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Oregon Ducks vs Washington State Recap

Now that, USC, is how you take down a bad football team.

The longtime leader in the world of Pac-10 football could only score 27 points against the 2009 Washington State Cougars, so after seeing the way Oregon whipped Paul Wulff's team on Saturday night in Eugene, it could well be that the Ducks have an offense that's ready to take over the Pac-10 throne.

Oh, there are many landmines and trap games for Chip Kelly's crew before that date with USC on Halloween in Autzen Stadium, but if this game possesses any meaning at all (and one shouldn't say too much when considering how limited Wazzu in fact is), it shows that UO has the offense that can, at its best, morph into a very scary force.

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The Ducks nearly doubled USC's output against the Cougars from Pullman. Jeremiah Masoli got dinged up in the second quarter, but not before completing 14-of-18 passes without an interception, leading the Ducks to 42 first-half points. Masoli said that he put an ice pack on his right knee and donned sweat clothes during the second half as precautionary measures, meaning that he'll be good to go for the UCLA game that's next on UO's schedule. If that's indeed the case, this offense will always enjoy the ability to do great things, because the September slumber busted up by the flawless performance against Cal has seemingly been shattered for good. Masoli has retained the mastery of this offense that he displayed in late November of 2008, and then in the Holiday Bowl explosion against Oklahoma State. This game was non-competitive because the good Masoli has fully emerged once again in Eugene; if the body-snatched version had reappeared Saturday night in Autzen Stadium, perhaps UO would have scratched out the same kind of ugly 27-6 win that USC posted against Wazzu on Sept. 26.

Oregon has miles of football to go before it can sleep the sleep of a Pac-10 champion. With that said, this drilling of a doormat on home soil sends the right kind of message to the rivals from Los Angeles. If the Ducks could beat Washington State twice as soundly as USC did, the potential certainly exists for a changing of the guard to take place on the West Coast.

Now, the Ducks must work to ensure that their potential continues to be fulfilled on each successive Saturday. Such is the lesson of this focused and finely-tuned trouncing of the Pac-10's cellar dweller from the Palouse.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer