Ducktails

With all the talk about how we were inevitably going to beat the pants off the Trojans I was reminded of the old sheriff in No County For Old Men, who admonishes Llewelyn's girlfriend that "Even in the contest between man and steer the issue is not certain." Even a strung up slab of beef can cause a lot of damage in its death throes. And that's how I saw the Trojans going into the game last night. Wounded, dying maybe, but dangerous all the same in spite of themselves. Caleb Williams certainly proved that. We should have blown them out. And were it not for a litany of penalties totaling 120 yards, including a highly questionable PI call on Tysheem Johnson that bailed USC out of a failed 4th down conversion attempt on their own 31 yard line, we would have. It should have been Oregon ball, up by 22 points, with just a couple of first downs away from putting the game away 43-14, with an emphatic blowout victory to broadcast to the College Football Playoff Committee. I could rant and rave at length about the could, shoulda woulda's about how we should have blown them out and failed, but instead I'll highlight the positives. Bo Nix outdueled Heisman Winner Caleb Williams to the tune of 414 yards and 4 TDs, and "Bo Nix delivers 'Heisman-worthy performance' in win over USC" is plastered on ESPN's front page. We hung over 550 yards on them and despite the last desperate comeback bid by the Trojans this game was never really in doubt. Oregon dominated them start to finish. The team fought through the adversity, the bad breaks, injuries, penalties, and an overall "B" performance, and still dominated the erstwhile blue blood of the PAC. This was a team that used to dominate us, that lorded over us, that thought they were too good too play in the same conference with us, and they destroyed our beloved PAC-12 conference thanks to their insufferable vanity and arrogance. They clearly still had hope going into this game that they could turn things around and win the PAC in it's final year. The carcass was still thrashing around in a desperate attempt to stay alive and relevant, and we had the satisfaction of being the team to finally put 'em down for good. While I am not usually one to revel in schadenfreude I hope Caleb had a good cry afterward, and I hope this loss sticks with the U$C fanbase long after the lights are turned off on the PAC: That it was Oregon that finally put the lights out on them...

I logged onto the Fishduck forum this morning, as I have been doing for a number of years now, to read my fellow fan's observations in our most recent loss to the Huskies, and take solace in the age old adage that misery loves company. It is a little chilly, cold, and overcast here, accentuating my already overwhelming feelings of depression and disappointment, which I failed to drown last night despite an epic bender I went on with a buddy of mine last night after the game. I am an Oregon alum, and a fan, I've been watching the Ducks now for over thirty years, and I can say from the bottom of my heart that this was absolutely one of the most heart rending losses I have ever experienced as a Duck fan; and I have witnessed far too many of them over the years. I was in Seattle when they got throttled by the Huskies 38-17 back in October of 1990. I watched a game but overmatched Duck team get shelled by Penn St. 38-20 in their first Rose Bowl in nearly forty years on New Year's Day in 1995. I watched them lose a heartbreaker to UCLA in OT in 1998. I watched them drop three straight and fall out of national championship contention after Dennis Dixon tore his ACL in a painful road loss to Arizona in 2007. I watched them lose yet another desultory and disappointing Rose Bowl after an epic season in 2009, and then lose an utterly heartbreaking National Championship appearance the following year; a game so full of blown calls, missed opportunities, and just plain bad luck I was literally sick to my stomach afterward and convinced my team was cursed. This loss was one of the worst ever. I wanted this one about as bad as I can ever remember. The revenge match against the Huskies, on the road, with pole position for the PAC Championship in the last year of the conference on the line, and a berth in the National Championship Playoff to boot. College GameDay in town and virtually everyone picking the Huskies. A golden opportunity to prove them all wrong and announce our arrival as the front runner for the PAC Championship a Playoff Contender. I thought we had this one. There had to have been at least a dozen moments in this game, or more, where we could have won it. But a bad call here, a bad bounce there, and just plain bad luck seemed to conspire to send us home with a loss: the ref's not throwing the flag on the blatantly obvious late