SB Nation User Blog: ntrebon

Quack Fix: Practice update, the 1958 Rose Bowl and a JC commitment

ntrebon — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:36:44 -0000

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!

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

ntrebon — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:13:36 -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?

Browse more photos »

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.

Jersey Contest Scoreboard: Final Standings

ntrebon — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:43:37 -0000

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.

Name	Total Score	# Weeks Played
axemen23	44	14
Al Orange	43	14
SnoConeGod	43	14
Nick	42	14
ConnorOSU	42	14
sgthawkins	42	14
DONALDUCK	41	14
Gorbachav5	41	14
Tortuga12	41	14
71903	40	14
clown1020	40	14
joffthedeckk	40	14
JShufelt	40	14
Matt Daddy	40	14
travissimmo	39	14
trumpetduck	39	14
Dave	38	14
athacher	37	13
djp	37	14
duck_sir	37	14
MarineCorpsDucks	37	14
Webfoots	37	14
Jeremy	36	14
B Money	36	13
Duck_in_NC	36	13
jcgoducks	36	14
bradLL99	35	13
buffduck	35	14
CDDucks	35	12
jojames	35	14
Paul	34	14
Bill Musgrave	34	14
caguirre91	34	12
Duck4Lif3	34	13
jfwells	34	13
Jared	33	14
Dominic	33	14
NamDuck	33	13
qrsouther	33	14
Takimoto	33	14
AcadianTraverse	32	12
coolconman	31	12
KyleC	31	13
SteveBlakeFan	31	12
bpeterson	30	13
duckalope	30	13
DUCKERDIE	30	12
DuckFan4	29	12
Jack223	29	12
Pie	28	10
skywalker9	28	14
swaymarquez	28	10
mtduck	27	11
DuckFan23	26	11
DuckinNC	26	10
GustyJ	25	11
NCDuck	25	10
ProbablyMonty	25	8
QuackinAK	25	13
DavisDuck	24	12
brwkev	23	9
KDean75	23	9
kkobers	23	10
SeattleDucks	23	9
Squishy	23	10
AllSaintsDay	22	9
lross315	22	8
WhenDUXattacK!	22	10
NEP	20	9
niko	20	8
duckydaz	19	6
jcolomy	19	6
jessenumber1	19	8
Nevaduck	19	11
theshwags	19	8
tunathebigfish	19	9
DerekGoDucks	18	8
SherrieC	18	6
CaDuck	17	9
nbudde	17	7
Tillanate10	17	8
Templar	16	7
haveasoda	15	8
riptatermen	15	8
stone86	15	7
bmxryder507	14	6
bzzz61	14	7
ChicagoQuack503	14	6
StuckeyDuck	14	4
DuckFanAndy	13	5
QuackQuackAttack	13	5
thuginator	13	5
Berkelium97	12	5
DuckJess	12	8
oregonduck4life	12	4
polo12354	12	5
BKB	11	5
NVDuck	11	5
TBohn	11	4
thrilliam	11	5
westspec	10	4
DUCKinNY	9	5
oregonsportsaddict	9	4
tj4eck	9	4
Tylendel	9	3
ajneuman	8	3
blazer24252	8	3
cafe_civet	8	4
BayDuck	7	4
DenverDuck14	7	2
IOWA DUCK	7	4
Nelz	7	4
Twith	7	3
AKDuck	6	3
ArbyOSU	6	3
benzduck	6	6
Bicycle Rider	6	3
eedgaar	6	2
gamedaytribe	6	4
greenthunder	6	2
Oregon Duck in SLC	6	2
The VD Special	6	2
GoDuckYourself420	5	2
Jayon	5	2
vaultguru6	5	1
ENVYduck	4	2
kono	4	1
M. Fletcher	4	4
MrRizzo2	4	1
bigrez	3	2
Cherry Pie	3	1
Crushin Beers	3	1
dougall5505	3	1
fooldog1	3	1
GoDucks69	3	2
lars.thorwald	3	1
moismgoducks	3	1
NC Duck	3	1
OH3Sticks	3	1
PresidentGSP	3	1
RipCityRoyCity	3	1
SouthOfTheBorderDuck	3	1
uonburris	3	1
albanyduck	2	1
bham duck	2	1
Defender90	2	1
DuckMe	2	1
Duckufan	2	1
Dux	2	1
faninterference	2	1
J-Duck	2	1
Oregonismysecondoption	2	1
phillyduck23	2	1
spaceman21	2	1
Stemmy_23	2	1
wolfmanshowlforever	2	1
6meangreen6	1	1
gsunny22	1	1
quackingbites822	1	1
sfouts7	1	1

