Well, with all the excitement of this season, many seem to be spiraling into the blame game, which isn't surprising considering the overall irrationality of college football. Some guy from the Oregonian (you know who) has been bashing Bellotti since Thursday. Even Schroeder got in on the action a couple of days ago.
About the only valid criticism I see is that the team didn't know the full extent of Dixon's injury. Former Duck Peter Sirmon agrees. Who knows, if the team had known about the injury, the mini-letdown might not have been so severe. But honestly, I'm proud of our team, and our coaching staff. They did not give up. Despite the calls from ESPN that they showed no emotion, that's been this team all year, steady and even. Rob Moseley is known to call them boring. Yet, they never gave up, and kept on fighting. This entire team is completely different from last year, and did not ever falter despite the adversity they faced in the desert. This is definitely encouraging for the last two games.
If you got 45 minutes to burn (or are at work), Schroeder and Myers do a great job breaking down where the Ducks could be headed on their daily radio segment. Basically, win out, and we're most likely going to a BCS bowl (Rose or Fiesta). If we lose to the Beavers (doesn't really matter what happens against UCLA), it's Sun or worse.
As for UCLA prep, hopefully Brady will be good to play. Some might call for Roper (I was during the AU game), but I'm not so sure now. We can't forget bringing in Kellen as a freshman against UW only to give up a pick-6. Roper is most likely not ready.
And Leaf's awful performance on Thursday made executing any offense almost impossible. With a healthy Leaf, we most likely win the game. He could not avoid any type or rush with the injury, and looked above average on the option read before the injury. The team has confidence in him, and though I'm skeptical (we haven't won any game he's thrown over 20 passes in), if he can play competently, make good decisions, and hit the open receivers, I like our chances in the next 2 games.