Oregon is better at receiver than we realized. The passing game is much improved with Darron Thomas at quarterback. Before, wide receivers always looked like better blockers than playmakers, but look what’s happening this year. Through five games, the Ducks have 13 passing TDs. A year ago, there were only 16 over the entire 13 game season.

The Ducks are coached by Dillon Panthers head man Eric Taylor. Of this, I am convinced. If you watch Friday Night Lights, you are familiar with the storyline. Poor first half, say something smart at halftime, completely different team in the second half and get the W.

Okay, but seriously defense, what’s your first half deal? I admit, I’m a little concerned. With national championship aspirations, the margin for error is small. The offense can recover a lead quickly, but I’d rather not ask them to do it every game.

[INSERT SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT DARRON THOMAS HERE]. Take your pick on a Thomas superlative. I continue to be most amazed by how calm and cool he is no matter what the situation.

Don’t sweat the fake injuries. Let’s face it. If a team is faking injuries, the game’s already over. And if nothing else, it’s good comedy when you read Chip Kelly’s lips telling the ref to watch the player return on the next play.

Two things Chip won’t admit, but I’m certain are true: (1) Thomas was being held back in the running game prior to Stanford. Either that or he got a LOT more efficient in his decision making this week. (2) As a coach, he’s acutely aware of the “bigger” games. He was far more animated and intense on the sidelines last night than any other game this season.

Here we are all the way near the end of this post and nothing about LaMichael James? Whoops. That guy is amazing. My favorite play wasn’t his 76 yard TD. It was the touchdown where he took Owen Marecic head on and leveled him. I think that’s the football player Jim Harbaugh always wished he could be.

It’s not mail, it’s visitor searches. Google, Yahoo, Bing… they all come from somewhere.

• sports: once is luck but twice (Google Search in Newell, NC)

Yes? Were you going to finish that or just leave us hanging? Oh, I see! You’re absolutely right. Once was Luck, but again this year? I don’t think so.

• who is the person to talk to at u of oregon to rent stadium
  (AOL Search in Los Angeles, CA)

What did you have in mind? Big concert? Birthday bash? We already covered weddings. When trying to rent a university’s football stadium, it’s always a good idea to start with the athletic department.

• oregon vs stanford black out (Bing Search in Eugene, OR)

No, you’re confused. It’s a yellowout. Or is it a blackout? Yellowout? Anyone? Help.

Look, I appreciate the spirit of uniformity, but it’s not going to happen. This has been tried for years and it NEVER WORKS. Why? because the athletic department doesn’t get involved and hand out 55,000 t-shirts. Let’s face it. Duck fans are full of individuals that want to wear whatever the hell they want. Good luck changing that.

• scoreboard, baby (Google Search in Seattle, WA)

Neuheisel? Is that you? Feelin’ good after a couple wins, huh?

• 

  Not to be trifled with.

  nature battle: duck vs beaver (Google Search in Corvallis, OR)

Interesting hypothetical. Or do you think nature occasionally pits a duck vs. a beaver? A beaver’s ground attack is going to be solid. It’s going to be able to dam up some waterways, creating a nice tranquil pond for a duck to laze about in. That’s when the beaver can come up from underneath and strike. But seriously, what’a couple buck teeth and big tail compared to wings? Ducks can dive bomb the shit out of a beaver all day. No contest.

• picks to win oregon ducks football stanford (Google Search in Salem, OR)

Oregon. Next search, please.

• who will win ducks arizona football (Google Search in Portland, OR)

Oregon. Next search, please!

• stanford tree declares war on duck (Google Search in Roseburg, OR)

The Tree was quoted in SI saying “I’ve taken on way worse than him in my travels and wanderings. If he happens to throw some punches, that might just make my day.”

Seriously? You’re a band mascot! The school doesn’t even have one. You should know the Duck takes a backseat to no mascot. Do I  really need to post the Houston Cougar beatdown again?

• oregon state beavers pic nude (Google Search in Meridian, ID)

You type the word “nude” one time on the blog and this is what happens. If you want to find pictures of Sara Underwood, Google is your friend. Wait, you already tried that. What the hell are you doing here? Wrong blog!

• how jon wilner voted (Google Search in Madison, WI)

Like a giant pile of elephant excrement…or whatever animal produces the largest amount of waste. According to Yahoo Answers, it’s the elephant on land, humpback whale by sea. Jon Wilner’s voting is both combined.

