Comments (5,386)

By Sam Saig, November 8, 2009 6:37 pm

State of the Program

The 2008-09 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Oregon Ducks, but did anyone really see 8-23 (2-16 in Pac-10) coming? Certainly last season was one of the most disappointing of head coach Ernie Kent’s career, however most prognosticators do not foresee a repeat scenario in 2009-10. The Ducks are young, but the talent in Eugene is top notch, and a middle of the conference finish is more than achievable. In fact, the Ducks could end up being one of America’s most improved teams by season’s end.

For Oregon to meet expectations in 2009-10, improvement MUST be made defensively. The Ducks gave up 76 points per game, good enough for dead last in the Pac-10 and 314th nationally. Poor fundamentals were a big part of the problem, which is what prompted Kent to hire one of the best assistant coaches in college basketball, Mike Dunlap. Under Dunlap’s guidance the Ducks should be considerably more organized on defense.

Continue reading 'Pac-10 Basketball Preview – Oregon Ducks'»

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By Dave Consolazio and Sam Saig, November 4, 2009 5:18 pm

Oregon Ducks (7-1) vs. Stanford Cardinal (5-3)
Saturday, November 7, 12:30 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Oregon -6.5
*AllPac10 Game of the Week*

Continue reading 'Week 10 Game Matchup: Oregon Ducks VS. Stanford Cardinal'»

Comments (5,442)

By Sam Saig, November 2, 2009 8:06 pm

AllPac10.com was excited to accept an invitation to join CBSSports.com’s Blog Poll, which is run by Brian Cook who has a great Michigan blog over at www.mgoblog.com. You can read more about the premise by heading over to the Blog Poll via the link below, but it is essentially like a coaches or media poll except it is made up by top blogs across the country!

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida – Does destroying Georgia mean anything this season?
2	Texas – The Longhorns laid a beatdown on a very solid Oklahoma State team, and they are now in firm control of their BCS destiny.
3	Alabama
4	Oregon – Last week I believed USC was the fourth best team in the country, and after watching Oregon hand the Trojans their worst loss of the Carroll-era, I am now convinced the Ducks are worthy of this spot.	5
5	Iowa – Make no mistake about it, this appears to be a flawed team. But 9-0 in the Big Ten still deserves at least some respect, and the Hawkeyes have shown resiliency every step of the way.	1
6	Cincinnati	1
7	TCU
8	Boise State – The Broncos may very well be the fourth best team in the nation, but the complete resume does not compare favorably to teams 4-7.
9	LSU	1
10	Penn State	2
11	Georgia Tech	2
12	Southern Cal – 47-20!!! An utterly shocking result for the Trojans. Fittingly, Pete Carroll looked like he had seen a ghost in the post game press conference.	8
13	Ohio State	1
14	Miami (Florida) – ‘Canes had to rally late, but Miami was able to improve to 6-2.	2
15	Utah	2
16	Notre Dame	3
17	Arizona – The ‘Cats were off last week, and they don’t figure to be challenged much this week (WSU travels to Tucson).	3
18	Pittsburgh	3
19	Oklahoma State – The Cowboys were simply no match for the Longhorns.	8
20	Oklahoma	3
21	California – The Bears played a terribly sloppy game in Tempe but they found a way to win.	4
22	Virginia Tech – Another disappointing loss for the Hokies now puts them at 5-3 and 3-2 in the ACC.	7
23	Houston	1
24	Wisconsin
25	Brigham Young
Last week’s ballot

Comments (5,341)

By Sam Saig,

Oregon Ducks 7-1 Overall (5-0 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Oregon 47 – USC 20

Next Week’s Opponent: @Stanford


Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 9 Notes and Observations: Oregon Ducks'»

Comments (5,421)

By Dave Consolazio, November 1, 2009 2:42 pm

There were plenty of teams rooting for Oregon to beat USC last night, but Boise State had more to root for than anyone. Not only did the loss bounce the Trojans from the national title picture, but it also strengthened Boise State’s resume, as their win over Oregon got even stronger.

Which brings us to a very interesting dilemma; how are we going to deal with the BCS ranking of these two teams? Both schools have very strong arguments, and thanks to the largely imperfect system that is the BCS, no one answer will satisfy everyone.

Let’s just say that Boise State and Oregon both run the table (not too much of a stretch with the way these two teams are playing). After all the smoke has cleared, who should be ahead of who?

Continue reading 'Arguing Both Sides – Oregon Ducks and Boise State Broncos: Who Deserves to be Higher in the Polls?'»

