profiled a few weeks back and the overriding theme of the article was his need to bounce back from an inconsistent 2008. The biggest concern for Brotzman? His ability to make kicks from the left hash mark.

So far tonight he is 0-for-2. Both kicks were from the left hash.

As we get closer to tonight's big game -- Oregon-Boise State -- there's a decent chance you still need more in-game blog action. As do I. I feel you. Hit up One Bronco Nation Under God to hang with the Boise fans, and head over to Addicted to Quack to mingle with our friends from the northwest. I hear it's beautiful in Oregon. Maybe not as beautiful as that blue turf, though. Preferences, really.

SB Nation's Every Day Should Be Saturday is liveblogging the festivities tonight, which is going to be simultaneously informative, entertaining, and utterly insane. Just like college football. Hit the live blog and enjoy.

ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews, a recent victim of a peep-tape scandal, makes her return to the sidelines in tonight's showdown between South Carolina and North Carolina State. The Washington Post's Sally Jenkins deals Andrews high praise and comments on how she hopes the public's perception of the sideline bombshell won't be seriously affected:

It would be a genuine shame if voyeurism caused Andrews to like her job any less. And it would be an equal shame if it caused her to disassemble who she is, de-emphasize her natural attractiveness, or sleepwalk through interviews with less rapport, for fear it might be misinterpreted or invite creeps.

Oregon will be donning a summery choice for tonight's game against Boise: all white, most likely, unless Phil Knight has a change of heart and demands a last-minute change to another eye-searing variation on the Ducks uniform. (We're all pulling for the Electric Banana variation here.)

While we're busy hyping how INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT tonight's game is, Boise St. fans are busy trying to stay focused on what's important here: playing football. From SB Nation's Boise St. blog:

I'm struggling with this game because it has taken on a life of it's on. Boise State - Oregon has jumped the shark. It has broken past mere anticipation and become a caricature of itself. It's no longer an exciting season opener. It is the BIGGEST GAME IN BRONCO HISTORY AND IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE A LOSER. And it is making me go insane.

Tonight's game is stressful and burdensome and wearying and weighty because all the hype surrounding it is taking away from my favorite part of Boise State football: the football.

Casual fans have gravitated toward Oregon - Boise State like tweens to a vampire movie. There's something for everyone who doesn't think critically about football. There's fan banter, Statesman gameday spreads, clever one-off T-shirt designs, unintentionally comedic local news anchor ad-libbed conversations, and hype. Oh, the hype.

So, if you too are sick of the hype and want actual pregame analysis, read the rest of their post. They have plenty of that to go around.

Yahoo!'s Dan Wetzel writes that this game is about more than just Boise St. vs. Oregon; it's about the Pac-10 winning back the west. Or continuing to watch its dominance over the region slip away:

For the Pac-10, this is a game that can also help erase the memories of a disastrous 2008 non-conference campaign [non-Southern California division].

A year ago the Pac-10 went 1-6 against the Mountain West Conference. That includes such stunners as BYU’s 59-zip woodshed effort against UCLA and reconstructing UNLV over then 15th-ranked Arizona State.

Boise State is in the WAC, but if you throw its victory at Oregon into the mix then the Pac-10 got pushed around by the best of the non-BCS teams out West.

Boise State's played in some big games in recent years (remember this?) but at least as far as home games are concerned, none as big as tonight's nationally televised showdown with Oregon, according to BSU athletics director Gene Blaymeier: "Without a doubt, this is our biggest home game." In response, the Idaho Statesman ranked the five previous biggest home games in school history.

Thursday night's 10:15 p.m. ET kickoff will be carried nationally on ESPN, while both the New York Times and Sports Illustrated have reporters on hand to cover the game.