I’m sure there are die hard Duck fans that are looking at ESPN this morning, perhaps at the Pac 12 Standings are noticing something different. Oregon(22-6, 11-4 Pac 12) is tied with UCLA at the top of the conference, and we haven’t played the Civil War yet against Oregon State(13-5, 3-12 Pac 12).  No, this is not a typo.

Feb 27, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Solomon Hill (44) reacts during the game against the Southern California Trojans at the Galen Center. USC defeated Arizona 89-78. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The USC Trojans took it to Arizona on Wednesday night, the Wildcats came out flat and may have been caught looking ahead to their weekend matchup with UCLA.  Arizona may have also lost their shot at a high seed in the NCAA Tournament and most likely will fall to the #3 seed or lower of the Pac 12 Tournament. When it comes to the conference resume, Arizona is starting to  get some holes punched in it. UCLA has already beat the Wildcats once this year already back on January 24th.

Tied with UCLA atop the Pac 12 standings Oregon faces Oregon State who comes to Eugene Thursday night for the Civil War at Matthew Knight Arena. It’s Senior Night and several Ducks will be playing their final game in front of the home crowd including  Tony Woods, E.J. Singler, Carlos Emory and Arsalan Kazemi. The ceremony celebrating these players will happen after the game.

Earlier this week Dana Altman announced that Freshman Dominic Artis is closer to a return, he will likely make an appearance against the Beavers. If the Ducks get a victory, they will be a game up on UCLA and a game and half up on Arizona heading into next week.

Oregon closes out the Pac 12 Regular season on the road against Colorado(Thursday, March 7th, 6pm ESPN2) and Utah(Saturday March 9th, Pac 12 Network 11:30am)

Oregon Ducks This Week:

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

It all comes down to Oregon, USC, FSU, Michigan, and Vanderbilt for Leon McQuay, and many analysts believe that he is a Vandy lean partially due to academics. McQuay is very intelligent, and that can be seen on tape. He is, in my mind, the smartest defensive back in this recruiting class and has all the tools to be an elite free safety at the collegiate level. McQuay has great instincts, solid ball skills, is terrific as a pure coverage guy, and he has more than adequate athletic ability.

It’s no wonder why McQuay has been so touted, and he would be a huge addition to Oregon’s recruiting class- or any team’s class for that matter. USC could still keep Max Redfield, as the elite safety is currently between the Trojans and Irish. The common thought is that USC cannot keep both players, but it could happen. So this official visit is crucial for him as a player, USC when looking at the big picture, and has a trickle-down effect on Redfield (Oregon stopped recruiting him).

McQuay is rated by most publications as the third best safety in the 2013 recruiting class, and he is easily a top 40 recruit overall and a top ten player in the state of Florida. He has been busy lighting it up for an elite Armwood squad and also owns a great football pedigree.

Oregon fans need to keep close tabs on the news that comes out of this visit to USC, because it has a huge impact on Oregon’s potential incoming class in 2013. The Ducks currently have just 11 commits and are behind the curve, but they always finish strong. The Ducks get a large amount of their commits late in the recruiting period, which makes the decisions by guys like McQuay all the more crucial for this program.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE

Oregon has thrown an offer into the ring for the Maryland recruit, and Harris has also been contacted by other big programs such as Michigan, Ohio State, and Maryland. Even though Oregon is the first team to have offered Harris since his commitment, all three of those mentioned teams have offered Harris.

The Frederick Douglass Senior High standout also has offers from Penn State, Virginia, East Carolina, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, USC, Washington, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Hawaii, UNC, Ole Miss, Cal, Iowa, and N.C. State.

The 6’4″, 195 pound wideout has terrific hands and is a top weapon in the red zone. Harris is great at stretching the field vertically and making big plays downfield, and he uses his size well in order to make nice catches in traffic. The Opening attendee caught 12 touchdown passes for his high school last season and has some speed with a 4.46 forty.

Paul Harris is one of the top 500 recruits in the country and one of the more talented wide receiver prospects as well. Due to his big-play ability and size that would go well for downfield blocking, Harris would be a great fit for Oregon’s offense.

I guess the Ducks see that in the high-end three-star recruit, because they don’t normally offer committed prospects. The coaching staff probably believes that they have a great chance of getting Harris to flip, and they are probably the only team right now who could cause him to pull the trigger and flip to another program. We’ll see how involved the other schools get, and he has visited USC, Auburn, East Carolina, UNC, and Penn State at points during his recruitment.

Back in May, Harris named a top four of USC, Penn State, Tennessee, and Michigan.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.