Pickin' Splinters » Oregon Ducks

Performance of the Week | 11/16 – 11/22

Casey — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:19:08 +0000

AP Photo/Wily Low

By Paul Gotham

Another week of great sports action, and so many great performances with which to choose. Step right up readers and give us the one (1), uno, une performance that stands out for you this past week.

Oregon’s Jeremiah Masoli grabs my POTW.

On the road, with the Ducks’ Rose Bowl aspirations hanging in the balance, the Junior College transfer spun a great performance. After falling behind 24-14, Masoli revived the Ducks and silenced the crowd in Tucson, Arizona.

Masoli completed 26-47 passes 284 yards and three touchdowns. With Arizona fans ready to rush the field, Oregon tied the score as Masoli found Ed Dickson in the end zone with :06 remaining in regulation.

The junior also gained 61 yards on 16 carries and scored three more touchdowns as Oregon topped Arizona in double OT, 44-41. The quarterback’s final touchdown was the game winner.

Un-recruited out of high school, Masoli played for City College of San Francisco before transferring to Oregon.

Who gets your POTW?

This Date in College Football Belt History – October 28

Casey — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:52:58 +0000

The 3-4 Arizona State Sun Devils of coach Bruce Snyder traveled to Eugene to meet the 10^th ranked, 6-1 Oregon Ducks of first-year coach Mike Bellotti. The Ducks featured All-American CB Alex Molden as well as All-Pac 10 players LB Jeremy Asher & RB Ricky Whittle as it looked as if they would claim their first Belt reign but Oregon had a record of 0-8-1 with a history of near misses in Belt games. Arizona State’s All-Pac 10 QB Jake Plummer led two touchdown drives in the final 5 minutes as the Sun Devils defeated Oregon 35-24 to retain The Belt in a game that featured 5 lead changes. Oregon got the only points of the 1^st quarter when PK Joshua Smith connected on a 42-yard field goal. In the 2^nd quarter, the Sun Devils scored on a 4-yard touchdown run by RB Michael Martin & a 38-yard touchdown pass from Plummer to WR Kenny Mitchell to take a 14-3 lead. The Ducks finished the 1^st half scoring with a 14-yard touchdown pass from QB Tony Graziani to WR Cristin McLemore. The Ducks took the lead in the 3^rd quarter when Whittle scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Arizona State’s DE Mike Langridge gave the Sun Devils the lead again when he took the ball out of Graziani’s hand & ran 32 yards for a touchdown. Trailing 21-17, Graziani scrambled 33 yards for a touchdown giving the Ducks a 24-21 lead. With 4:16 to play, Arizona State chose not to kick the tying field goal as Plummer faced a 4^th & 1 from the Oregon 3-yard line. He found TE Steve Bush for the touchdown giving the Sun Devils the lead 28-24. After an Oregon punt, Arizona State drove 49 yards in 6 plays with Martin scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run to secure the victory. Plummer finished with 232 yards passing with 2 touchdowns & Mitchell added 5 catches for 106 yards to his touchdown. Grazini threw for 340 yards completing 27 of 55 pass attempts with a touchdown & McLemore had 9 catches for 108 yards with a touchdown in the loss. Arizona State finished the season 6-5 while the Ducks finished 9-3 & ranked 18^th nationally. Oregon would play for The Belt again in 2005.

The College Football Belt

This Date in College Football Belt History – October 2

Casey — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:58:54 +0000

The 17^th ranked, 4-0 California Golden Bears of coach Keith Gilbertson welcomed to Berkley the 3-0 Oregon Ducks of coach Rich Brooks to battle for The Belt. California rallied from a 30-0 deficit with QB Dave Barr throwing for 368 yards with 3 touchdowns & a 2-point conversion with 1:17 to play for a 42-41 victory to retain The Belt. The teams combined for 1150 yards (Oregon 623 California 527) in the offensive slugfest. The Ducks scored on their first 5 possessions but a missed extra point by PK Tommy Thompson seemed to give the Golden Bears a spark. Oregon scored on touchdown passes from QB Danny O’Neil of 22 yards to WR Dameron Ricketts, 2 yards to WR Willy Tate, & 49 yards to WR Derrick Deadwiler in the 1^st quarter. In the 2^nd quarter, Tate caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from WR Cristin McLemore on an option pass before the missed conversion. California drove 54 yards with RB Lindsey Chapman scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run & the Golden Bears ended the first half down 30-7. As the 2^nd half started, Barr pitched to Chapman who took it 61 yards for a touchdown making the score 30-14. Oregon answered with an 81-yard drive with RB Sean Burwell scoring on a 13-yard run & the 2-point conversion to give the Ducks a 38-14 cushion. Barr then hit WR Damien Semien for a 46-yard touchdown pass but the failed 2-point conversion left the score at 38-20. California fans started believing the comeback was really possible when the Golden Bears blocked a Ducks’ punt with California’s All-Pac 10 S Eric Zomalt picking up the ball & running 19 yards for the touchdown making the score 38-27 with 6:55 still left in the 3^rd quarter. Both teams seemed to settle down & Thompson’s 21-yard field goal gave the Ducks a 41-27 lead with 5:11 left to play in the final period. The Golden Bears were not done; Barr’s 72-yard touchdown connection with Semien with 4:53 left made it Oregon 41 California 34. The Golden Bears got the ball back with 2:22 to play at their own 15-yard line. On 3^rd & 10, Barr hit WR Iheanyi Uwaezuoke for 18 yards & a new set of downs. Four more completions & a 1-yard run got the Golden Bears to the Oregon 26-yard line with 1:24 to play. Barr then hit Uwaezuoke down the left sideline for the touchdown at 1:17 to play. The Golden Bears tried for a 2-point conversion as Barr audibled to a fade pass for WR Mike Caldwell. In spite of defensive pass interference, Caldwell hauled in the conversion & California had an improbable 42-41 victory. Semien finished with 7 catches for 182 yards with his 2 touchdowns. For the Ducks, O’Neil threw for 313 yards with 3 touchdowns, RB Ricky Whittle rushed for 113 yards, Burwell added 101 yards rushing to his touchdown, & Deadwiler had 11 catches for 234 yards with his touchdown. California finished the season 9-4; ranked 25^th nationally while the Ducks finished 5-6. Oregon would play for The Belt again in 1995.

