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News Junkie
By Ted Miller
The*final entry*in a series looking at potential dream and nightmare scenarios for all Pac-12 teams.
Understand: These are not predictions. They are extreme scenarios and pieces of fiction. You can read last season's versions here.
We're going in reverse order of my post-spring power rankings (which might not be identical to my preseason power rankings).
Up next: Oregon
Best case
The moderator walks into the interview room at Cowboys Stadium: "We have LSU coach Les Miles here. Any comments coach before we take questions?"
"Yes," Miles says, letting out a breath. "Wow."
Four hours before, a pre-game brawl between the Ducks and Tigers was barely averted as the teams stood face-mask-to-face-mask at midfield. Later, the exact cause -- and instigators -- would become a subject of intense speculation and rumor. But both teams went back to their locker rooms before kickoff unhappy with the other.
Pregame: Ducks coach Chip Kelly, splatters of blood spider-webbing*down his white shirt, stands amid his players.
"We have practiced better than any team in the nation," he begins. "We have come together for this moment. I'm all about judging ourselves only by the perfection of our effort every day, not by anything outside our program. That's win the day. That's what we are about.*But if anger motivates you, then feel free to be angry. It's clear that team doesn't respect you. I will guarantee you this, though. That is going to change."
Oregon outgains LSU 476-220 in a 42-10 victory. Running back LaMichael James rushes for 185 yards and two scores, doing most of his damage between the tackles. The Ducks sack LSU QB Jarrett Lee five times.
"Wow, that's a good football team," Miles says. "They are fast and physical. They will get my vote for No. 1 this week."
The Ducks are voted No. 1 in both polls.
After pounding Nevada and Missouri State, the Ducks visit Arizona. The game is tied 17-17 at halftime. Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the score is 44-17.
"No team explodes like the Ducks," ESPN's Chris Fowler. "They are sort of like my favorite superhero, another green beast, the Incredible Hulk."
"Oh, good one," replies Kirk Herbstreit. "I can just see Chip Kelly, 'Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.'"
The Ducks roll over California, Arizona State, Colorado and Washington State. James is neck-and-neck with Stanford QB Andrew Luck in most Heisman Trophy polls.
"I don't care about individual awards," James says. "I care about my teammates and winning -- in that order."
The Ducks head to overflowing Husky Stadium to take on 10th-ranked Washington, which has only lost at Stanford.
An enterprising Huskies fans sells 50,000 purple T-shirts with a cartoon of Kelly passing money to alleged street agent Willie Lyles, and College GameDay runs a story on the bad feelings over the shirts.
"Did Chip Kelly run up the score?" a reporter asks Washington coach Steve Sarkisian after the Ducks whip the Huskies 60-14, their eighth victory in a row in the rivalry, each by at least 20 points.
Sarkisian pauses, "Well, it's our job to stop them. And I guess he thought getting LaMichael James rushing for 300 yards would help his Heisman Trophy chances."
That sets up the biggest conference game in decades: No. 1 Oregon versus No. 3 Stanford.
"One of the biggest regular season games we've had in a while," Herbstreit says. "Not only will the winner earn poll position in the race*for the national title game, you'd have to think either Luck or James wins the Heisman tonight."
Not unlike the 2010 game, Luck and Stanford start quickly and lead at halftime. And not unlike the 2010 game, the Ducks roll in the second half, winning 48-31.
Oregon improves to 11-0 with a 45-17 win over USC. Next up: The Civil War, against 17th-ranked Oregon State.
"Chip, a lot of folks are saying this is the best team of all time," Fowler says from the GameDay set in front of Autzen Stadium. "What do you think?"
"Maybe," Kelly replies.
"What are your feelings on the NCAA clearing you and the program of all wrong-doing in the Willie Lyles investigation?" Fowler asks.
"Who?" Kelly replies. "Oh, you mean, Will. My feelings are ... good."
Oregon whips the Beavers 55-10.
After*stomping Arizona State 43-16 in the Pac-12*title game, the Ducks earn a berth in their second-consecutive BCS national championship game. The opponent? Unbeaten and second-ranked Alabama.
James wins the Heisman Trophy.
"The lead story for the national championship game, obviously, is the Ducks top-ranked offense against the Crimson Tide's top-ranked defense," Fowler says. "But SEC fans might be a little surprised that this Pac-12 team can play some D - see 15.2 points per game. Oh, and by the way, this SEC team can play some offense -- see 41 points per game."
"And, of course, everybody is asking what would it mean for college football if the SEC wins a sixth consecutive national title and adds Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and North Carolina," Herbstreit replies. "Fair to say much of the college football nation is rooting for the Ducks to bring the SEC back down to earth."
