USC vs. UO: Trash Talk
Kari Chisholm
OK, it's Friday afternoon - and tomorrow, the big story in Oregon is the football game between #5 USC and #10 Oregon. (And, if the computer ranking systems are to be believed, it's actually #6 Oregon and #9 USC.)
The winner will likely win the PAC-10 Championship, with a berth in the Rose Bowl - or, depending on how things shake out, in the national championship game.
Now, full disclosure, I'm a USC alum. And a pretty fired-up one at that.
But this open letter from an Oregon Duck to USC QB Matt Barkley on BleacherReport.com is hilarious. It opens with some compliments:
Dear Matt,Wow! What a year for you so far! Rarely do we see true freshman quarterbacks such as yourself play so majestically, especially under pressure.
We love the fact that you are a 19-year-old kid from California making national news on the gridiron. Way to represent the West Coast, kid!
We have been watching you for quite some time now. Your first performance (vs. San Jose State) didn’t particularly wow us, even though you went 15-of-19 with 233 yards and one touchdown. We all pointed out that it was against San Jose State, and that Pete Carroll himself could have put up those numbers.
And, then:
Playing at home in Southern California is no doubt a comfortable, safe atmosphere. Playing at the [Ohio State] Horseshoe might have gotten a little noisy, but you have proven that just a little noise won’t rattle you.After you beat our neighbors last week, we just wanted to give you a little warning: When someone beats up on our little brother, then, as big brothers, we have no choice but to retaliate and show you that only we are allowed to pummel our lesser siblings.
Be warned.
Also, we would like to direct you to the words of Adrian Peterson. He has witnessed great success in the NFL; he survived his trip to visit us, and we wish you the same success in the future.
“It was like some sort of crazy torture in the movies. How do people do that so long without taking a breath? I think my ears are still ringing.”
Mr. Peterson lived to tell about his visit and is now the best running back in the NFL; we want you to survive your visit as well and become a good quarterback. After all, we don’t want to kill you.
We just want to make sure our team comes out on top this year. We believe that a small sacrifice will be needed. Your eardrums are what we are after—and we will stop at nothing to get them.
When you burn a timeout after your very first huddle, just remember that there is no shame in doing that. It happens to all first-time quarterbacks when they visit us; they just aren’t used to having to communicate with their motions.
Game on, folks.
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3:08 p.m.
Oct 30, '09
The completely unranked Beavs played the highly ranked Trojans very well... on the Trojans' home turf. Inexplicably USC actually moved up according to BCS.
Given that this game is going to be in Eugene I fully expect the Ducks to win. If they can't play them any closer than the Beavs did, while in Autzen stadium, I think the Beavs will come out on top for state bragging rights. Until the Civil War that is.
Oct 30, '09
According to Accuscore, the game is the Duck's to lose. And we all know that computers are never wrong, right Kari?
Oct 30, '09
From "Sometime a Great Notion" to "Great Expectations" game on.
3:56 p.m.
Oct 30, '09
I'm calling it: Oregon over the University of Spoiled Children.
4:01 p.m.
Oct 30, '09
Kari, you better get a handkerchief ready for this one. Going to be wonderful.
Oh, and Matt Barkley, don't get discouraged when you watch the Ducks put down a 2-point on top of their first touchdown. It just kind of happens like that.
4:11 p.m.
Oct 30, '09
Oregon still has to play at Arizona, last game before Civil War break. that one scares me. but it's the Ducks' best chance to get screwed by the BCS since the great 2003 Nebraska Debacle. go Ducks!
4:21 p.m.
Oct 30, '09
And we all know that computers are never wrong, right Kari?
Well, to understand the computer rankings, you have to remember that the BCS rules are that only wins and losses count - not the points. And only games that have been already played this year count - not past years, or future expectations.
To the Ducks' credit, their only loss is to an undefeated team. USC, well, we lost to some purple-clad punks up in Seattle.
There are, of course, no bigger Duck fans outside of Eugene than the smurf-turf crowd in Boise. If UO beats USC, well, that might just catapult into a guaranteed BCS bowl game.
As for me: Beat the Ducks!
Oct 30, '09
Good post. Go Ducks!!!!
This came could go either way. Oregon will get a boost from the home field advantage, and USC's defense showed vulnerability against Oregon State and Notre Dame. If Oregon's high-octane offense can get in gear and the defense can play like it has for the last month, I like Oregon's chances. But it'll always be an uphill battle against USC as long as Pete Carroll is there. They are the 7-time defending Pac-10 conference champions, after all. (Although Oregon had the best team in all of college football in 2007 before Dennis Dixon's injury.)
Oct 30, '09
Isn't USC 0 for 4 in their last 4 visits to the Pac NW?
For Beavers, this game is a win-win. Oregon wins, then the Beavs beat Oregon, big day! Oregon loses, well... any day that the Ducks lose is a good day. :-)
5:55 p.m.
Oct 30, '09
Oregon still has to play at Arizona, last game before Civil War break. that one scares me. but it's the Ducks' best chance to get screwed by the BCS since the great 2003 Nebraska Debacle. go Ducks!
