Oregon Ducks (NCAA 11)

[vusa92troy]

Ouchy!

You beat them on the turn over stat, but they held the ball longer and gained more yards.

Tough loss,....BEAT those dawgs!

[Psyblast]

#13 Washington @ #8 Oregon
Autzen Stadium
Eugene, OR
October 30, 2010



Some tricks, some treats
Ducks fight the rain and injuries before pulling away from Huskies

EUGENE, OR - It was wet, cold, and windy on the field. The play was uneven - sometimes good, sometimes bad. And when it was all over, Oregon's players dragged themselves off the field, more relieved than celebratory.

The Ducks exploded late in the second quarter and ended up coasting to a 51-23 win over rival Washington, but may have paid a price in victory. Star running back LaMichael James left early in the 3rd quarter with a shoulder injury and didn't return. His backup Kenjon Barner injured his own shoulder later on. Quarterback Darron Thomas, who struggled with accuracy in the unfavorable conditions, left with back spasms late in the 3rd quarter, only to return after HIS backup Nate Costa injured his elbow early in the 4th.

The game itself was a bizarre one. The Ducks drove the field with ease on the opening drive, and then bogged down as the Huskies staked a 16-7 lead, before Jake Locker's risk taking blew up in their faces. Oregon forced six turnovers, including five interceptions - two each by Talmadge Jackson and Cliff Harris - and James erupted for two huge touchdowns late in the second quarter, sandwiching Jeff Maehl's second of three scores on the game, sending the Ducks to the intermission with a 27-16 lead.

"This was just one of those games, I guess you could say," Ducks coach Chip Kelly said. "We were agitated and off our game because of the weather, and we took some injuries. I thought we really missed David Paulson today, he'd become our main man on 3rd and 4th down, and we really struggled very badly in those areas today. I thought our defense did a good job bending but not breaking while our offense tried to find its feet, but overall we have to be much more polished and much sharper for our next game."

The Ducks travel to Berkeley next week to face the Cal Bears. Kelly offered no immediate injury news, saying he'd provide updates after a couple days.

	1	2	3	4	OT	F
	3	13	7	0	-	23
	7	20	7	17	-	51

Team	Quarter	Scoring Play	Score
	1	Darron Thomas, 10 yard pass to Jeff Maehl (Beard kick), 8:21	7-0
	1	Erik Folk, 24 yard FG, 2:17	7-3
	2	Jake Locker, 17 yard pass to James Johnson (Folk kick), 9:09	10-7
	2	Erik Folk, 33 yard FG, 6:25	13-7
	2	Erik Folk, 35 yard FG, 5:22	16-7
	2	LaMichael James, 54 yard run (Beard kick), 4:41	16-14
	2	Darron Thomas, 26 yard pass to Jeff Maehl (2-pt. failed), 3:36	20-16
	2	LaMichael James, 80 yard run (Beard kick), 2:17	27-16
	3	Darron Thomas, 10 yard pass to DJ Davis (Beard kick), 8:22	34-16
	3	Chris Polk, 19 yard run (Folk kick), 0:32	34-23
	4	Nate Costa, 10 yard pass to Josh Huff (Beard kick), 7:22	41-23
	4	Darron Thomas, 42 yard pass to Jeff Maehl (Beard kick), 2:13	48-23
	4	Rob Beard, 42 yard FG, 0:30	51-23

Oregon Ducks

Team Stats
Passing Yards: 282
Rushing Yards: 220
Total Yards: 502
1st Downs: 16
3rd Downs: 2-13 (15%)
4th Downs: 1-6 (16%)
Turnovers: 2
Penalties-Yards: 2-20
Time of Possession: 17:19

Player Stats

Passing
D. Thomas: 17-37, 222 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs
N. Costa: 5-9, 60 yards, TD

Rushing
D. Thomas: 9 carries, -9 yards
L. James: 8 carries, 197 yards, 2 TDs
K. Barner: 7 carries, 40 yards
R. Alston: 6 carries, 7 yards
N. Costa: 3 carries, -15 yards

