Regardless of what bowl game the Ducks get invited to, should they accept or decline their bowl game invitation based on their current situation?

Ken in Portland seems to think they should decline any bowl invitation (”Just say no”).

Actually, I don’t think declining an invitation is even an option because it looks like the Pac-10 is going to have a difficult time fulfilling their bowl obligations.

But if they could, should the Ducks accept or decline their bowl game invitation? If you were a player, would you have a different opinion?

[For the record, the Ducks should accept any bowl game invitation. It's the Ducks obligation to accept it on so many levels, I don't even have the time to go into all of them right now.]

JJ

Duck Sports News and Duck fans alike are tired of the debate surrounding the decision to play Dennis Dixon in the Arizona game. This is why we have relegated these links to our blog. So, if you really want to see how this is still playing out on the Op-Ed pages of The Register-Guard, knock yourself out.

PRO - Should the coach have permitted Dixon to play? (Ken Woody)

CON - Should the coach have permitted Dixon to play? (Julie Novkov and Joel Bloom)

[UPDATE: Guess DSN visitors are not as tired of this story as I thought.  So far, this link is the second most clicked of the day.]

When it comes voting on the Top 25, wins and losses aren’t the only things that matter.

In 2005, after Kellen Clemens suffered a broken leg in the eigth game against Arizona (considered one of Arizona’s most memorable moments by an Arizona sports columnist), Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf lead the Ducks to a 10-1 record, with only a loss to No. 1/2 USC. For the second time in four years, the Ducks got jobbed in the BCS, and they were sent packing for San Diego and the Holiday Bowl (where they technically did not lose because of Oklahoma’s NCAA violations).

If memory serves me correctly, however, one of the factors that was cited as a reason why Oregon was left out of the BCS picture was the injury to Kellen Clemens. Even though Oregon gutted out every one of those wins after Kellen’s injury, they were not the same team. And voters punished them for it, even though the team continued to win.

After witnessing that thing called a game yesterday, Inside UCLA’s Brian Dohn, a Harris Poll voter, left Oregon out of his Top 25 for this week. And I’m kind of surprised other voters have not done the same.

Regardless of win-loss record, are the Ducks, as they are constituted now, really a Top 25 team?

Here are a couple of other questions I heard fans asking themselves last night at the Oregon-San Francisco basketball game:

- Will the Ducks score another offensive touchdown in the next eight quarters?

- What Pac-10 team could the Ducks offensively score on now?

DSN fans, these questions are not an indictment of the coaches, players, system, or program. (From everything I’ve heard, these are a great, great bunch of kids.) These are just honest questions about the Ducks based on their current healthy talent and accumulated experience.

Are they a Top 25 team? Really?

JJ

UPDATE: Rob Moseley and I seem to have been thinking the same thing at about the same time.

Wow. I don’t even know what to say….Let’s open it up…go ahead and vent…

Over the course of the season, The Oregonian conducted a poll to determine “The Ultimate Civil War Team”.  The results are interesting.  Ducks Sports News was 1 for 2 in our predictions.  But it’s not the results we had a problem with, it was more of the process.  However, Duck Sports News contributor was selected as a Linebacker.  So, we can’t complain too much.

What do you think about the results?  Anyone missing?

JJ

Good writing is like a woman’s skirt. It should be long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep guys interested. At least that’s what my high school freshman english teacher taught me, in between teachingTo Kill A Mockingbird and deconstructing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Axemen, you know who I’m talking about.).

And that’s exactly how I feel about tomorrow’s game against UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

The media surrounding the Oregon football program this past week has been the ugliest I have ever seen, read, or heard it. Interesting, no doubt. But ugly. So much so, that we here at Duck Sports News have had to explain/justify posting links to stories regarding the “Dennis Dixon Dilemma” because DSN fans were complaining of “Dennis Dixon Fatigue”. Again, interesting stories, commentary, and discussion. But you were clearly getting tired of it. And, frankly, so were we. (But we continued to post links to those stories because that’s what we do.)

That’s why I’d like to see the Ducks do enough for the win, but keep it close and interesting…uninteresting.

I’m not talking about the game. Although, the part of me that’s a fan wouldn’t mind seeing the Oregon offense get on track early and often, putting the game away before it even gets started. I’m talking about keeping it close in a win to make it uninteresting after the game. As co-creator of DSN, I know that a blowout will undoubtedly raise new questions regarding last week’s loss to Arizona:

“Would last week have been different if Brady had a full week to prepare?”

“Do you think the players would have responded this way last week if they would have known about Dixon’s injury?”

“Would another week have helped Chip Kelly’s play calling last week?”

And the questions could go on if the Ducks are long on success tomorrow. Instead, let’s hope they keep it short, and sweet.

