SB Nation - Jeremiah Masoli

The Enemy of My Enemy, Part I: The Rose Bowl

Bama Hawkeye — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:15:09 -0000

As we begin preparing for the year in which the Big Ten shocks the college football world by winning five of its seven bowls, let's learn about the opponents. Oh sure, we could turn to the fans of our opponents and ask them questions about their beloved cats, birds, and bees. But this site was founded upon the idea of rivals. That's why we're talking with our opponents' rivals. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

As we look at the Rose Bowl, AndyPanda of the outstanding Oregon State blog, Building the Dam, was kind enough to answer these questions that we had about the hated Oregon Ducks.

1. What schemes worked best for you on defense against Oregon's motion Pistol, spread sweeps, and zone read attack?

The key to contending with Coach Chip Kelley's spread option read offense is to play assignment football, and maintain gap and assignment discipline, and do it all night long. A traditional style pro defense. You cannot over-pursue, and one step can be too much, as the speed Oregon has will run into, or cut back thru, any gap a mistake opens. The Ducks' offense is predicated on option reads, and Jeremiah Masoli is a master at quick recognition and decision making.

Masoli isn't an exceptional thrower, but he is good enough to capitalize on an assignment error, as was evidenced when OSU's James Dockery over-committed on Jeff Maehl, and there was no safety support. The result was an immediate over the top 73 yard touchdown.

And while Masoli is rightly known for his running ability, his reads can just as easily result in someone else being the star. With cornerback Tim Clark already out with a broken leg, all conference Keaton Kristick missed only one play with a tweaked wrist. Masoli immediately sent LaMichael James thru where Kristick and Clark would have been for a 52 yard touchdown.

Those two plays, one break down, and one where a personnel vulnerability existed, were the difference in the game, producing over a quarter of the Ducks' total yards, and underscoring how important it is to maintain discipline against Oregon's offense on every play.

2. What's going to happen when Ohio State's (C) Michael Brewster (296 lbs), (RG), Bryant Browning (312 lbs), (LG) Justin Boren (315 lbs), (LT) J.B. Shugarts (298 lbs), and (RT) Jim Cordle (297 lbs) line up against Oregon's (LDT) Brandon Bair (250 lbs) (RDT) Blake Ferras (290 lbs), (RDE) Kenny Rowe (230 lbs), and (LDE) Will Tukuafu (272 lbs)? That's an average of 43 pounds difference at each position. Do the Buckeyes get burnt, or does Oregon get crushed?

A variety of blitzes and stunts will happen. The Oregon linebacking crew of Eddie Pleasant, Casey Matthews, and Spencer Paysinger are fast enough that they can come from anywhere, and if an offensive line releases to pick up the blitz, Tukuafu is strong enough, and Rowe is fast enough, to recover despite being initially stopped, and still make the play.

A sustained power running game can work against the Ducks, as Stanford demonstrated, but it must start with an effective passing game that pushes back Oregon's back seven. The key to overcoming the Duck defense is to prevent them from running toward the line of scrimmage, which allows them to capitalize on their speed.

3. The Beavers put 30 points up on the Ducks in the first 35 minutes of the game. The final 25 minutes saw the Beavers only get a field goal. How was OSU able to dominate the Ducks early, and what did Oregon do late to turn the tide?

Early on, Oregon St. quarterback Sean Canfield was on, and by completing a number of passes, was able to keep the Oregon defense backpedaling much of the time, not attacking the line of scrimmage.

What Oregon did in the second half was keep the ball away from Oregon St. The Ducks are known for being a quick strike offense that doesn't need a time of possession advantage to generate points and wins, but few teams will win a firefight against the Rodgers brothers and Canfield. Against the Beavers, the Ducks played defense with their offense.

Oregon knew the best way to curb the Rodgers are to have them standing on the sidelines as much of the time as possible. With a boost in their power running game from LeGarrett Blount, Oregon held the ball for about 18 and a half of the last 26 minutes, and over 13 minutes in the last 17 and a half minutes. The Beavers only had one fourth quarter possession.

So limited in their number of opportunities, the weather, in the 20's, resulted in a couple of dropped balls off receivers' hands, resulting in a field goal instead of a probable touchdown, and another stalled drive. And the difference in the game when the Ducks were able to keep the Beavers' offense off the field for over six minutes at the end of the game. Both Kenjon Barner and Masoli won individual matchups, where the OSU defense was in position to make the play, and one on one, just got beat. The Ducks converted three fourth downs in the game, two on the final drive.

