Instant Analysis - Sept. 3
Boise State 19 ... Oregon 8
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Boise State 19 ...
Oregon 8
Pete
Fiutak
I don't want to hear it.
I don't want to hear it from Oregon when the team
kicks it into gear, likely without Mr. Punchy,
LeGarrette Blount, and becomes a Pac 10 powerhouse
again. Last year, the Ducks and their fans were
quick to point out the quarterback injuries and how
the team was night-and-day different at the end of
the year than it was when it lost to Boise State
early on. The program was pointing all offseason to
this game, with some of the players talking about
wanting payback over the Broncos. It's not like
Boise State snuck up on the Ducks and it's not like
there was a lack of fire for this game. Boise State
simply lined up and whupped Oregon and its awful
uniforms in a game that should've turned into a
monster blowout.
Boise State's defense came up with a great gameplan
and thoroughly dominated in the first half, but
Oregon's performance was inexcusable. There was no
execution, the offense couldn't do anything right
and didn't come up with anything special, and the
defense got flattened early on against the run. This
was an awful performance, and it can't be forgotten
even if Oregon does what it did over the second half
of last year.
Richard
Cirminiello
Stunning. How else can you describe the ease with which Boise State handled Oregon in front of an electric home crowd? It’s not as if this was an upset, but things got so bad in the early going, you forgot who played in the Pac-10 and who’s a member of the WAC.
In the biggest regular season home game in school history, the Broncos thoroughly outplayed the No. 16 Ducks, executing better in all phases of a game that didn’t get interesting until a sloppy final quarter. Not only did they keep high-powered Oregon off the scoreboard well beyond halftime, but they didn’t allow a first down for the first 38 minutes. That is the definition of domination. Although QB Kellen Moore can be a surgeon if this football thing doesn’t work out and there seemed to be four blue shirts in the picture every time a Duck touched the ball, this result was all about superior coaching. While Chip Kelly has a great future in Eugene, he was no match in his debut against Boise’s Chris Petersen or precocious defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. With an entire offseason to prepare, the Broncos were just plain better prepared.
For Oregon, it’s back to the drawing board following a humbling loss. For Boise State, it’s a time to celebrate and get fitted for a big, fat target on its chest. After playing the role of the national upstart for so long, the Broncos will now be expected to roll to their second-ever BCS bowl bid.
Matt Zemek
1) Each of these two teams played bowl games in San Diego last December. Only one of them remembered to travel north just over eight months later… and that was for only the first two and a half quarters. We waited through the spring and summer for THIS, Chip Kelly and Jeremiah Masoli?! This game proves a few things: First, Mike Bellotti was a far better coach than much of the United States ever realized; second, Masoli can’t beat Boise State even when healthy; third, Boise doesn’t just have a terrific coaching staff--the Broncos have the best coaching staff in which all three leaders (the head coach and the two main coordinators) have an average age of under 40. Petersen is 44, while BSU offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin and defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox are both 32; the average age of the three men—36.
2) I said this at the end of last season, I said it in the offseason, and I’ll say it again after the Boise State win: To give heft to the schedules (and hence, the portfolios) of teams from the Western United States, especially the WAC, the powers that be need to create an early-December event while the Big 12 and SEC stage their highly-publicized title games. Call it the Western Football Classic: Two games, two days, and two stadiums, involving the Pac-10, WAC and Mountain West champions plus the second-best/at-large team from the pool of those three conferences. Play one game in suburban Phoenix or in San Diego, the other in another Western city (Denver or Seattle). Play one game on a Friday night, the other on a Saturday afternoon. That way, a team like Boise State—which won’t play another big-time opponent in 2009, under current circumstances—would have to claim a second major scalp in order to affirm its BCS bowl credentials. Give Boise credit both for scheduling and winning this game; if the Broncos go undefeated, they’d deserve a BCS bowl… unless TCU or BYU goes 12-0 or 11-1. We need an event like the Western Football Classic to elevate the profile of teams like Boise State… and to elevate the profile of Western college football in general. Larry Scott, Karl Benson and Craig Thompson, the ball’s in your court (especially you, Mr. Scott, given your former job as head of the Women’s Tennis Association Tour).
Michael Bradley
The ugly aftermath of Thursday’s Boise State thumping of Oregon will dominate the headlines, but the big story is that the Broncos took the first – and perhaps biggest – step toward a BCS bowl with the victory. No opponent on the BSU slate from here on out, save Nevada in late November, has the firepower to hang with the team we saw on the Blue Turf against the Ducks. The trademark Boise offense was in effect for the first half and the early third quarter, but it was the Broncos D, which held Oregon to a mere 152 total yards, that looked most impressive. As for the actions of LeGarrette Blount, the UO tailback who fueled the teams’ rivalry beforehand by saying Boise was due for “an ass-whuppin’,” it’s time to sit him down and let him grow up. He was already thrown out of one practice this year for misbehaving, and his pre-game comments should have led to some disciplinary action by coach Chip Kelly. Yes, he was provoked, and Boise State didn’t show a lot of class by playing his punch of linebacker Byron Hout on the video boards repeatedly – but he set the tone for the game with his comments and then punctuated an ugly night for Oregon by losing control after the loss.