Two games down, and the Ducks have two wins by large margins. It's a pretty great place to be. Here's your quack:
- After Oregon's big win over Tennessee on the road, the Ducks climbed to 5th in the AP poll, and 6th in the coaches poll. The 5th place ranking is the highest ever for the Ducks in September. While the competition has not been the best (and won't be improving until October), Oregon has done what it needed to do to impress the voters, scoring a point a minute and dominating on third downs on both sides of the ball.
- Despite all the early praise, but Chip Kelly is not resting. In his weekly teleconference, he stressed that he's pushing for improvement. Despite the final score, the Ducks need to get better on the offensive line, and defensively. Kelly also praised the play of Darron Thomas, who handled the Volunteers pressure very well, and threw two touchdowns when the Vols blitzed.
- George Schroeder also had high praise for Thomas' performance. But it wasn't just the big plays or the good throws that caught Schroeder's eye. Thomas displayed impressive poise and leadership for a redshirt sophomore. While everyone was touting Thomas' athletic ability when he was competing in Nate Costa during camp, I'm more impressed with his command of the offense. He is in complete control of the team, and I couldn't be more excited to see him improve over the rest of the season. (Also, here's an interview with Thomas after the game)
- Ken Woody has his analysis of the Tennessee game posted. He spends some time focused on the Ducks big play issues during the first quarter. Yet, despite those issues, the Ducks were downright dominant on 3rd down, limiting the Vols to 2/15 on 3rd down conversions.
- Some Pac-10 teams are looking pretty good early this year, and Ted Miller has his Pac-10 power rankings up. Arizona, Stanford, and Cal are both looking good early. I'm glad we have two of those three teams at home. For more Pac-10 round up, scroll down and check out Matt Daddy's 12 Pac Review or check out CGB's Avinash's piece at SBNation.com.
- Rachel Bachman has a piece on Oregon's new AD, and focuses on his accounting prowess. With the bill for Matt Court coming due, Mullens has a big task ahead of him, but he seems ready to handle it.
Got anything else to share? Leave it below. GO DUCKS!