4. Much of the rest of the country looks at Oregon as having fashion models, not football players. Has the Oregon fan base embraced the Phil Knight-ification of their football team, or would they rather focus on the game?

The Oregon fan base loves Uncle Phil, who epitomizes the high dollar image most of them aspire to. And if any aspect of the image in any way causes a distraction of any sort, that's just another advantage they gain.

Admit it. You wish he went to your school.

5. What can Buckeye fans do in advance of the game to most annoy Oregon fans?

Remind them of the Stanford and Boise St. games, where they were physically dominated, then talk about how good Washington is going to be soon. It doesn't matter if Washington actually will be good or not; they hate the Huskies, almost as much as the Huskies hate them. Or talk about how college football games should be "dry" events. [ed. note: The Rivalry, Esq. does not and cannot endorse dry sporting events. We encourage Buckeye fans to use the other recommended methods of criticism]

Thank you again to AndyPanda of Building the Dam. We wish the Beavers the best of luck in beating the hell into BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Quack Fix: Conference awards and the sad state of the Pac-10 men's basketball conference

ntrebon — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:04:58 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

Chip Kelly says not to expect any billboards touting Jeremiah Masoli as a Heisman candidate in 2010. Will his performance on the field be enough to earn him a trip to New York?

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In case you're having trouble coming to terms with the fact that the Rose Bowl is more than three weeks away, here's some quack to tide you over:

Ron Bellamy has a story today about Chip Kelly being named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Bellamy also notes that Oregon is only the second conference champion to only have a single player earn first team honors. He also notes that ballots for the all-conference teams were due last Wednesday -- before the final week of the season (though coaches could have changed their picks via a teleconference yesterday).
Bob Clark takes a look at how the Pac-10 men's basketball teams are struggling against non-conference opponents this year. There are only two conference teams in the top 100 of the RPI (UW at #6 and Cal at #28). Wow. Clark ends the column with his weekly conference ranking, and Oregon comes in at #10 after their blowout loss to Missouri.
Nick Daschel looks at where this year's Oregon team ranks among the Pac-10 conference champions over the last two decades. Daschel puts them at #7, one spot ahead of the 2001 Oregon team.
John Hunt has a blog entry up where he muses about the possibility of Jeremiah Masoli making a run at next year's Heisman. Though, if it were up to Kelly, it sounds like there would be very little in an official "Masoli for Heisman" campaign besides his (and the team's) performance on the field.
DuckTerritory (subscription required) has a little more on the Ethan Grant decommitment. It looks like he made a surprise visit to TCU this past weekend after there were earlier rumors that he might come back out to Oregon for the Civil War.
Amanda Johnson earned conference player of the week honors after averaging nearly 21 points and 10 rebounds in three wins for the women's basketball team this past weekend. Sounds like the men's team could have used her hot hand.
Also, in case you missed it yesterday, rumors abound that Jim Harbaugh has, or will, interview for the Notre Dame head coaching position. The above link to Jon Wilner's blog includes an update with a denial of the stories by the Stanford AD, who claims there is "absolutely no chance" that Harbaugh will be at Notre Dame next season.

Pac-10 All Conference teams announced: Chip Kelly named COY, LaMichael James offensive freshman of the year

jtlight — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:40:42 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Chip Kelly led the Ducks from disaster to a Pac-10 championship. Congrats on being named coach of the year, Chip!

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First off, Congratulations to Chip Kelly and LaMichael James, who were given great honors today. Coach Kelly was named the Pac-10 Coach of year, and he undoubtedly deserved it. After the debacle at Boise, Oregon rebounded and won the Pac-10 be two whole games. LaMichael James was named the offensive freshman of the year, setting the Pac-10 rushing record for freshman, and was the most explosive running back in the conference, if not nation.

Rounding out the Ducks on the all conference teams, Ed Dickson was named to the first team, while Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, Will Tukuafu, and Casey Matthews were named to the second team.

I think what the voting for this award proves is that Oregon was by far the best team in the conference. It's pretty shocking that Oregon won the conference by two games, yet only got 5 players onto the all conference teams.

Meanwhile, OSU had 7 players on the first team alone, yet couldn't hang with Oregon in the 4th quarter. UCLA had four players on the first team defense, but had a worse defense than Oregon by almost any statistical measure.

While it would have been nice to see the individuals on the team recognized to a greater degree, Oregon gets to take home the ultimate prize: the Pac-10 championship.

Quack Fix: Ducks hand out season awards, look forward to tOSU, Volleyball falls in NCAA 2nd round

jtlight — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:21:37 -0000

The end of the regular season of college football is always bittersweet, with that magical time coming to an end. But we have something pretty great to look forward to: The Rose Bowl!

