With the Civil War only three days away, there's lots quack out there. Let's get straight to it.
- In today's Register-Guard, Adam Jude has a feature article on Kenny Rowe and Eddie Pleasant and the need for them to pressure Oregon State QB Sean Canfield. In what should be a good matchup for Oregon, the Ducks are second in the conference in sacks while the Beavers are second-to-last in sacks allowed.
- Mike Tokito is running a series of stories looking at intangible aspects of the Civil War matchup that may affect the outcome. Today's story looks at non-offensive touchdowns. While Oregon has scored six touchdowns on either special teams or defense this year, Oregon State has yet to score one.
- The Oregonian's Aarron Fentress takes a look at how former Ducks and Beavers that are now NFL teammates are preparing for Thursday's showdown. There are ten NFL teams that feature players that played collegiately in Eugene or Corvallis, which is quite a few more than I would have guessed.
- In Sunday's print edition of the Register-Guard, Rob Moseley writes about two pairs of brothers who play for the Ducks: the Butterfields (Brian and Ben) and the DiVicenzos (Mike and Chris). Moseley notes that all four players were walk-ons until this season, when the two older brothers (Brian and Mike) earned scholarships.
- Getting almost as much attention as the game itself is how the Autzen crowd will behave on Thursday night. George Schroeder had a column on Sunday where he discussed how fan behavior affects Oregon's reputation. Schroeder notes that Mike Bellotti is concerned about the issue, as Thursday's game will feature an increased security presence.
- Of course, while previewing Thursday's game, it's hard not to bring up last year's outcome. John Hunt has a blog entry up in which he asks whether or not Oregon's offense can approach the level of production achieved in last year's Civil War. And, OSU's rivals.com site is looking back at the top five Civil Wars of the decade and coming in at #5 is 65-38.
- And, as many of you noticed (evidenced by the almost 500-comment thread from last night), Dennis Dixon made his first NFL start for the Pittsburgh Steelers last night. I was only able to watch the first the three quarters but, from what I saw, Dixon looked pretty good with a 33-yard TD pass and a 24-yard TD run. Unfortunately, Dennis' one turnover led to the winning FG by Baltimore in overtime. Still, not a bad performance in his first start playing against the Ravens on the road.
- Finally, DuckTerritory has a series of premium recruiting articles (subscription required). First, 2011 dual-threat QB Jerrard Randall (Scout: 3-star) has the Ducks as his early favorite despite not yet having an offer from Oregon. Randall looks like he might be the latest Oregon recruiting target from the state of Florida. Next, is a story on four-star linebacker Shaydon Akuna, who is hoping to set up a visit to Oregon soon. Finally, there is a collection of recruiting notes up from Friday, featuring the latest info on Gabe King, Christian Thomas and others.
After the jump are a couple of videos, so check them out.
| Jeremiah Masoli on the Civil War |
| Civil War week: Chip Kelly |