"Other than Washington fans," Fowler quips.
"True that," says Herbstreit.
The Ducks gather inside the Louisiana Superdome.
"Great moments, are born from great opportunity," Kelly says."Forever is about to happen, gentlemen. That is your opportunity: To*complete a perfect season and have your name written down on a list of champions where it will never be stricken. Look around this room. Look around! My heart is full of love for you guys. Our bond from this season will never be broken. And that is why we have to live in this moment together. We love this game. Play it with absolute joy tonight. Don't let any*play, any moment of this game pass without your absolute focus, your absolute intensity. That is what we owe each other. Forever is about to happen, gentlemen. Lay it on the line. Four quarters for forever."
Oregon trails 24-19 with 12 seconds left. It faces a fourth-and-goal on the Crimson Tide 1-yard line.
"Darron," Kelly says to QB Darron Thomas. "We're going right at them. Tell LaMichael to jump. High."
James is immediately met short of the goal line by Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw. He lands, twists. Ducks tackle Mark Asper rams Upshaw. Three more Crimson Tide players surge into Upshaw, James and Asper, and three Ducks join the fracas. What develops is a scrum of 22 bodies moving sideways along the line of scrimmage. With no whistle.
Then everything collapses. It takes two minutes to clear the bodies.
It starts slowly. A hum, an inhale of*recognition, then an explosion of joy followed by complete, prolonged*pandemonium.
Touchdown, Oregon. The Ducks are national champions.
"It was a great football game," says Alabama coach Nick Saban afterward, "No shame in losing to a great team."
Kelly signs a lifetime contract. He could leave for another job, but he's agreed that he can only do*so if he cuts off all of his limbs and leaves them behind. Most think that condition will keep him in Eugene.
Oregon announces it's expanding Autzen Stadium to 100,000 seats and that Nike has figured out a way to get the work done in advance of the 2012 season.
The Ducks sign the nation's No. 1 recruiting class.
The renovation of Husky Stadium uncovers a massive lake of quicksand, into which the entire stadium sinks in just minutes.
The Pac-12 blog's postseason list of the conference's top-25 players is entirely made up of Ducks. Oregon fans complain that the list should number 30.
Worst case
The moderator walks into the interview room at Cowboys Stadium: "We have LSU coach Les Miles here. Any comments coach before we take questions?"
"Yes," Miles says, letting out a breath. "Wow."
He continues, "Did we beat their butts or what?"
The Ducks offense is again stymied by a big, fast defense with extra time to prepare as the Tigers prevail 28-12.
But the Ducks bounce back with seven consecutive impressive victories, rising again to No. 5 in the polls.
"They are still in the national title hunt," notes ESPN's Chris Fowler.
The Ducks head to Husky Stadium to take on unbeaten, fourth-ranked Washington, which handed Stanford its only loss two weeks before.
Oregon leads 28-24 with nine minutes left. A Jackson Rice punt rolls out of bounds on the Huskies 1-yard line.
On first down, Huskies running back Chris Polk rushes for three yards. On second down, Polk rushes for eight yards. On first down, Polk rushes for four yards. After 16 plays, Washington has a first down on Oregon's 8-yard line with 40 seconds left.
Polk rushes for three yards. Polk rushes for two yards. Polk rushes for 2 yards. Polk scores the winning touchdown as time expires.
"Wow, Chris Polk just ripped the hearts out of Oregon fans everywhere!" says Oregon play-by-play man Jerry Allen. "You can see why he's neck-and-neck with Andrew Luck in the Heisman Trophy race. The Huskies clearly are in the national title hunt."
Up next: No.*8 Stanford.
"This looked like the Pac-12 game of the year in the preseason, but right now everyone is chasing the Huskies," observes Fowler.
Luck throws four touchdown passes in a 42-28 win.
The Ducks bounce back with a win over USC.
"If we win the Civil War, we can still go to a quality bowl game," Ducks coach Chip Kelly says."I was reading the paper the other day, and it said we can still get to the Alamo Bowl."
Beavers receiver James Rodgers hauls in a game-winning 2-point conversion in triple-overtime. The Beavers rush the Autzen Stadium field, and chant together, "@%$@! Oregon!"
The Ducks lose to Clemson in the Sun Bowl to finish 8-5.
Washington beats Oklahoma for the national title.
Kelly becomes Georgia's new head coach. The Ducks hire Jim Lambright to replace him. "Now I can be happy about watching Kenny Wheaton return that interception!" Lambright says at his introductory press conference.
On July 20, the NCAA docks Oregon 15 scholarships and gives it a one-year postseason ban.
Nike files for bankruptcy. Phil Knight moves to Tibet, becomes a monk.