Oregon handed out their team awards at a banquet yesterday. Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James shared the award for Mose Outstanding Player, while Will Tukuafu and Walter Thurmond III shared the award for most inspirational. There were a number of other awards handed out and Moseley has some more stories from the event. I'm hoping to see some video of Coach Frost razzing Jeff Maehl.
Yet the celebration will not last long. The Ducks are already looking forward to the matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Kelly has already been watching films of the Big 10 champs, who have the best defense the Ducks have seen this season. However, Kelly does not seem too worried. The Ducks have the versatility on offense to create mismatches all over the field, and have been incredibly successful isolating those all season long.
Meanwhile, Jim Tressel is looking at the Ducks as well, and the focal point defensively will be Jeremiah Masoli, whom Tressel described as "scary." He also stated the the Buckeyes will need to "get in shape" after seeing the quick pace of Oregon's offense. I think the Buckeyes will have problems keeping pace with Oregon over 4 quarters, just as almost every other team has this season.
Lastly, though this is old, for those of you that may have forgotten about when OSU played USC: This is why I am not worried about the OSU offense. I'm very much excited for the Chip Kelly/Jim Tressel coaching matchup.
In other sports news, while we had let some time pass without mentioning Oregon volleyball, they made it to the NCAA tournament, and won a match versus Clemson before falling to the 13th ranked Kentucky Wildcats. It was a great season for the Ducks, who were ranked in the top 25 for nearly the entire season.

After the jump, we have another edition of Inside the Pac, breaking down the Civil War. As always, leave any other Duck news below. GO DUCKS!

Inside the Pac - Civil War Edition

A Decidedly Premature Independence Bowl Preview: Will the Georgia Bulldogs Face the Iowa State Cyclones or the Texas A&M Aggies?

T Kyle King — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:11:50 -0000

Last night, while watching the Oregon Ducks defeat the Oregon St. Beavers, I found myself thinking ahead to bowl season.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. Last night, while watching the Oregon Ducks defeat the Oregon St. Beavers, I found myself thinking, "Is Chip Kelly trying to make coaching decisions so strange as to baffle Les Miles?" As Joe Tiller learned the hard way in the 2000 Outback Bowl, no coach should ever go for two unless he has to go for two, and, after scoring a touchdown to go up 34-33 with more than sixteen minutes remaining in the game, Oregon didn’t have to go for two.

Because the Ducks didn’t kick the extra point the way they should have, Morgan Flint’s fourth-quarter field goal gave the home team a four-point lead instead of a five-point lead. That proved to be huge when Oregon found itself facing fourth and two at the Beavers’ 19 yard line with 1:43 showing on the game clock. Had the Ducks been up by five at that point, they could have kicked a 36-yard field goal and kicked off to an Oregon State team that hadn’t scored a point in nearly sixteen minutes and hadn’t scored a touchdown in more than 24 minutes, secure in the knowledge that the Beavers would have to drive the field, score a touchdown, and get a two-point conversion just to force overtime.

Granted, Oregon might have gone for it, anyway, but the difference between a field goal representing a seven-point lead and a field goal representing an eight-point lead foreclosed what ought to have been legitimate options for the Ducks. After picking up the first down and forcing Oregon State to expend its last time out, though, Coach Kelly inexplicably dithered about with what ought to have been the easy process of kneeling out the clock.

Oregon had a first down at the visitors’ 14 yard line, Oregon State had no time outs, and the Ducks held a four-point lead with 82 seconds showing on the scoreboard. At that point, it’s time to go into the victory formation. Instead, Jeremiah Masoli ran around (rather than backed up behind an offensive line in max-protect mode) for a four-yard loss, stopped the clock on a delay of game penalty, stopped the clock again by calling a time out with 40 seconds remaining, and finally did the sensible thing after much needless rigmarole. The two-point conversion call may have been harmless error, even insofar as Coach Kelly’s later decisionmaking process was concerned (although it certainly changed the math on his range of choices), but, after watching him botch what ought to be the simplest play in football, I had real questions about whether what appeared at first to be shrewd gamesmanship in the wake of a disastrous start was merely beginner’s luck. Rarely has a coach impressed me less in the act of capturing his team’s first Rose Bowl berth in a decade and a half.

After that, though, I found myself thinking ahead to bowl season, and to the Georgia Bulldogs’ potential opponents in the Independence Bowl, who appear to be (depending upon the outcome of tomorrow’s Big 12 title tilt) either the Iowa St. Cyclones or the Texas A&M Aggies, and about whom I had the following thoughts:

Frankly, neither team especially excites me as an opponent, but beggars can’t be choosers and I certainly wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to expect a victory over either club. (Repeat after me, Bulldog Nation . . . when you expect the worst, your only options are to be proven correct or pleasantly surprised.)