Receiving
J. Maehl: 9 receptions, 154 yards, 3 TDs
D. Davis: 5 receptions, 72 yards, TD
J. Huff: 4 receptions, 25 yards, TD
K. Barner: 1 reception, -3 yards
L. Tuinei: 1 reception, 12 yards
B. Williams: 1 reception, 15 yards
L. James: 1 reception, 7 yards

Defense
Z. Clark: 7 tackles
C. Matthews: 8 tackles, 2 TFL
S. Paysinger: 7 tackles, 2 TFL, sack
E. Pleasant: 7 tackles
A. Gildon: 6 tackles
T. Jackson III: 7 tackles, 2 INTs, FR
T. Turner: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, sack
J. Boyett: 5 tackles, TFL, FF
J. Kaddu: 5 tackles, INT
K. Rowe: 3 tackles, TFL
C. Harris: 3 tackles, 2 INTs

Kicking
R. Beard: 1-1 FG, 6-6 PAT

Washington Huskies

Team Stats
Passing Yards: 301
Rushing Yards: 105
Total Yards: 406
1st Downs: 19
3rd Downs: 7-17 (41%)
4th Downs: 0-0 (0%)
Turnovers: 6
Penalties-Yards: 4-40
Time of Possession: 22:41

Player Stats

Passing
J. Locker: 26-50, 301 yards, TD, 5 INTs

Rushing
C. Polk: 24 carries, 103 yards, TD
J. Locker: 4 carries, -9 yards
J. Johnson: 1 carry, 3 yards
A. Sylvester: 1 carry, 8 yards

Receiving
D. Goodwin: 6 receptions, 49 yards
C. Polk: 5 receptions, 81 yards
A. Sylvester: 5 receptions, 24 yards
J. Johnson: 4 receptions, 45 yards, TD
J. Polk: 2 receptions, 35 yards
J. Kearse: 2 receptions, 38 yards
C. Izbicki: 2 receptions, 29 yards

Defense
A. Logan: 7 tackles, TFL
N. Williams: 7 tackles, TFL
C. Elisara: 5 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks
M. Foster: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, INT
A. Ta'amu: 5 tackles, 2 TFL
V. McDowell, Jr: 4 tackles
Q. Richardson: 4 tackles, INT
T. Crichton: 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks, FF
C. Dennison: 3 tackles, TFL, sack

Kicking
E. Folk: 3-3 FG, 2-2 PAT

Record: 8-1, 5-1

[Psyblast]

Week 10 Recap

Top 25 Action
#2 Georgia Tech 34, #5 Virginia Tech 24
#3 Boise State 31, Hawaii 10
#4 TCU 33, Utah 30
#6 Houston 41, #25 Central Florida 28
#7 Alabama 30, LSU 7
#8 Oregon 51, #13 Washington 23
#9 Texas 33, Kansas State 17
#10 Miami-FL 42, Maryland 21
North Carolina 51, #11 Florida State 34
#12 Wisconsin 48, Purdue 21
#15 Michigan 24, Illinois 7
Texas A&M 42, #16 Oklahoma 35
#22 Arkansas 37, #17 South Carolina 13
#18 USC 28, Arizona State 18
#20 Iowa 40, Indiana 6
#21 Ole Miss 38, ULL 10
#23 Missouri 42, Texas Tech 22
#24 Auburn 52, FCS West 3

National Players of the Week
Offense: Kelly Page, QB, Ball State: 251 passing yards, 103 rushing yards, 4 total TDs
Defense: Kenny Cain, OLB, TCU: 5 tackles, TFL, 3 FR

Pac-10 Players of the Week
Offense: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford: 38-56, 386 yards, 3 TDs
Defense: Talmadge Jackson III, CB, Oregon: 7 tackles, 2 INTs, FR

Heisman Watch

1. Darron Thomas, QB, Oregon: 2551 passing yards, 27 TDs, 7 INTs; 573 rushing yards, 7.3 YPC, 8 TDs
2. Case Keenum, QB, Houston: 3347 passing yards, 31 TDs, 3 INTs; 363 rushing yards, 2.8 YPC, 3 TDs
3. Andy Dalton, QB, TCU: 2877 passing yards, 33 TDs, 3 INTs
4. Jerrod Johnson, QB, Texas A&M: 3089 passing yards, 36 TDs, 2 INTs
5. Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State: 2886 passing yards, 28 TDs, 9 INTs; 367 rushing yards, 2.8 YPC, 4 TDs

