Athlon Magazine Ranks OU #1 in the Nation.

[WCBias]

I think that the ducks get to 2-0. While Fresno has many returning starters they are missing the most important one. Paul Pinegar.

While I think that the fresno game will be a VERY physical game I don't think that they can beat Oregon without a proven QB (they still haven't decided on a starter yet). IMO that will be the difference maker.

As for Oregon looking ahead I think that there is merit to that. The only good news is that most of these kids were on the team 2 years ago when they were looking ahead to Oklahoma and they threw out a stinker and lost to Indiana. I have a hard time thinking that Belloti would allow the focus to not be there.

Crowd noise definitely dies down if the ducks go down early I have seen it happen enough times to think that Oklahoma would be different. It is too hard to sustain a noise level when your team is getting its ass kicked. I hope that doesn't happen.

I don't care who the coach is Autzen eats young qb's for lunch. The best qb performances at Autzen happen from senior qb's who have experienced the noise before.

Losing Pinegar may be a blessing for Fresno State. A mini-version of Derek Anderson. Not so much the total interceptions (15 is still pretty high), but interceptions at the wrong time. Just saw that game will be on ESPN 2...should be a lot of Duck Football on west coast TV this year.

This Oregon/Oklahoma game is starting to shape up like the Oregon/Michigan game. What was Michigan ranked at that time? I know they were top five....

Once the football engines get roaring we'll be hearing alot about Oklahoma football this year....that's a good thing for the Ducks

 

[GoSooners]

With an offense like Oregon is going to have, being down a score or two will not quiet the crowd down. The thing the Ducks need to worry about is taking care of business at Fresno. I really don't see Oregon looking ahead when they barely got out of the Fresno game alive at home last season. They're an experienced offense. They know what their up against going into Fresno. BUT if they should lose that game it could very well deflate their whole season and leave a less enthusiastic crowd the next week with OU. Like I said before, I expect a high scoring game between these two teams who both have more experienced offenses than their opposing teams defenses. And being a couple scores up in a game like that will be nothing.

 

[Conan]

The Fresno game will be a good test for the Ducks revamped passing defense. I know of at least 2 quality backs that will play for OR and they also have a couple of good LBs joining the defense from the JuCo ranks. Some promising new DLs and add that to a veteran OL and I don't see an easy game for Fresno. But knowing Pat Hill, Fresno will stay in the game and keep it close... perhaps even squeek ahead once or twice. But one thing about Pat Hill, he chokes a lot. Stewart should do well against them. I think the Ducks will outlast Fresno but they won't look so good doing it. I think the silver lining in the game will be a chance for the Duck DBs to get in some good game experience vs a very good bunch of receivers with a ???? QB. I can't say the Sooner offense will have that kind of practice going in. But Oklahoma's ground game will give a pretty good Duck DL and LBs a run for thier money that Fresno won't.

 

[Insiders]

GoSooners

Well we both agree that Both of these teams have some offense but, not so fast my friend.
I think that IF the Sooners get lucky enough to get a lead of 10-17 points it will let the air out of the Ducks crowd, as has been mentioned here in this thread. The main reason i am saying this is this, the Ducks will not have faced a "defense" such as the Sooners are going to bring to that party.

You an i Both know that the defenses will probably come along faster than the offenses for either team.
I still keep hearing from sources close to the program that "this" defense is going to be very special !! Now if this defense is as speacial as the 2000 defense that went to the Orange Bowl and gave FSU a gimme safety in thier own back yard, well enough said about the defense.

And i still beg to differ with you about early lead takeing the crowd out of the game. Its one thing for teams to get behind early if there is enough offense to withstand that. But on the other hand you and i Both saw in 2000 when the Sooners pounced on someone early with that stingy defense they knew they were deep do do.
FSU knew that with that high powered offense that they had back in 2000 you could just see it in their play calling from that point on in that game. Once teams are taken out of the game plan against a defense that can hold them to 3 and outs many times it takes its toll, the final score usually reflects it, as you well know. JMHO

 

[CoachLT]

GoSooners

Well we both agree that Both of these teams have some offense but, not so fast my friend.
I think that IF the Sooners get lucky enough to get a lead of 10-17 points it will let the air out of the Ducks crowd, as has been mentioned here in this thread. The main reason i am saying this is this, the Ducks will not have faced a "defense" such as the Sooners are going to bring to that party.