The Red and Black have no gridiron history with Iowa State, or (for that matter) with teams from Iowa, or (for that matter) with teams whose names begin with the letter "I," perhaps because there is no "I" in "T-E-A-M" (although there is an "M" and an "E"). The Cyclones, who are represented at SB Nation by the weblog Clone Chronicles, are coached by Paul Rhoads. Coach Rhoads served as the defensive coordinator of the Auburn Tigers in 2008, the only year since 2004 in which the Plainsmen held Georgia under 30 points.

Coach Rhoads is not the only former Auburn defensive coordinator to have served as the head coach in Ames, of course, and that fact may have something to do with the fact that the Tigers are heading to the Outback Bowl, as the fine folks in the so-called Loveliest Village undoubtedly were not anxious to risk facing Gene Chizik’s former team in Shreveport. (Note to Auburn fans who read this: I used the word "may"; I am drawing logical inferences from the circumstances surrounding Auburn’s odd invitation to the Outback Bowl, not stating facts known to me to be true. Please refrain from displaying your usual lack of comprehension any time I mention the Bulldogs’ oldest rival.)

The Cyclones rank eleventh in the Big 12 in scoring offense, ahead of only the lowly Baylor Bears, but Iowa State boasts its league’s fourth-best rushing attack, averaging over 175 yards per game on the ground. ISU has done a poor job of stopping the run, once again ranking ahead of Baylor and Baylor alone in rushing defense, but the thirteen rushing touchdowns the Cyclones have surrendered in a dozen outings this autumn are the sixth-fewest conceded in the Big 12.

Obviously, the ‘Dawgs have considerably more history with the Aggies, whose network-affiliated partisans at I Am The 12th Man aren’t necessarily stoked about the prospect of meeting Georgia in Shreveport. It’s difficult to draw a bead on either team, as both appeared to play well above their heads in season-ending in-state rivalry showdowns right around Thanksgiving and neither is likely to be able to duplicate that same intensity in a matchup with the other. Obviously, the Texas A&M team that showed up against the Texas Longhorns would slaughter the Georgia team that showed up against the Kentucky Wildcats, while the Georgia team that showed up against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets would thump the Texas A&M team that showed up against the Oklahoma Sooners. The reality likely would lie somewhere in between the two extremes.

Georgia is 1-3 all-time against Texas A&M. The Bulldogs fell to the Aggies in the 1950 Presidential Cup bowl game, in Dallas in 1953, and in Athens in 1954. The latter loss was particularly painful for the Red and Black, who came into the game with a 2-0 record while in the process of rebounding from a 3-8 season in 1953 that remains to this day the worst in Georgia history. The 1954 Aggies---the legendary "Junction Boys"---were in their first year under Paul "Bear" Bryant and they lost nine games, although seven of their losses were by ten or fewer points. That year’s Texas A&M team formed the foundation for future success, but the Bulldogs were the only victim of that 1-9 outfit.

Georgia exacted its revenge in 1980, when the Classic City Canines handed the Aggies a 42-0 thumping between the hedges in Herschel Walker’s first home game as a Bulldog. The Goal-Line Stalker rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns, including a 76-yard scamper. That game also was the first game since Vince Dooley redesigned the Georgia uniform in 1964 in which the Red and Black wore the silver britches Wally Butts had first introduced in 1939. They have been a staple of the Bulldogs’ uniform ever since.

The potent Texas A&M offense ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring (33.9 points per game), second in the league in rushing (190.4 yards per game), and sixth in the conference in passing (274.9 yards per game). The Aggies stand atop the Big 12 in total offense (465.3 yards per game). Fortunately, they also feature the league’s worst pass defense (262.8 yards per game allowed), third-worst rush defense (168.6 yards per game allowed), and worst scoring defense (32.7 points per game allowed).

No matter which opponent the Bulldogs face, the Classic City Canines likely will benefit from the fact that three of their coaches will be on the Georgia sideline for the final time. I don’t mean that in an obnoxious way; I merely mean that the Red and Black have a history of playing hard for departing coaches, even in consolation games. The ‘Dawgs sent Coach Dooley out a winner in the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day 1989, "won one for the Goffer" in an 18-17 road triumph over Georgia Tech on the Saturday after Ray Goff’s firing was announced, and delivered an O’ahu Bowl victory to the deposed Jim Donnan in his last outing with the Red and Black. With any luck, the Georgia defense will be intense for their postseason tilt as a farewell gift to Willie Martinez, Jon Fabris, and John Jancek.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Reflecting on the Civil War: Oregon comes through in all the big moments

jtlight — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:16:25 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

I like this picture more than the one Beaver fans always post. But it's also more important, as this run occurred in a game with the Pac-10 title on the line.