Week 11 Top 25

1. Ohio State (38) 9-0; next: Penn State (4-5)
2. Georgia Tech (21) 9-0; next: #9 Miami-FL (7-2)
3. Boise State (1) 8-0; next: @ Idaho (2-6)
4. TCU (1) 10-0; next: San Diego State (6-3)
5. Houston 9-0; next: Tulsa (6-3)
6. Alabama 8-1; next: Mississippi State (4-5)
7. Oregon 8-1; next: @ California (5-4)
8. Texas 8-1; next: Oklahoma State (5-4)
9. Miami-FL 7-2; next: @ #2 Georgia Tech (9-0)
10. Virginia Tech 7-2; next: @ #22 North Carolina (6-3)
11. Wisconsin 6-2; next: Indiana (3-6)
12. Pittsburgh 7-1; next: @ Connecticut (2-6)
13. Michigan 8-1; next: @ Purdue (4-5)
14. USC 6-2; next: @ Arizona (3-6)
15. West Virginia 7-1; next: Cincinnati (5-3)
16. Washington 7-2; next: UCLA (5-4)
17. Arkansas 6-3; next: UTEP (6-4)
18. Florida State 7-2; next: Clemson (6-3)
19. Iowa 7-2; next: @ Northwestern (6-3)
20. Ole Miss 7-2; next: Tennessee (4-5)
21. Missouri 8-1; next: Kansas State (6-3)
22. North Carolina 6-3; next: #10 Virginia Tech (7-2)
23. Auburn 8-2; next: Georgia (7-3)
24. South Carolina 7-2; next: @ Florida (6-3)
25. Texas A&M 7-2; next: @ Baylor (5-5)

BCS Top 10

1. Ohio State 1.000
2. Georgia Tech 0.994
3. Boise State 0.989
4. TCU 0.983
5. Houston 0.978
6. Alabama 0.972
7. Oregon 0.967
8. Texas 0.959
9. Miami-FL 0.956
10. Virginia Tech 0.943

[Psyblast]

Ducks one up themselves
Oregon reaps the benefits of another big recruiting weekend

EUGENE, OR - After the Thursday night demolition of UCLA earlier in the season, the Ducks' recruiting picked up with three big-time commitments.

After Saturday's 51-23 win over Washington, the Ducks did one better, raking in four verbals this time.

Despite the pouring rain and generally miserable conditions, the Ducks put their best feet forward, both on the field and off, and their efforts paid off as four recruits from four different states committed to play for Oregon starting in 2011.

The first recruit to drop was Allen Hicks, a 6'6, 300-pound offensive tackle from Chaparral High School in Chaparral, New Mexico. Despite playing against poor competition in the talent-baren state of New Mexico, Hicks jumped onto college coaches' radars with a strong camp circuit in the summer, showing good agility and movement for a big man. His efforts garnered attention from Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Nebraska and LSU, among others. Ranked as the #8 tackle in the country and #147 overall, Hicks expressed strong interest from the Ducks at the very beginning of his recruitment, so his commitment to Chip Kelly and staff was not a surprise.

The second commitment of the weekend came from 4* safety Chris Alvarez of Helix High School in La Mesa, California, better known as the alma mater of Reggie Bush and Alex Smith. Alvarez is a big kid, standing 6'2 and weighing 205 pounds, and he brings the lumber when he hits; he should remind Oregon fans of Patrick Chung and TJ Ward. Another member of the ESPN 150, Alvarez is the #8 strong safety in the country and #116 overall. He committed to Oregon over UCLA, Nebraska, and Tennessee.

The biggest coup of the weekend, though, came from 4* wide receiver Marcus Parker, from Fremd High School near Hanover Park, Illinois. Fremd is the alma mater of current Notre Dame freshman Christian Lombard, and the Irish were considered the heavy favorite for Parker, the #10 WR in the country (#67 overall). Other suitors included Oregon, LSU, Penn State, Florida and Missouri, and the Ducks put themselves over the top with their official visit.

