OK folks… I can’t tell you how pumped I am for the college football season to start. The Ducks are ranked 20th in the ESPN College Coaches Pre-season poll and picked by many to finish 3rd in the PAC-10 behind USC and ASU. I think that’s fair given some of the unproven talent that will be stepping into starting roles this year. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if the Ducks are better than people are predicting.

In my mind, before the Dixon injury the Ducks were arguably the best team in the nation. I think we would have taken 7 out of 10 against Ohio State or LSU or any other top 10 team at that point. And that was with a bunch of injuries at skill positions before Dixon got hurt. What a wasted opportunity. But… whatever, this is a new season, a new team, and a new opportunity.

Due to some scheduling genious, we actually get to start off the season by beating the hell out of Washington. This one will be a laugher folks. The Dawgs just don’t have the guns to compete with their big brother. Amazing how that’s changed over the years too as Oregon is now clearly the superior football program. I think the Ducks defense is going to be too fast and talented for the Huskies. Oregon will probably sputter a bit on offense as they break in a new quarterback, but the run game will wear down and ultimately overwhelm the Huskies undersized and outmanned front seven.

In the weeks to come, I’ll be reviewing each of the positions on the Ducks both offensively and defensively. Should be a fun season. I can hardly contain myself. 27 days until we bury our bone in the Dawgs.

Welcome to the Ducks LaMichael!

The Ducks are at it again this year as signing day approaches. They already have 18 commitments, many of which are blue chip recruits with bright futures in the Pac 10. Rumor has it that the Ducks will receive visits from Terrel Pryor (the #1 QB recruit in the nation) and Darrel Scott (the #1 RB recruit in the nation) during the first weekend in February. Given that singing day is February 6th, this bodes well for the Ducks as they’ll get the last look. Probably a long shot that they’ll land either of these players, but man has recruiting come a long, long way for the Ducks in recent years.

The Ducks are also thought to be leading for blue chip Safety Vaughn Telemaqua from Long Beach Poly in Socal. He’s apparently narrowed his list to Oregon and USC. With the potential departure of Junior All-American Patrick Chung, Telemaque could see the field early at Oregon. This seems to be contributing to his Oregon lean.

There are also several other high-profile recruits that the Ducks are in the mix for. Check back later for more news and rumors as signing day approaches.

Well… I’m torn on this one fellas. Jonathan Stewart, arguably the University of Oregon’s greatest running back of all time, declared for the NFL draft last week. After posting some serious numbers (1,700 + yards… an Oregon single season rushing record) and pounding out 250+ yards against USF in the Sun Bowl, I guess J-Stew figured there wasn’t much else to prove by coming back for his senior year. We’re going to miss the ‘ol boy, but we’ll wish him well and support him wherever he ends up. Kids a stud both on and off the field.

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It’s kinda old news, but the Ducks absolutely destroyed South Florida in the Sun Bowl on New Year’s eve. And they didn’t just beat ‘em folks… they beat ‘em up. Couldn’t think of a better way to end the year! Given the bad fortune the Ducks had this year with the loss of Dennis Dixon and several other key contributors, it would have been almost forgivable for the Ducks to lay an egg. I’ll admit, you can count me amongst the skeptics going into the game. Justin Roper (their 5th string QB) started the game for chrissake!

This will go down as the year that could have been for the Ducks. Having watched the National Championship game tonight, I’m convinced that neither LSU or Ohio State could have beaten a healthy Duck squad. I honestly don’t think it would have even been close. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the Ducks injury situation… suppose the LSU offense was without their starting quarterback (oh and his backup, and their backup’s backup too), their number two running back (who’s arguably as good as Jonathan Stewart), and two of their top three wideouts. And these aren’t your run of the mill players either. All four of these players will likely be playing on Sunday’s in the future.

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