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Well, I've had almost 24 hours to digest what has happened in the world of Duck football, and, it's still as beautiful as ever. And while the game wasn't perfect, we saw our Ducks grow up over the last two games. Oregon pretty much blew through their first 5 Pac-10, winning by margins of 39, 46, 14, 24, and 27. Everything looked easy, the Ducks got some great breaks and took advantage of them to turn games into blowouts.

However, the contests against Arizona and Oregon State were not so easy. In both games, the Ducks faced adversity. But when the game was on the line, this Duck team made the plays it needed to. The offenses showed poise and confidence, and seemed to have an ingrained belief that they would come through. There was a confidence in this team that we haven't seen in some time.

To me, the play of the game was the 4th and 6 conversion to Jeff Maehl. This was a conversion the Ducks simply had to have. OSU had all the momentum at that point, up by 9 points after scoring touchdowns on their previous two drives. But Jeremiah Masoli threw a strike, that has handled by Maehl right as he was hit, and the Ducks kept the drive alive.

Without that conversion, winning that game becomes very difficult. But that's what this Duck team has done. They have converted the biggest plays of the game over and over again. They executed to the highest level and have shown the desire and confidence of a championship team.

It was this attitude that propelled the Ducks to become the first team to be Pac-10 champions by two whole games since the 1991 Washington Huskies.

Let's also give props to the defense. They had no easy task, going against an incredibly accurate passer in Sean Canfield, and the best wide receiver in the conference in James Rodgers. Yet, the Duck defense put the game on their shoulders. OSU was never able to develop a run game, and seemed to almost totally abandon it in the second half. The Ducks held the Beavers to 83 yards on 25 carries. And that lack of a rushing game forced OSU into many long 3rd down conversions. The Ducks held the Beavers to 5/14 on 3rd down. Previously, the Beavers had converted just over 48% of their third downs.

While the Ducks had defensive issues on two OSU drives (to end the first half and start the second half). However, outside of those two drives, that Oregon defense gave up only 214 yards on 50 plays, for a mere 4.3 yards per play. It's easy to point to the 33 points and the two drives where OSU looked very good, but outside of that, the Ducks bottled up the OSU offense, took them off their normal offense, and forced them away from their typically balanced attack. By the end of the game, the Oregon defense looked fresh and energetic, and the OSU offense was struggling. When the Ducks were able to get pressure on Canfield, he stood no chance.

The one blight on the game were Duck mistakes. If Oregon had not gifted OSU 10 points in the first half, this game is much different. Similarly, Oregon had a stretch in the second quarter where the offense sputtered, and they squandered multiple opportunities to put the game away early, though OSU should get some credit for stepping up. But when the Ducks offense got rolling, OSU could simply not stop it. The final 4 drives for the Ducks: Touchdown, Touchdown, Field Goal, run out the clock.

But again, the whole game came down to the play in the final quarter, and Oregon dominated on both sides of the ball. They had two drives into OSU territory while OSU struggled to move the ball and scored no points.

Oregon was better prepared to play for four quarters. They were the better team, more explosive on offense, faster and more consistent on defense. They were also the hardest working team in the Pac-10, showing incredible focus throughout the entire season.

And that hard work has paid off. The Oregon Ducks are the best team in the Pac-10, by a good margin, and are going to be playing in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2010. It couldn't get much better.

Reliving Oregon State's Highlights from the Civil War

Jake Bertalotto — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:04:37 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

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Just like after Oregon State's late November 42-36 loss to USC, the more you look back on the game, the easier it gets to see just what could have been. The missed opportunities in (or near) the red zone were abundant.

It's hard to go through Oregon State's highlights from the game without thinking about the fumble recovery that put OSU at the UO 17 yard-line (result: field goal), or the 48-yard pass from Canfield to Quizz that put the Beavers deep into Oregon territory (result: field goal), but that's exactly what we're going to do with the help of Mike Parker. As you'll see, many of these highlights should have been followed up with an exuberant "TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!!" call by Parker, but were not.

Let's get started.

Mike Parker: First down and five for Oregon, at it's 25 yard-line, just getting started... Masoli out of shoutgun, takes the pass from center, the ball is tipped, AND PICKED OFF BY DOCKERY!! Down the left sideline! Dockery inside the 25 and down he goes at about the 23. A 12 yard return for James Dockery, and the Beavers get the first turnover of the game, and they set up shop first and ten at the Oregon 23.