You an i Both know that the defenses will probably come along faster than the offenses for either team.
I still keep hearing from sources close to the program that "this" defense is going to be very special !! Now if this defense is as speacial as the 2000 defense that went to the Orange Bowl and gave FSU a gimme safety in thier own back yard, well enough said about the defense.

And i still beg to differ with you about early lead takeing the crowd out of the game. Its one thing for teams to get behind early if there is enough offense to withstand that. But on the other hand you and i Both saw in 2000 when the Sooners pounced on someone early with that stingy defense they knew they were deep do do.
FSU knew that with that high powered offense that they had back in 2000 you could just see it in their play calling from that point on in that game. Once teams are taken out of the game plan against a defense that can hold them to 3 and outs many times it takes its toll, the final score usually reflects it, as you well know. JMHO

Ah Insiders. Oklahoma +11 1/2 one of my larger plays against the Choking Dog Criminoles! I close my eyes and I am right back in the Orange Bowl. The Criminoles blame Mark Richt for that loss as he had taken the Georgia job and was distracted in the bowl game. Insiders, another example that you Cannot Cannot lay double digits in a bowl game, much less a National Championship Game. The Criminole were lucky to win the 94 NCGame in the Orange Bowl as 16-17 point favorites vs Nebraska. FSU kicked a last second field to win by 2 or 3 points. I can also visualize that game. Another Orange Bowl NC Game with a double digit spread was the 84 game between Miami+14 against Nebraska when Neb went for the win and came up short. Memory lane. I can remember games from long ago but cannot remember all of what I did today. Sad Sad! LTarty:

 

[UoweDucks]

Michigan was ranked #4.

 

[AlwaysKeen]

WC,

I'm just not sure the Pinnegar to Anderson comparrison is accurate...I didn't see Anderson win too many big games in his career as Pinager did...and while sometimes Pinegar made bad decisions, Anderson most always made bad ones...

funny thing is that Anderson got drafted (because of the big arm and body) and Pinnegar had to sign a free agent contract...

 

[Insiders]

Ah Insiders. Oklahoma +11 1/2 one of my larger plays against the Choking Dog Criminoles! I close my eyes and I am right back in the Orange Bowl. The Criminoles blame Mark Richt for that loss as he had taken the Georgia job and was distracted in the bowl game. Insiders, another example that you Cannot Cannot lay double digits in a bowl game, much less a National Championship Game. The Criminole were lucky to win the 94 NCGame in the Orange Bowl as 16-17 point favorites vs Nebraska. FSU kicked a last second field to win by 2 or 3 points. I can also visualize that game. Another Orange Bowl NC Game with a double digit spread was the 84 game between Miami+14 against Nebraska when Neb went for the win and came up short. Memory lane. I can remember games from long ago but cannot remember all of what I did today. Sad Sad! LTarty:

:lolBIG: Coach they tell me that i have "sometimers" when i say things like that....BOL TO YA !

 

[GoSooners]

GoSooners

Well we both agree that Both of these teams have some offense but, not so fast my friend.
I think that IF the Sooners get lucky enough to get a lead of 10-17 points it will let the air out of the Ducks crowd, as has been mentioned here in this thread. The main reason i am saying this is this, the Ducks will not have faced a "defense" such as the Sooners are going to bring to that party.

You an i Both know that the defenses will probably come along faster than the offenses for either team.
I still keep hearing from sources close to the program that "this" defense is going to be very special !! Now if this defense is as speacial as the 2000 defense that went to the Orange Bowl and gave FSU a gimme safety in thier own back yard, well enough said about the defense.

