The Ducks defeated Oregon State 37-33 on a cold, clear Thursday night in Eugene. Here are my thoughts on the game.
Quarterback
On the biggest and brightest stage of the season, Sean Canfield proved that he was the best Quarterback in the Pac-10 despite the loss. Sean completed 24 of 36 passes, 206 yards, 2 touchdowns, and only took 2 sacks. His throws were crisp and solid, and I can only remember one time when he missed his target.
Masoli is a great player, but if I am voting for All Pac-10 QB, you have to give the nod to Sean.
Running Backs
Despite being bottled up all night long, Jacquizz was always there when we needed to punch it in or get an important yard. The younger brother rushed for 64 yards on 16 carries, but he only found the end zone once.
It definitely won't be a game that Jacquizz wants to remember, but he was there when we needed him, and that's what I'll remember most.
RecieversDespite only having one touchdown, James Rodgers had one of his best games of the year. In his final game at Autzen Stadium, James Rodgers recorded 10 catches for 139 yards. His younger brother Jacquizz came out of the backfield for 7 catches and 73 yards, while Damola Adeniji had two catches for 29 yards.
Sparsely used backup Casey Kjos had the best game of his career with 2 catches for 18 yards and one touchdown. Markus Wheaton, Joe Halahuni, and Brady Camp all had one catch.
It wasn't a great day for the wideouts, but they got the job done when they needed to.
O-Line
I thought Mike Cavanaugh's bunch did a great job against the Ducks tough D-Line. Up until the 4th Quarter, they did an awesome job of protecting Sean Canfield. The one thing they could of done better was opening up better holes for Quizz, but we know the Duck Defense was zeroed in on him the whole time.
Defense
Despite a shaky 1st Quarter, the Beaver D regrouped and held the explosive Duck Offense to 23 points the rest of the game. They forced two turnovers, one intereception and one fumble, and held Jeremiah Masoli to only 40 yards on the ground.
I was extremely impressed with the way our guys played on Thursday night. We'll need those kind of performances if we are going to become a threat in the Pac-10 each year.
Speical Teams
Justin Kahut had a great night against the Ducks, knocking in 4 Field Goals and 3 Extra Points. His kickoffs were also solid. Despite his 15 yard punt, Johnny Hekker also had a good game. The returners didn't do anything special, but James Rodgers had a couple solid ones.
Oregon
The Ducks had another wondeful showing in Eugene on Thursday night. In the 1st Quarter, their Offense looked virtually unstoppable with LaMichael James and Jeremiah Masoli running circles around the Beaver Defense. Masoli went 14 for 21 with one interception, one touchdown, and 201 yards.
James rushed for 166 yards on 25 carriesand three touchdowns. Previously suspended Running Back LeGarrete Blount rushed for 51 yards and one touchdown on 9 carries.
The Ducks were as good as everyone thought they were going to be, and I think it says a lot about the Beavers that we only lost by four.
The Crowd
The Autzen Stadium crowd of 59,595 was the largest ever to attend a Spoting Event in the state of Oregon. It was very loud and racuous as expected, but I thought the Beavers did a good job of not having too many False Starts. It was nice to see the big section of Beaver fans along with the Marching Band.
I thought it was very cool when our Offense would get a First Down and the only noise you could hear was the First Down Chant coming from our section.
Short Pac-10 Recap
Washington-The Huskies played some of their best Football of the season with their 42-10 beatdown of California.
Oregon-The Ducks clinched their Rose Bowl bid with a 37-33 win over Oregon State. Ohio State is next.
Oregon State-The Beavers fell 37-33 in Eugene. Next up for OSU is either a Vegas or Emerald Bowl bid.
California-The inconsistent Golden Bears got hammered by the Huskies on a Saturday afternoon in Seattle.
USC-The Trojans dropped all the way to sixth place after falling to Arizona on a Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles.
Arizona-The Wildcats all but locked up a Holiday Bowl bid with a 21-17 win against USC.
Pac-10 Power Rankings
1. Oregon
2. Arizona
3. Oregon State
4. Stanford
5. Washington
6. California
7. USC
8. UCLA
9. Arizona State
10. Washington State
Final Thoughts
It was unfortunate that a team had to lose on Thursday night. Both teams played their hearts out but in the end Oregon got the win. I think that if these teams played 10 times they would slpit it 5 to 5. You can be sad and depressed that we lost, but also be happy that the Civil War came down to this. Be happy that we've got one great Football team, and that we have one of the best and classiest coaches in the nation.
Our season is not done, we still have one last game to cheer our hearts out for this magnificent team.
Today's Poll
Who was Oregon State's MVP of the Civil War?