On Monday I claimed that turnovers would be a big factor in the game-- and they were. Oregon fumbled once and threw an interception, and it could have been worse than that. Remember OSU's kickoff at the very end of the first half that was almost fumbled? How about the snap that was well over Masoli's head late in the game? The Beavers won the turnover battle, but Oregon more than made up for their two mishaps with three killer fourth down conversions.

The Oregon State drive after the Dockery interception was a bad omen for the remainder of the game: it took a fourth down conversion to score a touchdown. Imagine if Riley would have called for a field goal at that point... it could have meant four first half field goals.

Mike Parker: It's an I formation-- power formation for the Beavers. Three tight ends, Jacquizz the running back... fourth and goal, turn, give to Quizz, running to the right, and QUIZZ IS IN! TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!

Oregon State took an early 7-0 lead on that play, but Oregon came right back down the field and tied it up. Oregon State's next drive stalled at about the 25-yard line, and another Kahut field goal made it 10-7, Beavers. After Jeff Maehl burned James Dockery for a 73-yard score, the Beavers found themselves trailing for the first time of the game, 14-10. It was at this point that the game slowed down... both teams exchanged several punts... but Oregon State would be the next team to knock on the door:

Mike Parker: Trips formation to the right, play clock down to two, Canfield out of shotgun, throws over the middle to Jacquizz Rodgers, breaks one tackle at the 40, comes back to the 45, HAS A CHANCE DOWN THE LEFT SIDELINE!. 35-30. 25-20. Cuts back inside at about the 15 yardline!

He indeed had a chance there... perhaps OSU's best chance of scoring on that drive. After the long pass play got the Beavers to the Oregon 15, a penalty backed them up five yards, bringing up 1st and 15. A 9-yard pass to Kjos made it 2nd and 6-- then a Jacquizz Rodgers rush for no gain and an incomplete pass intended for James Rodgers brought out the field goal unit, and the Beavers brought it to within one: 14-13 Oregon.

Immediately after the field goal, Oregon regained possession with 7 minutes remaining in the half:

Mike Parker: On first down, Masoli, THE BALL IS LOOSE, being chased! The Beavers after it! The Beavers trying to come up with it! Matt Lagrone says he has it... and I believe he does. The ball knocked loose, AND LAGRONE RECOVERS FOR THE BEAVERS! And the Beavers have a first down at the Oregon 17!

And guess what? Again... Oregon State settles for a field goal. But nonetheless, the Beavers took a 16-14 lead.

Oregon would then take the lead with a touchdown by LaMichael James. I'll point out that the Ducks fumbled the ball a play before scoring on that drive... but Jeremiah Masoli recovered, and the Ducks took a 21-16 lead with 1:09 remaining in the half.

A pass interference call on Talmadge Jackson III (could he have been more obvious?) and four completions got the Beavers into Oregon territory at the 33. Another completion to Brady Camp (after a false start, ugh) set the Beavers up with a 2nd and 5 play:

Mike Parker: Second and five at the Oregon 28. Canfield out of shotgun, from the left hashmark, takes the snap from center, surveys his options, throws down the middle, CAUGHT BY JAMES RODGERS, TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!

The Beavers then headed into the locker room with the lead, which never hurts the confidence levels heading into the second half. After a first half in which they settled for field goals way too many times, the Beavers needed to come out and drive the ball down the field and score, which is exactly what they did:

Mike Parker: Third and six from the nine, left has. Canfield from shotgun to throw, down the middle to Casey Kjos, TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!!!

That made it 30-21 Beavers... and that's when Chip Kelly turned to the physicality of Legarette Blount, and it paid off with a quick score. That drive was when the first crucial Oregon fourth down conversion occured-- a quick slant from Masoli to Maehl on 4th and 6. After that, the Beavers got (guess what?) another field goal (score now 33-28), then Oregon scored a touchdown to take the lead for good (34-33).

Morgan Flint added a field goal for the Ducks early in the fourth quarter as Oregon attempted to chew up the clock. Oregon State's only drive of the fourth quarter was the one that ended in James Rodgers diving out of bounds just past the first down markers, oh-so-close to a crucial conversion. But Oregon regained possession of the ball, converted two first downs, successfully eating six minutes of clock to seal the victory.

I told you it's hard to rehash all those missed opportunities.