• you misguided beaver (Google Search in Athens, GA)

No, no, no, no. I was raised in a Beaver family, yes. But I’m all Duck! I guess in that sense you could call me a misguided Beaver, but I’ve never swung that way. I prefer to think of myself as self-enlightened.

• Let’s start it off with the Muchas G and Lord Beverage Podcast. Press play and then start clicking the rest of these links. My bad on not getting a link to these guys sooner. It’s a smooth, well done Podcast.
• Don’t get me wrong, our offensive linemen will kick your ass. They won’t even feel bad about it. They’ll just whoop ya’ and laugh about it. Buuuut, Mark Asper can sing any Disney song, treats his mom right, goes to church and is generally just a pure gentleman. But seriously Stanford, he will destroy you.
• Attending Duck fans, I don’t care if you wear yellow or black, just be loud.
• Timeout from links. No one is saying anything bad about Stanford at all. Nothing. Just pure positivity. But not me. Stanford, you’re slow. You lack elite athleticism at the second level on defense (don’t get all impressed, I stole that from Scouts Inc.). Whoever you have at running back isn’t Toby Gerhart. Andrew Luck is going to hear Autzen at its loudest and discover he has bladder control problems. For eff sake, you are Stanford!!! Remember that.
• Oookay…links. John Boyett works hard. I hope that means he and the other defensive backs can find a way to cover the middle of the field this week.
• What’s a big game without a uniform discussion? Chip Kelly discusses uniform philosophy in an SI.com video.
• Everyone says there’s some sort of blueprint for beating Oregon (ESPN Insider only). Of course there is. That’s why coaches scout and prepare. There happens to only be a handful of teams capable of out-executing the Ducks. And guess what, Oregon knows what to expect from Stanford, too. Doesn’t mean we win, just means we know what’s coming for the most part ( you know I’m getting riled up and excited when I start slipping in a “we” here and there).

On the Season
Straight Up: 29-5
Against the Spread: 15-12

Posted spreads are from sportsbook.com at time of publishing.

Washington State @ UCLA
As a general rule of thumb, always take Washington State’s opponent to cover. Las Vegas tries to anticipate the awfulness of Cougar football, but it’s literally impossible to do. I think Wazzu uses the line as a way to figure out when to give up.

Straight Up: UCLA
ATS: UCLA -27

I’m not doing it this year. I’m not predicting the end times for Oregon State’s season based on the traditional two-loss start in September.

Straight Up: Oregon State
ATS: Arizona State +3.5 (just in case, ya’ know)

Straight Up: USC
ATS: Washington +10

Straight Up: Oregon
ATS: Oregon -7

There was a better screenshot to be had of Autzen Stadium on the front of espn.com but I forgot to get it.

• Of course ESPN is all over Oregon-Stanford. They have roughly 6.5 hours of programming on its family of networks devoted to this game. An Insider article looks at Luck’s issues vs. Oregon.  Ted miller examines the contrast in style. Ivan Maisel looks at the rise of teams not named USC. Another Insider story breaks down the matchups. Finally, Ted Miller basically has all these links in one post where he manages to smack the SEC across the face. That’s good bloggin’.
• All’s quiet for the most part at sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Stewart Mandel runs down the action of the big games this weekend with Stanford-Oregon obviously heavily featured.
• Let’s head over to CBS, shall we? Dennis Dodd says Stanford is now out for blood under Harbaugh. Four out of five experts are picking Oregon to win (Dodd must have got a little too excited about his Harbaugh article). The game itself is previewed along with a few minutes of commentary by Spencer Tillman.
• Dr. Saturday, where’s the Duck-Cardinal love? Nothing there, but this story about a player that used Google Images to get out of a jam is being filed as a “note-to-self.”


For all the grief I bestowed upon Fox Sports, this looks good.

