A “Voice of the Fan” article by Jeff Newcomb
A true fan of Oregon Duck football knows the Ducks were capable of so much more last Thursday night.
Capable of fewer penalties.
Capable of fewer turnovers.
Capable of tackling better.
Capable of not committing the slough of mental errors they committed in the loss to a better team.
Yes, Stanford is a better team. Last year, and this year.
The perception in the college football universe is, of course, that Stanford punched Oregon in the glass jaw, with a big, fat, lethal punch that only a “big, physical opponent” can throw.
Evil genius and his henchmen: Stanford coach David Shaw has masterminded two straight punishing, physical victories over the Ducks (Greg Wahl-Stevens, AP photo).
On the radio Friday in the Phoenix AZ market, I heard it described as an ass whipping, a beat down, and the complete destruction of the Chip Kelly model. If you watched the game, you know that’s about right.
There’s a PhotoShopped picture of a “we want Bama” shirt making its rounds on the Internet.
Someone added, “but we forgot about Stanford,” and that’s all the ammo they need to discount what has been four, and possibly five 12 win seasons in a row.
Whether we, as Oregon fans, disagree with that assessment is irrelevant. To the media, the SEC faithful, future final four selection committees, and the Ohio States of the world, the status quo has been restored:
Oregon is a gimmick team, one solid defense away from another embarrassing loss.
We may know better, and they do too when it comes right down to it, but the collective opinion of the college football world packs weight in that other world of fans and coaches:
In the eyes of the powers that be, the “system” at Oregon performed exactly as they’ve always said it would and crumbled under the onslaught of bigger, stronger players.
It isn’t true, but perception is reality.
“Who has Oregon beaten, anyway?”
“What has Oregon ever won?”
“It was all nothing but hype.”
Gaffney stuck a cleated foot on the throat of the Ducks and walked into history with another Pac-12 title in his back pocket. And Oregon let him.
In an entire 60 minute game, Oregon held Gaffney to a loss on exactly two plays.
Two plays separated by 30 minutes of smashmouth football. That’s pathetic.
Any analysis we offer here can now legitimately be discounted in the arena of ideas.
The injury to a hobbled Mariota is irrelevant.
The 20 points scored in five minutes matter not. Even with Shane Skov in the 20 year program at Stanford and a professional baseball player turned running back, it was inexcusable that Oregon lost the turnover battle and did not stop the Stanford offense for 50 incredible minutes.
There are no excuses in college football. You either put up, or shut up. Stanford put up 26. Oregon put up 20.
The scoring flurry in the fourth quarter was too little, too late, as hard as that is to swallow. Oregon played to the script that was written for it, and next year, the “experts” will write the sequel from day one.
Oregon is unlikely to see a top 5 ranking again, even if Mariota and DAT return for another season. The word on the street is that Oregon has a Stanford problem, and that equates to an SEC problem.
On The Herd Thursday morning, host Colin Cowherd summed it up best:
Oregon didn’t lose the game. Oregon lost the argument that it is good enough to be considered an elite team.
He said that next year, when the playoffs begin and there’s a choice between a one loss Ohio State and a one loss Oregon, it won’t be a choice at all.
He believes the selection committee should gloss over Oregon because Oregon isn’t as good in reality as they are on paper, regardless of their scoring, their defense, or their reputation.
Given how Oregon has performed against big, physical teams, that isn’t entirely wrong.
Oregon has continually lost that argument because it has, except for the majority of 2010, continually lost the games that matter against big (Stanford), highly respected (LSU), talented (USC) teams that play smash mouth (Auburn) football.
It doesn’t matter if it was a last second field goal or after two fumbles by a true freshman.
They lost.
To bigger, “better” teams. In the eyes of the media.
Cowherd also said this Stanford game proved that Oregon’s numbers are for show, earned by beating teams that really aren’t that good, that aren’t final four caliber, and that Oregon’s numbers should not be considered alongside the numbers of a Florida State, Alabama, or Ohio State.
Sadly, he is probably right, even though he is wrong.
Oregon faced a bigger front 7 in Tennessee and dominated them. Oregon faced a more talented front 7 in Washington and dominated them. Oregon has faced many opponents over the last several years that were supposed to give them fits, but dominated them all.
Except for Stanford. Except for the last 10 minutes of that game.
Mack Brown in Texas would like to go 12-1 this season. So would UCLA, Georgia, and Wisconsin.
In fact, all of those programs would dearly love to have four such seasons in a row. Four 12-1 seasons and they’d be erecting statues of the coach in front of the entrance to their respective playing field and naming streets after him.
