Last week was Bye Week. This week is Hate Week. And who better to chime in on the rejuvenated Oregon-Washington rivalry than the infamous "Slick Rick" Neuheisel. "There's no love lost, that's for sure," states Neuweasel. Speak for yourself, dick Rick. Here's your Morning Quack Fix:
- Some seemingly positive news about Jeremiah Masoli: According to multiple sources, the Ducks' junior quarterback iis practicing without a brace, a good sign he'll be returning for this Saturday's game against Washington in Seattle. The Oregonian's John Hunt weighs in on the ensuing Locker-Masoli face-off, which, given the dual-threat nature of both quarterbacks, should be as exciting to watch as any Pac-10 QB matchup this season.
- The R-G's George Schroeder issued a piece on why Oregon won't be playing for a national title, even if it wins out. The reason? Two words: Boise State. I actually disagree. If the Ducks and the Broncos win out (big "if"), I think there's actually a very good chance Oregon passes Boise State in the BCS rankings? Is that right? No. But the Broncos could solve the whole issue by putting a big-time program on their schedule late in the season, rather than to start the year.
- ESPN.com's Ted Miller handed out midseason reviews for each Pac-10 team yesterday, including Oregon. His offensive and defensive MVPs for the Ducks? Tight end Ed Dickson and defensive end Kenny Rowe, respectively.
- Bleacher Report scribe Fletcher Johnson also issued midseason grades for the Ducks in his weekly Oregon Strategy Session. He's pretty fair to the Ducks. Maybe too fair, especially the B-minus he gave Oregon's receivers. I'd say more like a C-minus.
- Make sure you check out the audio from Oregon head coach Chip Kelly and Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian about this weekend's matchup.
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According to a release on GoDucks.com, the Oregon baseball team's 2009 recruiting class has been ranked 24th in the nation by Baseball America. Despite a less-than-stellar re-inaugural year, it seems head coach George Horton is building a program that should be competitive sooner than later.
- According to one of The Oregonian's John Hunt's reliable sources, the Ducks will be wearing black helmets, white jerseys with gray accents, and black pants on Saturday. If this is true, this is one uniform combination I'm actually excited about.
Who's going to the game this weekend? Vote in the poll. And, as always, leave any relevant links or comments below.
GO DUCKS!