Jersey Contest: Week 14 - Blogger Picks

ntrebon — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:11:22 -0000

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.

	Cincinnati at Pittsburgh	West Virginia at Rutgers	Florida vs Alabama	Arizona at USC (-8)	New Mexico State Boise State (-44)
Jared	Cincinnati	West Virginia	Florida	Arizona	Boise State
Nick	Cincinnati	West Virginia	Florida	USC	New Mexico State
Dave	Cincinnati	West Virginia	Alabama	Arizona	New Mexico State
Dominic	Cincinnati	West Virginia	Alabama	Arizona	Boise State
Jeremy	Cincinnati	West Virginia	Florida	Arizona	Boise State
Paul	Pittsburgh	West Virginia	Florida	Arizona	New Mexico State

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh:

Jared: Can the Wanstache win the big game? I say no, even if Brian Kelly has one foot out the door. Pick: Cincinnati

Dominic: I like the Bearcats in this matchup, even in Pittsburgh. Cinci has been getting better and better throughout the year and even though this might be their one chance to slip up, I just don't see it. Oh, and Tony Pike is the man. Pick: Cincinnati

Jeremy: I just can't get the image of Pittsburgh's Sun Bowl against OSU out of my head. And more undefeated AQ teams just makes the BCS that much more flawed. Pick: Cincinnati

West Virginia at Rutgers:

Jared: West Virginia is not favored, but the S&P stats give them a 10 point advantage. When the disparity is that large, I gotta go with the Mountaineers. Pick: West Virginia

Dominic: I like West Virginia's gutsy win against Pitt last week and even though Rutgers has recovered from a horrible loss to Cinci early in the season, I think the Mountaineers pull off this one big. Pick: West Virginia

Jeremy: I'm trying to recall if I've seen Rutgers play even one game this year. West Virginia just feels like the safer pick. Pick: West Virginia

Florida vs Alabama:

Jared: For as much crap as he takes on this site, Tim Tebow is one of the best college players of the decade, and he can do it all. Both teams have great defenses, but Tebow will be the difference in the game. Pick: Florida

Dominic: The Tebow-era is finally coming to a close and no one is happier about this than me. Don't get me wrong, he's a great player but I'm just tired of the circus. Because I'm so tired of it, I don't want to hear about how great he will be when he wins "another national title". I want to see TCU vs. Florida in the Sugar Bowl so I'm rooting for the home team. Go Bama! Roll Tide! Pick: Alabama

Jeremy: Come on. This game is all about...Timmmmaaaay! He's gonna roll the Tide because Saban's a jerk and he's going to continue to get beat on the biggest stages. That, and because Lane Kiffin says "Alabama has better coaching". Lots of bad karma for 'Bama. Jeez, Kiffin drop the cry baby act with Florida already. Pick: Florida

Arizona at USC (-8):

Jared: I think Arizona has a great chance to win this game. They have an offense that can move the ball very well, and a stout defense. They are balance enough to take on USC (who they always play very tough). Pick: Arizona

Dominic: 8 points is a lot of points and the way Arizona has been playing as of late, I think they cover. They may not win but I can't resist taking the Wildcats in this pick. Pick: Arizona

Jeremy: USC's defense just isn't all that this year. Foles can put a nice Holiday Bowl wrap on his breakout year in the Pac-10. I also like the speed on UA's defense. The group of loser Wildcat fans who threw crap at Oregon don't deserve this, but their team has played well this year. Pick: Arizona

