Sure, Oregon seems like they’re ready to bust loose being the No. 9 team in the nation, as its only loss comes from the No. 2 team and it’s coming off a bye week and ready to unload on its next opponent. But we’ve seen this type of season-opening performance from the Ducks before. All of these fast starts and then a sudden collapse.
Although this team appears to be different from last year’s under-achieving squad, there are still some reasons to be wary of another disappointing performance.
? The parallels between last season and the current one. Both teams started 4-0 before a loss to a superior California team up-ended the Ducks’ winning streak. Both of those losses to Cal were heart-breaking in their own right, but turnovers proved to be the biggest difference in each of the games.
As we know, Oregon didn’t fare very well after that loss last year and how it responds this time around remains to be seen. As far as the media are concerned, they certainly respect the Ducks more this year and have moved Oregon up in the standings despite not playing last weekend. However, the media have been wrong a multitude of times about where certain teams should be ranked.
? The Washington State effect. The Cougars handed the Ducks their second loss of the season last year and hope to do the same Saturday. Last year after losing to Cal, Oregon cruised past UCLA at Autzen but suffered a letdown in Pullman, Wash. as the Cougars won 34-23.
It was the first game that began the Dennis Dixon-Brad Leaf quarterback controversy after Dixon was benched in the third quarter after throwing two interceptions and Leaf staged a semi-comeback in the fourth quarter down 27-3 by throwing for 262 yards and two touchdowns.
Jonathan Stewart didn’t fare well either, rushing 11 times for 28 yards. Washington State was one of his final choices of schools and there’s little doubt that the Cougars felt spurned by the highly-touted running back and made sure to stick it to him.
Washington State quarterback and Eugene native Alex Brink no doubt feels spurned by the Ducks for not being offered a scholarship and will want to stick it to his hometown team in front of friends and family.
? School is now in session. Fresno State coach Pat Hill made some snide remarks after the Bulldogs lost 52-21 to Oregon this year, saying that all of the Ducks should be playing football well early on in the season for one good reason: They don’t have any classes to attend. They can concentrate on football as much as they want to without having to worry about homework and tests.
It’s a fair argument keeping in mind that Oregon always starts strong every season. The Ducks avoided a second-half collapse for the 2005 season but they certainly kept most of their games interesting as one score separated them in several victories.
? The college football upheaval among the top teams. As Appalachian State, Stanford, et cetera have proved this season, no team is safe from a loss that will derail whatever hopes it had earlier in the season. As those highly-ranked teams start to look past some of its lesser opponents, that’s when the meltdown occurs.
While Oregon players continue to say one game at a time, we’ll see what happens this weekend, a week after USC suffered possibly the greatest upset in college football history.
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