Oregon’s Finest Hour

You didn’t need sound to pick the drawl out of Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher’s threat to his quarterback Jameis Winston after it all fell apart for the Seminoles on New Year’s Day in Pasadena.

It was perfect – the Seminoles’ fragile perfect world being shattered; the bad-boy star, coddled and apologized for to the point of delusion learning how to lose in front of more than 91,322 people at the Rose Bowl and millions more watching on television around the country and world.

The final stats were gaudy – a 59-20 Oregon victory, a 41-7 second half margin, a 34-0 points off turnovers margin, and a surreal third and early fourth quarter stretch in which the Ducks cashed in for five straight touchdowns off of four straight FSU turnovers – but the sights, sounds, and emotions were gaudier.

With the Seminoles’ departure from the national stage, our long national nightmare is over.

It’s impossible not to harbor contempt for Winston and his team, and although their coach Fisher must have hated losing that game, he has to be relieved that he’ll never have to deal with the quarterback who brought him so much success and stress ever again.

But while Jamies came off the field screaming at Jimbo after his five-year-old learning how to ice skate routine resulted in a euphoric 58-yard scoop and score for Tony Washington, I was thinking one thing: No one would talk that way to Mark Helfrich.

It’s all too easy to make the ‘Noles the story here. Winston’s post-game press conference was a clinic in denial; his quotes so bizarre you have to wonder if he was completely conscience when making them.

That sad scene provided enough material for three stories. Of course FSU didn’t go quietly into that good Southern Cal night. In fact, they imploded. Right up until they boarded the plane.

But this is about Oregon.

All week, Mark Helfrich was asked what beating Florida State would mean – what it would prove, what it would validate.

Helfrich’s answer midweek was that Oregon didn’t need any validation internally. He said that his team believed in what they were doing. After coming within a blocked extra-point of hanging 60 on a team that had won its last 29 games, Helfrich said it was up to the “geniuses” in the media to figure the validation stuff out.

I don’t think Helfrich is lying. I don’t think he spends his days reading columns and beefing up his bulletin board. This is a guy that shoots straight.

You say Oregon looks fast; I say they look serene. They believe in their coaches. They believe in their game-plan. They believe in each other. And it’s making all the difference in the world.

Remember that Oregon was robbed of its best defensive player, cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu in the buildup to this game through a freak practice injury. Playmaker Devon Allen was hurt on the kickoff and didn’t return, and this after season ending injuries to a multitude of major contributors.

But the Ducks just kept plugging the next guy in, and rolled on. That’s how we got third-string tight end Even Baylis pulling down six catches for 73 yards.

The buy-in is how Thomas Tyner, a local star who got overshadowed and jumped on the depth chart this year by a true freshman in Royce Freeman, came back from an injury in the biggest game of the season to rush for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

The Ducks’ standard of play is excellent, perhaps better than it ever was, but I’m just as impressed with how Helfrich, an unassuming first-time head coach replacing a transcendent football mind in Chip Kelly, built a culture at Oregon that is all confidence, determination, and resolve.

That’s rare for a college team. It’s rare for any team.

But something clicked for Oregon after they lost to Arizona in October. They decided to be great. It’s one thing to play with fire in your eyes. It’s another to play with calm. That’s where the Ducks are right now.

Sure, it was a close game at halftime. It was even 25-20 early in the third quarter. But FSU’s only lead was 3-0, and when Oregon punched in their first touchdown and hit a bullseye with their trademark two-point conversion play, they never trailed again.

Oregon was in command. The size of the rout was down to a special Florida State touch.

The Ducks demolished Florida State. Over four quarters, there was no other way it was going to happen.

Nick Aliotti, who walked away from this national championship team last year, must be wistfully proud of the Ducks defense tonight.

Don Pellum’s unit gave up yards, they gave up field position, but they never broke – and when the time came, they were the ones who opened the floodgates with those astounding four straight take-aways.

The offense, under Mariota’s direction, was terrific as well – and for the NFL scouts who liked what they saw from Winston tonight too, it’s as simple as this: Yes, the two Heisman trophy winners may be similarly talented as players. But as young men, as leaders, and representatives, they are oceans apart.

Anyone here think Florida State still loses if Mariota is their quarterback and Jameis plays for Oregon?

So it’s the Ducks and the Bucks for the national title in Dallas. The playoff system has already proven its worth, seeing as Alabama and FSU would have played for the national championship if the BCS still ruled.

This was the best day in the history of Oregon athletics. On Monday the 12^th, the Ducks will try for something greater.

Whatever happens against Ohio State, this FSU contest will always be remembered for the statement it made. If the game were a car race, the Ducks would have lapped the Seminoles. Urban Meyer, when told of the scope of Oregon’s victory after the Sugar Bowl, nearly fell out of his chair.

Years from now, we’ll be talking about that third quarter at the 2015 Rose Bowl. It rained turnovers and touchdowns, and if Florida State were smart, they would have sent Chief Osceola himself onto the field to thrown down a flaming white flag of surrender.

Ducks 59, ‘Noles 20. Oregon is heading back to the national championship game. And this time, they’re going to win it.