Is Oregon America's Team?
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 12:13AM 
By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
As far as college football fans go, there are SEC supporters, and there is the rest of America. The following was written with the majority in mind.
Oregon is the only team that can derail the SEC's dominance in the national championship picture. Teams from the South have won the last four titles, and while some objective experts have opined this year the SEC is down a tad — by its standards, at least — Auburn and Alabama still seem like strong candidates to stretch the league's streak to five in a row.
I agree with many other experts who say that despite its imperfect record, Alabama is sitting quite pretty. I really think the Tide will slow down Cam Newton enough to beat Auburn when the Tigers visit Tuscaloosa for a post-Thanksgiving Day slugfest on Nov. 26.
The winner of that matchup should advance to the SEC championship game, handle an inferior foe from the East and then move on to the BCS championship tilt, presumably against Oregon.
Let's say Alabama does what many think it will do and wins out. Do you think Boise State, TCU or Utah could beat 'Bama? Could a Big 12 champ from Oklahoma or Nebraska, or a Big 10 winner from Wisconsin or Ohio State, topple the Tide?
I don't think so either.
Perhaps you've read some of my interviews with college football experts this season. I've asked most of them if they think this could be the year the SEC streak ends. Most of them have said yes. And in my Q&A with Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples, he described what separates the SEC from the top teams from other BCS conferences:
"The biggest difference is the speed of the linemen. If you put the fastest defensive backs and receivers and running backs from all the conferences together, they'll all be about the same. But when you put all the defensive tackles together, the SEC guys are always faster. The way they move from sideline to sideline just makes it so difficult for people to get to the edge against them."
But if there's only one team that could get to the edge against Alabama some, wouldn't it be Oregon? The Ducks have the most explosive offense in the country, and it's not exactly a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust model. UO enjoys a rich track tradition, and its football teams the last two seasons under Chip Kelly boast wheels equally dangerous.
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As much as Oregon can race right past you, how many times have you seen LaMichael James on "SportsCenter" this season busting a long touchdown gallop right up the middle? That's another thing Staples made sure to mention, that Oregon isn't just a finesse and speed team. "They can also run it right down your throat," he said.
Last year, I correctly picked that Ohio State would shut Oregon down in the Rose Bowl. But this year's Ducks are far more dangerous — and are a much more complete team — and that's why I think they'll beat Alabama in the national championship game in two months.
Alabama, Chip Kelly, LaMichael James, Oregon
Reader Comments (9)
I said last week ThE OREGON DUCKS have replaced the Cowboys as "Americas Team"
Right now, their's nobody in the nation that can beat the Ducks. Nobody!! I dare any team to try to stop
the most prolific offense in the nation. Their's no way, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ohio State, or anyone else could even think about it. GO DUCKS!
I'll admit the Oregon offense is a lot of fun to watch, clicking off plays every 15-20 seconds. And they did beat Stanford and USC. And LaMichael James is a legit Heisman candidate. (Okay, you knew this next part was coming...) BUT themost important thing that makes them fun to watch is being successful. I'm still not convinced their little speedy guys would be as much fun to watch against the big speedy guys from Ohio or Alabama.They're more balanced this year, but they haven't faced a top-notch defense yet. The Arizona game will give us some idea how how they'd do (maybe). Until then, I'd expect it to turn out like the Rose Bowl, and that game didn't do a thing for Oregon's popularity.
For those of you that think Oregon will be beaten by a top notch D, and are using last year's Rose Bowl as an example, you haven't paid any attention to college football. This is not last year's Oregon team. This is version 2.0. Better defense, and better offense make up this years team. And barring any untimely NFL defections, net years team will be better yet, as they lose very little after this year.
I think the two teams with the best chance to beat the Ducks and Alabama and Boise State, with Auburn out of the mix. I expected the Ducks to win last year's Rose Bowl by two TD's, but Ohio State's "D" suprised me. I think it takes a "shut down" defensive line and an excellent secondary to slow down UO enough to outscore their so-so defense. Alabama and Boise State are the top two candidates.
That's an unsupported (and incorrect) conclusion. I do pay attention to college football, including the results it produces. So far this year, the best ranked defense Oregon has faced has been Stanford's (30th), followed by ASU's (38th), UCLA's (94th), and USC's (98th). Ohio State's defense is currently ranked 2nd, and Alabama's is 11th.
If not flaming, and I'm not saying the Ducks aren't better than they were last year. I'm simply saying their offense has only played against fairly mediocre defenses. If they can hang 45 on Arizona (even in Autzen), that'll show something. If they hang 60, it'll show even more. Until then, it's reasonable to be skeptical.
Sorry, Roots, I was replying to Willamette. I generally agree with your analysis.
I am high on QUACK. QUACK should be legalized so we can all get DUCK faced! LOVE MY DUCKS. See you in Glendale!
I also have kept a close eye on college football this year. If you are going to beat the Ducks in the first half and that is not easy to do,just ask Stanford. Oregon's defense generally spends the better part of the game on the field because their offense scores so quickly. Also keep in mind that Oregon's defense has pretty much shut down opposing offenses in the second half. The only team that scored any points in the fourth quarter was UCLA,Using their first stringers against Oregon's backups and then only 7 points. Other teams no matter what you think of them,just can't keep up with Oregon's pace. If you don't believe me check out the stats. Ignore Oregon's defense at your own peril. GO DUCKS!!!