"I loved the entire experience," the 6'2, 205-pound Parker said. "I wasn't turned off by the rain or the weather at all, that's football. You can't be afraid to get a little wet. I loved the offense, they're really balanced and they never stop coming after you. Their wideouts had a huge game even with their QBs getting a little hurt. I can't wait to play in Coach Kelly's system."

Oregon's 4th commitment came from 3* JUCO defensive end Trey Turner from Kingsgate, Washington.

[Psyblast]

Injury updates
Barner, Costa out for Cal

BERKELEY, CA - The Ducks are travelling to Berkeley two men short.

Backup quarterback Nate Costa and backup running back (and starting kick/punt returner) Kenjon Barner will both stay in Eugene to nurse injuries sustained in last Saturday's win over Washington. Barner's injury is listed as a strained shoulder, while Costa's is an elbow sprain. Chip Kelly didn't say much, but said he was optimistic both would be 100% after the bye week next week and would be ready to go for Arizona in two weeks.

Darron Thomas and LaMichael James took a lighter than usual load in practice this week, but both are fine and expected to be 100% for the game in Berkeley against the Bears.

Meanwhile, both Thomas and James (along with several other Ducks) were recently named to the semifinalist lists for multiple national awards.

[Psyblast]

#7 Oregon @ California
California Memorial Stadium
Berkeley, CA
November 6, 2010



Beard delivers at the gun in Berkeley
Ducks escape by the skin of their bills against feisty Bears

BERKELEY, CA - It was the perfect storm of errors and miscues that could set up an upset.

The Oregon Ducks, still in the driver's seat for the Rose Bowl, fumbled the ball away three times and were generally mediocre defensively, fueling a frenzied crowd at California Memorial Stadum, a place where the Ducks hadn't won since 2001.

But Darron Thomas shook off the mistakes, and finally, on the third try, led the game winning drive, hitting big passes to Jeff Maehl and Josh Huff, setting up Rob Beard's 26 yard field goal as time expired, giving the Ducks a 34-31 win.

All three of Oregon's turnovers set up Cal scores, helping the Bears first stake a 14-0 lead, and then helping them erase 24-17 and 31-24 deficits in the 4th quarter. But the Ducks never lost confidence on offense, and their head coach praised them for it.

"Give Cal credit, their defense is very skilled and very athletic," Chip Kelly said. "They've got a tremendous homefield advantage here, and it's a great accomplishment to win here. And anywhere in the conference, for that matter. Teams are so much better at home in the Pac-10, it's wild. To win on the road in our league, you have to be a very skilled and very disciplined football team."

The Ducks will get one more shot to display their own homefield prowess in two weeks on Senior Day at Autzen against the Arizona Wildcats. The Ducks control their own destiny - if they win out, they will repeat as Pac-10 champions and play in the Rose Bowl for the second straight season.

	1	2	3	4	OT	F
	0	24	0	10	-	34
	14	3	0	14	-	31

Team	Quarter	Scoring Play	Score
	1	Kevin Riley, 31 yard pass to Michael Calvin (Tavecchio kick), 3:48	7-0
	1	Cameron Jordan, 37 yard fumble return (Tavecchio kick), 0:06	14-0
	2	Darron Thomas, 22 yard pass to Josh Huff (Beard kick), 7:20	14-7
	2	Giorgio Tavecchio, 31 yard FG, 5:04	17-7
	2	Darron Thomas, 40 yard pass to Josh Huff (Beard kick), 4:03	17-14
	2	Rob Beard, 19 yard FG, 0:59	17-17
	2	Darron Thomas, 19 yard run (Beard kick), 0:03	24-17
	4	Kevin Riley, 50 yard pass to Spencer Ladner (Tavecchio kick), 9:52	24-24
	4	Darron Thomas, 7 yard pass to Jeff Maehl (Beard kick), 8:48	31-24
	4	Shane Vereen, 2 yard run (Tavecchio kick), 3:33	31-31
	4	Rob Beard, 26 yard FG, 0:00	34-31

