17 more days. Here's your Wednesday Morning Quack Fix:
- Despite Oregon officials' attempts to downgrade yesterday's "scrimmage," the Ducks did "practice" some live game-like scenarios. The biggest takeaway seems to be that neither quarterback stood out as a clear-cut winner for the day. The Oregonian's Ken Goe thinks Darron Thomas was the more consistent of the two, and the unofficial numbers Rob Moseley compiled seem to indicate that. Of course, it's hard to simulate the offense when the top three running backs on the depth chart are sitting out with injuries, although true freshmen Lache Seastrunk and Dontae Williams both showed flashes. Goe also has a few more notes worth looking at.
- Some breaking news last night: BYU, which was left out in the cold after in-state rival Utah announced it will join the Pac-10 next year, is reportedly considering going independent in football and joining the WAC for all other sports. I'm not sure what to make of the move, but I imagine they're not impressed with the direction of the Mountain West, despite the conference's addition of Boise State.
- Matt Hinton, AKA Dr. Saturday, takes a long look at Oregon's quarterback situation. If you're not interested in reading the whole thing, at least read the last paragraph. He pretty much sums up how I feel about who should win the job.
- Oregon senior linebacker Casey Matthews joins several other Oregon players in the running for some of college football's top awards when he was named to the Butkus Award watch list yesterday.
- ESPN.com's Ted Miller points out that ESPN Recruiting updated its 2011 class rankings. Oregon comes in at No. 19, but in order to read their synopsis, you'll need an ESPN Insider account.
- Just because football season is right around the corner doesn't mean we can't mention the Oregon men's basketball squad. The R-G's Bob Clark has an in-depth piece on the team as they prepare for a trip to Italy later this month.
- In other sports, the Oregon volleyball squad appeared in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 for the 44th straight week after earning a No. 20 ranking in the preseason poll announced yesterday. Meanwhile, the Oregon soccer team opens the season this Friday when it hosts Boise State.
- The guys at CalGoldenBlogs have their Oregon roundtable preview up. While some of their writers are pretty optimistic, Avinash gives high praise: "Oregon is the toughest team we face next year. Not USC. Not OSU. Not the Furd. OREGON."
As always, leave any relevant links or comments below.
GO DUCKS!