Comments (5,410)

By Dave Consolazio and Sam Saig, October 28, 2009 1:26 pm

USC Trojans (6-1) vs. Oregon Ducks (6-1)
Saturday, October 31, 5:00 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: USC -3.0
*AllPac10 Game of the Week*

Continue reading 'Week 9 Game Matchup: USC Trojans VS. Oregon Ducks'»

Comments (5,444)

By Sam Saig, October 26, 2009 4:53 pm

AllPac10.com was excited to accept an invitation to join CBSSports.com’s Blog Poll, which is run by Brian Cook who has a great Michigan blog over at www.mgoblog.com. You can read more about the premise by heading over to the Blog Poll via the link below, but it is essentially like a coaches or media poll except it is made up by top blogs across the country!

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida – Unimpressive win, but a win nonetheless.
2	Texas – A big game with Oklahoma State this week. Could be the last legitimate threat on the schedule for the ‘Horns.
3	Alabama – Unimpressive win, but a win nonetheless.
4	Southern Cal – The Trojans were tested for a second straight week, but found a way. The defense has shown a few chinks in the armor, so it should be interesting to see how the unit performs at Autzen.
5	Cincinnati – Even without Tony Pike the Bearcats didn’t skip a beat.
6	Iowa – The Hawkeyes looked beaten late but found a way to keep their dream season going.	3
7	TCU – Count me in as a believer of the underrated Horned Frogs.	4
8	Boise State	1
9	Oregon – Dominating performance against the rival Huskies. Now we will see if the Ducks can take the biggest step of all towards becoming Pac-10 champions.	1
10	LSU	4
11	Oklahoma State	1
12	Penn State	1
13	Georgia Tech	1
14	Ohio State	1
15	Virginia Tech	1
16	Miami (Florida) – Tough loss for the ‘Canes in an entertaining game.	8
17	Utah	1
18	South Carolina	3
19	Notre Dame	1
20	Arizona – The ‘Cats are quietly in the hunt to win the Pac-10, and if the defense can play up to its capabilities, a Rose Bowl birth is possible.
21	Pittsburgh - Impressive blowout of a solid USF team	4
22	West Virginia	1
23	Oklahoma	1
24	Houston
25	California – Can Jeff Tedofrd’s team win out? The offense is certainly starting to look like itself again.
Last week’s ballot

Comments (5,338)

By Sam Saig,

Oregon Ducks 6-1 Overall (4-0 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Oregon 43 – Washington 19

Next Week’s Opponent: USC


Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 8 Notes and Observations: Oregon Ducks'»

Comments (5,382)

By Dave Consolazio and Sam Saig, October 22, 2009 3:49 pm

Oregon Ducks (5-1) vs. Washington Huskies (3-4)
Saturday, October 24, 12:30 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Oregon -10.0

Continue reading 'Week 8 Game Matchup: Oregon Ducks VS. Washington Huskies'»

Comments (5,422)

By Sam Saig, October 19, 2009 4:22 pm

AllPac10.com was excited to accept an invitation to join CBSSports.com’s Blog Poll, which is run by Brian Cook who runs a great Michigan blog over at www.mgoblog.com. You can read more about the premise by heading over to the Blog Poll via the link below, but it is essentially just like a coaches or media poll except it is made up by top blogs across the country!

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida – Arkansas probably should have won at “The Swamp” but Tim Tebow always finds a way to drive his team down the field at the end.
2	Texas – Unfortunate circumstances surrounding the win over OU, but the Texas defense was sensational throughout the game.
3	Alabama
4	Southern Cal – The Trojans were tested to the final second, but in the end, ‘SC won its eighth straight against the Irish.
5	Cincinnati – Impressive win over a very good USF team. Will Pike be effective after the injury?	5
6	LSU
7	Boise State
8	Miami (Florida) – The win over Georgia Tech is looking excellent right now.	1
9	Iowa	2
10	Oregon – The Ducks were off this week, and now they must avoid being upset in Seattle by Jake Locker and the Huskies.	2
11	TCU	2
12	Oklahoma State	5
13	Penn State	3
14	Georgia Tech – Impressive win over the Hokies, and the BCS is still very much in sight	6
15	Ohio State – Buckeyes are really struggling on offense.	7
16	Virginia Tech – Hokies’ national title hopes ended in Atlanta.	11
17	Brigham Young	4
18	Utah
19	Texas Tech – Big win over Nebraska.
20	Notre Dame – A game effort by the Irish vs. ‘SC.	2
21	South Carolina – The Gamecocks put together a respectable performance against ‘Bama.	1
22	Oklahoma – Still a team that could beat many in the Top-25, with or without Bradford.	8
23	West Virginia
24	Kansas	5
25	Pittsburgh
Last week’s ballot

