Its Officially Game Week! LSU vs Oregon Sept 3, 2011 Cowboys Stadim

It has been a long time coming. With a lackluster year in basketball, and baseball, to the shenanigans during the offseason, I must say this week couldn't have came any sooner.


Baton Rouge, LA
0-0 SEC West Division


Eugene, OR
0-0 Pacfic 12-North Division



Oregon Notes:

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NOTES, QUOTES • Oregon RB LaMichael James won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back last season and is on the preseason watch list for that award this year. James and QB Darron Thomas are on the watch list for the Walter Camp national player of the year award. Thomas is on the watch list for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award.

• Josh Kaddu has been named a candidate for the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker, while S John Boyett is on the list for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back. OL Carson York was named to the watch list for the Lombardi Award for the top interior lineman in the nation, and K Rob Beard is on the Lou Groza Award watch list.

David Paulson is on the Mackey Award watch list for the top tight end. • Oregon was picked to win the North Division and the conference championship in a preseason media poll. The Ducks received 29 of 42 first-place votes for the division title, with Stanford receiving the rest.

Oregon received 28 of 42 votes to win the Pac-12’s inaugural title game, with Stanford receiving 11 and Arizona State at three.

Oregon has come under NCAA scrutiny for its recruiting practices after paying $25,000 to a scouting service run by Willie Lyles, who has ties to a couple players on the roster. The information Lyles gave Oregon was made public and included a lot of outdated information on players. Oregon has hired a law firm to conduct an internal investigation and said it will make those results public once they are available. Kelly said he could not discuss the matter until after the investigation is complete.

Spotlight On September: Last year, Oregon opened with a 72-0 home win over New Mexico. This year’s opener will be much different when the Ducks travel to Arlington, Texas on Sept. 3 for a neutral-site game against LSU in a matchup that could feature two teams ranked in the top five. The Ducks head home to face Nevada and Missouri State in back-to-back weeks before opening Pac-12 play at Arizona on Sept. 24.

Keys To Success: The Ducks have a lot of speed in their playmakers, a list that obviously begins with QB Darron Thomas and RB LaMichael James. WR Josh Huff got on the field as a true freshman last year and totaled more than 1,000 yards combined on rushes, receptions and kickoff returns. Another speedy true freshman could play a similar role this season when De’Anthony Thomas arrives as one of the top recruits out of California and could see time at running back and receiver.
Areas Of Concern: Oregon needs to replace two-year starting C Jordan Holmes at a position that is key in the Ducks’ fast-paced offense. Sophomore Karrington Armstrong and redshirt freshman Hroniss Grasu are the top contenders for the job, but Hamani Stevens has returned from a two-year mission for the Mormon Church.

Quote To Note: “We have an interesting game to start the season on September 3 that has every one our players’ attention, and we’ll work as hard as we can to prepare for that game against a really, really good LSU team.”—Oregon coach Chip Kelly

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Oregon Report

The road to New Orleans Starts This Week:


Lets get behind our team: