For the Duck Fans: A Query, Please Respond
The Oregon Ducks aren’t strictly a Portland topic. And, yet, as the closest thing we in Oregon have to a professional football team, they draw a huge amount of press around here, so I feel entitled in discussing them here.
In thinking about the Ducks’ upcoming game against Jeff Tedford’s California Golden Bears on Saturday, and in listening to a radio report this morning on how Tedford models his program after Mike Bellotti’s program in Eugene, I thought of this question:
Since the Golden Bears’ program is, in many ways, a carbon copy of the Ducks’ program, is their program essentially a picture of what we’d have if we were in California?
So much talk is made of what the Ducks could be if they were in a major talent market that allowed them to compete head-to-head with the UCLA’s, USC’s, etc. The Bears are right there, though. And their consistent inconsistency in being in the conversation, but never dominating it, matches Oregon’s. So, are we essentially the best we could be, even with the California players that we always lament not being able to get?
Discuss…
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the ducks get lots of CA players… as many as Cal or USC… oregon’s talent is now on par with just about every program in the country, so i don’t think location hurts them at all. i mean, have you seen the facilities at autzen? nicer than many NFL clubs…
Do you really think UO’s talent is “on par” with just about every program? Sure, we get a couple of stand-outs every year (Ngata, Olshansky, Akili and Joey back in their Ducks days) but we never have a super recruiting class or a whole complete package. Our backfield is always a question. Our lines are always good, but we have a walk-on linebacker leading the defense, for God’s sake.
Just having Californians isn’t the key; it’s getting the top ones. I’d suggest that, despite our facilities, many California kids would rather play in the larger markets, closer to home, in the sunny weather, and those are all things we just can’t compete with.
Cal hasn’t quite put it all together yet, either. But their #16 in Tedford’s 3rd year there, and there are alot of people speculating that they’ll go the distance in the conference and end up in a BCS game. Myself, I’m afraid our defense just can’t handle their offense. I hope I’m wrong, but…
Well, with the injuries we’ve sustained this year, our D is depleted and vulnerable. That aside, I’d have no problem pitting Dixon/Williams/Stewart against any other tandem.
Oregon’s program is still trending up… seriously, I’ve never seen a Duck offense march up the field this consistently and efficiently. Also, I haven’t seen this level of confidence and wickedness EVER. You don’t take into consideration the effect a coaching staff has… what if Belotti left and we lured an NFL coach or some renowned coach/recruiter? In theory we could be better…
Cal has underachieved for years given its proximity to the state talent pool… it’s within possibility they could be a BCS team in the next couple of years though.
Oregon 34 Cal 28
A lot of the top recruits from California are from poor and gang infested neighborhoods. Their parents are acutely aware of how difficult it is to keep their kids out of trouble with so much bad influence around. Going to a nearby college doesn’t necessarily get your kid out of it if all the hanger-ons and loser friends follow him there.
The Oregon coaches are quite adept at going down to California and sitting down with mom to explain how they have a great safe environment in Eugene free from all the gangs and drugs and other ills that infest California’s big cities. And that their kid will have a safe place to learn for the next 4 years. And, on top of that, being a PAC-10 School, Oregon plays at least 2 games in California every year, one in Northern California (Cal or Stanford) and one in Southern California (USC or UCLA) plus often a 3rd game (i.e. Fresno State or Holiday Bowl). So even though their kid is in Oregon, they’ll have a chance to see him play every year in person and most of the games will be on TV as well. That’s not going to happen if they go to Texas or Miami or some other big school outside the PAC-10.
The kids they wow with all the Nike stuff. 50 year old retro-grouch alums might hate the new uniforms but 17 year old kids love them and the facilities in Eugene exceed what they have at most of the California schools if not all of them.
As for why Cal Berkeley has always had inconsistent teams? Just because the coaching follows the Oregon model doesn’t mean the school follows the Oregon model in terms of athletic support. The athletic facilities at Berkeley are aging and the school is much more of an academic empire than Oregon. The administration is probably more concerned about how many Nobel laureates they have on faculty. Not a bad thing in my mind. I just don’t think they put the emphasis into football like they do in Eugene.
Another factor is the Bay Area itself. Sports fans have the Raiders, 49ers, Giants, A’s, Golden State Warriers, and God knows what else to keep them busy. In Eugene it’s all Ducks 365 days/year.