Rose Bowl adds to UO\’s growing brand regognition

While the Pac-10 rivalry season kicked off last weekend with the “Big Game” between Stanford and Cal, there are two northwest rivalries that will be taking place in the next couple of weeks. This weekend the 102^nd meeting ever between Washington and Washington State will take place in Seattle. Even though the Huskies and Cougars have struggled for the past few seasons the Apple Cup is always guaranteed to provide a good game and also a lot of heart. The Huskies and Cougars always have a lot to play for in this game and it will show. Washington (3-7, 2-5 Pac-10) is looking to win the Apple Cup and then beat Cal the following week to finish with 5 wins. This would be a nice step in the right direction for the Huskies who went winless last year. The Cougars (0-8, 1-10 Pac-10) have avoided a complete winless season by beating SMU earlier this year however they will look for their only Pac-10 win in the last game of the year. Last year’s matchup in Pullman had both the Huskies and Cougars fighting for one Pac-10 win and the Cougars ended up coming out on top in that game.

In the other northwest rivalry, the “Civil War”, the Ducks and Beavers are preparing for the biggest matchup in the school’s history. The 113^th meeting between the Ducks and Beavers will take place next Thursday December 3 in Eugene and what is at stake is very clear to everyone. Win the game and you are going to the Rose Bowl. Lose the game and you have a year to think about the Rose Bowl that could’ve been. The Ducks (9-2, 7-1 Pac-10) have not been to a Rose Bowl since the 1994-95 season. What an accomplishment it would be for Chip Kelly to lead the Ducks to a Rose Bowl in his very first season. The Beavers, like always it seems, have come on very strong late in the season. They have put themselves in the position that they were in last year as well. Win the Civil War, and go to the Rose Bowl. The Beavs couldn’t get it done last year at home and because of this still have not played in the Rose Bowl since 1965. Is this the year Mike Riley finally takes them to the top of the Pac-10? This game is definitely going to be an exciting one that every football fan should enjoy.

The Pac-10 football season has been a crazy one to say the least. From USC losing three conference games so far to Stanford being in the Rose Bowl discussion in late November nothing has seemed right. Don’t feel bad if you are confused about your team’s chances of making the Rose Bowl right now because there are 4 teams that still have legitimate chances to make the Rose Bowl. I will go into a little more depth on those chances so you know who to root for and against so that your team has the best shot at being in Pasadena on New Years Day.

Oregon: The Ducks control their own destiny. If they win their last two games @Arizona and then at home against rival Oregon State then the Ducks will be playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time since January 1, 1995.

Arizona: Just like Oregon, Arizona controls its own destiny despite being a game back in the loss column right now. Due to Arizona’s victories over Stanford and Oregon State if the Wildcats beat the Ducks this weekend, and then win their final two games against rival Arizona State and @USC, then the Wildcats will be playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time ever.

Oregon State: Just when it looked like the Beavers might have a mediocre season, they once again turned it on late and are now looking straight at the Rose Bowl. Oregon State holds a tie breaker over Stanford but they lost to Arizona, so for the Beavers to make the Rose Bowl they must have Oregon beat Arizona this weekend and then win the Civil War in Eugene next weekend. If the Beavers can pull off a Civil War win, and a win at WSU, accompanied by an Arizona loss then the Beavers will be in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1965.

Stanford: Stanford has beaten Oregon and USC in the last two weeks and has now put them solidly in the Rose Bowl talk. However, Stanford needs a lot to happen for their shot at the Rose Bowl to become a reality. They have lost to both OSU and Arizona, so the Cardinal need Arizona to beat Oregon, then Oregon to beat OSU, and then have Arizona lose to either ASU or USC in their final two games. It may seem like a long shot for the Cardinal to make the Rose Bowl but as we have seen in college football anything is possible.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/nov/09/tuels-status-up-in-air/?print-friendly

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2009/11/legarrette_blunt_will_be_avail.html

Oregon went down to Stanford this weekend and ended up taking a hit in their Rose Bowl chances. Stanford, who was coming off of a bye week, had their offense firing on all cylinders as they exposed Oregon’s previously stout defense. Oregon’s offense played about as well as they have all year again but the defense could not come up with a timely stop when the Ducks needed one. The main focus going into the game was on Stanford’s QB Andrew Luck and RB Toby Gerhart. Both players seemed to come up with timely play after timely play to keep the Ducks on their heels and to extend drives. Andrew Luck made some very good throws during the game that helped him reach his stat line of 12 for 20 for 251 yards and 2 TD’s. Toby Gerhart was obviously the workhorse for this Stanford team however, as he ran 38 times for 223 yards and 3 TD’s. For the Ducks Jeremiah Masoli easily had his best passing game of the year. Masoli went 21 for 37 for 334 yards passing and 3 TD’s. He also added a rushing TD to bring his total to 9 rushing TD’s on the year. RB LaMichael James had another 100-yard plus game carrying the ball 18 times for 125 yards and 1 TD. In the end, Stanford’s defense ended up slowing up the Ducks enough to win the game. In the polls released today Stanford moved up to #25 in the rankings. That makes 4 pac-10 teams ranked currently.

Pac-10 Standings through 11/8/09

Team          Conference         Overall

Oregon             5-1                       7-2

Arizona            4-1                       6-2

Stanford           5-2                       6-3

USC                 4-2                       7-2

Oregon State    4-2                       6-3

California         3-3                       6-3

Arizona State   2-4                       4-5

Washington      2-4                      3-6

UCLA              1-5                      4-5

WSU                0-6                      1-8

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/4863/luck-gerhart-stanford-arent-afraid-of-the-ducks

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/4822/it-didnt-take-long-for-oregons-james-to-become-special

From beginning to end this game was amazing to watch.  Oregon was able to accomplish what no other team has been able to do against the Trojans under the Pete Carroll era. They blew USC out of the stadium. Oregon beat the Trojans 47-20. In the last 93 games USC has lost 8 games by a combined 28 points. In one game the Ducks beat them by 27. The Ducks looked more prepared, faster, stronger, and just like they wanted it so much more than USC. The first half was a very close tense back and forth half with the Ducks scoring late to take a 24-17 lead going into halftime. However, as has been the case all year the Ducks came out and showed that they are a great second half team. They dominated USC from the time the second half started and ended up outscoring them 23-3 in the second half. Jeremiah Masoli played his best game of the year and ran Oregon’s offense almost perfectly. He ended up 19 of 31 for 222 yards passing with 1 passing TD. Masoli also had 13 carries for 164 yards and a rushing TD. LaMichael James did everything he wanted to the Trojans as well. James had his 5^th 100-yard game going for 183 yards on 24 carries and a TD. Oregon WR Jamere Holland also had a TD reception in the game against his old school USC. In the end the Ducks gained 613 total yards of offense 222 passing and 391 rushing. USC came into this game giving up 80 yards a game rushing. This was the second most yards ever given up by a USC football team and falls 10 short of the 623 yards that a 1946 Notre Dame team put up on USC. The Ducks head into this weekend at Stanford. They are now (7-1, 5-0) and have a very good chance to win the Pac-10 and make the Rose Bowl this year.

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/4576/what-about-blount