Rose Bowl preparations are finally under way as the Ducks began practice last Friday.  With that, we have a little more quack than last Tuesday.  Enjoy!

• In Monday practice news, Nate Costa was back after missing the first three Rose Bowl practices (all absences were excused).  Moseley notes that both Diante Jackson and Cliff Harris made nice plays during the practice session.  John Hunt has a brief blog entry up that notes the Ducks practice schedule until they depart for Pasadena on Christmas Day.
• In today's Register-Guard, Ron Bellamy takes us back to the 1958 Rose Bowl against Ohio State.  tOSU came in as 19-point favorites and escaped with a 10-7 victory.  For those of you not familiar with the details, it's definitely worth a read.  
• Continuing the ongoing Register-Guard feature that spotlights members of this year's Rose Bowl team, today's Duck of the Day is John Boyett. 
• John Hunt and Jeff Smith have a piece that looks at the different paths taken by two of the top dual-threat quarterback recruits of 2008: Terrelle Pryor and Darron Thomas. 
• Mike Tokito has a blog entry up discussing a trend that most of us are aware of: Ohio State's recent inability to come through in the big game.  This is, of course, all relative.  OSU has lost three consecutive BCS bowl games, including back-to-back national championship bowl games.  I wish I could say the same for Oregon.  That said, once you begin reaching those levels consistently, simply being there isn't enough.  Here's hoping Oregon makes it four straight BCS losses for the Buckeyes.
  
• A little under the radar yesterday, but the Ducks landed a JC recruit, defensive lineman Isaac Remington who will have two years to play two.  Bob Rickert notes that Remington plans to be on campus in January.
• Luke Andrews of the Mail Tribune has a feature piece on E.J. Singler, who has now started three straight games after nearly redshirting this season.  This week, the basketball team hosts Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday and Oakland on Saturday as they look to end their recent struggles that have seen them go 1-4 over their last five games.   I will be in town for both these as well as the Idaho State game -- anyone interested in checking out the games? 

As usual, post any comments or links below. 

Go Ducks!

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.
  

Well, it's official -- axemen23 wins the 2009 ATQ Jersey Contest.  Make sure the email address in your profile is valid and Jared or I will contact you about collecting your prize.

For the final scoreboard, I have also included the number of weeks each poster submitted picks. And, the best thing to come out of this year's contest (besides qrsouther and Takimoto having to purchase some zubaz) was the end to Jared's reign at the top.  He finished in a tie for 36th place. 

Full standings are after the jump.

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Well, this is it -- the final week of picks.  If you haven't made your picks, you can do so here.  The deadline is tonight at 11.59 PM PT.

Here are your weekly game picks from the ATQ bloggers.  Only Jared and Dominic submitted comments this week.  

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This is it - the final week in the 2009 ATQ Jersey Contest.  Good luck!

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh

West Virginia at Rutgers

Florida vs Alabama (Atlanta, GA)

Arizona at USC (-8)

... and, because I think it will be fun:

New Mexico State at Boise State (-44)

by Rob Carr - AP

17 days ago: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon outruns Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Trevor Pryce (90) for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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With the Civil War only three days away, there's lots quack out there.  Let's get straight to it. 

• In today's Register-Guard, Adam Jude has a feature article on Kenny Rowe and Eddie Pleasant and the need for them to pressure Oregon State QB Sean Canfield.  In what should be a good matchup for Oregon, the Ducks are second in the conference in sacks while the Beavers are second-to-last in sacks allowed.   
• Mike Tokito is running a series of stories looking at intangible aspects of the Civil War matchup that may affect the outcome.  Today's story looks at non-offensive touchdowns.  While Oregon has scored six touchdowns on either special teams or defense this year, Oregon State has yet to score one. 
• The Oregonian's Aarron Fentress takes a look at how former Ducks and Beavers that are now NFL teammates are preparing for Thursday's showdown.  There are ten NFL teams that feature players that played collegiately in Eugene or Corvallis, which is quite a few more than I would have guessed. 
  