Oregon Ducks

Team Stats
Passing Yards: 379
Rushing Yards: 186
Total Yards: 565
1st Downs: 21
3rd Downs: 4-13 (30%)
4th Downs: 0-1 (0%)
Turnovers: 3
Penalties-Yards: 5-50
Time of Possession: 15:00

Player Stats

Passing
D. Thomas: 24-35, 379 yards, 3 TDs

Rushing
L. James: 27 carries, 145 yards
D. Thomas: 9 carries, 41 yards, TD

Receiving
J. Maehl: 11 receptions, 162 yards, TD
J. Huff: 5 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TDs
D. Davis: 4 receptions, 55 yards
L. James: 3 receptions, 25 yards
B. Williams: 1 reception, 18 yards

Defense
S. Paysinger: 9 tackles, 6 TFL
K. Rowe: 7 tackles
J. Kaddu: 7 tackles
E. Pleasant: 8 tackles, TFL, sack
M. Johnson: 4 tackles, TFL, sack
C. Matthews: 5 tackles
C. Harris: 5 tackles, TFL
B. Bair: 5 tackles, 3 TFL, sack
J. Boyett: 6 tackles
T. Turner: 3 tackles, 2 TFL, sack
A. Gildon: 3 tackles, 2 INTs

Kicking
R. Beard: 2-2 FG, 4-4 PAT

California Golden Bears

Team Stats
Passing Yards: 378
Rushing Yards: 78
Total Yards: 456
1st Downs: 19
3rd Downs: 6-16 (37%)
4th Downs: 1-1 (100%)
Turnovers: 2
Penalties-Yards: 7-44
Time of Possession: 25:00

Player Stats

Passing
K. Riley: 21-34, 378 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs

Rushing
S. Vereen: 28 carries, 87 yards, TD
K. Riley: 6 carries, -10 yards
W. Kapp: 1 carry, 1 yard
M. Calvin: 1 carry, 0 yards
K. Allen: 1 carry, 0 yards

Receiving
M. Jones: 5 receptions, 46 yards
J. Ross: 4 receptions, 64 yards
S. Vereen: 4 receptions, 28 yards
M. Calvin: 3 receptions, 117 yards, TD
K. Allen: 3 receptions, 49 yards
A. Miller: 1 reception, 24 yards
S. Ladner: 1 reception, 50 yards, TD

Defense
B. Nnabuife: 7 tackles, 2 TFL, sack
C. Jordan: 6 tackles, TFL, FR, TD
J. Hill: 7 tackles, TFL
D. Hagan: 7 tackles, TFL, sack
C. Conte: 6 tackles, FR
M. Kendricks: 5 tackles, 4 TFL, sack, FF
M. Mohamed: 4 tackles, FF
V. Samuels: 4 tackles, FF
S. Williams: 3 tackles, FR

Kicking
G. Tavecchio: 1-3 FG, 4-4 PAT

Record: 9-1, 6-1

[Psyblast]

Week 11 Recap

Top 25 Action
#1 Ohio State 36, Penn State 3
#2 Georgia Tech 30, #9 Miami-FL 16
#3 Boise State 34, Idaho 0
#4 TCU 41, San Diego State 0
#5 Houston 41, Tulsa 7
#6 Alabama 26, Mississippi State 14
#7 Oregon 34, California 31
#8 Texas 47, Oklahoma State 17
#10 Virginia Tech 35, #22 North Carolina 3
#11 Wisconsin 36, Indiana 13
#12 Pittsburgh 23, Connecticut 20
#13 Michigan 37, Purdue 17
#14 USC 41, Arizona 17
#15 West Virginia 48, Cincinnati 31
UCLA 20, #16 Washington 3
#17 Arkansas 38, UTEP 6
Clemson 31, #18 Florida State 21
#19 Iowa 23, Northwestern 17
#20 Ole Miss 34, Tennessee 0
#21 Missouri 29, Kansas State 6
Georgia 43, #23 Auburn 42 (OT)
#24 South Carolina 24, Florida 10
#25 Texas A&M 34, Baylor 3

National Players of the Week
Offense: Jamel Hamler, WR, Fresno State: 10 receptions, 103 yards, 3 TDs
Defense: Winston Guy, FS, Kentucky: 3 tackles, INT, FR, TD

