Oregon Magazine

Cover

Pigskin Pete
Pigskin Comes Up 9-1
In Opening Forecast

By Fred Delkin

Oregon's Ducks were the only missed call in Pigskin's season-opening weekend forecast. The Quackers did not live up to anyone's expectations in new head coach Chip Kelly's debut on national TV...and then we had LeGarrette Blount's meltdown to add to Webfoot woes in the 19-8 demise at Boise State. The UO offense resembled a bad Pop Warner team's efforts in the first half and their full game totals of 152 yards and only six first downs did not resemble Kelly's supposed reputation as an offensive genius. We tend to believe that part of the blame can be laid to Chip's first sideline stint as an Oregon mentor...it's a lot easier to call the plays from a sky box (which he did the past two years) than to view the action from a ground level perspective.

Now Purdue comes to Autzen and the Ducks must restore their fans' faith on Saturday eve. The visiting Boilermakers are breaking in a new QB and achieved only a 4-8 win-loss mark in '08. We envision a spirited Duck revival. OREGON by 20.

In contrast to the Ducks' awful start, the Washington Huskies came back from a winless 2008 season to stage a real revival in their opener against top 10-ranked LSU. Dawg QB Jake Locker was stellar in both throwing and running and his defense came up stronger than we foresaw. The new Husky coaching pair of Steve Sarkisian and Nick Holt displayed the worth of their USC coaching genes. Give these guys their next recruiting class and the Purple & Gold will be back atop the Pac10 race as early as 2010. Idaho will not thank their athletic administration for scheduling a Seattle appearance this week. WASHINGTON by 28

Oregon State trod as expected over Portland State, but the Vikings showed enough promise to peg them as a legitimate contender among Division 1AA ranks. The Bevos relied upon their Texas imports, the Rogers brothers, to control their offensive efforts. More of the OSU playbook will likely be unveiled on this week's trip to Las Vegas. UNLV should have no effective answer to a Beaver team expected to win their way in 2009 to another bowl appearance. OSU by 14

Top game on this week's college slate is USC at Ohio State. The Trojans embarrassed the legions of Troy last year, but we expect their freshman QB may falter a bit in the hostile environs of Buckeye stadium. We foresee a virtual standoff in this match, but think it will be OHIO
STATE by 3

UCLA had no trouble routing San Diego State last week (the Aztecs are a perennial pushover), but the Bruins will falter on their trip to Tennessee. TENNESSEE by 20

California ran roughshod over visiting Maryland and our judgment is that the Golden Bears will be a top threat in the Pac10 race. Poor Big Sky visitor Eastern Washington will rue their Berkley visit, but at least their school can use the wealth earned by playing on Bear home turf.
CALIFORNIA by 48

Stanford had no trouble disposing of an under equipped Washington State group, but the Cardinals won't be so impressive on their journey to Wake Forest. Baylor was clearly dominant over the Demon Deacons in an opener, but the latter have a veteran offense that we see winning this clash. WAKE FOREST by 1

Arizona had its way with an inept Idaho on opening Saturday, but our view of the Wildcats' weaknesses will not be altered by this week's clash with visiting Northern Arizona. ARIZONA by 14

The Cougars' opener versus Stanford seems to justify the fact that this edition of WSU football is a real patsy. Hawaii is no powerhouse, but should have enough horses to slip past the Cougs.
HAWAII by 9