2008 Civil War Oregon at Oregon State, Part I: Culture & Heritage

I love the Bleacher Report (B/R). If you’re not familiar with the Bleacher Report, it is a fan/community based sports site where you, the fan, write the articles. Previously, I’ve been asked by B/R to publish my thoughts posed by one of their editors and have published several articles there (many can also be found here on Pac-10 Rivalry).

One of the fans I enjoy reading is Larry Sigurdson, and this is his latest:

The Civil War is upon us.

No, the United States isn’t about to repeat the terrible carnage of 1861-1864. This is the the University of Oregon-Oregon State University Civil War that separates Ducks from Beavers, Journalists from engineers, chemists from oceanographers, attorneys from accountants, and geologists from foresters. Thanksgiving is the great prelude to this annual ritual where green & yellow meets black & orange.

You can find the complete article here:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/82979-2008-civil-war-oregon-at-oregon-state-part-i-culture-heritage

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Pac-10 Game Recaps (Nov. 15)

Cal 21, OSU 34 - Oregon State won their fifth consecutive game of the season—their longest consecutive win streak since the 2000 season—and keep those Rose Bowl hopes alive. Many felt the Cal game was the toughest of the Beavers remaining three games, but the Beavers took control late in the game and walked away with the win.

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Arizona 45, Oregon 55 - Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli showed he can pass as well as run as he threw for a career high 298 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions against Arizona. He added another 66 yards and three touchdowns rushing. The Ducks have an off week and prepare to face Oregon State in the Civil War on Nov. 29th.

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UCLA 27, Washington 7 - Rick Neuheisel’s return to Husky Stadium was a victorious one as the Bruins beat the winless Huskies. As Neuheisel made his return in five years, it was Tyronne Willingham’s last game in Husky Staduim as coach of Washington.

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Wash. St. 0, Arizona St. 31 - Arizona St. kept their bowl hopes alive when they shutout (their first since 1996) Washington St. last Saturday. Senior QB Rudy Carpenter now stands at 80 touchdown passes, which puts him third in Pac-10 history.

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USC 45, Stanford 23 - With a 17 -17 halftime score it looked as though USC may be in for another loss to Stanford which would have ended the Trojan’s BCS hopes. But, USC scored 28 unanswered second half points to lay the Cardinal to rest once and for all.

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FB - Injury Report Final (Nov. 14): Oregon’s Drew Davis out for season, Beaver’s Shane Morales expected to play

For a complete list with in-depth injury descriptions visit CollegeInjuryReport.com.

Below are the latest injuries reported since 11/9/2008.

Oregon WR Drew Davis, who started last week for Jasion Williams, is out for the remained of the season with a knee injury. Davis, who has contributed minimally, was expected to help a struggling WR corp for the Ducks.

The Beavers expect productive receiver Shane Morales to play Saturday against Cal. Morales injured himself last week while attempting to dunk the ball over the goal post.

Arizona

11/11	3:17pm	Kaniela Tuipulotu	DT	Probable	Ankle
11/09	7:51pm	Terrell Reese	WR	Questionable	Suspension

Arizona St.

11/12	10:05am	Zach Schlink	OL	Out For Year	Knee
11/10	11:33am	Thomas Altieri	C	Questionable	Stinger
11/10	11:31am	David Smith	DT	Questionable	Stinger
11/10	11:30am	Lawrence Guy	DT	Probable	Shoulder
11/09	8:11pm	Ryan Bass	RB	Probable	Hamstring
11/09	8:10pm	Jarrell Woods	RB	Questionable	Ankle

Cal

11/14	9:12am	Noris Malele	OL	Questionable	Ankle
11/12	8:50am	Kevin Riley	QB	Named Starter	Concussion
11/09	8:25pm	Mike Tepper	OL	Doubtful	Pectoral
11/09	8:25pm	Sean Cattouse	S	Questionable	Concussion
11/09	8:20pm	Cody Jones	DL	Questionable	Ankle
11/09	8:20pm	David Seawright	K	Questionable	Groin
11/09	8:19pm	Bernard Hicks	DB	Questionable	Thigh
11/09	8:16pm	Matt Laird	OL	Questionable	Shoulder

Read More…

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Pac-10 Football Weekly

Keeping you up to date with just about everything going on in Pac-10 Football, from the week that was to this week’s upcoming games.