Comments (5,417)

By Sam Saig, October 12, 2009 12:37 pm

Oregon Ducks 5-1 Overall (3-0 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Oregon 24 – UCLA 10

Next Week’s Opponent: BYE


Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 6 Notes and Observations: Oregon Ducks'»

Comments (5,323)

By Sam Saig,

AllPac10.com was excited to accept an invitation to join CBSSports.com’s Blog Poll, which is run by Brian Cook who runs a great Michigan blog over at www.mgoblog.com. You can read more about the premise by heading over to the Blog Poll via the link below, but it is essentially just like a coaches or media poll except it is made up by top blogs across the country!

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida – With Tim Tebow’s health garnering most of the attention, it’s easy to forget just how dominant that Gator D is. They put on a show against LSU.
2	Texas
3	Alabama
4	Southern Cal – The Trojans have a chance to gain some real momentum if they can win in South Bend.	1
5	Virginia Tech	1
6	LSU – Great defense, work-in-progress on offense (especially at QB).	2
7	Boise State
8	Ohio State
9	Miami (Florida)	2
10	Cincinnati	1
11	Iowa – Very solid win against Michigan	1
12	Oregon – The Ducks showcased excellent defense and special teams play in Pasadena.	1
13	TCU – The Horned Frogs looked vulnerable against Air Force.	3
14	Oklahoma – With Bradford back, they have a chance against ANYONE.	7
15	Nebraska – Quality road win over Missouri in tough conditions.	2
16	Penn State	3
17	Oklahoma State	3
18	Notre Dame
19	Kansas	3
20	Georgia Tech – Offense looked unstoppable against FSU (Bobby Bowden is still cringing at the site of that triple option).
21	Brigham Young	1
22	South Carolina	1
23	Missouri – Mizzou battled in tough loss against a very good Nebraska team.
24	Wisconsin – The Badgers actually hung tough with Ohio State but a few errors cost them.
25	Auburn – Tigers had a poor showing in Fayetteville against the Razorbacks.	10
Last week’s ballot

Comments (5,329)

By Dave Consolazio, October 11, 2009 7:38 pm

The pecking order in the Pac-10 after USC and Oregon continues to get cloudier instead of clearer the deeper into the season we get. Stanford and Arizona were looking like the “best of the rest”, but both picked up losses this week; Stanford, of course, to Oregon State, who appears poised and ready for their late season run with two convincing victories in a row. With games still to come against Cal, USC, and Oregon, they’ve got ime to prove they are once again for real.

And speaking of Cal, which Cal team shows up fresh off the bye next week in UCLA; Pre-Oregon Cal or Post-Oregon Cal?

Saturday

Oregon 24 – UCLA 10 (Game Matchup)
Sam: Oregon 30 – UCLA 24 (W)
Dave: Oregon 27 – UCLA 23 (W)

Arizona State 27 – Washington State 14 (Game Matchup)
Sam: Arizona State 38 – Washington State 13 (W)
Dave: Arizona State 38 – Washington State 10 (W)

Oregon State 38 – Stanford 28 (Game Matchup)
Sam: Stanford 28 – Oregon State 24 (L)
Dave: Stanford 27 – Oregon State 21 (L)

Washington 36 – Arizona 33 (Game Matchup)
Sam: Washington 30 – Arizona 27 (W)
Dave: Arizona 38 – Washington 27 (L)

Oregon State made both of us pay for picking against them for the second straight week. With Arizona up two scores late in the 4th quarter, it was looking like Sam was going to be on the losing end of our split decision once again, but he and Washington received a twist-of-fate bounce on the pick-6 to get the Huskies the win at home.

Not a single easy one on the schedule next week; should be a fun one.

Sam’s Record: 28 – 13
Dave’s Record: 31 – 10

Comments (5,461)

By Dave Consolazio and Sam Saig, October 7, 2009 6:37 pm

Oregon Ducks (4-1) vs. UCLA Bruins (3-1)
Saturday, October 10, 12:30 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: Oregon -3.5
*AllPac10 Game of the Week*

Continue reading 'Week 6 Game Matchup: Oregon Ducks VS. UCLA Bruins'»

Comments (5,410)

By Dave Consolazio, October 6, 2009 5:53 pm

Oregon Ducks 4-1 Overall (2-0 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Oregon 52 – Washington State 6

Next Week’s Opponent: @UCLA


Continue reading 'Pac-10 Week 5 Notes and Observations: Oregon Ducks'»