Bill Moos said that when he woke up Saturday morning, he had a wish list for the day’s key Pacific-10 Conference games.
First and foremost, have Oregon beat Arizona State. Check.
But almost as important in the Oregon athletic director’s mind, he said, was for Washington to beat Stanford. Check.
And, for that tasty icing smothered on top of the cake, it might be nice for Washington State to beat UCLA. Check.
Those three “checks” could add up to one big, fat “cha-ching” as the No. 7 Ducks reclaimed the comfortable driver’s seat in the race for the Fiesta Bowl and the $12 million distributed around the Pac-10 for being associated in one of the four Bowl Championship Series bowls.
“The big win for us was Washington over Stanford,” Moos said. “With our tiebreaker advantages over the Washington teams, we’re sitting in real good shape right now.
“It’s a real tribute to this team that they could rebound from that disappointing loss at home and put that behind them.”
Oh yes, that loss. That loss that came on a cool October afternoon amid a festive Homecoming atmosphere. That loss that somehow was put on the Ducks despite a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter over a team using its backup quarterback. And that loss that knocked Oregon off the undefeated pedestal and off the easiest path to a shot at the national title in the Rose Bowl.

Think these Ducks have forgotten about that loss?
Check out Oregon cornerback Rashad Bauman’s reaction when a reporter brought up the Stanford game.
He smiles, closes his eyes, winces his face and bends down and back with a groan reflective of a golden opportunity lost.
“That Stanford loss hurt, it really did. It still hurts,” Bauman said. “I look at that Stanford team, and I think if we played them again, oh my God, we would smash them! But we don’t. This ain’t basketball.
“You don’t get a chance to redeem yourself and go to their house and play them.”
But thanks to the Ducks’ 42-24 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night, Oregon has its second chance. Before that Stanford loss, the Ducks were dreaming of lofty destinations that ended with the highest possible ranking in front of their name and the lowest loss total at the end of it.
Then things were clouded. Now, with the events of the past two weeks, the clouds have split down the middle, gone separate directions and cleared up things considerably.
Should Oregon beat UCLA and Oregon State, it’d be the Pac-10 champ and would be spending New Year’s Day in Tempe, Ariz.
Should the Ducks lose, well, they aren’t thinking like that.
“We’ve been in the position of controlling our destiny before, and we weren’t able to deal with it,” Bauman said. “Now that we’ve regained it and got that opportunity, we’ve got to take advantage of it.”
Which leaves Moos and the Ducks relieved that the only scoreboard watching they’ll be doing this Saturday will be their own.