hit on Nix in the 1st half. The uncalled PI on Holden in the endzone. Not kicking the FG to close out the half. Three turnovers on downs, including a first and goal from the Husky 10, a first and ten on the Husky 15, and a first and ten from midfield late in the 4th quarter, where a conversion would have likely salted away the win. I yelled, I screamed, and I cursed. I begged the football gods to give us a friggin' break, all to no avail. There have been games so emotionally wrenching where, in the wee hours of the morning when I am in the semi-conscious stupor of sleep that sets in when one has had way too much to drink, I actually dream that the game is still on, that this issue is still in doubt, and that the Ducks still have a shot. And then I wake up and realize, after the fogginess dissipates, that reality is still staring at me face stone faced and unflinching, that we lost, and there isn't a damned thing in the world I can do about it. There are five stages of grief I am told: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. As I read some of the more strident comments here on the Forum, and the inevitable could, shoulda, woulda armchair, Sunday morning quarterbacking, it strikes me that some of us are still possibly in the Bargaining Stage of Grief, and maybe its best we move on to Depression, and then Acceptance. I know that Lanning arguably should have kicked those field goals. Maybe we should have run the ball more inside the red zone. Maybe Nix should have thown the ball to the pylon the second the ball was snapped on that 4th and goal play. And maybe Lanning should have punted at midfield with 2:00 to go in the 4th. Maybe if they did these things they would have won. Everyone on this Forum is entitled to handle their grief in their own way and welcome to their own opinion. My personal opinion is the Ducks lost due to bad luck, plain and simple. And you cannot Bargain with bad luck. And, as a long suffering Duck fan who's become accustomed to dealing with disappointment over all the heart-rending losses over all these long decades, I am moving on from Depression to Acceptance here. They lost. I accept that. And letting go of the burden of bargaining over how we could have won that game, I instead find myself buoyed by what we actually accomplished, and where we are headed as a team and as a program. They lost. But I am content they gave it their all and left everything out on the field yesterday. They outgained the Huskies by over a hundred yards, mounted an epic comeback from a double digit deficit, and made an amazing goal line stand from the 1 yard line against one of the best offenses in the country. They never quit. They played well enough to win, and were it not for a bounce of the ball here, or a bad call there, they would have won, and the whole world knows it. All the talking heads on TV are talking about this game as an instant classic, and virtually all of them agree that this game could have easily gone either way. There was respect for the Ducks as legit National Championship Contenders this morning. There was even healthy respect from the Husky fanbase, many of whom are giving the Ducks their props for their performance yesterday, which is a rarity in this rivalry. I am reminded of how I felt leaving Husky Stadium all those years ago back in 1990, after the Huskies had throttled the Ducks by three touchdowns in a game that was never really competitive. The Huskies were just bigger, stronger, faster. We just didn't have the athletes to compete with them. It's like they were in a different league. A legit National Championship Contender "They never had a chance" I thought. What I would have given then to have the team we have now. They are bigger, stronger, faster. We have the athletes now. The talent is off the charts. We have the horses to hang with anyone in the country, and the Huskies, fielding one of the best teams they've ever had in the history of their storied program, barely escaped with their lives yesterday by the skin of their teeth, thanks to a handful of lucky breaks and bounces. This Duck team is a National Championship Caliber team. And while they may have lost yesterday that was one of the grittiest, gutsiest performances I have ever had the privilege of witnessing in my nearly 35 years as a long suffering Duck fan. I don't know if they'll win a National Championship this year. But if they keep bringing it, bringing it the way they brought it yesterday, and if they keep playing with a chip on their shoulder, and leaving it all out on the field, like they did against the Huskies yesterday, they sure as hell have a shot. And that's about as much as anyone can reasonably ask of them. And if they do that -win, lose, or draw- they'll be my Champion. They'll be our Champion....