JJ

Duck fans, this last week has a been a tough one. As an Oregon fan, we know it’s probably been difficult to find reasons to be thankful (If you’re having a hard time coming up with any reasons to be thankful period, we need to talk.). So, we here at DuckSportsNews.com have come up with the “Top 10 Reasons To Be Thankful” for you.

Before we get to that, though, we would like to express our thanks to you. Without your support and participation, DSN would not be possible. But it’s been a lot more than “possible”. It’s been a lot of fun for us. And he hope that it continues to be that way for you, too.

Without further ado, here are your “Top 10 Reasons To Be Thankful”:

10. Be thankful you’re not a Cardinal.

9. Be thankful you’re not a Bruin.

8. Be thankful you’re not a Sun Devil.

7. Be thankful you’re not a Bear.

6. Be thankful you’re not a Trojan.

5. Be thankful you’re not a Wildcat.

4. Be thankful you’re not a Cougar.

3. Be thankful you’re not a Husky.

2. Be thankful you’re not a Beaver.

And…

1. Be thankful you’re a Duck.

Yes, we know. We went for the cheap and easy laughs. But that’s how we like it here at DSN. We’re free (cheap) and pretty convenient (easy).

Happy Thanksgiving!

JJ & RW

PS Why are you thankful you’re a Duck?

Welcome to “The 4|4 with Peter Sirmon”, the UCLA Edition. Each week visitors to DuckSportsNews.com ask Peter four questions and he answers them. If you would like to ask Peter a question for next week’s CIVIL WAR edition, leave it in the comment section or send Peter an email.

Here’s the by-week edition of “The 4|4 with Peter Sirmon”.

Is this 2007 Ducks team the best football squad in Oregon history? - Jason, Chicago

Peter: I think there have been four teams in the last thirteen years that would argue that. The 1994 Rose Bowl team, 1998 Aloha Bowl Team(you might not agree with this one), 2001 Fiesta Bowl Team, and 2007 yet to be determined bowl game. The 1994 Rose Bowl team really played well together. Danny O’Neil, Josh Wilcox, Jeremy Asher, Rich Ruhl, Chad Cota, Alex Molden, and Kenny Wheaton were all excellent college players. The 1998 team could have really done something if not for injuries. I have never seen a quarterback play as well as Akili Smith did that year. He was simply amazing. Reuben Droughns broke his ankle playing UCLA. Several other players were also lost to injury that year. But, it would be tough not to put the Fiesta Bowl team as Oregon’s best ever. You judge the teams based on results and they only had one loss that year. The most interesting thing about these teams is that senior quarterbacks led them all.

Is Dennis Dixon more Vince Young or Antwaan Randle El? - Brian, Vancouver, B.C.

Peter: Dennis Dixon is more Vince Young. Antwaan Randle El was a gimmick in college. He was a good player, but never a true quarterback. He has had a nice pro career playing receiver and returning kicks. If he had gone to one of the elite colleges there is a good chance that he never would have even played quarterback. The problem that I think Dennis Dixon is going to run into is the fact he only produced big numbers for one year. I really like him as a player, but scouts do a great job in tearing players down and finding negatives in their careers. That is what he will have to overcome. When teams make first round selections they need to see a productive career, not just one season.

If you were Dennis Dixon’s teammate, would you have wanted to know about his injury before the Arizona game? - Steve, Seattle

Peter: I personally would have wanted to know. I respect the fact that he wanted to play and go as long as his body could hold up, but the psyche of a team can be very fragile. When he went down you could see the concern on the faces of all his teammates. Had they known in advance they would have been prepared for him coming out of the game and it wouldn’t have shocked them. It might have even inspired them to go out and play for him because it meant so much to him that he was willing to go out with no ACL. I admire him for even trying. When I tore my ACL in 2004 there was no way I could have tried to play.

Are you actively involved with some parts of the Ducks recruiting? If so, what do the coaches ask of you? - Jonathan, Beaverton

Peter: I am not involved in Oregon recruiting at all. I have mentioned Oregon to some high school players that are being recruited around the Nashville area. I talk to them as a proud alumni, nothing more. Oregon is starting to gain national prominence. When kids in Tennessee start taking notice to Oregon, you know goods things are happening. The success of the team is first and foremost, but the facilities and the uniforms are what grab the attention of these young men. When we see the articles and see some of the price tags that go with these upgrades it makes you gasp. But, never forget that recruiting 17-18 year olds is more of a mystery than a science. What the young men see is an innovative and cutting edge program that is dedicated to doing whatever is possible to give the athletes the best chance of winning every game. Without strong recruiting the program has little chance of success.

Again, thanks for the great questions. Keep them coming and join me next week in preparation for the CIVIL WAR.

- Peter Sirmon, No. 44