The College Football Belt

This Date in College Football Belt History – September 24

Casey — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:26:46 +0000

DwThe top-ranked, 2-0 Southern Cal Trojans of coach Pete Carroll traveled to Eugene to meet the 24^th ranked, 3-0 Oregon Ducks of coach Mike Bellotti in the Pac 10 opener for both teams. After a slow start in which the Ducks jumped to a 13-0 lead, Southern Cal erupted for 35 points in the 2^nd half while the Trojans’ defense held Oregon to just 65 yards rushing in a 45-13 Southern Cal win to retain The Belt in their 16^th consecutive successful defense. Oregon opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal from PK Paul Martinez. The Ducks added to the lead with a 5-play, 62-yard drive culminating in a 36-yard touchdown pass from QB Kellen Clemens to WR Demetrius Williams. Martinez connected on a 48-yard field goal as the Oregon crowd started to sense an upset of the champions; Southern Cal had other thoughts. Once the Trojans’ offense started clicking, the game turned quickly. Southern Cal’s All-Pac 10 QB Matt Leinart connected with Heisman Trophy winning, All-American RB Reggie Bush on a 19-yard touchdown pass & PK Mario Danelo added a 36-yard field goal as the teams went to halftime with Oregon leading 13-10 but momentum clearly on the side of Southern Cal. The Trojans opened the 2^nd half with a 5-play, 76-yard drive in just 1:46 with Leinart hitting All-American WR Dwayne Jarrett for the 11-yard touchdown pass. Southern Cal’s RB LenDale White finished a 61-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run & Leinart connected again with Jarrett on a 6-yard touchdown pass to finish a 64-yard drive as the 3^rd quarter ended with the Trojans holding a 31-13 advantage. A 5-play, 84-yard drive was capped with an 11-yard touchdown run by Bush & White finished the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run late in the 4^th quarter. The Trojans’ five touchdown drives in the 2^nd half averaged 64 yards, 7 plays, & less than 3 minutes. Leinart finished with 315 yards passing to go with his 3 touchdowns, Bush added 122 yards rushing to his 2 scores, & White rushed for 111 yards with his 2 touchdowns. Clemens finished with 168 yards passing with a touchdown but was sacked twice for the Ducks. Southern Cal finished the season 12-1; Pac 10 Champions & ranked 2^nd nationally while the Ducks finished 10-2 & ranked 13^th nationally. Oregon has not played for The Belt again.

The College Football Belt

Tale of the tape – UCLA at Oregon

Casey — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:48:31 +0000

by Paul Casey Gotham

Setting: McArthur Court on the University of Oregon campus in Eugen, Oregon is the scene for today’s matchup between #12 UCLA (11-2 overall/ 1-0 conference) and Oregon (6-7 overall / 0-1 conference).

Flashback: UCLA leads the all-time series 79-25 and is 31-19 in Eugene. The Bruins have won their last seven including a 69-46 PAC-10 opener over Oregon State. The Ducks lost their conference opener to Southern Cal 83-62.

Last year the Bruins survived 80-75 on the Duck pond in Eugene. Some changes have taken place since then – Kevin Love (who spurned Oregon’s recruiting advances despite his father playing for Oregon in the 70s) and Russell Westbrook are now earning paychecks in the NBA.

It could be hard to imagine that just two years ago the Ducks were down three in the Regional final to Florida with less than a minute remaining.

Tone: It is kind of ironic when considering the stat lines: UCLA has a field goal percentage of 49.8 while scoring 76.6 ppg – Oregon hits at a rate of 41.4% and scores 73.8 per game. UCLA hits 35.9% from behind the arc. Oregon cans 36.6% from long range. UCLA drops 64.6 of their free throws while Oregon goes for 67.1%.

Both squads grab 38 boards per game, make nine steals, and have 3.5 blocks per game.

Despite the similarities in numbers Oregon has five more losses.

Theme: Can familiarity which breeds contempt also lead to an upset? UCLA’s two losses (Michigan and Texas) represent the only challenges on the Bruin schedeule.

Oregon has seven losses, but they haven’t been hiding from anyone. The Ducks have dropped decisions to UNC, Texas, Utah, St. Mary’s (earned an at-large bid last year), and San Diego.

Characters (players) to watch: the game pits point guards, Darren Collison and Tajuan Porter, against each other. Porter is the last remaining starter from that Duck team that came one win from the Final Four in ’07. Collison has made the Final Four every year of his career.

Both average 14 ppg. Collison dishes out 5 assists; Porter hands out two. Both grab two boards. Collison has the advantage in shooting percentage (56.2 to 37.9 from the field including 50% to 36.6% from deep), but Porter is required to carry more of the scoring load for the Ducks.

Conflict: Collison and the Bruins have to keep Porter in check. The senior from Detroit is due for a break out. Today would be fitting at home.

Michael Dunigan, Garrett Sim, and LeKendric Longmire all average double digit points for the Ducks. Ernie Kent will need each of his troops to give a maximum output.

Collison will need Josh Shipp and Jrue Holiday to contribute. The Bruins have ten players averaging double digit minutes per game.

Resolution: Oregon will need to prove they can hang with UCLA’s depth.