2008 Pac-10 Conference Standings (as of November 12, 2008)

* - If season ended today
** - per CBS Sportsline

Players of the Week:

• Offense: Jacquizz Rodgers, TB, Oregon St. (3^rd time)
  31 carries for 144 yards, 2 TD’s in 34-6 win @ UCLA

• Defense: Taylor Mays, FS, USC
  5 tackles, 4 pass break ups in 17-3 win v. Cal

• Special Teams: Thomas Weber, PK/P, ASU
  3-3 FG’s, 4-4 PAT’s, 41.2 punt avg. in 39-19 win @ Washington

Notable Statistical Leaders (bold stats indicate conference leader):

RUSHING

Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon St.
1,089 yards on 228 carries (4.8 avg), 121.0/game (10^th in nation), 10TD’s

How long can the young freshman continue to carry this load? Is there a wall in his future? His 228 carries are just nine fewer than Oregon’s Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount, who have combined for 237 carries.

Nic Grigsby, Arizona
885 yards on 149 carries (5.9 avg), 98.3/game, 11 TD’s

Appeared to have lost his job when his backup, Keola Antolin, busted off 149 yards in 42-27 win v. Cal back in October. Had huge game, 189 yards on 27 carries in last week’s 59-28 win v. Washington State.

LeGarrette Blount, Oregon
741 yards on 104 carries (7.1 avg), 74.1/game, 14 TD’s

Leads the conference in scoring despite being Jeremiah Johnson’s backup and having fewer than 10 carries in each of the last 5 games. His 7.1 yards per carry is second only to USC’s Joe McKnight.

Oregon Offense
2,743 yards on 464 carries (5.9 avg), 274.3/game (5^th in Nation), 35 TD’s

The combination of Johnson, Blount and QB Jeremiah Masoli often seems only able to be stopped by themselves (or rain).

USC Defense
700 yards on 298 carries (2.3 avg), 77.8/game (3^rd in Nation), 5 TD’s

Still scratching my head trying to figure out how OSU’s Rodgers put up 186 big ones on this defense.

PASSING

Mark Sanchez, USC
2,122 yards on 162-250 (235.8/gm), with 24 TD’s, 7 INT for 162.2 rating (12^th in Nation)

Quietly putting together a solid season. Leading Pac-10 QB’s in just about every meaningful statistic. Could be conference Offensive Player of the Year and also a 2009 Heisman favorite.

Mike Thomas, Arizona
664 yards on 52 receptions, 73.8/game, 4 TD’s

The Senior WR leads the conference in most receiving stats, including a season’s best 175 yards @ Stanford back in October.

USC Defense
1,158 yards on 141-267, 128.7/gm (1^st in Nation)

You can’t run on them. You can’t pass on them. Special Teams? (#1 in Kickoff Coverage, too)

OTHER STATS

• Scoring Defense: USC leads the Nation with 6.7 pts/gm, Arizona is #24 with 19.1/gm
• Scoring Offense: Tulsa leads the Nation with 52 pts/gm, Arizona is #10 with 32.11/gm and Oregon is #12 with 38.3/gm
• Total Defense: USC leads the Nation with 206.44 yds/gm, Arizona is #13 with 285.44/gm
• Total Offense: Tulsa leads the Nation with 593 yds/gm, USC is #12 with 454.67/gm and Oregon is #13 with 454/gm
• Sacks: Oregon DE Nick Reed is attempting to lead the conference in sacks for the 2^nd year in a row. He led in 2007 with 12.0 and currently leads with 9.0 in 2008. The 2007 1^st Team Pac-10 Honoree could be the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, having already been named to the 2008 Academic All-District Team

This Week’s Games:

California @ #23 Oregon State (12:30 ABC)

Mike Riley’s Beavers have been able to sneak up on a few unsuspecting foes over the years. Now we get to see how they do as favorites, at home, as a ranked team against a bowl-bound opponent.

Line: Oregon State -3

Harmon Forecast (CBS Sportsline): Oregon State 28 California 24

Paul’s Pick: Oregon State 34 California 27

Cal’s defense stood up pretty well in the rain against Oregon, and at times played well against the Trojans, but with the letdown after that USC loss and how awful they looked attempting to tackle Arizona’s pint-sized Antolin, I can’t see them stopping Rodgers and the Beavers.

Washington State @ Arizona State

Another chance for Dennis Erickson to coach against one of his former teams. This looks to be your crummy game of the week.

Line: Arizona State -36 ½ (yes, you read that right)

Harmon Forecast (CBS Sportsline): Arizona State 45 Washington State 12

Paul’s Pick: Arizona State 58 Washington State 17

The Cougs have given up 58 or more in 6 of their 7 Pac-10 games. No reason this should be any different. The Sun Devils are technically still playing for something – they’ll be bowl eligible with wins over WSU, UCLA and Arizona.

