Autzen Stadium, Eugene Oregon. It went down just as most people expected it would. The final score was Oregon 60, Bruins 13. But that is what happens when one of the elite, top teams in the country playing at home goes up against a crappy PAC 10 bottom dweller. As you may recall, I picked the Ducks to win this one by a score of 45 to 21. However, I did not anticipate Oregon keeping their starters in the game through the entire third quarter and therefore running up the score. I guess Chip Kelly is unaware of the fact that he can exhibit good sportsmanship and win at the same time. Anyway and regardless of how long Darron Thomas and LaMichael James were left in the contest, the Ducks completely dominated a clueless and over matched UCLA team. It did seem that the Bruins were at least able to move the ball fairly well, mainly in the first half. But they could only come up with a couple of field goals to show for it, until garbage time in the fourth. I am still not overly impressed with the Ducks defense, but they made the plays when they had to and limited UCLA to only 13 points. With that said, the same Stanford team that Oregon beat held the Bruins to 0 points scored. Look for yourself here if you don't believe me. My point is Oregon has possibly the best offense in the nation (it is definitely the fastest-paced) and in order to beat them, you will need to outscore them and make a few stops here and there along the way. But their defense is not elite. It is good, that is for sure, but not amongst the best in the country.
So where does this leave the Boise State Broncos. I would think that as of Friday morning, nothing has changed. Oregon is still ranked ahead of them so there is no fear of getting jumped by the yellow and green-clad squad from Eugene. We will need to wait until Saturday when two of the teams within in jumping-threat distance square off in Alabama. LSU at Auburn will be the one to keep your eyes on. I think the winner has a good chance of moving up ahead of the Broncos, as Boise State does not play until next Tuesday. So there is no need to freak out or worry yet. Save that for Sunday when we as fans dissect every little detail about the ridiculous BCS Standings and get worked up over when our team fall in the polls and/or rankings.
The one thing that blows my mind is how quickly people forget. Was it not two years ago that a freshman quarterback led the Broncos into Autzen Stadium and orchestrated Boise State's first ever road win at a BCS-conference school? Was it not just last year in September that the Broncos completely outclassed and dominated an Oregon team that was hell-bent on revenge for alleged "cheap shots" committed in the contest last year? How did that work out for them? In fact, the only cheap shot that occurred during those two meetings came from the right fist of one Legarrette Blount after the second contest was over. The point is Boise State dominated both games and earned their wins when everybody thought they had no chance. Here we are again. Oregon is getting all the hype and everyone says that they would take Boise State to the woodshed. When have I heard that before?! My hope is that Boise State runs into them in either the National Championship game or the Rose Bowl. For some reason, the Broncos have to prove themselves yet again. There is not doubt that this Oregon team is the best one yet, even better than last year. But so is this Boise State team. The number one rushing offense versus the number one run defense. Now that would be something to watch. Let's hope it happens.
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