And i still beg to differ with you about early lead takeing the crowd out of the game. Its one thing for teams to get behind early if there is enough offense to withstand that. But on the other hand you and i Both saw in 2000 when the Sooners pounced on someone early with that stingy defense they knew they were deep do do.
FSU knew that with that high powered offense that they had back in 2000 you could just see it in their play calling from that point on in that game. Once teams are taken out of the game plan against a defense that can hold them to 3 and outs many times it takes its toll, the final score usually reflects it, as you well know. JMHO

Insiders...I agree that there are games out there where a team gets behind at home early and the crowd loses interest. Those are usually the kinds of teams whose crowd doesn't expect them win in the first place. The expectations will be much higher for Oregon after going 10-2 last season and returning the bulk of their offense. And with revenge on their minds. With this being the third straight year to play OU and the first at home I think you can throw the intimidation factor out of the window. I disagree with you that the defenses will be ahead of the offenses. That may be true in Spring, but not so by the third game in the fall. Especially not in OU's case where they are breaking in some new DB's and a couple players on the defensive line. Oregon will already have an established offense.

The one part of the game where I think OU will have a huge advantage is our wide receivers against the Ducks DB's. I was very surprised in last seasons bowl game at how easy our WR's were able to get seperation from Oregon's more experienced DB's. That told me about just how good our young wideouts were going to be. They really came in to their own in the second half of the season. Thompson and Kelly are both 6'4 and over 200 lbs. And both are very quick. So they are a load for anybody's DB's. I don't care how experienced they are. And didn't Oregon lose a little of that experience at DB to graduation? That makes it an even bigger advantage. The only way I see Oregon stopping us is if they can get through our rebuilt offensive line and put pressure on Bomar. But I don't see them doing it on a consistant basis. Especially without Ngata. And if all else fails we still have the Peterson factor at RB to keep them honest. But on the other side of the coin I'm not very sure how well OU is going to be able to get pressure on Oregon's QB like they did in the bowl game. Oregon's line is a year older and I'm sure a little stronger. And OU will be without Dvorchek. Which is the equivalent of Oregon losing Ngata. That's why I think the advantages are with the offenses in this game.

 

[WCBias]

WC,

I'm just not sure the Pinnegar to Anderson comparrison is accurate...I didn't see Anderson win too many big games in his career as Pinager did...and while sometimes Pinegar made bad decisions, Anderson most always made bad ones...

funny thing is that Anderson got drafted (because of the big arm and body) and Pinnegar had to sign a free agent contract...

Anderson won some big games at OSU, you just remember all the ones they didn't (some not his fault)...He played damn good in both bowl games he won, especially against Notre Dame, he beat Oregon in the Civil War twice, and the last time might have been his best game in college football. If OSU had a kicker who could make extra points he would have gotten huge props for pulling off the upset of the ages at LSU...He probably has the best Pac-10 record of any OSU QB in 30 years...not sure of that.

I'm not an Anderson fan, but when he was good he was damn good. unfortunately, when he was bad he was atrocious. The same thing could be said about Pinnegar, who I believe was the Senior QB during last seasons fall from grace, no? Four straight losses to end his tenure wasn't very impressive, especially considering two of those losses were to Nevada and La Tech at home.

 

[UoweDucks]

When Anderson had time and he was on for the day he was deadly. But he didn't earn the nickname "Anderception" for nothing...

Pinegar was a 4 year starter for Fresno and he gave the ducks and USC all they could handle last year. He is just like his team. He played well in the big games and fell asleep in other less important games. While people make a big deal about Pat Hill he is a failure IMO. Last years team was his best team ever and he failed to properly motivate his team in games that should have been considered must win. His constant play anyone anywhere theme is great for PR and he gets his team to play up to competition but they also play down to it as well. QB included.

The ducks will have a big target on their backs at Fresno but without a 4 year starter leading the way I just can't see Fresno beating Oregon.

 

[AlwaysKeen]

you guys make some good points regarding Anderson and Pinnegar...I'm just saying I wouldn't have to think hard about who had the better college career...

 

[lionking]

some of these publications are garbage....

psu....the #3 team in the country last year, return a lot of skill people and a greta qb prosepct and not ranked?? please ......give me a break lol


and all these fools on the ND bandwagon.... they will have 4 losses by seasons end...

psu, michigan, usc are 3 losses.... then the other will come from either michigan st, north carolina or air force...mark it down

 

[Insiders]

<TABLE class=tborder id=post2901961 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_2901961>Less than six months after the Texas Longhorns won its First National Champonship in 36 years, a Longhorn Champonship ring is for sale on eBay. !!!
And bids are going up FAST. For a 10-karat gold ring valued at 350, bids had reached 10,599.99 starting the day on thursday from a buyer trying to grab a bit of Texas glory history.
The annonymous seller says the ring belonged to a "former" Texas player but doesnt say who. The name and the jersey number on the ring are blacked out in the photographs.
Athletic director spokesman, Nick Voinis said school officials dont know which player owned the ring or who is seeling it. The ring sized 10.5-11.
Its disappointing Vionis said. Its something that you would be honered to have. Every other player is takeing pride in theirs.
NCAA rules prohibit current players from selling chaponship rings. But there is little to prevent former players from cashing in.

Inside sorces say that this could be the ring of Ramonce Taylor, running back for the Longhorns was recently arrested for haveing about 5 pounds of pot in his possesion.
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[Conan]

Oregon @ Fresno St.

Up to now there is nobody who has taken the baton from Pinegar and run the offense with any success. That may change however the Bulldog's real talent at QB is new and hasn't shown much brilliance or competance either, neither of 2 new guys. If you think Oregon's QB situation is up in the air, triple that at Fresno. They do have a lot of returners but they've lost some players at key positions on both sides of the line and they won't be invincible. They tend to surrender a lot of points to good offenses anywat, or at least in the past. Question is can their new OL's match up to Oregon's DL with any success running the ball? Fresno's WRs are about the only decent thing they really have going for them at this point on offense. The Oregon defense will need to put pressure on whoever gets the QB job because he will be new and inexperienced. Defensively, Fresno doesn't have any decent DE's which could prove to make Stewart out to be extremely dangerous. The rest is obvious. From here, the Bulldogs look like they may be in over their heads. I think it's possible for the Ducks to hold service until they meet OK. Possibly a few top 10 teams will fail in the first couple of weeks which adds a little more intrigue to the OU/UO game.

 

[UoweDucks]

<TABLE class=tborder id=post2901961 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_2901961>Less than six months after the Texas Longhorns won its First National Champonship in 36 years, a Longhorn Champonship ring is for sale on eBay. !!!
And bids are going up FAST. For a 10-karat gold ring valued at 350, bids had reached 10,599.99 starting the day on thursday from a buyer trying to grab a bit of Texas glory history.
The annonymous seller says the ring belonged to a "former" Texas player but doesnt say who. The name and the jersey number on the ring are blacked out in the photographs.
Athletic director spokesman, Nick Voinis said school officials dont know which player owned the ring or who is seeling it. The ring sized 10.5-11.
Its disappointing Vionis said. Its something that you would be honered to have. Every other player is takeing pride in theirs.
NCAA rules prohibit current players from selling chaponship rings. But there is little to prevent former players from cashing in.

Inside sorces say that this could be the ring of Ramonce Taylor, running back for the Longhorns was recently arrested for haveing about 5 pounds of pot in his possesion.
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Whoever is selling that will end up regretting it. Pretty sad.

 

[Insiders]

I myself and others from Tex-ass think that the kid that is in ALL that trouble is selling it through someone else. I am sure he is pumping up lawyer money and what have you. JMHO

 

[AlwaysKeen]

conan, I'm very interested in who wins that Fresno QB job...keep us updated...