New Mexico State at Boise State (-44):

Jared: I literally flipped an internet coin on this one. Tails it is! Pick: Boise State

Dominic: 44 points is a lot but New Mexico State is not a good football team. I'm taking the Broncos. Pick: Boise State

Jeremy: One more chance for Boise State to make a statement. Of course it mostly falls on deaf ears, because, well, they're playing New Mexico State (aka Washington State according to one blogger who made me laugh earlier today). Pick: Boise State

Jersey Contest: Week 14

ntrebon — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:05:10 -0000

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)

Quack Fix: Lots of Civil War talk, Dennis Dixon and some recruiting updates

ntrebon — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:28:35 -0000

by Rob Carr - AP

19 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)

View full size photo »

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.

Jeremiah Masoli on the Civil War

Civil War week: Chip Kelly

Civil War spread opens at Oregon -8

ntrebon — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:35:29 -0000

Civil War spread opens at Oregon -8

That's a big spread for a rivalry game featuring two top-15ish teams. Thoughts?

Jersey Contest Scoreboard: Week 13

ntrebon — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:32:01 -0000

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:

Correct Picks	# occurrences
5	2
4	3
3	18
2	21
1	14
0	0

Winner	Correct Picks
South Carolina	17
BYU	31
Tennessee	36
Oklahoma	20
Arkansas (+6)	28

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.

Name	Total Score
axemen23	42
Al Orange	40
Gorbachav5	40
SnoConeGod	40
Nick	39
sgthawkins	39
ConnorOSU	38
DONALDUCK	38
Matt Daddy	38
clown1020	37
JShufelt	37
Tortuga12	37
travissimmo	37
71903	36
B Money	36
Duck_in_NC	36
joffthedeckk	36
trumpetduck	36
athacher	34
caguirre91	34
djp	34
duck_sir	34
jfwells	34
MarineCorpsDucks	34
Webfoots	34
Dave	33
AcadianTraverse	32
Bill Musgrave	32
buffduck	32
Duck4Lif3	32
jcgoducks	32
Jeremy	31
Paul	31
bradLL99	31
CDDucks	31
jojames	31
KyleC	31
SteveBlakeFan	31
Jared	30
Takimoto	30
Dominic	29
coolconman	29
Jack223	29
NamDuck	29
qrsouther	29
bpeterson	28
Pie	28
swaymarquez	28
duckalope	27
DUCKERDIE	27
mtduck	27
skywalker9	27
DuckFan23	26
DuckinNC	26
GustyJ	25
NCDuck	25
DavisDuck	24
DuckFan4	24
brwkev	23
KDean75	23
kkobers	23
SeattleDucks	23
Squishy	23
AllSaintsDay	22
lross315	22
QuackinAK	22
WhenDUXattacK!	21
NEP	20
niko	20
ProbablyMonty	20
duckydaz	19
jessenumber1	19
Nevaduck	19
theshwags	19
tunathebigfish	19
DerekGoDucks	18
SherrieC	18
nbudde	17
Tillanate10	17
Templar	16
haveasoda	15
riptatermen	15
stone86	15
bmxryder507	14
bzzz61	14
CaDuck	14
ChicagoQuack503	14
jcolomy	14
StuckeyDuck	14
DuckFanAndy	13
thuginator	13
Berkelium97	12
DuckJess	12
oregonduck4life	12
polo12354	12
NVDuck	11
TBohn	11
thrilliam	11
QuackQuackAttack	10
westspec	10
DUCKinNY	9
oregonsportsaddict	9
tj4eck	9
Tylendel	9
ajneuman	8
BKB	8
blazer24252	8
cafe_civet	8
BayDuck	7
IOWA DUCK	7
Nelz	7
Twith	7
AKDuck	6
ArbyOSU	6
benzduck	6
Bicycle Rider	6
eedgaar	6
gamedaytribe	6
greenthunder	6
Oregon Duck in SLC	6
The VD Special	6
GoDuckYourself420	5
vaultguru6	5
ENVYduck	4
kono	4
M. Fletcher	4
MrRizzo2	4
bigrez	3
Cherry Pie	3
Crushin Beers	3
dougall5505	3
fooldog1	3
GoDucks69	3
Jayon	3
lars.thorwald	3
moismgoducks	3
NC Duck	3
OH3Sticks	3
PresidentGSP	3
RipCityRoyCity	3
SouthOfTheBorderDuck	3
uonburris	3
albanyduck	2
bham duck	2
Defender90	2
DenverDuck14	2
DuckMe	2
Duckufan	2
Dux	2
faninterference	2
J-Duck	2
Oregonismysecondoption	2
phillyduck23	2
spaceman21	2
Stemmy_23	2
wolfmanshowlforever	2
6meangreen6	1
gsunny22	1
quackingbites822	1
sfouts7	1

