Today's Musings

I was listening to the Colin Cowherd show on ESPN Radio this morning when Colin brought up a good point in reference to fans. He labeled fans as "teenage girls" that fall in and out of love with numerous boys just the way fans do with their respective team's coaching staff. A teenage girls attention can be squarely fixed on that special someone, but at the first hint of "weirdness" or "adversity" they can do a complete 180 and be in hot pursuit of someone "better." That mentality is so pertinent to Oregon fans right now when it comes to the hiring and firing of a new defensive coordinator. I'll be the first to admit that I wish Oregon's defense was more hard nosed and had a pulse of a pass rush so I knew one actually existed, but is firing Nick Aliotti the cure? Has Duck fan already forgotten that Aliotti's defense was #1 in the Pac-10 last year in turnover ratio, and the same scheme he drew up last Saturday did beat USC last year? Maybe USC IS really that good, or maybe I just like playing devils advocate. I think everyone should simply chalk up USC's performance against Oregon St. as a brain fart and move on. I do believe Aliotti deserves the chance to redeem himself this week against a Bruin team that does have the capacity to beat the Ducks. Then again, Oregon is 17 point favorites and if they somehow lose to Neuheisel I'm sure everybody and their dog will want to string Allioti up by his gonads and beat him with an ugly stick. As of this moment Oregon is ranked 110th out of 119 FBS schools in Pass Defense...which is pretty damn bad if you're not good with numbers. What's funny though is that Missouri is ranked #114 in total pass defense right behind the Ducks, but nobody gives a rats ass about that since they can score points like a machine and haven't had a single "three and out" all season. Oregon and Missouri both run the spread offense, and both schools have a tendency to create sizable leads against their opponents. Teams tend to throw when they are behind to make up the difference which would indicate that Oregon and Missouri are a victim of circumstance rather than fielding horrible defensive units.

Another perfect example of how SEC football is taken more seriously than the Pac-10 is Auburn's firing of Offensive Coordinator, Tony Franklin, after only 6 games. The Tigers have a 4-2 record, identical to the Ducks, but are ranked 104th overall in total offense. So let me get this right: Auburn is in the exact opposite predicament of the Ducks, but they do something about it immediately because being ranked in the 100's in any category is not acceptable by the Auburn coaching staff, university or its fans. Wow, a truly novel idea. Auburn had an 11 win season in 2006, and finished with a 9-4 record in 2007, which was also identical to the Ducks. Perhaps Oregon (cough* Mike Bellotti cough*) can learn something from Auburn in regard to moving a program forward if the defense does continue to struggle throughout the season...or at least after Saturday.

The LFL. Any idea what it is? It's single-handedly mankinds greatest achievement since the wheel or silicone implants. It may not be directly related to college football, but I found it too good not to inform all heterosexual males about. LFL stands for "Lingerie Football League"...don't worry....you DID read that correctly. Football and Lingerie wrapped into one convenient product! The teams will consist of the Los Angeles Temptation, Phoenix Scorch, Seattle Mist, San Diego Seduction, Dallas Desire, New England Euphoria, Chicago Bliss, Atlanta Steam, Miami Caliente and Tampa Breeze. The games are set to air on cable television (likely SPIKE TV), making their debut in Fall 2009. This is the true definition of "Fantasy Football."


Here's a team photo of the Los Angeles Temptation (Click to Enlarge)

And a YouTube video to further stress the "awesomeness" of the LFL: