All the talk in recent weeks throughout the Pac-10 has been about its strong string of quarterbacks, lack of defensive edge, it's slew of great coaches and seemingly unpredictable nature and parity within the conference. With the Beavers winning their first conference opener in 7 years, the Huskies playing Cinderella at USC and UCLA continuing its early season momentum against Washington State, the conference was hit with another curveball as 9 Standford and 4 Oregon faced off on Saturday in a good old fashioned Pac-10 shootout. With Stanford's Andrew Luck and Oregon's Darron Thomas exchanging bombs on either side of the field, it was the defensive balance of the Ducks, run and gun style of Thomas, and LaMichael James ability to carry the load that ultimately made the difference in this early season match up.
With all the hype surrounding Michigan's Denard Robinson and Ohio State's Terrell Pryor, another lesser known Pac-10 quarterback from the Northwest is not so quietly building a name for himself and has his team in the drivers seat for yet another Rose Bowl run. Boasting the nations number one ranked scoring offense (56.5 ppg), number two ranked rushing attack (331.0 ypg), and number 15 ranked defense (15.0 ppg) the defending Pac-10 Champion Oregon Ducks have found a recipe for success through the combined efforts of Head Coach Chip Kelly and Defensive Coordinator Nick Aliotti. While each maintains that they are responsible for each other's respective sides of the ball, it is clear that Oregon has put together a unit that has the ability turn any smash mouth, in your face game into a second half track meet that would leave most defenses sucking wind after three quarters.
Having heard all off season about the poise and potential of Stanford's Andrew Luck, he sure came out as advertised and was setting the stage to send the all so quiet Autzen faithful home with an early conference loss. Out to a commanding 21-3 lead the Cardinal were in the drivers seat after it capitalized off of a string of turnovers (the last an interception by Thomas) and turned them into touchdowns. With the game under wraps and the Ducks on their heals it would have been easy to throw in the towel or wait until halftime to make second half adjustments, but why? Darron Thomas and the Oregon offense did what it did best, it exploded! Ripping off 21, 14, and 14 in each of the last three quarters the high octane Duck attack went into full effect through the establishment of its running game behind the two headed monster of LaMichael James and dual threat quarterback Darron Thomas. Yet amongst the chaotic mess of a typical post game interview under the Autzen lights the calm, very calculated Thomas simply stated, "Coach just preached finishing," he said. "So we came out and finished."
With the offense running on all cylinders, it was the defense that ultimately gave the Ducks the lift and extend it's second half lead. While you couldn't help but notice Stanford's players with their hands on their hips, surrendering large chunks of yards and faking injuries to slow down the vaunted Oregon spread offense, it was the Oregon defense that left Luck and Co. baffled after forcing a pair of interceptions and holding that aggressive I-Back system to zero points in the second half. With veterans like Kenny Rowe, Spencer Paysinger and Casey Matthews anchoring a fast acting, hard hitting front seven, the Ducks had a field day in the secondary, rattling Luck enough to force the issue and take control of what many considered a barn burner of a game. With all the momentum with the Ducks, it was Thomas and Co. who reigned down on the Cardinal with an illusive combination of inside zone running, quick screens and play action passing downfield that opened up seems and laid the foundation for the all so traditional, yet customary aerial barrage.
Thomas finished 20 of 29 for 238 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also added a career-high 117 rushing yards on 15 carries and another touchdown, a total of 355 yards and four touchdowns on the night. And while LaMichael James' career high 257 rushing yards definitely yield dividends for the Duck offense versus Stanford, it was the 6'3 gun slinger from Houston, TX that truly set the gold standard for what's to come for the Ducks this season. In all honesty I feel that the emergence of Thomas has added validity to Dennis Dixon and his pursuit of the Heisman Trophy three years ago, before a season ending knee injury left his team short of what seemed like a legitimate run for the National Championship.
But for Thomas, just a sophomore out of the great state of Texas, this win meant a little more than just toppling the mighty Luck, as the two knew each other well back in high school. Luck had the upper-hand sitting at 2-0 in their high-profile prep match ups in Houston and while the respect runs deep for the two highly touted quarterbacks, Pac-10 Championships, Rose Bowl victories and National Championship runs are all that matter at the next level. The Oregon spread offense lead by Thomas and spearheaded by LaMichael James has the making of something special. With all the attention out there in Big-10 country, it would be a shame to ignore the offensive force that Chip Kelly, Darron Thomas and the #3 Ducks have begun to build up out West in Eugene.