• The bastard child* of college football media is Fox Sports. I’m sure they have some great content, but when I went looking, I got an error message that said, “This webpage has a redirect loop.” For the technically challenged, that loosely translates to: “This is Fox Sports. What, you expected it to work?” I’d never leave them hanging as I’m sure they have some redeeming qualities yet unseen so I stopped back a little later and sure enough, there’s a fine picture of LaMichael James leading to a “Pac-10 is awesome” story. Petros predicts the game in this video.
• I’m confused by the actions of AOL Fanhouse. Graham Watson managed to write an entire article about the Pac-10 Wednesday without mentioning Oregon and Stanford. Maybe he’s still used to his old gig at ESPN writing about the also-rans. However, Michelle Smith managed to squeeze the game into her video about the Pac-10′s upcoming weekend. Dug around and finally found an article previewing the game. Kinda’ fun to read about the frequency of Pac-10 matchups in Autzen Stadium.
• We’re getting close to the end here. Whatifsports.com lists Stanford-Oregon as its game of the week and its simulation engine liked Oregon 62.4 percent of the time by an average score of 37-28. They talk about the game here.
• Hey, you made it to the end. Still reading? USAToday has its eyes on Oregon-Stanford and picks the Ducks to win by 7.

*I apologize bastard children of the world. The blog itself is half-bastard and knows we’re all far better people than Fox Sports.

The SI cover of 2003 has been redone. The curse is no longer valid. You're welcome.

The SI cover curse is still doing its thing.

In 2003, Sports Illustrated declared Oregon to be “Rich, Cool and 4-0″ after a win over Michigan. Since that issue, the Ducks have gone a combined 0-3 after starting the season undefeated in its first four games. The last time Oregon made it to 5-0 was 2002.

Why bring this up? No idea. Perhaps I’m trying to exorcise some demons. One thing I know is Duck Voodoo needs to step its game up this week.

Of course, if Chip cared at all about this blog, he’d yell at me for worrying about the past and not winning the day. And he’d be right because it’s mostly ridiculous to worry about such mystic things.

Or is it? Did you know Oregon is 3-1 when ESPN’s College GameDay visits Eugene? Did you know the one loss was when, yep, Oregon was 4-0? Scary stuff.

Stanford is a bit of an Oregon demon itself, despite the Ducks 8-2 record in the last 10 meetings. The Cardinal are responsible for the Ducks national championship game denial in 2001 (or is that the BCS…I always get confused). Stanford also did its best to derail Oregon’s Pac-10 title hopes a year ago.

Hell, the Tree even has a way of smacking Oregon when they don’t play each other. In 1999, Oregon finished a game back of the Rose Bowl-representing Cardinal. Would the Ducks have been Pasadena-bound if the two teams had played that year? We’ll never know

So here it is, paranormal world of the occult. On this, one of our 364 unbirthdays, we declare the Ducks decidedly “Uncool, Unrich and Un4-0.” Let us be and for the love of suffering Oregon fans everywhere, let us win!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Nick, haven’t you tried this schtick before?

This blog will…

• …Never again question the enlightened wisdom of San Jose Mercury News columnist Jon Wilner. He may be a traffic-baiting, uh, (insert word for prostitute), but he was dead on regarding Stanford vs. Oregon. I refuted all ten of his points on why Stanford would win and in hindsight, he went 8 for 10. Even his silly mention of the 2001 disaster seemed spot on given that the score of that game was 49-42. This year? 51-42. My sincere apologies go out to Mr. Wilner, a man whose last name is now synonymous with a curse word in my circle.
• …Stop caring about Iowa, TCU, Cincinnati, Boise State, Florida, Alabama and Texas. Cheered like hell for Louisiana Tech Friday night. Was ecstatic when Northwestern beat Iowa. Then found out I just wasted a week worrying about irrelevant teams. Not so interested in the national picture anymore. Also not all that into writing complete sentences.
• …Call all voters who place USC ahead of Oregon hypocrites. Many voters explained to The Oregonian’s John Hunt last week that they could never put Oregon ahead of Boise State because of the head-to-head result. Now, I’ll wonder about their logic when the Trojans jump Oregon in the polls on Sunday.
• …Completely focus on the Rose Bowl. Never should have thought about anything but it. The Pac-10 is a lot more wide open now and we’ll get into that soon enough. Oregon still has some serious advantages, but for now, the important take-away is that the Ducks and Arizona both control their own destiny. The rest need help. With three games to go, you can’t ask for much better.
• …Wonder how Jeremiah Masoli ended up with at least 500 relatives. I need to eat a lot more if I want to get into that clan.
• …Not explicitly blame Nick Aliotti, but it won’t necessarily trust him either. My final conclusion on the defense is that Stanford did a hell of a job executing a game plan that was tough to defend. Oregon’s lack of size hurt as did its depleted numbers in the secondary. The Cardinal was well-balanced and the Ducks were both confused and outworked.
• …Avoid Bay Area trips no matter how much fun they are. Last year, the blog got caught in a Berkeley monsoon and lost. This year, it got sucked into Stanford”s beautiful campus and stadium only to get ambushed upon kickoff. There’s something wrong in this region. Must. Not. Come. Back.
• …Not give up on this team at all. Take Chip Kelly’s advice and allow yourself 24 hours to dwell on Saturday and then get over it. We’ve all been watching a damn good football team this season and if you think they’re done, well, exit now. This is a Rose Bowl-caliber team and it’s just three games away from getting there.

