Lots of Quack as we near the Rose Bowl, so let's get right to it.
- It's been an interesting time in southern California so far for the Ducks. LaMichael and Kenjon had a blast on Space Mountain, as did the rest of the Ducks. Also, 9 Ducks found themselves stuck in a hotel elevator for two hours, and Mark Asper had some fun with Avery Patterson after the fact.
- The Register Guard published their comprehensive Rose Bowl preview today. There are plenty of articles, so I'm sure that will help you kill some time if you need to. Of note, George Schroeder steps back and looks at Oregon's accomplishments over the last three seasons, despite the lack of bowl win, and Rob Moseley writes about LaMichael's competitiveness to win a bowl game.
- Charles Fischer of FishDuck has his first Rose Bowl video preview, trying to figure out what Chip might throw at Wisconsin. He looks a the BCS Championship game loss, and blames execution rather than the new schemes Chip Kelly implemented on the lack of production in the running game. My problem with this train of thought, is that you cannot expect new formations and plays to be run efficiently at the same level as previous plays. In my opinion, poor execution was a result of the newly implemented formations. Also from FishDuck, Kurt takes a look at Oregon's early Rose Bowl history.
- Ted Miller had a ton of content yesterday. First, he had an article on De'Anthony Thomas. Then, he had an article on Chip Kelly and ranked his top 10 quotes, inspiried by the twitter feed Chipisms.
- This morning, Ted asks if extra prep time dooms Oregon. Here's the money quote, where Ted channels his inner Matt Daddy: "Still, excuses are for losers. If the Ducks' ultimate goal is to rank among the nation's super-elite -- the top five -- it must win these games. It can't average 17.8 points and 95 yards rushing against highly ranked nonconference teams, as it did in these four games."
- Chip Kelly is not the only quotable Duck (or ex-Duck). Cliff Harris' "We smoked it all" quote comes in 49th in the best quotes of 2011.
- In recruiting news, Thomas Tyner, Aloha's star RB, and a 2013 Oregon commit, is part of the first batch of five-star players according to Rivals.
- Lastly, some basketball as the Pac-12 season approaches for the Ducks. Bob Clark's piece this morning is on how the Ducks have gone smalle with Tyrone Nared out of the lineup.
That's all for now. Only 5 days til the Rose Bowl! GO DUCKS!