Here’s a situation that just seems so mind-boggling it would hurt
your head if you really tried to figure it out.
First, Washington State narrowly lost to Notre Dame earlier this
season, falling short in overtime. Next came the Fighting Irish’s
38-0 blowout loss to Michigan.
Then, a 31-27 Oregon victory over the Wolverines was followed by the
55-16 blowout the Ducks received at the hands of the Cougars on
Saturday.
Huh?
Does this make any sense at all? If the Cougars could lose to Notre
Dame, how could they beat the Ducks, who beat Michigan, who
absolutely destroyed Notre Dame?
Which team is the real deal? Who is going to come out on top this
season?
If you answered Oregon, you’re probably more wrong than right, but
the door to the Rose Bowl is still open plenty wide for the Ducks to
squeak through.
It’s going to take an effort, though. If Oregon couldn’t come out of
the gates like gangbusters against the Cougars — especially after
the Michigan win — then how can they do the same with the likes of
Stanford and California left on the schedule?
Maybe the Wolverines were still on Oregon’s mind. After the
Washington State game, Samie Parker said he thought the Ducks weren’t
focused on Washington State and didn’t have the same kind of energy
when they hit the Autzen Stadium field.
If you’re going to compete in — or even dream of — the national
championship, that’s a tough pill to swallow.
There’s no doubt that Oregon players were fired up before the game,
though. Asked after the game whether Michigan was still on their
minds, Kevin Mitchell said that it shouldn’t have been the case.
“If it was, that was a shame,” the senior said. “That’s only game
(five), and you’ve got more to go.”
The future will be the key to a winning finish or a losing drought
for Oregon. This season the Ducks have said that they have changed
since last season — a time when team chemistry was a problem.
They’ve insisted that 2003 can be more like the 2000 and 2001
seasons, when it seemed that the bounces went their way and the holes
in opposing teams’ defensive lines were bigger than the state of
Washington.
Those teams; however, never faced anything like the loss to the
Cougars. Oregon’s two losses were by a combined 14 points in 2000,
and its only defeat in 2001 came by seven points.
To see the Ducks lose like they did to Washington State boggles the
mind.
Oregon has Utah on Friday — preceded by a short week of preparation
— and the Utes can be a tough opponent.
Granted, they’ve lost their starting quarterback, but a few seasons
ago they showed that they can be a thorn in Oregon’s side. In 2001,
Utah lost 24-10; a close finish considering the Ducks finished No. 2
in the nation that season.
Utah plays in the Mountain West Conference, an upstart league that
would love nothing more than to upset a Pacific-10 Conference team.
If the Ducks think the bull’s-eye was lifted after the recent loss,
then they’ve got something else coming.