FOTB Prediction: Green helmet, white jersey with green numbers, green pants, white shoes. You can simulate this combination here.

This week’s prediction post takes on a different approach after having read Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News make his case for Stanford. While applauding his gumption for sticking his neck out in defense of the home town team, I found myself agreeing with, well, none of it.

As such, I have to offer my counter. Wilner’s 10 reasons the Cardinal will win are summarized to keep this thing from turning into a novella.

10. Wilner says: Stanford plays disciplined defense which will make up for a disadvantage in speed.
OTP says: The Cardinal are 7th against the run in the Pac-10. Before last Saturday, USC was giving up roughly 80 yards a game on the ground. Oregon totaled 392. Discipline or not, the Cardinal aren’t good enough on defense to stop Oregon.

9. Wilner says: Chris Owusu, who has taken three kicks back for touchdowns, is due to break a big return beacause he hasn’t in awhile.
OTP says: Stanford and Oregon are the top two teams in covering kickoffs. I doubt either will break down this week even against stellar returners. And as we’ll see later, Wilner has a penchant for figuring something will happen on the sole basis that it’s due. In that case, I’d like to bet everything I have on black.

8. Wilner says: Stanford ruined Oregon’s big season in 2001.
OTP says: Cute fact and completely irrelevant for a game being played in 2009.

7. Wilner says: The Cardinal believe they can win and almost did a year ago with a gimpy Toby Gerhart and no Andrew Luck.
OTP says: Oh my God! And the Ducks don’t have LeGarrette Blount like they did last year! Okay, give Wilner credit. He’s getting closer to having something to do with 2009. Still pretty irrelevant, though, considering the conditions of that game were terrible.

FOTB Pick

6. Wilner says: Masoli played a clunker in his last game in the Bay Area against California.
OTP says: Yikes! That’s three completely irrelevant points in a row. The Cal game was played in roughly three feet of standing water. Masoli has never played well in rainy conditions. Saturday’s forecast is all sunshine.

5. Wilner says: Only USC has gone undefeated in Pac-10 play this decade so Oregon is due to lose eventually.
OTP says: Perhaps the most irrelevant point of all. Oregon is playing Stanford, not some mystic voodoo that disallows a team from winning all its games.

4. Wilner says: The game is played on grass which will slow Oregon’s speed, but not effect Stanford’s physicality.
OTP says: Maybe. The Ducks have only played one game on grass this year and it was their worst offensive output of the season. It was also without Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James was still well over 100 yards. Pretty sure the playing surface won’t mean a thing when Oregon’s at full strength.

3. Wilner says: Stanford’s wine and cheese crowd will have a reverse atmosphere effect and lull the Ducks to sleep.
OTP says: Really? This is the third best reason Stanford wins? There will be plenty of atmosphere courtesy of the thousands of Duck fans expected to attend.

2. Wilner says: It’s good to play teams after they faced USC. Oregon is primed for a letdown. Stanford is rested coming off of a bye.
OTP says: Uh oh, Stanford is outscoring opponents 109-21 under Jim Harbaugh coming off of a bye week.  What? That was against Washington State, San Jose State and Notre Dame? Really, they even lost to 3-9 Notre Dame? Scary. Well, what about teams letting down after playing USC? A quick fact check reveals Oregon is 6-1 this decade following games against the Trojans.

