30Duck

Expectations are the test. Ohio State and its fans expect to be in the Top 4 every season, along with their recruiting classes. The last Pac-12 team to be in that category was USC coached by Pete Carroll. I feel like Oregon is closer to that status than USC, or Washington, are. Oregon has established a brand Washington will never touch. USC is location and tradition now. Riley coaches Heisman QB's, not championship teams. Washington? They blew their chance last season, it's still Don James, 30 years ago for them. Miami? Mario isn't Schellenberger, definitely not Jimmy. Alabama, Georgia, LSU. For all the greatness bestowed on the SEC, those are the Hunted, and not LSU this season.

Absolutely agree. The only sport where they are competitive to the point where it doesn't matter how healthy the Power Conference opponent is, is baseball. For pretty much the same time, Oregon State has been better at baseball than Gonzaga has been at basketball. Unfortunately for Oregon state, while "there's no crying in baseball", there's no $$ in it either.

He doesn't miss a thing, does he?

I'm not sure that getting beat by Kentucky is embarrassing. They didn't start well, a 31-6 loss to South Carolina. But they let their game against Georgia get away. 3-2 now, a Bye this week, followed by Vandy, Florida, Auburn should have them 6-2, before hosting Tennessee.

Great point, Kamikaze Kid, this could be the catalyst for schedule conformity,

With their chain saw, actually a leaf blower. Which is more annoying? The leaf blower, or Washington's foghorn?

Cal is also the most formidable foe on Miami's schedule.

A big opportunity, starting with "GameDay", Corso and Duck, who will the Guest Picker be?

Oregon State < SEC. Whichever team would be a step up.

Great point. We were used to 85% completion rate, 0 picks. In this one completion rate was in the 70's, and a pick-6, and the Ducks still won, 34-13

I do think it's the perfect game to play before Ohio State. The Spartans were just handled by Ohio State, in what could be the toughest two game stretch any team will have this season. Autzen will be full, the Spartans will have a lot of energy to absorb. Coach Smith will definitely have them fired up. I don't think Oregon should be keeping things under wraps for Ohio State by now, Oregon needs to go with everything they have against Michigan State and keep building on that for Ohio State next week.

Though Ohio State did handle Michigan State the same way Oregon did cellar dweller UCLA. Ohio State has coasted through their schedule so far, haven't faced a potential Playoff team like Boise State, Iowa should be something of a test this week.

Thank the Replay Booth for a great Heimlich Maneuver.

Having a dominant D, to go with Oregon's high octane offense is what Herbie & Des thought would be when they picked Oregon to win their first Natty. the high octane has been stuck in neutral so far. But the flux capacitor is on the way.

Appetizers can be tasty, and the Ducks should devour the Spartans before an Autzen crowd starving for a dominating performance by the Ducks in their first B1G home game. Playing Ohio Stat at home, then going on the road to Oregon, should give Michigan State a stomachache. Oregon Ducks Open As Huge Favorites vs. Michigan State Spartans: Preview WWW.SI.COM The Oregon Ducks kicked off a new era with a bang Saturday by securing a 34-13 road win over the UCLA Bruins in the inaugural...

Very true, Their weren't such expectations for Miami, but when they started demolishing their Bottom 10 schedule, people went crazy. Their gift of a win over unranked Virginia Tech brought some reasonability to their accomplishments. The Ducks on the other hand underperformed in their early games, though Boise State has a great chance of making the Playoff, and Ashton Jeanty should be the overwhelming favorite for the . Heisman trophy. Ohio State's schedule hasn't been as tough as Oregon's, but the Buckeyes took care of business, though their beatdown of Michigan State was similar to Oregon's of UCLA. Michigan State and Iowa stand in the way of Ohio State and Oregon before they face off at Autzen. Winner take all.

Absolutely. UCLA didn't come to the B1G due of their football proficiency they came because of their proximity to USC, and their basketball and softball teams.

Washington, with their 'athletic prowess" still doesn't get it. They never will, to them Oregon is still the team it was in the 70's. They spend a lot of energy whining about Phil, Nike, how everrything Oregon has accomplished wasbought and paid for. Without NIL, Oregon would never get a recruit. Washington's facilities are adequate. Oregon's have been the standard for a long time. the Duck is known everywhere, Oregon is a Brand. Muhammad talked about how different/better, his experience at Oregon is than anywhere else he's been. Basically, Washington is still using a VCR. I remember, back in the 70's when USC would show up with lots of players, nor regulations like there is now. They really thought playing at Oregon was slumming it, and back then, Oregon's facilities were less than adequate. But USC respects, fears Oregon, in a way that UW can't grasp. Oregon is taking players directly from them. Columnists have written about it. USC has the cognitive awareness that UW doesn't. They've done the math; they know they don't intimidate Oregon anymore.

UCLA could compete in the Scrap ll

A great paragraph. I heard a whining noise last night; it was obviously coming from Seattle. IGeorgia, escapes Kentucky,(who would beat Miami) gets a bye, then acts like it's still on the bye for the first half against Alabama, then almost wins? I think the thought that Beck will be the first QB picked is probably gone now.

It really is the perfect play. The NFL, specifically, the Eagles, have fallen in love with the "Tush Push" where Hurtz lines up under center and just plows through the line. It has been stopped though. This Fade Pass is practically guaranteed to at least get a PI, and more often a touchdown.

That was some "aggressive" though completely ineffective defense by the Bruins. Once a Duck, but no longer, Addison, was very pleased with taking his Pick-6, he even held on to the ball.

Oregon moves up 2, to No,6, Miami drops 1, to 8, where Oregon was last week. I'd take No,17 Clemson -6.5 over Miami at Hard Rock.

Perception does matter. As I looked at the title of this article, my mind went to, "wish the Ducks had dominated UCLA like Ohio State did to Michigan State, then I saw that the score of that game was 38-7. So, Michigan State didn't score off a pick-6, but they did score a touchdown on Ohio State's defense, in the 1st half, the Buckeyes pitched a shutout the last 30 minutes. Maybe the offense is still playing vanilla, waiting for the Buckeyes to really open up. Not exactly the "Eye of the Tiger" mentality, but the Ducks offense, already slimmed down, did take it easy in the second half? It's not playing down to your opponent, but teams do exert effort commensurate to the resistance. I agree with a thought I saw earlier, no need to rush Ferguson back for Michigan State. I expect the Ducks to be at full energy as they say, "hi" to Coach Smith.

Actually, Desert Duck, you are absolutely right!