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com) | Twitter

The Rose Bowl Game - An Early Look

Law Buckeye — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:47:39 -0000

Although the majority of selections won't be made until Sunday, it's officially bowl season on The Rivalry, Esq.

Let's inaugurate the fair-weather festivities with an introductory look at The Granddaddy of 'Em All, the 96th Rose Bowl Game. Having saved its best quarter of play for last, the Oregon Ducks captured the Pac 10 Conference Championship in the cold confines of Autzen Stadium last night, 37-33 over Oregon State. That means Eugene can finally take its seat at the table with Ohio State, who's been waiting patiently for almost three weeks to learn the name of its adversary.

Strength against Strength? Oregon's Offense versus Ohio State' Defense

I stayed late at a local Grandview pub to watch the game, and after three Bells winter white ales, my buddy turned to me and declared: "I like this matchup. It pits strength against strength." He's referring, of course, to Oregon's spectacular run-spread attack against Ohio State's rock solid 3-4 defense. I agreed, with slight reservation. The Buckeye's struggles against the spread offense are well documented. Oregon State, which boasted the best rushing defense in the Pac 10 coming into the Civil War, gave up 288 yards on the ground to the Ducks. (They gave up less to Stanford, and its almost-certain-to-be-a-Heisman-finalist tailback Toby Gerhart).

Make sure to go back and submit your picks for Week 14 of the Obligatory Predictions Contest. Weekly winners get a chance to write 500 words on the site.

The fact that Ohio State's defense, a unit that's adept at swallowing Big Ten power rushers, will be forced to de-stack the box, and dispatch into space to track a multifaceted (misdirectional) option attack should be cause for concern in Columbus. Last night, Oregon employed motion Pistol, two-back, and spread sweep sets, along with the bread-and-butter zone read to perfection against the Beavers.

But before you panic, remember, success begins and ends at the line of scrimmage. To compensate for the strength and depth of Ohio State's defensive line, Oregon will have to count numbers in the box, and hope for favorable blocking angles. When they get them, they can move on anyone like a hot knife through butter (see versus USC). When they can't, their attack is as flat as Kansas (see versus Boise State). If Ohio State's DT's can jam the middle and blow Oregon off the line early, they'll be sitting ducks.

But what about Oregon's lateral speed? Let me say this. While the Ducks appear to be sprightly at the receiver, and tailback positions, Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli isn't nearly the speedster that say, Terrelle Pryor is. Perhaps ironically, (like Oregon State did last night) Ohio State will try to force Masoli outside to limit the damage his powerful size can do north to south, while Oregon will try to force Terrelle Pryor inside to prevent him from skating to 12 yards a carry.

Thanks to the sideline-to-sideline speed injection we've received from Linebacker Brian Rolle, Ohio State is more than capable of keying Masoli and running him down on the edge. I'm more worried about bottling things up between the tackles.

How Bend But Not Break Comes into Play

Anyone who fears the return of Slow-Hi-O against the spread should remember the job Jim Heacock did against the Texas Longhorns in last year's Fiesta Bowl. A Longhorn team that was averaging some 43.9 points a game coming into Glendale was held to just 3 in the first half, and 24 overall. But the final total disguises the fact the Colt McCoy walked away from the game with his usual prodigious stats (41 of 59 for 414 yards).

Magic? Nope. Bend and not break.

Expect to see Oregon rack up a pile of yards on quick outs, and quick slants early on in drives as they march unimpeded down the field. But the closer they get to the goal, the tighter our corners cover, and a pass that Masoli could comfortably place three downs before, is suddenly jumped for a Pick 6. Ohio State has three players (Kurt Coleman, Ross Homan, and Anderson Russel) that rank in the Top 10 in conference for interceptions. Expect them to single-handedly mitigate big Oregon drives.

Thus, the early keys to the game:

Oregon Offense

Stunt to achieve favorable blocking angles.
Don't worry about going down the field early, keep the passing game short
Finish what you start.

Ohio State Defense

Win at the line.
Flush Masoil outside.
Bend, but don't break.

Poll

Who Wins the 2009 Rose Bowl Game?

Ohio State

248 votes

Oregon

648 votes

896 votes | Poll has closed

Quack Fix: The Oregon Ducks are the Pac-10 Champions

jtlight — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:05:01 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

It's fitting that LeGarrette Blount was almost the undoing of the season early in the year, and ended up saving it in the 3rd quarter.