I agree that Arizona is their toughest remaining game after USC. However, I'm hard-pressed to find a way that Oregon makes it into the national championship game. That would take a series of events similar to this:
If all of those things were to happen, then I think Oregon would probably go to the BCS title game, but even then I think there's a chance they'd miss out. To be safe, you'd want either Florida or Alabama to lose one more conference game but beat the other team in the SEC championship game.
I'm sure a number of those things will happen, but what are the chances that all of them do?
7:21 p.m.
Oct 30, '09
Although USC has behaved generally quite well during their period of dominance and although Pete Carroll is an admirable guy, I don't think there are many non-alums who are rooting for the Trojans. They are as close to the NY Yankees college football has. I'm a Badger alum, so this is all academic to me--but I hope Oregon pretty handily thumps USC. Me and the rest of the country.
Sorry, Kari.
Oct 30, '09
kari,
There is a ticket waiting for you at will-call. Hell, you can have my ticket.
Last time I saw Kari, he mentioned that the Trojans were something like 6 - 5 when he attends the game. I'm still trying to count 5 SC losses in the last 10 years. His friends texted him in Corvallis last year at half-time pleading that he watch the second half on TV.
Kari.....please come down! We'll have the seat warmer on (front seat, no less) a cold beer waiting for you upon arrival and a nice cozy seat (with cushion) for the game.
Your state is calling...
Ryan
Oct 30, '09
Kari, 2 things I have to admit before wishing for USC's defeat: 1. The pass play last week where the USC player extends in the end-zone and then catches the ball before bouncing off the ground and sailing out of bounds was the coolest looking college football play I've seen this year.
Oct 31, '09
Query: What do you call a quaterback who says in response to concerns about the noise level at Autzen: "I feed off that energy, I feed off that noise. I love it." Answer: "A Freshman" C'mon, feed him fans...
Oct 31, '09
Jeff, I'm a non alum of the Trojans and a fan of the purple clad punks up in Seattle. I say GO SC! I never had any feeling good or bad about the ducks until moving here 15 years ago. The rude, obnoxious duck fans quickly convinced me that I would be a Beavers fan and root against whomever was playing the ducks.
Oct 31, '09
There's a lot at stake today. The Ducks could get a nice boost in the rankings and the USC players could get a nice pay raise.
11:21 a.m.
Oct 31, '09
where's the best place to go watch the game? with obnoxious Duck fans, that is?
Oct 31, '09
I think this will be a great game. It will be decided by hard fought defense and special teams. Also, I think the game the Ducks should really be concerned about in the near future, is Stanford. I know many of you are laughing at this, but look at the history. Pack 10 teams are notorious for taking each other down, and Stanford has a real tendency to beat the Ducks when U of O is really good and Stanford is really bad. Anyone remember who beat us the year Joey Harrington was trying to take us to the national title? . . . Stanford. For a team having a losing year, they are playing for pride, and that is a powerful motivator.
Oct 31, '09
Kari, Since you went to USC, perhaps you could help explain a little of their terminology: Is Reggie Bush an alumnus of USC or is he a retiree? What did you call him while he was on the team? A professional student or a professional athlete?
8:51 p.m.
Oct 31, '09
Sorry, Kari. This one's gotta hurt. Over 600 yards of total offense...
Oct 31, '09
Such an exhaustive discussion. A few points you seem to have overlooked.
What are the mechanics behind all references to my records, all trivia questions using my name, being banned? Why has not one "progressive" complained about public bond money being used for athletics, then the events being blacked out? Why do OU poop out early every season? Why is every USC grad I've met shallow and callous? Why do USC grads that move to Oregon because it's better still support a team that represents a place they can't stand to be?
Oct 31, '09
Well the Trojans are 0 for Oregon the past 4 years. Good job by the Beavers and Ducks.
12:29 a.m.
Nov 1, '09
Well, that was a terrible, awful, no-good, very bad game.
For the record, I did not take Ryan Deckert up on his offer above. In fact, I left the state - and watched the game at the in-laws up in Vancouver WA. Didn't help.
(Ryan, the Carroll-era losses I've personally been present at are: 2002 WSU, 2005 Texas, 2006 OSU, 2006 UCLA, 2007 UO, 2008 OSU - that's six of eleven. In that time, I've been present at seven wins, mostly against UCLA.)
Somehow, a beatdown like that is less painful than a narrow last-second loss would have been. Having surrendered 27, 36, and 47 points in consecutive weeks, it's clear the USC defense needs an overhaul.
Final thought: Jeremiah Masoli for Heisman!
Nov 1, '09
As ugly as the Boise State game and post-game punch appeared at the time, we were still blissfully ignorant of how bad it really was. That was - most likely - the Ducks blowing their chance at going all the way. With this offense, you expose the QB an awful lot, but if he remains in one piece, this thing is a beast to behold. Yes, the Trojans have some flaws on defense but over 600 yards by the Ducks is a credit to the scheme. I would love to see one of those big BCS schools take it on. But how do you hop enough teams to make it to the championship game with several on track to go undefeated? Yes, that game at Boise State had a knockout punch and the Ducks could be the ones knocked out.