Jersey Contest: Week 13 - Blogger Picks

ntrebon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:41:00 -0000

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.

	Clemson at South Carolina	Utah at BYU	Tennessee at Kentucky	Oklahoma State at Oklahoma	Arkansas at LSU (-6)
Jared	Clemson	BYU	Kentucky	Oklahoma State	Arkansas
Nick	South Carolina	BYU	Tennessee	Oklahoma	Arkansas
Dave	Clemson	BYU	Kentucky	Oklahoma State	LSU
Dominic	Clemson	BYU	Tennessee	Oklahoma State	Arkansas
Jeremy	Clemson	BYU	Kentucky	Oklahoma State	LSU
Paul	South Carolina	BYU	Kentucky	Oklahoma	LSU

Clemson at South Carolina:

Jared: Tommy Bowden is no longer coaching Clemson, and they're headed to the ACC Championship game. Coincidence? I think not. Pick: Clemson

Dave: Clemson has won six in a row. South Carolina has lost three straight. This late in the season, I'm going to ride the momentum and go with the Tigers. Pick: Clemson

Dominic: These are two teams going in opposite directions. Clemson has won 6 in a row and South Carolina has lost 4 of it's last 5. Outside of the Florida game, the Gamecocks have been getting blown out. I'm going to take the Tigers in this rivalry game. Pick: Clemson

Paul: Although Clemson has won 10 of the last 12 against their in-state rival, a date with Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game on Dec. 5 will have the Tigers looking ahead. Plus, the Gamecocks are coming off a bye week and desperately need a win to halt a losing streak to end the year for the third straight season. Pick: South Carolina

Jeremy: We're used to seeing Clemson under perform, but this season it's South Carolina that's the train wreck. We don't hear a lot about running back C.J. Spiller here on the left coast. I expect he'll keep the chains moving for Clemson. Pick: Clemson

Utah at BYU:

Jared: BYU is at home, and at least according to Football Outsiders, are slightly better. Pick: BYU

Dave: Both of these teams have played two tough teams. Both of these teams have lost both of those games. These are two mediocre football teams. To me, the difference is that BYU has the best rush defense in the Pac-10, whereas Utah is a primarily rushing offense. BYU is much more explosive offensively, and they will get an early lead that Utah struggle to recover from. Pick: BYU

Dominic: Utah has been playing better but I think BYU has too much firepower for the Utes to keep this one close. Couple that with BYU playing at home and that should be just enough to give the Cougars the advantage. Pick: BYU

Paul: With TCU in the driver's seat of the Mountain West, it's the battle for second place between these two rivals. Both teams have put together solid seasons, with one in-conference loss to TCU each, and one out-of-conference loss. Frankly, it's a toss-up, but I like BYU at home. Pick: BYU

Jeremy: Gotta lean towards the home team here, as much as I'll be rooting for Utah. Pick: BYU

Tennessee at Kentucky:

Jared: After my article on home field advantage, I figure I'm gonna have to take at least one. Plus, gotta go with Rich Brooks. Pick: Kentucky

