Now it Matters
It’s officially football season. No offense to Boise St., Purdue or Utah, but the games matter now. The non-conference results are ancient history. Sure, it would be nice to be 3-0, but the more important stat right now is the zero conference losses. Already, USC and Washington State have their first Pac-10 loss putting each team behind in the run for the roses (well, I guess the Trojans don’t care about that bowl and WSU still has eight more losses to go).
Forget what you’ve seen so far, the Ducks season starts Saturday. And it starts in a big way against a team that has Oregon’s number.
The green and yellow (and steel, black, white and chrome) is in the midst of a three game losing streak against the Cal Bears. The last win came at home in 2005. In that time, the Ducks were blown out in prime time on ABC, lost by about an inch the following year and then slogged through a rainy affair a year ago and lost by 10. In other words, each game has been completely different, but with the same end result, a big mark in the wrong column of the standings.
- 2006: It was “Rich, Cool, and 4-0 – The Sequel” as the Ducks came in undefeated with a fancy ranking, but suffered a blowout loss and saw their season eventually wilt into a 7-6 debacle.
- 2007: The two teams again met each other highly ranked with ESPN College GameDay in town. After Cameron Colvin fumbled on the 1 yard line near the end of regulation, a loss was assured. At the time, the defeat was a devastating setback to what was beginning to look like a possible national title run (and the rest of that story is unspeakable).
- 2008: Cal would be Oregon’s final loss of the season, but it was the one that ensured the Ducks would not contend for a BCS bowl berth.
For three straight years now, Cal has had a lot to say about the fate of Oregon’s season, even if the Bears only finished ahead of the Ducks in the standings once in 2006. Right now, this game isn’t about national titles or BCS Bowls – at least, not for Oregon as they are on week three of “Project Image Reclamation.” A win Saturday would all but erase any remaining memories of Boise State and put the program back in control of a destiny that once seemed so bright.
And a happy birthday to Stacheman! Congratulations on being older today than you were yesterday.
Well, not to be disagreeable but the first three games count a lot. It takes 6 wins to be bowl eligible and those non-conference games add into the total. This is why the UO should not schedule top teams for pre-season. We should have 3 wins going into the PAC-10 schedule. I know, I know, we want a challenge. That is what the PAC-10 is for. The non-conference schedule is to get some experience, gain confidence and get THREE WINS.
Rose Bowl?? Please. Let’s do as Coach Kelly suggests and take this one game at a time. Cal is a HUGE opponent for us and you are quite right that Tedford has the UO’s proverbial number. If Masoli doesn’t emerge from his grand funk then we’ll be wondering where the 4 additional wins to be bowl-eligible are going to come from. Personally I think he hits his stride this weekend – but I said that last week too.
Happy Birthday Stacheman!
Sorry, not my best work today. We may not be seeing a Rose Bowl caliber team on the field, but that’s still the end goal for anyone in that locker room and my point was to say that as of today, what you already did doesn’t really matter. I always like the first game of Pac-10 play because it’s a fresh start to the season.
By the way, I’m also incredibly spoiled and don’t even consider the idea of bowl eligibility. I just take that as a given.
When it comes to the whole one game at a time concept, I like to look at each game as apart of a recipe for a finished product. This is the game we have this week…how does that fit into the big picture of where we want to go?
As for Masoli, we can just keep saying that every week. Eventually, it has to be true, right?
Hey, you’re young and optimistic. I’m old and wizened by time.
Just a few weeks ago I also assumed we’d be bowl eligible no sweat but I’m curtailing my enthusiasm right now pending the Cal game. Damn Huskies resurgence could make the difference.
Keep up the good work Nick! When I Google “off the pond” you are the first return!!
But I’m not as old a Stacheman. He is really old.
True, I am Old and yes, I’m not wise. But above all I’m not in the way[yet] [don't ask Cheryl]
The best part of this upcoming game is that cal has to play on our feild. So if we get the same defence as we had the last three games.We will have a lot going for us. The offence on the other hand needs to totaly inspire us all to write home to our moms about what a great game we witnessed this weekend. GO!!!! DUCKS!!!!
Thank you all for the birthday wishes.