Ducks im-pond Dawgs
Ducks' mascot: 227 pushups on the game
Malamute, 6 November 2010

With a balanced offense and a stifling defense, the number-one ranked Oregon Ducks pounded the Washington Huskies, 53-16, at Eugene's Autzen Stadium.

The Huskies stayed close to the Ducks until early in the third quarter -- trailing by just 5 points -- when an 80-yard kickoff return and a quick touchdown widened Oregon's lead to 25-13, which drew 25 pushups from its mascot.

The mascot matches each of the Duck's tallying scores with pushups and finished with 227 of them for the game.

According to one of the Husky players, by way of Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, " We were on the sideline and they (Duck fans) were telling us 'Good job.' I've never heard that from an opposing crowd — especially at Oregon, where we're used to just having mean things said to us. But they were complimenting us on the sidelines."

Stop the presses!

What ever happened to the Border War? Have the hostilities and rivalry between the two schools ended? When did acting school president Phyllis Wise (Washington) and president Richard Lariviere (Oregon) sign a peace treaty?

Actually, if I were a Washington player, I'd rather have dog biscuits thrown at me rather than have praise from Duck fans heaped on me.

Did Attila the Hun praise the eastern Romans for putting up a good fight?

Does the act of holding the Ducks scoreless in the first quarter and trailing by five points early in the third quarter warrant a compliment or two from Duck fans?

Yes, when your team has lost the past six games to the Ducks (now seven) and is in the midst of six-straight losing seasons, and, perhaps, with a seventh on the way.

"Pity is the virtue of the law, and none but tyrants use it cruelly."

Keith Price (photo above) made his debut at quarterback for the Huskies, replacing Jake Locker who is out with a broken rib.

Price was 14 of 28 for 127 yards and one touchdown with no picks. He was sacked 5 times for 32 yards, netting just 4 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Although his passing efficiency on the game was a perfunctory 99.89, his performance was credible considering the circumstances, being that it was his debut as a starter on the road -- at Eugene, mind you -- against the number one team in the country. Because he had happy feet for most of the game -- not his fault -- questions concerning his delivery and arm strength remain unanswered. The one long ball he threw was underthrown.

"I played OK," Price said. "I left a lot of plays out there, a lot of yards out there," this on his tendency to scramble too early on pass plays for fear of being sacked rather than stay in the pocket.

The Huskies (3-6, 2-4) need to win all three of their remaining games to become bowl eligible.

For the full story, read Bob Condotta's piece in the Seattle Times.

See the Mike Stoops' paradigm for resuscitating a moribund program.

Our headline "Ducks im-pond Dawgs," is a play on the words impound, pond and pound.

According to gohuskies.com, "The unexpectedly intriguing afternoon began with the loose Huskies rocking their team buses, as usual, as they pulled into the stadium two hours before the game. Ducks fans responded with obligatory finger-flipping, boos and catcalls."

Now that's more like it.

Figure 1. Locker's improvement in career passing efficiency over his last 21 games. (104.68 - 119.24). It was at a career high (120.04) after the Arizona game two weeks ago.

 

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Washington	0	6	10	0	16
Oregon	0	18	21	14	53

Time	Team	How	Player (s)	Score
2nd qtr
13:22	UO	FG	Rob Beard 29-yard kick.	UO, 3-0
8:44	UW	FG	Erik Folk 52-yard boot.	T, 3-3
5:13	UO	TD	LaMichael James 1-yard run; Beard run.	UO, 11-3
1:37	UO	TD	Darron Thomas 34-yard run; Beard kick.	UO, 18-3
00:09	UW	FG	Folk 27-yarder.	UO, 18-6
3rd qtr
13:11	UW	TD	Keith Price 17-yard pass to D'Andre Goodwin; Folk kick.	UO, 18-13
12:50	UO	TD	Thomas 6-yard pass to Jeff Maehl; Beard kick.	UO, 25-13
6:14	UW	FG	Folk 47-yarder.	UO, 25-16
3:10	UO	TD	James 14-yard run; Beard boot.	UO, 32-16
00:24	UO	TD	Thomas 7-yard run; Beard kick.	UO, 39-16
4th qtr
10:52	UO	TD	James 1-yard run; Beard kick.	UO, 46-17
4:34	UO	TD	Kenjon Barner 30-yard run; Beard kick.	UO, 53-16

 

Statistics	UW	UO
Total First Downs	14	31
Rushing	6	19
Passing	6	9
Penalty	2	3
Total Net Yards	263	522
Net Yards Passing	127	243
Net Yards Rushing	136	279
Completions-att-int	14-28-0	24-33-0
Punts, yards, average	10-414, 41.4	2-86, 43.0
Sacks by (number, yards)	2-12	5-32
Kickoff Returns: number, yds, tds	7-162-0	5-184-0
Punt returns: number, yds, tds	0-0-0	4-127-0
Kickoff Yards	5-286	9-577
Net Yards per kickoff	20.4	41.7
Average yards per kickoff	57.2	64.1
Touchbacks (kickoffs)	0	2
Third-down conversions	2 of 16	6 of 13
Interception returns: no., yds, tds	0-0-0	0-0-0
Penalties, no., Yards	12-84	10-107
Fumbles; number/lost	0-0	4-2
Time of Possession	29:25	30:35

Passing	cmp	att	yds	tds	int
Oregon
Darron Thomas (144.58)	24	33	243	1	0
Washington
Keith Price (99.89)	14	28	127	1	0
Oregon Rushing	No.	yds	tds	long
LaMichael James	26	121	3	16
Darron Thomas	12	89	2	34
Kenjon Barner	9	60	1	30
Remene Alston	6	24	0	7
Team	1	-1	0	0
Nate Costa	1	-14	0	0
Washington Rushing	No.	yds	tds	long
Keith Price	13	4	0	14
Chris Polk	17	77	0	31
Jesse Callier	7	55	0	25
Ducks Pass Receiving	No.	yds	tds	long
Jeff Maehl	7	71	1	21
Lavasier Tuinei	7	47	0	17
David Paulson	3	41	0	20
LaMichael James	3	19	0	8
Drew Davis	2	57	0	38
Justin Hoffman	1	9	0	9
Kenjon Barner	1	-1	0	0
Washington Pass Rec.	No.	yds	tds	long
Devin Aguilar	5	71	0	28
Jermaine Kearse	2	6	0	6
D'Andre Goodwin	3	44	1	17
Jesse Callier	2	4	0	2
Chris Polk	2	2	0	2
Punting
Oregon	No.	yds	avg	long	IN20
Jackson Rice	2	86	43.0	45	1
Washington
Kiel Rasp	10	414	41.4	57	4
Attendance: 60,017

Richard Linde, aka Malamute can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com