Well, the NFL lockout is gonna be over, or something. That's fun I guess. More fun? Some quack on a Friday. One week close to kickoff.
- The Portland Tribune has a nice preview of the Oregon running backs, who Kenjon Barner calls "the top running back group in the nation." Though LaMichael James is coming off one of the best seasons in Oregon history, he's not satisfied. He wants to improve running the ball, but also in all the little things, like blocking, and he wants to be better when the ball is not in his hands. That could happen a lot more this season with a healthy Kenjon Barner and freshmen Lache Seastrunk and De'Anthony Thomas taking some of James' touches.
- Duck Territory has a series going looking at Oregon's freshmen, and today have a (free) piece on Tony Washington. He's added a lot of weight over the last year, and will likely be backing up Brandon Hanna at the drop end position.
- While everyone is focused on LSU, Oregon's home opener is against a Nevada team coming off their best season in school history. A lot of Oregon fans are expecting a big victory as the Wolf Pack have serious questions at QB after graduating Colin Kaepernick. Also an interesting note, Nevada will be starting their season against Oregon. This will have its advantages and disadvantages. They will be working out a lot of kinks, but will have extra time to prepare for Oregon's offensive onslaught.
- John Wilner isn't right on much, but he's sure been on top of the Pac-12 media news. He has another update on the Pac-12 Network. News keeps getting pushed back, as Larry Scott wants to make sure everything is right when the network launches in August 2012. Scott is definitely looking for the future, but he has to play a balancing act for looking forward (i.e. internet streaming) and meeting needs now (TV distribution), and the conference will likely pursue both paths.
- In some former Duck news, Michael Dunigan will be playing in Italy next season.
- Lastly, ASU comes in at #42 in Pre-Snap Read's countdown. There are a lot of pundits bullish on ASU, and they seem to be the default pick to win the Pac-12 South, but Myerberg throws a bit of water on that idea.