Today we have a link to an article from a Tennessee Volunteers fan website. The Volunteers next opponent is the #7 Oregon Ducks. The general theme of the article is that if there was one word to describe the Ducks football team that word would be speed. The Ducks have speed all over the field and showed it in a 72-0 blowout of New Mexico. Back-up running back Kenjon Barner who filled in while LaMichael James served a 1 game suspension rushed for 147 yards and 4 TD’s in a quarter and a half of playing time. He also caught 1 pass for 60 yards and a TD making 5 total TD’s for Barner. The Ducks also showed speed on special teams as Cliff Harris returned punts of 61 and 64 yards for Touchdowns. The Ducks also showed speed on defense by forcing 5 turnovers and having the defensive line consistently in the backfield. Tennessee’s football team just went through their second coaching change in the last two years and are relatively inexperienced. Although Tennessee will have a big home field advantage this weekend look for the Ducks to win handily. To read the whole article about Tennessee’s views on the Ducks check out this link:

http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2010/sep/06/word-of-the-week-speed/

Over the past year or so there seems to have been an obsession on Pac-10 message boards online and the topic of conversation usually seems to be a simple question: who is better, LaMichael James or Jacquizz Rodgers? It is extremely difficult to try and put a concrete answer on that question because the styles of the two running backs differs so much and as well as the offenses. Jacquizz Rodgers can run straight ahead and break tackles and slash his way through the defense. While LaMichael James has very underrated strength and the ability to break tackles as well he is more suited to get outside the defense and beat them with pure speed. Both running backs have been extremely successful in college so far and both are being talked about as pre-season Heisman trophy possibilities. To make it even more interesting both guys are from Texas, and as ESPN’s Ted Miller will tell you, they are pretty good friends. Both James and Rodgers seem to have a ton of respect for each other despite playing on opposite sides of the bitter rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State. To read the article about LaMichael James and Jacquizz Rodgers friendship check out this link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview10/news/story?id=5483681

Hey Duck fans we have a treat for you today. As you may have seen last week we posted an article breaking down the all-decade team for OSU wide receivers, but this time it is the Ducks turn and it’s all about the running backs. The running back position has arguably been the Ducks biggest weapon in the last 10 years and the names that make the list all deserve to be there. The names include; Maurice Morris, Onterrio Smith, Jonathan Stewart, Jeremiah Johnson, and already on the list after a stellar freshman year is LaMichael James. There is even a big case that could be made for both of the honorable mentions which included Terrence Whitehead and LeGarrette Blount. Whitehead helped the Ducks beat Michigan at home in 2003 and also rushed for the 9th highest single season amount in UO history. Blount, while his tenure at Oregon fell under scrutiny because of “The Punch” still provided Oregon fans with much excitement in his one full season when he rushed for 1000+ yards and scored 17 touchdowns. To read the full article check out this link:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2010/08/oregon_football_all-decade_tea_2.html

In the fourth and final best case-worst case scenario that we will cover the Oregon Ducks are the team being evaluated. As you know these are not predictions and simply dream and nightmare scenarios so don’t read too much into it. Enjoy!

The full article can be read here: http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/11138/best-case-worst-case-oregon-3

Here is a quick rundown if you don’t have the time for the whole article:

Best Case: The Ducks beat Boise State 42-14 in the Rose Bowl and finish #2 in the country, as well as LaMichael James winning the Heisman Trophy.

Worst Case: The Ducks have a fall off from last years Rose Bowl run and finish 8-5 including a Las Vegas Bowl game loss to Utah.

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