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Pac-10 Blog
Click here to view the article.
The*final entry*in a series looking at potential dream and nightmare scenarios for all Pac-12 teams. Understand: These are not predictions. They are extreme scenarios and pieces of fiction. You can read last season's versions here.
We're going in reverse order of my post-spring power rankings (which might not be identical to my preseason power rankings).
Best case
The moderator walks into the interview room at Cowboys Stadium: "We have LSU coach Les Miles here. Any comments coach before we take questions?"
"Yes," Miles says, letting out a breath. "Wow."
Four hours before, a pre-game brawl between the Ducks and Tigers was barely averted as the teams stood face-mask-to-face-mask at midfield. Later, the exact cause -- and instigators -- would become a subject of intense speculation and rumor. But both teams went back to their locker rooms before kickoff unhappy with the other.
Pregame: Ducks coach Chip Kelly, splatters of blood spider-webbing*down his white shirt, stands amid his players.
"We have practiced better than any team in the nation," he begins. "We have come together for this moment. I'm all about judging ourselves only by the perfection of our effort every day, not by anything outside our program. That's win the day. That's what we are about.*But if anger motivates you, then feel free to be angry. It's clear that team doesn't respect you. I will guarantee you this, though. That is going to change."
Oregon outgains LSU 476-220 in a 42-10 victory. Running back LaMichael James rushes for 185 yards and two scores, doing most of his damage between the tackles. The Ducks sack LSU QB Jarrett Lee five times.
"Wow, that's a good football team," Miles says. "They are fast and physical. They will get my vote for No. 1 this week."
The Ducks are voted No. 1 in both polls.
After pounding Nevada and Missouri State, the Ducks visit Arizona. The game is tied 17-17 at halftime. Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the score is 44-17.
"No team explodes like the Ducks," ESPN's Chris Fowler. "They are sort of like my favorite superhero, another green beast, the Incredible Hulk."
"Oh, good one," replies Kirk Herbstreit. "I can just see Chip Kelly, 'Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.'"
The Ducks roll over California, Arizona State, Colorado and Washington State. James is neck-and-neck with Stanford QB Andrew Luck in most Heisman Trophy polls.
"I don't care about individual awards," James says. "I care about my teammates and winning -- in that order."
The Ducks head to overflowing Husky Stadium to take on 10th-ranked Washington, which has only lost at Stanford.
An enterprising Huskies fans sells 50,000 purple T-shirts with a cartoon of Kelly passing money to alleged street agent Willie Lyles, and College GameDay runs a story on the bad feelings over the shirts.
"Did Chip Kelly run up the score?" a reporter asks Washington coach Steve Sarkisian after the Ducks whip the Huskies 60-14, their eighth victory in a row in the rivalry, each by at least 20 points.
Sarkisian pauses, "Well, it's our job to stop them. And I guess he thought getting LaMichael James rushing for 300 yards would help his Heisman Trophy chances."
That sets up the biggest conference game in decades: No. 1 Oregon versus No. 3 Stanford.
"One of the biggest regular season games we've had in a while," Herbstreit says. "Not only will the winner earn poll position in the race*for the national title game, you'd have to think either Luck or James wins the Heisman tonight."
Not unlike the 2010 game, Luck and Stanford start quickly and lead at halftime. And not unlike the 2010 game, the Ducks roll in the second half, winning 48-31.
Oregon improves to 11-0 with a 45-17 win over USC. Next up: The Civil War, against 17th-ranked Oregon State.
"Chip, a lot of folks are saying this is the best team of all time," Fowler says from the GameDay set in front of Autzen Stadium. "What do you think?"
"Maybe," Kelly replies.
"What are your feelings on the NCAA clearing you and the program of all wrong-doing in the Willie Lyles investigation?" Fowler asks.
"Who?" Kelly replies. "Oh, you mean, Will. My feelings are ... good."
Oregon whips the Beavers 55-10.
After*stomping Arizona State 43-16 in the Pac-12*title game, the Ducks earn a berth in their second-consecutive BCS national championship game. The opponent? Unbeaten and second-ranked Alabama.
James wins the Heisman Trophy.
"The lead story for the national championship game, obviously, is the Ducks top-ranked offense against the Crimson Tide's top-ranked defense," Fowler says. "But SEC fans might be a little surprised that this Pac-12 team can play some D - see 15.2 points per game. Oh, and by the way, this SEC team can play some offense -- see 41 points per game."
"And, of course, everybody is asking what would it mean for college football if the SEC wins a sixth consecutive national title and adds Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and North Carolina," Herbstreit replies. "Fair to say much of the college football nation is rooting for the Ducks to bring the SEC back down to earth."
"Other than Washington fans," Fowler quips.
