A Retrospective on the USC Game, and My Thoughts About the Rest of the Season

First of all, what a game. Way to absolutely demolish such a talented team. I'm so proud of the Ducks...they played inspired football, and it definitely showed on the scoreboard. This sets us up for a great finish of the season. Let's take a look back at the USC game, as well as taking a look forward to the rest of the season.

USC Game Summary

I'm so thrilled with the end result of the game that I really don't know where to start. Huge props to Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, the Oregon secondary....and well, pretty much the whole team. At this point, I really can't look back at any facet of the game and say "Hmm, I wish we would have done this better."...Masoli and the whole offense executed the zone read beautifully. LaMichael James had a marquee performance. He reminded me of another kid from East Texas playing Pac-10 football, Jacquizz Rodgers.  As a matter of fact, the whole team just ran over USC's D. 392 rushing yards against the nation's fifth ranked rushing defense? Incredible. The offense was clicking like I've never seen it before.

Ask yourself this? Would you have expected us putting anything CLOSE to 47 up on USC after the Boise St. debacle? No. Chip Kelly has shown us all his offensive genius. He's turned the offense around 180 degrees since that pitiful early September night in Idaho. What were you thinking after the Boise game (especially after the decision regarding LeGarrette had been announced)? I'll tell you one thing, you weren't expecting anything like this.

Let's not forget about the defense. Although Barkley and the running game did expose a few holes in the zone defense during the first half, it was a solid defensive performance that will, unfortunately, get lost in the storyline of Oregon's offense. I was extremely impressed with the front 7. Despite being WAY smaller as a unit than USC's gargantuan O-Line, they did a surprisingly good job rushing the pass and putting pressure on Matt Barkley. Not to mention the fact that they (well, combined with the crowd at the Zoo) baited the Men of Troy into 6 false statrt penalties. The secondary was great in coverage as always. Ward, Barnett, and co. did a good job all game, and were especially good in the 2nd half, once the zone started becoming more effective against what the Trojans were trying to do.

Overall, I can't give anything put an A+ to Oregon for their performance. I really can't. As I previously stated, there's nothing I can put down. Nothing. All the units, from Morgan Flint being 4/4 on field goals, from Masoli being nearly mistake-free through the air, from Barner, James, and Masoli rushing the ball, from the front , and from the secondary, executed and did their job.

So, What Happens Now?

In terms of the BCS poll, I think the Ducks are going to be either 4th or 5th come tomorrow afternoon. Same goes for the AP and Coaches's polls. Here's what it should look like in the BCS standings

1. Florida

2. Texas/Alabama

3. Alabama/Texas

4. Oregon

5. Boise St/Iowa

Disclaimer: There are NO GIMMIES LEFT ON THE SCHEDULE. I repeat, none.

Stanford, Arizona St., Arizona, and Oregon State are all teams that have had great performances this year. I would classify them all as solid teams. Stanford has an effective offense, featuring the brusing back that is Toby Gerhart, as well as freshman phenom Andrew Luck. Arizona St., while young, has talent. They came very close to taking down Cal today. Mike Stoops has something special going on in Tucson. Their only losses have come to undefeated Iowa and Washington in Seattle. Oregon State has an excellent ground game (James and Jacquizz Rodgers), despite losing QB Lyle Moeavo for the rest of the season.

That being said, I do think that the Ducks should run the table for the rest of the regular season....knock on wood.

Can the Ducks sneak their way into the National Championship game? I don't know. It's going to require a lot of luck. Although Florida or Alabama will  fall go out of the top 2 with a loss in the SEC Championship game, conditional of them both winning out during the rest of the regular season (Florida has Vandy, South Carolina, FIU, and FSU left. Alabama has LSU, Miss. St., Chattanooga, and Auburn left. The only potential loss I could see is LSU over Alabama). That leaves Florida/Alabama and Texas...so, Texas is going to need to lose for the Ducks to sneak in.

Here is the rest of Texas's schedule:

Central Florida

@ Baylor

Kansas

@ Texas A&M

Big 12 Championship game (probably against Nebraska).

I highly doubt that Texas loses any of those games. Central Florida is a no-brainer. Kansas is on a 3 game losing streak, with losses to Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. I don't see them having much of a chance, especially in Ausitn. Texas A&M has been destroyed by the likes of Arkansas and Kansas State. They shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

That leaves the Big 12 Championship game. We're going to say that they will play Nebraska. They look to be the team that will meet the Longhorns in Dallas. Can they pull it off? I don't know. While they do have the best D-Lineman in the country in Ndamukong Suh, as well as Roy Helu Jr. and Zac Lee, it would be a huge surprise.

Although in this Oregon season, the expected hasn't always happened.

All in all, I'm excited to see what the rest of the season will hold. For now though, I'm just happy to celebrate tonight's thrashing of the Trojans.

GO DUCKS!