Oregon Magazine

Cover

Pigskin Pete
Scheduling May Doom Duck
2008 Top 10 Grid Aspirations

By Fred Delkin

We see Oregon, Arizona State and Southern Cal as far and away the top contenders for
Pac10 and national poll attention during the 2008 college football wars...yet the schedule does not favor an Oregon squad which, as this spring's drills indicated, is loaded with talent. The
Ducks, however, were dealt a handicap, with away games at their top rivals USC, Arizona State,California and Oregon State. Only the Washington Huskies have a more challenging
slate, opening the season at Oregon, then hosting national luminaries BYU and Oklahoma
back to back and finishing October at home against Notre Dame. SC takes on its toughest
Pac10 opponents (Oregon, Arizona State, California) on the friendly LA Coliseum turf.

As a former Washington Husky, this writer looks forward to the UCLA Bruins November
date in Seattle, when disgraced former Husky coach Rick Neuheisel returns to the scene of his crimes that wrecked the UW program. Tricky Ricky has two Division I program devastations (Colorado and Washington) to his credit, but his alma mater is gambling that he's now going to stay straight. Whatever transpires for Ricky in 2008, it will be with a green squad and serious preseason injuries to his only veteran quarterbacks.

Oregon State can hope for a winning season, but has only 10 returning starters. Their
surprising third place Pac10 finish in 2007 was a tribute to a marvelous defense, which has no
returning talent on the front line. The Beavers do have a favorable schedule, getting SC,
Arizona State, California and Oregon at home.

And the Losers are...

A postseason bowl appearance seems unlikely for Washington, Arizona, Stanford and
Washington State...all with a shortage of returning talent. We will present our game by game
predictions for all Pac10 members in the August issue of this august publication.

Last season was a bummer for Portland State, which welcomed a new and proven coaching duo (Jerry Glanville on defense, Mouse Davis on offense) but had a bare talent cupboard
further weakened by mid-season injuries. Now those senior coaching citizens have had ample opportunity to work with their squad veterans, plus welcome a group of talented recruits. A
home game versus perennial national playoff contender Montana will be key to the Viking
season and Big Sky title which would catapult PSU into the postseason merry-go-round.

ROSES & RASPBERRIES bouquets aplenty to the University of Oregon administraion and the citizens of Eugene for staging a return of the Olympic track & field national trials berfore a
packed house and within a refurbished and historic Hayward Field. The legendary Duck champion "Pre" (OMED: Steve Prefontaine) and his coach, the late Bill Bowerman, must have
been smiling in heaven. Nike founder and former Duck distance runner Phil Knight granted
rare interviews during national TV coverage of the trials...no end of boos are warranted for
those who truly believe the NBA presents basketball at its best. Now commissioner David Stern is making a belated effort to address the officiating ills of his charge.