Arizona @ Oregon (3:30 FSNAZ/CSNNW)

A chance for the Ducks to redeem themselves and possible shake off some bad memories from the past three seasons: 2005, Kellen Clemens goes down for the season in Tuscon; 2006, Dennis Dixon is booed off the field at Autzen; 2007, Dixon’s Heisman, and the Ducks’ National Title hopes dashed when Dixon’s knee buckles on the Wildcats’ turf

Line: Oregon -3 ½

Harmon Forecast (CBS Sportsline): Oregon 38 Arizona 36

Paul’s Pick: Oregon 27 Arizona 24

In another Autzen thriller the Ducks, and their potent ground game, squeak out a win against the Wildcats. Arizona’s strength is their pass defense, however, they’re #6 in the Pac-10 against the run and will have their hands full against a vengeful minded Oregon team. The Ducks will need to put some serious pressure on QB Willie Tuitama and make some big plays in the secondary.

#6 USC @ Stanford (4:00 Versus)

Could it happen again? It’s highly unlikely but Jim Harbaugh has his Stanford Cardinal playing inspired football.

Line: USC -23

Harmon Forecast (CBS Sportsline): USC 32 Stanford 15

Paul’s Pick: USC 24 Stanford 6

As much as I would like to pick an upset here, the way USC’s defense has been dominating teams it’s just not going to happen.

UCLA @ Washington (7:15 FSN)

Not exactly sure why this one is even on TV. I know Seattle and LA are large markets (I guess that’s the reason) and Neuheisel is coming back to go against his old team, but honestly, will Husky fans even care if they snag the upset?

Line: UCLA -7 1/2

Harmon Forecast (CBS Sportsline): UCLA 26 Washington 20

Paul’s Pick: Washington 28 UCLA 27 (UPSET SPECIAL)

Call me crazy. There’s absolutely no reason to think the Huskies can do this. Other than the fact that UCLA is just not quite there yet and Husky QB Ronnie Fouch now has a few games under his belt. Stranger things have happened.

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College Football’s Quest for Perfection

“One minute was enough,” Tyler said,
“a person had to work hard for it, but a
minute of perfection was worth the
effort.  A moment was the most you
could ever expect from perfection.”

~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

It’s the ultimate goal, every season, for 119 NCAA Division I football players. To be perfect. To go undefeated. To have no losses, no ties, and leave no doubt as to who is the best team in college football.

It’s an admirable goal, but just how realistic is it? How often is it really ever attained? And as a fan, are you asking too much to demand perfection from your team?

Take the Pac-10 Conference. Made up of some of the most storied Universities in the nation. In the 30 years since its current form took shape back in 1978, the Pac-10 has had just two undefeated teams:

The 1991 Washington Huskies, who after going 12-0 still had to share their National Title with the Miami Hurricanes.

And the 2004 USC Trojans, who went 13-0 and were unanimous National Champs. That’s it.

I’m not making excuses for teams that lose. I’m not asking you to accept mediocrity. What I am saying is that for something that is so rarely achieved you might want to be a tad more realistic about your team’s chances. And perhaps enjoy the ride a bit more.

Even looking past 1978, going all the way back to Cal’s first season in 1885, the teams that now make up the conference have played 1,132 combined seasons. And even including such “remarkable” runs as Oregon’s unblemished 1895 season, going 4-0 with two wins against Willamette University.

And also including Washington’s “miraculous” stretch from 1909-1913 without a loss, and with victories over the likes of Evergreen High School, Lincoln High School and a 55-0 thriller over the Bremerton Navy.

Even with all that, in the 1,132 potential chances for perfection, spanning 123 years, these 10 Universities have managed to do it just 41 times. And just 8 times in the last 50 years.

And during the 30 years of the Pac-10, only six times has a team gone undefeated in Conference games: USC three times (1988, 2004, 2005), Washington (1991), Arizona State (1996) and UCLA (1998). And all six teams went 8-0.

Since 2006, when the league went to a full round robin schedule (with each school playing all of the other nine schools) the conference champ has finished at 7-2 each season.

* - when Pac-10 was formed

And what does all this mean? Whatever you want to make of it, I guess. For me, it’s confirmation of just how difficult, and perhaps unrealistic, the task of going undefeated is. Of being perfect.

Gone are the days of scheduling cupcake after cupcake (or high school after high school if you want to go way back). Or winning 5 or 6 games and calling it good. The schedules are demanding. And the task of perfection is borderline impossible.

It means that perhaps we should expect, or at least hope for, our team to compete and have a chance to win each time out.

Because expecting that the team you root for practice hard, play hard, and leave it all out on the field is one thing. Expecting perfection is another.

An artist’s only concern is to shoot
for some kind of perfection, and on
his own terms, not anyone else’s.

~Jonas Salk

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