Masoli Is The Guy For The Ducks

I knew the Ducks would get the memo that Saturday was my birthday and therefore they would celebrate by beating those lowly Sun Devils...I just didn't think it would be by 34 points. Thank God for Comcast and the invention of the DVR because since Saturday I've watched the game twice and there were some positives notes to comment on:

1) The defense played like we all knew they could. The Ducks came out with a fire that was evident in the first game against the Huskies. The secondary made big plays when it needed to and playmakers (Byrd and Thurmond especially) created turnovers and earned their preseason Thorpe Award status. Perhaps there can't be enough said about the recovery and preparation that takes place in a bye week. The Ducks did have a tall task of playing 7 games in a row before their bye week which made the wear and tear even more evident in the secondary unit at times (*cough* USC game *cough*). I don't think it's a coincidence that the Beavers beat USC after coming off a bye week...it truly is an invaluable time to prepare for an opponent and get healthy. Getting Spencer Paysinger back was huge too, and it's nice to see that Bellotti has decided to stick with Casey Matthews at linebacker instead being loyal to John Bacon. Matthews is the future and Bacon seems to get burned like the meat on a weekly basis (a bad analogy I know). Watching Patrick Chung hit Rudy Carpenter so hard that he was bleeding from the nose and mouth at the same time speaks volumes about the intensity that was out there on the field.

2) I know people will be quick to say that "Arizona St. sucks!" but before the game everyone thought that it would be extremely competitive. Even Vegas thought it would be a close game with a spread 3 point spread in favor of Oregon and a blowout being the last thing on anyone's mind. ASU is in a slump, but I don't think they are necessarily bad. Losing to Georgia by 17 and being shut out 28-0 against USC isn't good don't get me wrong, but that team has a good quarterback and athletes that can make plays. Oregon just didn't allow them to even get rolling. If Walter Thurmond doesn't pick off Rudy Carpenter in the first quarter the game may have been 7-7 and who knows what the outcome may have been. Oregon extinguished their hopes of being competitive early which is ultimately what the spread offense hopes to accomplish...force a team to panic and try to score points quickly. Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, there was little doubt that Oregon was the better team.

3) Jeremiah Masoli is making vast strides in this offense. He may make decisions that are a little on the brazen side, but it's great to see a guy play with a little wreckless abandon at times. One of his option runs in the first half looked like he was going to get wrapped up for a 2 yard loss, but after a few juke moves he's 15 yards down the field. I think that defenders don't know what to make of him...he has very good speed and is one of those guys that's really hard to get a square hit on. Even in the USC game he was never sacked...he escaped the pass rush with his speed which is something Roper could never do. A critical play early in the first quarter featured a high snap over his head which rolled about 10 yards before he picked it up and instead of falling on the ball (i.e. Roper) he picked it up and chucked it 30 yards out of bounds. Less than 5 plays after that the score was 7-0. That's heads up football and Masoli playing like a veteran. Watching him go 17/26 for 147 through the air was encouraging too and those numbers will only get better as the playbook is opened up even more. Masoli "haters" should realize that he is the guy for this offense. It's pretty nice when ASU linebacker, Mike Nixon says, "He's perfect for that offense." Attention retarded Duck fan: that statement is coming from a guy who got absolutely humbled by Masoli...I think the poor little Sun Devil might be onto something with that comment don't you?

4) Lastly, I'm curious to see what we can expect out of the Sun Devils this weekend. If they lose to the Beavers that would be their 6th consecutive loss this season and I'm not sure the Sun Devil fan base can even remember the last time they lost 6 games in a row. I would expect the Sun Devils to come out with an intensity that we havent seen all season because there is a lot riding on Saturday's game. If they can beat the Beavers and win out they will be 6-6 and therefore bowl eligible. The remainder of their schedule is winnable with games against Wazzu, Washington and Arizona. From what I heard on the radio today the spread is 16 in favor of the Beavers...this could be a trap game for the wood chucks.

Not much recruiting news has taken place so far this week, but then again it is only Monday. Later this week I'll break down the Top 10 for the last time and foreshadow what I expect to take place over the next 3 to 4 weeks.