Pac-10 Players of the Week
Offense: Darron Thomas, QB, Oregon: 379 passing yards, 41 rushing yards, 4 total TDs
Defense: Hallston Higgins, OLB, Washington State: 8 tackles, 4 TFL, sack, FF, FR

Heisman Watch

1. Darron Thomas, QB, Oregon: 2930 passing yards, 30 TDs, 7 INTs; 614 rushing yards, 7.1 YPC, 9 TDs
2. Case Keenum, QB, Houston: 3716 passing yards, 33 TDs, 4 INTs; 421 rushing yards, 2.8 YPC, 4 TDs
3. Andy Dalton, QB, TCU: 3119 passing yards, 35 TDs, 3 INTs
4. Jerrod Johnson, QB, Texas A&M: 3537 passing yards, 39 TDs, 4 INTs
5. Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri: 3220 passing yards, 27 TDs, 2 INTs; 283 rushing yards, 1.8 YPC, 5 TDs

Week 12 Top 25

1. Ohio State (34) 10-0; next: @ #17 Iowa (8-2)
2. Georgia Tech (23) 10-0; next: Duke (5-5)
3. Boise State (3) 9-0; next: #22 Fresno State (8-1)
4. TCU (1) 11-0; next: IDLE
5. Houston 10-0; next: @ Southern Miss (6-4)
6. Alabama 9-1; next: FCS Southeast
7. Oregon 9-1; next: IDLE
8. Texas 9-1; next: Florida Atlantic (7-2)
9. Virginia Tech 8-2; next: @ #15 Miami-FL (7-3)
10. Wisconsin 7-2; next: @ #12 Michigan (9-1)
11. Pittsburgh 8-1; next: @ South Florida (6-3)
12. Michigan 9-1; next: #10 Wisconsin (7-2)
13. USC 7-2; next: @ Oregon State (3-6)
14. West Virginia 8-1; next: @ Louisville (6-4)
15. Miami-FL 7-3; next: #9 Virginia Tech (8-2)
16. Arkansas 7-3; next: @ Mississippi State (4-6)
17. Iowa 8-2; next: #1 Ohio State (10-0)
18. Ole Miss 8-2; next: @ LSU (5-5)
19. Missouri 9-1; next: @ Iowa State (1-10)
20. South Carolina 8-2; next: Troy (7-2)
21. Texas A&M 8-2; next: Nebraska (6-4)
22. Fresno State 8-1; next: @ #3 Boise State (9-0)
23. Clemson 7-3; next: @ Wake Forest (3-7)
24. Oklahoma 7-3; next: @ Baylor (5-6)
25. Florida State 7-3; next: @ Maryland (5-5)

BCS Top 10

1. Ohio State 1.000
2. Georgia Tech 0.994
3. Boise State 0.989
4. TCU 0.983
5. Houston 0.978
6. Alabama 0.972
7. Oregon 0.967
8. Texas 0.959
9. Virginia Tech 0.952
10. Wisconsin 0.944

[Psyblast]

Ducks land their QB
SoCal 4* is latest Oregon commitment

EUGENE, OR - During a bye week, coaches always get the opportunity to put extra emphasis on recruiting instead of balancing it with the usual game prep for that weekend's opponent.

This time around, Oregon's bye week opened with some great news - the Ducks' #1 target at QB was ready to end the process.

"I called up Coach Kelly on Monday and told him I'm committing to Oregon," Lakewood (CA) QB Dominique Love said. "I think I'd known it was gonna be Oregon for a while now, just seeing their offense and how Darron Thomas is the favorite for the Heisman and everything. It's really a thrill."

The 6'2, 205-pound Love is from Lakewood High School in Los Angeles County, the same school that sent Dion Bailey and Jesse Scroggins to USC just last year. The connections were obvious, but in the end Love spurned USC (and Alabama and Florida) for the Pacific Northwest. Clocked at 4.58 in the 40, Love is an ideal fit for Oregon's spread offense, and should have plenty of time to hone his game before seeing action.

Love is ranked as the #14 QB in the nation, and #191 overall.