First off, Congratulations to Chip Kelly and LaMichael James, who were given great honors today. Coach Kelly was named the Pac-10 Coach of year, and he undoubtedly deserved it. After the debacle at Boise, Oregon rebounded and won the Pac-10 be two whole games. LaMichael James was named the offensive freshman of the year, setting the Pac-10 rushing record for freshman, and was the most explosive running back in the conference, if not nation.
Rounding out the Ducks on the all conference teams, Ed Dickson was named to the first team, while Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, Will Tukuafu, and Casey Matthews were named to the second team.
I think what the voting for this award proves is that Oregon was by far the best team in the conference. It's pretty shocking that Oregon won the conference by two games, yet only got 5 players onto the all conference teams.
Meanwhile, OSU had 7 players on the first team alone, yet couldn't hang with Oregon in the 4th quarter. UCLA had four players on the first team defense, but had a worse defense than Oregon by almost any statistical measure.
While it would have been nice to see the individuals on the team recognized to a greater degree, Oregon gets to take home the ultimate prize: the Pac-10 championship.