Pac 10 Sports Blog

By Gabriel Baumgaertner

I never anticipated being sad watching the Oregon Ducks’ national championship hopes go down in flames. However, as Dennis Dixon’s leg turned one way and his knee the other, I felt like I collectively winced with the entire Eugene, Oregon populace. The knees and arms of Dennis Dixon had lifted Oregon to their most successful season since the Joey Harrington days, and the Ducks appeared to have a manageable road to the national championship. Dixon burst onto the national scene in the second week of the season, as he and tailback Jonathan Stewart combined to annihilate what was thought to be a potent Michigan defense en route to a 39-7 victory over the host Wolverines. Dixon then became the most intriguing college QB in the country, reminiscent of Vince Young and Troy Smith, but with a seemingly more effective pocket presence than both. Despite a loss against Cal, Oregon posted big victories over USC and Arizona State and were looking at the Rose Bowl as their backup option. A Thursday night visit against toothless Arizona did not appear to be much of a challenge to a team that defeated top 10 teams in back to back weeks, but an awkward foot plant on an attempted cutback would change so much more than just the fate of the Ducks.

Les Miles infuriated football fans from four states when declaring not only the superiority of the Southeastern Conference, but completely degrading the Pac-10 as a weak conference. Thus, a non-conference affair between Tennessee and California garnered tremendous attention because of Miles’ presumptuous comments. Cal’s sound defeat of the Volunteers helped the Pac-10’s case, but the ultimate goal of qualifying a team to the national championship NOT named USC still loomed. There was Cal, who had their shot at #1, but left it on the 10 yard line against an inferior Oregon State team. And then Arizona State, whose comeback ability and new attitude led to New Orleans aspirations, only to see those wiped away by Dixon and company. Oregon appeared flawless. A rise to number 2 in the BCS rankings and an easy schedule (Arizona, UCLA and Oregon State) had the Ducks primed for New Orleans. This would be much more than simply the Ducks’ first chance at a national championship, but a chance for a non-USC Pac-10 school to win their first BCS title and first outright national title since the 1991 Washington Huskies.

Oregon’s loss means the ascension of the upstart Kansas Jayhawks to the seemingly cursed #2 spot in the BCS; followed by West Virginia, Missouri and Ohio State. Though I’d love to hold out for ASU to make one final push at the #2 spot, I will most likely settle in to watch the hated Les Miles and his LSU Tigers take on a team whose basketball team I’d rather watch and whose state I only hope to visit on a business trip. I will not care to see who hoists the trophy as the 2007 BCS National Champion, rather I will think of the cutback and how the awkward torque of a knee could plummet my beloved Pac-10’s reputation.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 9:38 am and is filed under Pac 10 Sports General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.