• In Sunday's print edition of the Register-Guard, Rob Moseley writes about two pairs of brothers who play for the Ducks: the Butterfields (Brian and Ben) and the DiVicenzos (Mike and Chris).  Moseley notes that all four players were walk-ons until this season, when the two older brothers (Brian and Mike) earned scholarships.
• Getting almost as much attention as the game itself is how the Autzen crowd will behave on Thursday night.  George Schroeder had a column on Sunday where he discussed how fan behavior affects Oregon's reputation.  Schroeder notes that Mike Bellotti is concerned about the issue, as Thursday's game will feature an increased security presence.
• Of course, while previewing Thursday's game, it's hard not to bring up last year's outcome.  John Hunt has a blog entry up in which he asks whether or not Oregon's offense can approach the level of production achieved in last year's Civil War. And, OSU's rivals.com site is looking back at the top five Civil Wars of the decade and coming in at #5 is 65-38.
• And, as many of you noticed (evidenced by the almost 500-comment thread from last night), Dennis Dixon made his first NFL start for the Pittsburgh Steelers last night.  I was only able to watch the first the three quarters but, from what I saw, Dixon looked pretty good with a 33-yard TD pass and a 24-yard TD run.  Unfortunately, Dennis' one turnover led to the winning FG by Baltimore in overtime.  Still, not a bad performance in his first start playing against the Ravens on the road. 
  
• Finally, DuckTerritory has a series of premium recruiting articles (subscription required).  First, 2011 dual-threat QB Jerrard Randall (Scout: 3-star) has the Ducks as his early favorite despite not yet having an offer from Oregon.  Randall looks like he might be the latest Oregon recruiting target from the state of Florida.  Next, is a story on four-star linebacker Shaydon Akuna, who is hoping to set up a visit to Oregon soon.  Finally, there is a collection of recruiting notes up from Friday, featuring  the latest info on Gabe King, Christian Thomas and others.  

After the jump are a couple of videos, so check them out.

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With one week remaining, here are the standings in the 2009 ATQ Jersey Contest.  Despite only getting two picks correct, axemen23 maintains his two-game lead.  Overall, we had 58 posters make picks this week.  Of those 58 entries, there were two perfect scores  -- congrats to joffthedeckk and myself.  No one was shutout this week, though there were fourteen posters getting only game correct.

Here are your distributions:

As always, the full standings are after the jump.  And, let me know if there are any errors in tabulating your score -- I have been known to make mistakes.

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If you haven't made your picks, you can do so here.  The deadline is tonight at 11.59 PM PT.

Here are your weekly game picks from the ATQ bloggers. Hopefully, Jeremy will get a chance to add his before the deadline [whew - almost blew it, jc].  Mine are submitted without comment this week.

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More photos » by Wily Low - AP

25 days ago: Oregon's Ed Dickson (83) celebrates after scoring a touchdown with six seconds left in regulation against Arizona in the second half of an NCAA college football game at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. Oregon won 44 - 41 in overtime. (AP Photo/Wily Low)

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Ugh.  What a deflating loss last night in basketball.  Thankfully, we have nine more days of Civil War hysteria.  Here's your morning quack.

• The men's basketball team suffered an embarrassing 68-55 loss to the Montana Grizzlies at home last night.  A poor first half did the Ducks in, as they managed only 20 first half points -- despite an early 12-2 lead.  As some of you noted elsewhere, this result is quite a buzzkill.  The Ducks are off until Sunday night when they host Montana State.    
• John Hunt has a blog entry with some quotes from Scott Frost talking about the impact of Saturday's dramatic win and reflecting on one of his own.  Frost also notes that Jeff Maehl was the only receiver not rotated out late in the game on Saturday: "Jeff's earned the right to be in there when the chips are down because he's the kind of kid who makes big plays in big situations.''  Looks like that was the right call.  
• Rob Moseley's feature piece today takes us through the final drive against Arizona.  That 18-yard run by LaMichael James on 3rd-and-11 is probably my favorite play of the drive, save for the touchdown catch by Ed Dickson.
• George Schroeder also has a piece up that talks about Pat Kilkenny's decision to move the Civil War game to a Thursday night.  While the move may be inconvenient for some of you attending, it's hard to argue that the date change and the fact that the game will decide the Pac-10 championship means that the nation's undivided attention will be focused on Autzen stadium next Thursday night.
• Finally, the prolific Moseley also has a notebook entry up about Nate Costa earning conference player of the week honors for special teams after his game-saving hold on an errant extra point snap.   Apparently the Sporting News named it the national "play of the week."
• KEZI has a report up of a group of Oregon fans in yellow, including one dressed as the grim reaper, made their way through the OSU campus.  I gotta say, I don't think a yellow grim reaper is all that effective.<sarcasm> Besides, isn't black one of our colors now too? </sarcasm>
  
• Civil War baseball tickets for the May 26th game at PGE Park go on sale today.  The game is officially a non-conference game, but will serve as the fifth game between the Ducks and Beavers in 2010.

After the jump are is a video of Steven Jackson talking Civil War, so check it out.

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