"True that," says Herbstreit.
The Ducks gather inside the Louisiana Superdome.
"Great moments, are born from great opportunity," Kelly says."Forever is about to happen, gentlemen. That is your opportunity: To*complete a perfect season and have your name written down on a list of champions where it will never be stricken. Look around this room. Look around! My heart is full of love for you guys. Our bond from this season will never be broken. And that is why we have to live in this moment together. We love this game. Play it with absolute joy tonight. Don't let any*play, any moment of this game pass without your absolute focus, your absolute intensity. That is what we owe each other. Forever is about to happen, gentlemen. Lay it on the line. Four quarters for forever."
Oregon trails 24-19 with 12 seconds left. It faces a fourth-and-goal on the Crimson Tide 1-yard line.
"Darron," Kelly says to QB Darron Thomas. "We're going right at them. Tell LaMichael to jump. High."
James is immediately met short of the goal line by Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw. He lands, twists. Ducks tackle Mark Asper rams Upshaw. Three more Crimson Tide players surge into Upshaw, James and Asper, and three Ducks join the fracas. What develops is a scrum of 22 bodies moving sideways along the line of scrimmage. With no whistle.
Then everything collapses. It takes two minutes to clear the bodies.
It starts slowly. A hum, an inhale of*recognition, then an explosion of joy followed by complete, prolonged*pandemonium.
Touchdown, Oregon. The Ducks are national champions.
"It was a great football game," says Alabama coach Nick Saban afterward, "No shame in losing to a great team."
Kelly signs a lifetime contract. He could leave for another job, but he's agreed that he can only do*so if he cuts off all of his limbs and leaves them behind. Most think that condition will keep him in Eugene.
Oregon announces it's expanding Autzen Stadium to 100,000 seats and that Nike has figured out a way to get the work done in advance of the 2012 season.
The Ducks sign the nation's No. 1 recruiting class.
The renovation of Husky Stadium uncovers a massive lake of quicksand, into which the entire stadium sinks in just minutes.
The Pac-12 blog's postseason list of the conference's top-25 players is entirely made up of Ducks. Oregon fans complain that the list should number 30.
Worst case
The moderator walks into the interview room at Cowboys Stadium: "We have LSU coach Les Miles here. Any comments coach before we take questions?"
"Yes," Miles says, letting out a breath. "Wow."
He continues, "Did we beat their butts or what?"
The Ducks offense is again stymied by a big, fast defense with extra time to prepare as the Tigers prevail 28-12.
But the Ducks bounce back with seven consecutive impressive victories, rising again to No. 5 in the polls.
"They are still in the national title hunt," notes ESPN's Chris Fowler.
The Ducks head to Husky Stadium to take on unbeaten, fourth-ranked Washington, which handed Stanford its only loss two weeks before.
Oregon leads 28-24 with nine minutes left. A Jackson Rice punt rolls out of bounds on the Huskies 1-yard line.
On first down, Huskies running back Chris Polk rushes for three yards. On second down, Polk rushes for eight yards. On first down, Polk rushes for four yards. After 16 plays, Washington has a first down on Oregon's 8-yard line with 40 seconds left.
Polk rushes for three yards. Polk rushes for two yards. Polk rushes for 2 yards. Polk scores the winning touchdown as time expires.
"Wow, Chris Polk just ripped the hearts out of Oregon fans everywhere!" says Oregon play-by-play man Jerry Allen. "You can see why he's neck-and-neck with Andrew Luck in the Heisman Trophy race. The Huskies clearly are in the national title hunt."
Up next: No.*8 Stanford.
"This looked like the Pac-12 game of the year in the preseason, but right now everyone is chasing the Huskies," observes Fowler.
Luck throws four touchdown passes in a 42-28 win.
The Ducks bounce back with a win over USC.
"If we win the Civil War, we can still go to a quality bowl game," Ducks coach Chip Kelly says."I was reading the paper the other day, and it said we can still get to the Alamo Bowl."
Beavers receiver James Rodgers hauls in a game-winning 2-point conversion in triple-overtime. The Beavers rush the Autzen Stadium field, and chant together, "@%$@! Oregon!"
The Ducks lose to Clemson in the Sun Bowl to finish 8-5.
Washington beats Oklahoma for the national title.
Kelly becomes Georgia's new head coach. The Ducks hire Jim Lambright to replace him. "Now I can be happy about watching Kenny Wheaton return that interception!" Lambright says at his introductory press conference.
On July 20, the NCAA docks Oregon 15 scholarships and gives it a one-year postseason ban.
Nike files for bankruptcy. Phil Knight moves to Tibet, becomes a monk.
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Pac-10 Blog
Click here to view the article.
