Montana?! What the hell?
I couldn’t help but burn up the phone lines after finding out the Oregon football schedule. And when I say burn up, I mean call every person who enjoys college football as much as I do to brag about the best schedule in the history of Ducks’ football.
Fresno State, two-time defending league and national champion USC, California, rivals Washington and Oregon State at Autzen! Could I ask for a better home schedule?
A night game against Arizona State on the road and a snowy November game at Washington State are primetime match-ups. And the less spectacular games against Stanford and Arizona are away.
And then there is Division I-AA Montana. What are the benefits of playing a Division I-AA school?
“I don’t know if there are any, to be honest,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “It’s simply the schedule. I play whoever our administration lines up for us.”
Bottom line, this is a no-win situation for Oregon. It is a glorified scrimmage with negativity all over it.
Say Oregon beats Montana by 45 points. Well they should have. But what if it is a 28-point win? The pollsters would definitely eat up the Ducks then. And God forbid Montana from playing a close game.
It doesn’t help playing a team with nothing to lose, while you have everything to lose.
An injury to a starter could devastate the squad. I don’t know of anybody who would give up a year or even a career to play a few downs against a Division-IAA school.
Quarterback Kellen Clemens and company won’t be able to pile up stats, assuming the game is over with by halftime. Sure, the Ducks want to establish the run early, but that leaves second and third stringers to reap the rewards.
How does this prepare Oregon for ranked opponents Fresno State and USC, who visit the following two weekends? There is more of a chance of the Ducks becoming overconfident if they manhandle an opponent the week before.
The explanation of why the Ducks should not play Montana is long and distinguished. There is only one reason to look forward to the game.
The only good thing about playing Montana is embarrassing Bobby Hauck, who was the devil’s (Rick Neuheisel) sidekick for many years. Hauck is the jerk who called the fake punt against the Ducks in the 1996 Cotton Bowl, when Colorado was already leading 31-6.
I’m not a proponent of revenge, but I also loathe no one more than Neuheisel or anything associated with him. If you play with the devil, you are going to get burned. Well now it is time for Hauck to get out the gauze.
Assuming the Ducks win by at least 45 points, it is a push. Let’s all hope for no injuries, a big victory and for Oregon to never play a Division I-AA opponent again. And Jon Talmage’s mullet is incredible.

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