Browse more photos »

What a night. I still have a grin plastered across my face. The Ducks are Pac-10 champions. Here's your post-Civil War quack:

First off, Chip Kelly. 3 fourth down attempts and conversions that saved and then won the game for the Ducks. George Schroeder caught up with him after the game, and Kelly never had any thought of NOT going for it. And the confidence that Kelly displayed spread to the whole team. Despite being down by 9 in the 3rd, the Ducks never wavered, they never gave up. They just kept on plugging, and made big play after big play, on both sides of the ball.
Ken Woody has his post-game analysis up. A few things that stuck out: Bringing in Blount turned out to be much more than giving him some playing time as a senior. His physicality was something the Ducks desperately needed (Paul was right!). Second, for all the talk about the Beavers "controlling the clock," it was the Ducks that did that in the second half, with a number of huge drives to keep the Beaver offense off the field. Lastly, OSU seemed to make no attempt to establish a running game. The Ducks dominated the ground game, especially in the second half.
Adam Jude has a piece on LeGarrette Blount, and the emotional night after a long and lonely season. One of my favorite parts of the night can be seen on the SportsCenter highlights of the game (they won't let me embed): The massive smile on Gary Cambell's face when he hugs Blount after his touchdown. I'm so happy for LeGarrette for getting to this point. He kept his head down, and worked hard all season, even when he wasn't being rewarded. How the entire team responded to the Boise situation makes me proud to be a Duck.
Ted Miller has a piece on the bumpy ride the Ducks endured. It has been an exciting ride, with some incredible lows, which make the highs that much sweeter.
The senior sendoff was a great success, and good thing it was well before kickoff, or it may have been a bit teary on the sideline.
And, since I can't resist looking forward, let's take a quick look at recruiting. There were some huge visitors last night, including a surprise by Dominique Easley, one of the top DE recruits in the nation. Don't be surprised if the Duck commitments start rolling in.

After the jump a few videos. As always, leave your links and comments below. It's a day of celebration!!! GO DUCKS!!!

The ESPN crew breaks down the Oregon victory

Chip Kelly Talks Civil War

Chip Kelly full post-game press conference

Jeremiah Masoli post-game press conference

KVAL post game coverage

‘I really don’t like these guys’

AndyPanda — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:48:44 -0000

Keaton Kristick talked turkey, and gave his opinion on tonight's Civil War in his column for the Sporting News Today.

Thanksgiving was lots of fun. I hung out with Coach (Mike) Riley and his family. They made a meal for a few of us. I got to sit next to Coach Riley at the dinner table-that was the highlight of my Thanksgiving. He's really down to earth and a family guy. He stays true to his values and is just a good person.

We talked football a little bit-Thanksgiving football and whatnot. But aside from that, it was just a relaxing day. He was talking about how he didn't go into the office that day. It was nice.

It didn't take long to get down to the good stuff Wednesday morning.

Oh yeah, that Oregon game. I've been asked about it so many times, and it truly means a lot to the entire Corvallis community. You can feel it-it's electric in Corvallis. Wednesday morning there were some Ducks fans out protesting or something, making noise when I was trying to go to class.

On to the task at hand.

But it's all good, and I'm excited to play this game.

Last year's loss to Oregon was upsetting for the whole team, but for the seniors especially, knowing it was their last opportunity. Our coaches advised us to put ourselves in their shoes and do what we can this year to prepare and learn from last year. I think we've done that. We've practiced hard, and we couldn't ask for a better setting for a game.

At Autzen Stadium there's a constant hum. It's the noise. You just have to block it out. It isn't that big of a deal for the defense. You can still hear, but it gets pretty loud, probably about as loud as Reser Stadium at its loudest.

Kristick has an interesting take on the familiar Oregon quarterback's speed.

Oregon has some good athletes. I've told people that Jeremiah Masoli runs how I would run if I ever got the ball: a little finesse mixed with some power. It'll be fun playing against athletes like that.

The rivalry has also grown on Keaton.

The Civil War is really big in Oregon. In Arizona, where I'm from, the rivalry isn't that big between Arizona and Arizona State. So coming into a rivalry like this is amazing.

People like to make assumptions about how Oregon State is, and how Oregon is. I like to think we're somewhat similar. The only difference I can really see is in the two college towns. Aside from that, we're pretty similar people. Everyone travels down from the same city, Portland, for the most part. And a lot of people like to label us as this blue-collar team with inferior athletes. I like to tell them we do work hard, but we also have a lot of athletes on our team that people really don't see.

My first two years, I really had no reason to hate Oregon-there's no reason to hate them when you're winning the Civil War. But after losing the last one, it kind of sunk in: I really don't like these guys. I have to do what I have to do because this is my last opportunity to play against them. I'd hate to go out with a sour taste in my mouth.

- As told to Jim Ryan

Getting close to time for Kristick to lock the sights on!