*For highlights of Saturdays game simple click on the title of this article
All the talk in recent weeks throughout the Pac-10 has been about its strong string of quarterbacks, lack of defensive edge, it's slew of great coaches and seemingly unpredictable nature and parity within the conference. With the Beavers winning their first conference opener in 7 years, the Huskies playing Cinderella at USC and UCLA continuing its early season momentum against Washington State, the conference was hit with another curveball as 9 Standford and 4 Oregon faced off on Saturday in a good old fashioned Pac-10 shootout. With Stanford's Andrew Luck and Oregon's Darron Thomas exchanging bombs on either side of the field, it was the defensive balance of the Ducks, run and gun style of Thomas, and LaMichael James ability to carry the load that ultimately made the difference in this early season match up.
With all the hype surrounding Michigan's Denard Robinson and Ohio State's Terrell Pryor, another lesser known Pac-10 quarterback from the Northwest is not so quietly building a name for himself and has his team in the drivers seat for yet another Rose Bowl run. Boasting the nations number one ranked scoring offense (56.5 ppg), number two ranked rushing attack (331.0 ypg), and number 15 ranked defense (15.0 ppg) the defending Pac-10 Champion Oregon Ducks have found a recipe for success through the combined efforts of Head Coach Chip Kelly and Defensive Coordinator Nick Aliotti. While each maintains that they are responsible for each other's respective sides of the ball, it is clear that Oregon has put together a unit that has the ability turn any smash mouth, in your face game into a second half track meet that would leave most defenses sucking wind after three quarters.
Having heard all off season about the poise and potential of Stanford's Andrew Luck, he sure came out as advertised and was setting the stage to send the all so quiet Autzen faithful home with an early conference loss. Out to a commanding 21-3 lead the Cardinal were in the drivers seat after it capitalized off of a string of turnovers (the last an interception by Thomas) and turned them into touchdowns. With the game under wraps and the Ducks on their heals it would have been easy to throw in the towel or wait until halftime to make second half adjustments, but why? Darron Thomas and the Oregon offense did what it did best, it exploded! Ripping off 21, 14, and 14 in each of the last three quarters the high octane Duck attack went into full effect through the establishment of its running game behind the two headed monster of LaMichael James and dual threat quarterback Darron Thomas. Yet amongst the chaotic mess of a typical post game interview under the Autzen lights the calm, very calculated Thomas simply stated, "Coach just preached finishing," he said. "So we came out and finished."
With the offense running on all cylinders, it was the defense that ultimately gave the Ducks the lift and extend it's second half lead. While you couldn't help but notice Stanford's players with their hands on their hips, surrendering large chunks of yards and faking injuries to slow down the vaunted Oregon spread offense, it was the Oregon defense that left Luck and Co. baffled after forcing a pair of interceptions and holding that aggressive I-Back system to zero points in the second half. With veterans like Kenny Rowe, Spencer Paysinger and Casey Matthews anchoring a fast acting, hard hitting front seven, the Ducks had a field day in the secondary, rattling Luck enough to force the issue and take control of what many considered a barn burner of a game. With all the momentum with the Ducks, it was Thomas and Co. who reigned down on the Cardinal with an illusive combination of inside zone running, quick screens and play action passing downfield that opened up seems and laid the foundation for the all so traditional, yet customary aerial barrage.
Thomas finished 20 of 29 for 238 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also added a career-high 117 rushing yards on 15 carries and another touchdown, a total of 355 yards and four touchdowns on the night. And while LaMichael James' career high 257 rushing yards definitely yield dividends for the Duck offense versus Stanford, it was the 6'3 gun slinger from Houston, TX that truly set the gold standard for what's to come for the Ducks this season. In all honesty I feel that the emergence of Thomas has added validity to Dennis Dixon and his pursuit of the Heisman Trophy three years ago, before a season ending knee injury left his team short of what seemed like a legitimate run for the National Championship.
But for Thomas, just a sophomore out of the great state of Texas, this win meant a little more than just toppling the mighty Luck, as the two knew each other well back in high school. Luck had the upper-hand sitting at 2-0 in their high-profile prep match ups in Houston and while the respect runs deep for the two highly touted quarterbacks, Pac-10 Championships, Rose Bowl victories and National Championship runs are all that matter at the next level. The Oregon spread offense lead by Thomas and spearheaded by LaMichael James has the making of something special. With all the attention out there in Big-10 country, it would be a shame to ignore the offensive force that Chip Kelly, Darron Thomas and the #3 Ducks have begun to build up out West in Eugene.
*For highlights of Saturdays game simple click on the title of this article
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