1. Wilner says: Stanford controls the ball with it’s power running game against an undersized Oregon defense. They mix in some play-action passes and the net result is less possession time for Oregon. Stanford will score at will in the second half while the Ducks offense sputters from its lack of rhythm.
OTP says: Ok, if Stanford does win, this is probably how it happens. However, the blog would like to dip into an overused cliche and channel Lee Corso with it’s first “Not so fast my friend!” of the season. Oregon is two seconds from being in last place for time of possession. You can go on long drives all you want. It takes IBM’s Roadrunner supercomputer more time to run 2+2 than it does for the Ducks to score (too geeky? Yeah, thought so). As for wearing Oregon down in the second half, well Mr. Wilner, it hasn’t happened yet, so it’s bound to happen now. Right?

Hopefully, so too will the Oregon Ducks football team.

Eugene was some kind of utopia on Saturday and given how early many got started with ESPN’s College GameDay, there was very little of the day that went unused. For the blog, it started with an early morning flight and ended late at a place that would make ESPN’s Neil Everett proud (Rennie’s of course). For all, it was one hell of a day.

But this isn’t so much about the party as it is about how we move on.

All the excitement and hype of the day and the week preceding may have manifested itself into three and a half hours of perfection that vaulted Oregon into a Rose Bowl driver seat, but it’s all for not if the Ducks don’t forget everything they just did. They’ll need to put forth the same preparation and the same effort for a Stanford team that defends its home turf like a rabid animal.

In year’s past, this was a legitimate concern. Oregon played hangover games all the time and left you feeling frustrated by a group so capable and yet so easily distracted.

Now, not so much. Chip Kelly’s stringent policy that the most important game you’ll ever play is this week seems to really work. It’s fun to mock because it’s so silly to fans and media, but it has a genuine purpose that his team has bought hook, line and sinker.

There was no hangover from Boise State, just a win the following week. After beating Cal in an emotional, “we’re back” statement game, they went right back to business and dismantled a Washington State Cougar team in a way no one else has done all year.

I can almost guarantee Stanford has their full attention, LeGarrette Blount’s status notwithstanding. The Cardinal is a team that has only one loss at home in the last two seasons and is still somewhat in the race for the conference crown.

Lose to Stanford and Oregon opens the door back up for a litany of teams to challenge for the top spot. Win and it’s virtually shut to all but Arizona.

No doubt, a big game looms this weekend, one the Ducks can ill afford to lose. If eight games has been any indication, the Ducks know this more than anyone.

Oregon 24, ASU 17

11/1 – Oregon @ Cal
This was supposed to be the last of a brutal four game stretch with three road games against the cream of the conference. USC was as difficult as predicted, but the other two, at ASU and at Cal, just aren’t what we though they were. The Bears are ranked now and 2-0 in conference, but appear very beatable. The blog is making its one and only live appearance at a Duck game with this one and would appreciate a victory. Not seeing it, though.

Cal 38, Oregon 27

11/8 – Stanford @ Oregon
Well, look who’s tied with the Ducks for second in the conference right now. It’s the Cardinal! Stanford is 3-1 with wins over Washington, Oregon State and Arizona. Their blowout loss to Arizona State doesn’t make much sense, but they appear to be a legit threat on any given Saturday. They should be favored to win their next two games and come into this game at 5-1, but they can’t win at Autzen.

Oregon 45, Stanford 23

11/15 – Arizona @ Oregon
The Wildcats are tough to figure out. Statistically, you’d think they are undefeated, yet they sport losses to New Mexico and Stanford. They have handled Oregon two years in a row and blew out Oregon at Autzen Stadium in 2006. Revenge is on the mind of these Ducks for last year’s soul-crushing defeat. Ducks win despite giving up 723 yards in the air to Willie Tuitama.

Oregon 70, Arizona 63

11/29 – Oregon @ Oregon State
Here it is, the Civil War. Oregon hasn’t won at Reser Stadium in the processed foods era of bean dips and potato salads. This time, the Ducks act like its Parker Stadium again and get the win to avenge the home loss a year ago. You may think it an unlikely victory, but what you don’t know is the cosmic forces working against the Beavers. I have attended the last four games in Corvallis and always had two tickets with my name on them if needed from Beaver-loving mom and dad. This year, I’ve been notified that these tickets are going to another beneficiary. My absence is basically a guaranteed Oregon win. Dad, this loss is on you.

Oregon 22, Oregon State 21 as the Ducks convert a two point play with no time left on the clock.