Five such seasons like that and they’d be offering Joe Paterno style contracts with no expiration date and endless streams of big, fat, juicy dollars that would make governors and senators blush.
The sad fact is, Oregon is a misnomer in college sports. When Oregon wins, it’s a gimmick. The teams they beat become charlatans and hangers-on in the eyes of the football world, unworthy of respect because they were beaten by an Oregon team that <insert dumb commentary here> and only won because it doesn’t huddle and doesn’t substitute.
We’ve heard it a million times and it makes us all spit up a bit in the back of our throats. The talking heads just grab one talking point from the well of knowledge and run with it until Oregon loses, and then they become soothesayers in the land of rightopea, completely forgetting that they were wrong 12 times and right only once.
Pathetic, but such is the world of college sports.
There is nothing Oregon can do against that mindset except win it all. To With This Day, Oregon simply must defeat everyone on the planet by 50 points or more with their second and third strings in the game by the end of the first quarter in order to gain any real amount of respect for their record.
There will no longer be any credit given until Oregon solves its Stanford problem. That’s a fact.
Sadly, for this season, it will have to wait for five teams playing patsies at the end of the year to lose a game to prove that, or more likely, wait for next season.
Put your money on next season, or the season after that. This is not the end of the Oregon program. This is simply the beginning.
On the flip side, when Oregon loses, the media portrays the team that defeats them, in this case Stanford, as a team quarterbacked by the second coming of Jesus Christ and backed up by twelve apostles swinging the jawbone of an ass.
The naughty truth is, and the true sin of this feckless style of reporting is, whether the media will say it or not, that there is a very healthy respect for the Oregon program in the eyes of the college football world.
The truth in that fact lies in the Ducks dropping to only 6th in the polls, rather than 15th.
There is much to be discouraged about after last Thursday’s game. Oregon fans wanted a knockout, for the team to finally play the perfect game that has eluded it all season, but tackling was poor, mental mistakes were aplenty, and the defense simply did not adjust to Stanford’s running game.
Mariota was obviously not as mobile, and DAT was relegated to a “let’s try this” role that seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction rather than a solid attempt to attack a defense that really shouldn’t have been able to contain the Ducks for more than a quarter.
Oregon defeated itself, again, with dumb mistakes and listless play, and another injured quarterback that could have been so much more. At the time, I commented, “shades of Dennis Dixon?” I wasn’t far off.
And Stanford won again, with amazing luck and a lot of really hard work that paid dividends along the way, facing Oregon at just the right time on just the right day with angry Glasses Man as a ref and no discernible defensive strategy on the field…
But there is much to be hopeful for, and this season is not over. The players learned from adversity, as only through failure can any team learn what it takes to truly triumph over great adversity.
The coaching staff and players learned that they can be beaten, and that they cannot trust merely in their mystique or skill as an advantage over other teams.
Strategy is king! We will undoubtedly see a more committed Duck team in the weeks to come, and it will finish out much like last season. Highly ranked, but not number 1.
Sadly, not number 1.
If you’re one of those spoiled fans who thought like I did, that Stanford would fall like a tree under the onslaught of the Oregon attack, then take a step back for a moment. What did Oregon lose? Forget what the media says, and forget what your hack Ohio State buddy at work says. What did Oregon really lose?
Just one game.
One game out of a season.
One loss to one team that only took the Ducks from 3rd to 6th.
Nothing more, nothing less.
That really isn’t as bad as it could have been. Oregon was more than owned in that game. Oregon was exposed.
In the process, you learned a lot about your team, and they learned a lot about themselves. More importantly, they learned what it takes to be champions.
Nothing worth having is free, and nothing worth working for is easy. Ever.
Alabama lost a game in each of the last two years and still became national champs. Anything is possible, even if it isn’t likely. Anything under the sun, but these Ducks have to play their hearts out to make it happen and get a little help along the way.
And if they finish 2nd again, or 3rd, or 4th? It isn’t the end of the world.
The sun will come up tomorrow.
Grass will grow.
And Oregon will rise!
Just as it has risen over the last decade, Oregon will continue to rise.
Not without adversity, and not in spite of it, but because of it.
Oregon is built for the long haul and it is recruiting for tomorrow. I want to see that tomorrow, and I know you do as well. Bring on Utah! Bring on Arizona! Bring on Little Brother!
Pick your heads up! There’s four more games to play and this thing ain’t hardly over!
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