Dave: Oh, Snoconegod, what are you going to do when the Ducks roll into Rocky Top next season? Neither of these teams are very good, being middling teams in a down conference, so I'll go with Kentucky at home. This game isn't interesting enough to research more than that. Pick: Kentucky

Dominic: It pains me to go against Rich Brooks but I think Tennessee is a pretty good team, despite what their record indicates. If not for a couple of different bounces of the ball, people might be talking about the Volunteers as a contender in the SEC. Pick: Tennessee

Paul: Kentucky hasn't beaten Tennessee since 1984. In fact, not a single player on Kentucky's roster WAS ALIVE the last time the Wildcats beat the Vols. What does that mean? Absolutely nothing. But Tennessee hasn't won on the road this year, and it's not going to happen in Lexington. Pick: Kentucky

Jeremy: Mediocre SEC Team #1 versus Mediocre SEC Team #2. Please, Rich, get it done. Just for me. And Jared, Dave and Paul. Pick: Kentucky.

Oklahoma State at Oklahoma:

Jared: Ugh. OSU has a messed up QB situation, but Oklahoma is falling apart. Pick: Oklahoma State

Dave: Oklahoma has a ton more talent than the Pokes. That said, Oklahoma mailed it in this season long ago. Their performances against Texas Tech and Nebraska have been a total embarrassment. And you know I'm loving it. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is playing for a possible BCS berth. One team wants to be here. One team wants to go home. Pick: Oklahoma State

Dominic: How does this sound? 6-6 Oklahoma Sooners. That's what going to happen after this weekend. The Cowboys have put the Dez Bryant fiasco behind them and are playing very good football. Without Bradford, the Sooners are a completely different team. Stone Cold Lock it! Pick: Oklahoma State

Paul: Oklahoma's 5-1 at home this year, and that one loss was to BYU when Sam Bradford went down in the first half and the Sooners' offense came to a screeching halt. They also haven't lost to their in-state rival since 2002. Pick: Oklahoma

Jeremy: Gasp! Has Oklahoma quit on Stoops? They've had tough breaks no doubt, but with the kind of talent they have at OU (OregonLive non-Duck fans, did you see what I did there? OU, yes THAT is the acronym used to identify the University of Oklahoma. They can't use UO, because that is ours. That, or they can't spell. Take your pick.) it shouldn't have gone THIS bad. I think Juju is going to pile it on the Sooners, just for fun. I can't believe that Dom used "Stone Cold Lock". Pick: Oklahoma State

Arkansas at LSU (-6):

Jared: I just don't think that LSU is really very good. Is Arkansas good? Who knows, but with Ryan Mallet at QB, they always have a shot to win. And with the spread, that may be enough. Pick: Arkansas

Dave: Two more mediocre teams from a down SEC. Give me the home team again, LSU with the points. Pick: LSU

Dominic: LSU doesn't score a lot of points and when they lose, they lose close. I think Arkansas has a number of ways to hurt the Tigers and the Razorbacks should cover this one. I just don't think LSU can keep the mental mistakes from affecting their production and who knows what kind of mental shape they are in after a close loss last week. Pick: Arkansas

Paul: If it were going to come down to the final seconds, there's no question in my mind I'd taking Arkansas, as clearly Les Miles is incapable of managing the clock and making sound in-game decisions under pressure. Fortunately for the Tiger faithful, it won't. Pick: LSU

Jeremy: Mediocre SEC Team #3 versus Mediocre SEC Team #4. Les Miles has serious egg on his face and needs his players to put that memory behind them. Arkansas is not terrible and Mallet has the talent to hang some points on the Bayou Bengals. In the end, I think LSU's defense will hang in there. Pick: LSU

Quack Fix: Ducks lose to Montana and more from Saturday's big win

ntrebon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:13:17 -0000

More photos » by Wily Low - AP

27 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)

Browse more photos »

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.

Here's Steven Jackson with some of his own thoughts on the rivalry between the Ducks and Beavers: