Oregon Beat, But Not Broken

As Oregon went down in flames during Monday night’s game against Auburn, I wanted to let the War Eagle hoorah settle down a bit and write about all of the great things that Oregon accomplished this past season, and of course some bits on the BCS game.  The road that the Ducks went down this season looked a bit rocky but in the end the team was able to focus and achieve what most teams could not, consistency.

When Oregon Coach Chip Kelly cleaned house and sent QB Jeremiah Masoli packing, He looked to sophomore and 2009 redshirt Darron Thomas to takeover the reigns of the Ducks explosive offense.  During the 2010 campaign, QB Thomas was able to rack up some very impressive stats- 2,881 passing yards and 30 TD’s while throwing only 9 INT’s with a QB Rating of 150.97.  While Thomas’s stats are very inspiring, Thomas’ leadership skills and mastery of the Ducks’ complex offense has been even more extraordinary.  He led an offense that was able to score almost at will from any point on the field.  Coach Kelly was able to surround him with a good mix of experienced players such as Senior WR Jeff Maehl, who led the team in receiving, and also with the blinding speed of Sophomore RB LaMichael James.  There is no doubt that Maehl will be missed going into the 2011 season, but the prospects of another run at the BCS is well within the reach of Coach Kelly and the Ducks.

Oregon propelled to top-notch play this season due to its impeccable defense.  When Oregon hit the field against their PAC-10 rivals, the ASU Sun Devils, their offense did struggle against the Sun Devils, who forced the Ducks to punt 11 times during the game.  However, the defense took the game over and forced 7 turnovers and 3 fumbles by such players as ASU RB Deantre Lewis, and on top of that, 4 picks off QB Steven Threet.  The defense rose to the occasion to secure win after win.  However, again in 2011, the Ducks defense will need to add some additional players to their flock.  Middle Linebacker Casey Matthews and DE Kenny Rowe will also be 2 more player moving on to graduation.  Yet, Duck fans can take solace in that fact that Coach Kelly is developing and recruiting talent to fill in the holes.

During the 2010 season, LaMichael James proved that he was a force to be reckoned with.  When they played number 4 Stanford at the Zoo, they were able to muscle their way back to a 52-31 victory and shut down QB Andrew Luck and the Cardinals in the second half.  James responded by saying, “We were down tailback, but we always feel something will eventually happen”.

In the Civil War victory over Oregon State, James ran 28 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Earlier in the year, against Southern California, he erupted for 239 yards on career-high 36 attempts. Before that, he had a career-high 257 yards on 31 carries against Stanford. In other words, most of the season, he was all but unstoppable. However, when it came to Auburn’s his running went literally went south, and he was not able to find cracks in the Tigers defense.  Every time he touched the ball, James said “he felt like he was facing a navy blue-and-white wall nearly every time he got handed the ball”.

Again, revisiting that win against the OS Beavers in the Civil War game it was the last game that would determine whether the Ducks would go to their first national title game.  It was not until the second half of the game that they were able to gain their footing with three touchdowns and stopping the Beavers to field goals on 2 drives within “Quack Attacks” 10 yard line.

Of course, we cannot forget the wonderful Duck fans whose dedication to the team was tenfold.  So many came from not just Oregon, but from around the country and some from the other side of the world.  The Oregonian reported such feel good stories as the 1940’s UO football player whose ashes traveled to Arizona by mail that were picked up by his son-in-law and escorted to the game or the 62 year old Duck lover that unicycled his way to Arizona so that he would not miss out on this historic game.  In fact, there were so many fans on both sides in attendance that they had to add extra seats to the end zones for the 78,603 people that showed up.  Now that is pure Duck dedication.

Keep an eye on upcoming stories, when we discuss in depth the 2012 football season, replacing the 12 key starters that will be graduating in the Spring  and the changes Coach Kelly will be making.

Now, let’s talk Basketball and the brand new “MATT COURT”!