Oregon football fans and players ended their 2008 season on one of the highest notes of their entire history.
They did it in convincing fashion, running over safeties and hitting hard enough to knock a quarterback out of the game.
Message sent.
The Ducks’ players should feel good about their season as they begin to prepare for spring practice.
But before everyone decides to permanently wear their green-and-yellow colored glasses, this column isn’t entirely about looking back at the Ducks’ season.
Anybody looking for Oregon to hold up to its probable preseason top-10 ranking next August should look back at two other teams’ 2008 seasons for a clue about how Oregon will fare in next season’s first month.
Namely, Boise State and Utah.
Yes, the same Boise State team that lost one game this year, to No. 7 TCU, in its bowl game.
And yes, oh yes, No. 2 Utah, whose undefeated season and Sugar Bowl win over then-No. 4 Alabama could be the catalyst for a playoff system in the future.
Gulp.
Forget the cushy warmup the Ducks had against Washington this year as their season-opening game at Autzen Stadium, no less. Next year’s team will start on the road at Bronco Stadium in Boise on Sept. 5, a place where the Broncos have a 45-1 record since 2002.
Boise State’s first road win over a BCS conference school came against Oregon last year, a loss that left the Ducks as a whole resembling the dazed Jeremiah Masoli, who had to leave the game with a concussion. It was a dirty hit, called so by Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti, and it was part of a dirty, physical game. Bottom line, the Broncos came out of nowhere and took the Ducks off their pedestal.
And that’s the start of it.
Two weeks later, after Purdue travels to Eugene, Utah arrives.
No, Oregon fans, Utah State is not walking out of that tunnel next season, just the team that finished as arguably the most dangerous in the nation this year.
And you know what? Oregon shouldn’t ask for anything less.
Beat either of those teams and it should be considered a win to put on their resume. Beat both, and it’s a legitimate reason to start asking for top-five votes.
Keep in mind that even against an Ian Johnson-less Boise State team and a Brian Johnson-less Utah squad, wins will be stepping stones to a possible Pac-10 title. Utah still has the reigning national coach of the year, after all.
There is a nearly 100 percent chance that Utah will be riding a 16-game winning streak with wins over Utah State and San Jose State by the time they travel to Autzen.
Utah is no longer a nice win that is overlooked anymore, and it follows Boise State’s footsteps. No longer is a loss to either team a crippling upset, but, like 2008, it can still put the brakes on momentum as much as anything.
Of course, we’re forgetting the most important part of this whole situation.
Who will be coaching these guys?
If it’s Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, wins over both teams will both solidify his reputation and the reasoning by Bellotti to make him his coach-in-waiting. And that is why this whole game of risk-reward is worth it in the end for Oregon. It’s nice to see the Ducks put up 70 points against the Utah States of the world, but in the end, it’s Utah State, and you end up with a season where Oregon doesn’t beat a team with a winning record until Stanford, four games before the end of the season.
If you want credibility, that can’t happen. Scheduling easy games are the norm, and they’re OK, but if you really want to see how good your team is, prove it against the big boys.
And if you want an example of two teams that have used this same strategy to their own advantage, look no further than Utah and Boise State.
[email protected]