Nov 1, '09
How much is pleases me to find that so many lefty-fascists around here are either Rubbers or Fuskies. Yeah, Eugene isn't exactly a bastion of liberty but at least our beloved football team is privately financed.
Duck you all!
Nov 1, '09
Wow, it is evident the ducks were the better team.
Nov 1, '09
Posted by: genop | Oct 31, 2009 9:22:17 AM
Query: What do you call a quaterback who says in response to concerns about the noise level at Autzen: "I feed off that energy, I feed off that noise. I love it."
A parasite?
I'll leave you to watching your commercials, with the football breaks. "Query: How do you know if you're in the 3rd world? Sports fans watch and more than 50% of the 'game' is commercials, and no one notices! Anyone that's anyone pays privately for something watchable!"
One good point! Muchas gracias Old Ducker!
11:04 a.m.
Nov 1, '09
Loved the game! Loved the outcome! But several, perhaps off topic, comments:
@Old Ducker:
(1) Perhaps you missed Rachel Bachman Oregonian article reporting on the $10 million subsidy in higher ed to athletic programs (my blog post "Stop the $10 million higher ed subsidy to athletics"). She doesn't nail down that it is public money, but I'd guess some is. If you were referring to Phil Knight's deep pockets, I take your point.
(2) As my blog post Higher Ed Athletics: Part of a House of Cards today notes:
"Oregon, it seems, has an unsustainable athletic program business model embedded in a failing higher education business model.
"It seems like a house of cards ready to collapse."
And, I would add, a political system seemingly incapable of dealing with this set of issues.
Nov 1, '09
Dave Porter writes, "Oregon, it seems, has an unsustainable athletic program business model embedded in a failing higher education business model.
"It seems like a house of cards ready to collapse.'"
I agree but I believe this applies nationally. The university system is way overbuilt and tuitions are ridiculous. A house of cards indeed.
2:25 p.m.
Nov 1, '09
Old Ducker - I do believe I'm the only "lefty-fascist" that is a "Rubbers" alum or fan.
But for the record, the University of Southern California is a private university. One of only two in the PAC-10. (The other is Stanford.)
So, notwithstanding your rhetoric, it's USC's athletics that are 100% privately financed. Per the Oregonian, UO athletics received $700,000 in state lottery proceeds.
3:00 p.m.
Nov 1, '09
As ugly as the Boise State game and post-game punch appeared at the time, we were still blissfully ignorant of how bad it really was. That was - most likely - the Ducks blowing their chance at going all the way.
I don't know, without the punch, LaMichael James might still be sitting on the bench.
3:17 p.m.
Nov 1, '09
Two of the dilemmas of trying to figure out what to do with higher education in Oregon, I think, are how to keep big time sports and substantial research components (definite engines of economic growth) while teaching/education costs grow beyond the reasonable capacity of state government to pay tuition for its students. Online courses and degrees are becoming so cheap that it should become increasingly difficult for state government to justify paying the higher costs of tuition at OUS schools. We need a well educated workforce, but developed efficiently at least costs.
One solution is to let some of our higher ed schools go private (or effectively private by reducing state restrictions and oversight), raising tuition and attracting more out of state students. As you note, Stanford and USC are private institutions. They bring money into their state. Their research components spin off businesses and jobs. And, when not playing in Oregon, their athletic teams often win, big time. Some form of privatization may be the best chance for our leading higher ed institutions to remain viable. They now have strong brand names. The status quo may bring them to an earlier death.
Nov 1, '09
Jack Roberts, I see where you're going with that and I like it. The Boise State game and the punch was all a lucky turn of events so that James would get playing time. Well played.
Nov 2, '09
tuck the frojans.
1:18 p.m.
Nov 2, '09
I never ever watch college ball, but after all the brouhaha, I watched this one last night.
If you're going to nominate anyone for a Heismann, it should be the U of O offensive line.
Yeah, Masoli's good, but watching the replays, time after time, the linemen and the backfield blockers laid down a red carpet for him.
Also, when are the Ducks going to start calling plays in Mandarin?
Nov 21, '09
Love Ducks football. Made a bet with a local that they always flatter to deceive, meaning, this season, as Pat and t.a. warn, that they will lose to both Stanford and Arizona. Looks like I'm cleaning up tonight. OT to go, but I've faith in the Ducks. So, why is that so predictable? (Actually, I'd like to see Ducks win, in spite, which is why I'm posting this. Karma. The bet is a football version of a hedge fund.)
Haven't looked at college ball in a long while. Thanks for the post. I wouldn't have realized that TCU was #4. Quite possibly I'm the only TCU alum that regularly reads BO. Not something we're exactly used to. I wonder if ol' Foat Wuth is over the shock yet. Now, if they could just learn the difference between a reptile and an amphibian. Or care that horned toads are almost gone from their Texas range. I've never understood why "frogs" is so much more appealing. I'd be proud to be a "horny toad".
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