5 Thoughts ...
2008 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Oregon 42 ... Oklahoma State 31
GAME RECAP:
Oregon runs wild over OSU
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2008 CFN Holiday Bowl
Preview
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2008 Holiday Bowl
Player Profiles, Histories, & More
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1. When did the Pac 10 all of a
sudden get good? Guilty as
charged; I was front and center
on the Pac 10 Sucks bandwagon
all year, and yes, Washington,
Washington State and UCLA really
were bad, but now, after Oregon
brought a bad attitude and a big
bag of knuckles as it showed the
spread doesn't necessarily have
to be a finesse attack. While
Oklahoma State's running game
was dancing around, the Ducks
blasted their way to 307 yards
on the ground in the stunning
win. Now there's no more dogging
the league, at least at the
moment. Arizona came up with a
nice win over BYU in the Las
Vegas Bowl, Cal got by an
athletic Miami, and now, the
league has its big, huge win
over the much ballyhooed Big 12
South. Remember, Oklahoma
State's three losses came to
Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech,
so while this Duck win was a big
step forward for the 2009
season, it also changed the
perception of 2008 ... so far.
There's still USC vs. Penn State
in the Rose Bowl, and Oregon
State vs. Pitt in the Sun. If
the Pac 10 wins those two and
finishes 5-0 this bowl season,
the college football world will
owe a big, fat apology. -
Pete
Fiutak
2.Oregon
QB Jeremiah Masoli is like a
really cute girl you meet on
spring break. You don’t know
what the future holds. You don’t
care what the future holds. You
just know that she’s fun and
exciting to be around. The
first-year recruit out of City
College of San Francisco doesn’t
look the part at 5-11 and 215
pounds, but he sure has been a
revelation for a program that
was pining for an heir apparent
at quarterback. Like he did
throughout November, Masoli
abused the Oklahoma State
defense with a combination of
nifty moves, power runs, and
quick flips of the wrist. The
Ducks signed this guy in
February as a passer, having no
clue he’d be capable of rushing
for three scores and almost 100
yards in one of the biggest
games of the year. With two more
years under the watchful eye of
spread-option guru Chip Kelly,
Masoli has a chance to be where
Dennis Dixon was at the
beginning of the 2007 season. -
Richard Cirminiello
3. In the Humanitarian Bowl
earlier in the day, Maryland's
DaRel Scott came off the bench
and out of his suspension to rip
through Nevada in the final 20
minutes of the game. The fresh
legs seemed to make all the
difference as Scott showed off a
brilliant speed burst against
the tired Wolf Pack. Against,
Oklahoma State, Oregon's offense
was moving well, but there was
once piece of the puzzle
conspicuously absent. And then,
all of a sudden, LeGarrette
Blount thundered and roared past
the tiring Cowboy defense. He
only ran seven times on the day,
but he used a nice blend of
speed with his strength on a
40-yard run, and he finished
with 74 yards and a tough
touchdown run. If this was by
design, it was a brilliant move
by the coaching staff. However,
Jeremiah Masoli did his part to
soften things up with a dramatic
power touchdown run that seemed
to spark the team in the second
half, and Jeremiah Johnson
reeled off 119 yards, but to be
able to drop the hammer with a
back like Blount was a luxury
that worked out perfectly.
-
Pete
Fiutak
4.
Oregon didn’t
need it to win the Holiday Bowl,
but one fourth-quarter run from
LeGarrette Blount summarized why
he’s destined to be one of next
year’s most productive backs. If
you missed it, he exploded
through the hole, hurdled a
would-be tackler, and muscled
his way into the end zone, a
picture of uncommon power and
agility in a 6-2, 240-pound
frame. After sharing time with
Jeremiah Johnson this fall,
he’ll become the feature back in
an offense that runs the ball
about as well as anyone. After
using 2008 to learn on the job,
Blount will spend next season
educating everyone East of the
Pac-10 about his gifts as a
complete runner. -
Richard Cirminiello
5.
There's a team in the Pac-10
that will give USC a serious
challenge in 2009. That's
the Oregon club that just dusted
off a nine-win team from the Big
12 South. Jeremiah Masoli had an
uneven first half, but once he
settled down, the
Ducks' quarterback ran through,
threw over, ran around, and
threw under (and threw around,
and ran over... one could go on
and on...) Oklahoma State's
overwhelmed defense. Coach Mike
Bellotti's boys will have the
Pac-10's best offense next
season. A more seasoned Masoli
should give UO the consistency
it needs to be really, really
good. If coordinator Chip
Kelly's offense can save its
best game for USC (in Eugene's
Autzen Stadium), the Ducks will
take the league title away from
the mighty Trojans. Yes,
Oregon's that good, and this
performance against a really
good Oklahoma State outfit shows
why 2009 could be a huge year in
the Willamette Valley. -
Matthew
Zemek