Boise State is behind us, TJ Ward is injured, LeGarrette Blount is suspended for the year... what better time then now to check the Oregon Ducks Elevator?
Jeremiah Masoli: Extremely tough outing that was overshadowed by events after the game. Confidence in the offense seemed to be missing, he didn't check down enough to other reads in the passing game and seemed timid all the way around. This game looked like the the beginning of last year rather than the end of last year. Everyone has a bad game so the elevator operator isn't concerned but a big test looms at Autzen this week with Purdue. Maybe home cooking can right the ship? Elevator: Down 2 Floors
Chip Kelly: How much worse can your first game as head coach get? Your star running back punches a guy and tries to go after some fans, you blow some calls during the game, you have your boss come down and talk to you on the sidelines (about who knows what) and your star quarterback has one of the worst games of his Oregon Duck career. At first, people thought you should kick LGB out of school and said you weren't strict enough. Now, they criticize you for being too harsh when you suspend him for the year. Through all that adversity, he seems outwardly steady and ready to take the next step. No cracks, at least outwardly. Also, way to stick to your guns, even if they aren't popular. Elevator: Down 1 Floor
Jordan Holmes: As much as people want to blame the offensive line for the poor showing last Thursday, try and think back to the game for a moment. How many bungled snaps did we see? How concerned were we that there would be a ton of bungled snaps? I think you see where I'm going with this. Elevator: Up 1 Floor
Jackson Rice/Michael Clay: As good as advertised, true freshman to true freshman. Excellent punts each time, only a couple of scary snaps that were handled, this combination of true freshmen represented an answer to a huge question mark coming into the game. The only downside was that we got to see them play too much. Elevator: Up 2 Floors
Larry Scott: The Pac-10 Commissioner was a swift decision maker. He quickly weighed in on the LeGarrette Blount situation and even called for sanctions against Byron Hout of Boise State for his role in the incident. Tom Hansen he is not. Good start for the new commissioner. Elevator: Up 1 Floor
LeGarrette Blount: We all know what happened. It is what it is. The fact that he asked Chip Kelly to set up a call with Chris Petersen and Byron Hout to apologize gives me faith that this is a smart kid who made a knucklehead move, not a knucklehead just doing what he does naturally. Elevator: Crashed at the bottom but lived to tell the tale