#7 Michigan State @ #3 Oregon

[lukeyrid13]

I DVR'd the game and have watched it about 5 times now, mostly just the second half. There were so many plays where Sparty was so close to making a play that could have changed the outcome of the game. Of course our speed, pressure and athletic ability was mostly the reason they didn't. The point being, yes we dominated the scoreboard, but it's a game of inches and had some of those near misses not been misses...It could have been a real nail biter right to the end. So glad it was at Autzen.

I've rewatched the game about a dozen times haha. I would also like to add, there was some missed calls. Unless I'm mistaken, on the first "comeback" touchdown around 4:30 left in the 3rd, we got away with a pretty blatant pick on that crossing pattern. We got nailed for one of those last season early that killed a drive. Cannot for the life of me remember which game. I do remember it was 1st and goal and we got like, three straight penalties that forced us to kick a field goal. Anyway, if that pick is called, it stalls the whole drive and Michigan State probably gets the ball again with the lead. We just had everything go right for us. Also Ifo could have been called for a couple PI's on Lippet. He was being pretty physical.

It was at the beginning of the Tennessee game, we had like 4 penalties in a row.

We also had a blatant pick play on Jonathan Loyd's TD catch against Wyoming this past weekend.

[OregonFan4Life]

Maybe I'm being over confident in my team or not respecting our opponents enough, but I saw a stat that said MSU outscored Oregon 24-7 in the final 12 minutes of the 2nd quarter while Oregon outscored in MSU 39-3 in the rest of the game (1st quarter included). During that 24-7 run MSU had, that came with Hill on the bench due to injury, with Dior replacing him, and we saw how that turned out. I know there were a few big plays that could've gone MSU's way and changed it drastically, but if you take away that Hill injury, Oregon really might have blown them out. Oregon did a good job of limiting their run game, but the passing yards they gained in that 2nd quarter is what gave them so much momentum. Second half, Hill is back, and MSU couldn't do much against the Oregon defense.

[SuperDuck]

I was just checking the MSU site yesterday and read that their QB, Conner Cook, is a junior. As well as he played last year, if he has another great season I wonder if he'll declare for the draft instead of coming back next year? I hope so. We'll likely lose Mariota after this season, so it would be great if they had a new QB, too, when we play them in East Lansing next year.

[UOducksTK1]

I was just checking the MSU site yesterday and read that their QB, Conner Cook, is a junior. As well as he played last year, if he has another great season I wonder if he'll declare for the draft instead of coming back next year? I hope so. We'll likely lose Mariota after this season, so it would be great if they had a new QB, too, when we play them in East Lansing next year.

Yeah, if Oregon wants to beat MSU next year, Cook can't be playing QB. Maybe JustinM could give us a status update on Cook's draft status.

[UOducksTK1]

Saw this on 247's forum:

[Phalanx]

While I don't agree that MSU could beat Oregon in a rematch, I wouldn't expect a coach to admit that. He has the rest of the season to play, after all. He is just trying to pump up his kids.
The Spartans were really good, and fast on defense. That play were Mariota ran for 40 yards, I was impressed that the defender caught him. They made it difficult to get around the edge all night. The most satisfying wins are against good teams, and the ducks beat a very good team.

[SuperDuck]

While I don't agree that MSU could beat Oregon in a rematch, I wouldn't expect a coach to admit that. He has the rest of the season to play, after all. He is just trying to pump up his kids.
The Spartans were really good, and fast on defense. That play were Mariota ran for 40 yards, I was impressed that the defender caught him. They made it difficult to get around the edge all night. The most satisfying wins are against good teams, and the ducks beat a very good team.

I agree with that, but there comes a point where their excuses become lame. The "we had 10 plays that should have been sacks, but we only got 3" kind of stuff gets old, although he did give Mariota credit by saying "he's the best QB we've faced since Russell Wilson".

What would it look like if Mark Helfrich started publicly pointing out opportunities and mistakes that the Ducks made? He could say "yeah, we probably could have beaten them by two more touchdowns if we hadn't missed that wide open receiver, or if our true freshman running back had made the proper cut, or if we hadn't lost two of our O-Lineman, etc."

Wouldn't that sound really bad - even though it has a ring of truth to it? Both teams missed opportunities and made mistakes. So if they'd have made every play they potentially missed, how many points would that have accounted for? They got beat by 19 points, so I'd say the Ducks had plenty of breathing room.

I have so much respect for KSU coach, Bill Snyder. After the Fiesta Bowl he simply said something along the lines of "yes, we missed some opportunities, but we also got beat by a better team." Please don't quote me. I think every coach should read that, stop making excuses and be humble in defeat when you obviously were beaten by a better team.

I really hope that we can beat them again next year in their house. What will their excuses be then?

[Duck07]

Actually, let's say for one moment that MSU stayed overnight and wanted to play another game; I think they'd get beat worse on Sunday than they did on Saturday. I don't think they could substitute as many players and still play at the same level and a day isn't going to help your back 7 against our speed which caused obvious problems when it came to taking the right angle of pursuit.

That said, was Narduzzi really asked this recently or was it just now brought to light? I can't imagine they'd still be dwelling on this game, even with the bye week.

[duckduckgoose]

Geez he doesn't want to play the Ducks the next day. His team was gassed in the second half, Oregon would destroy them in a game the next day, just from a fitness standpoint.


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[rockthief]

a next day game would be a massacre and they know it - a fifth quarter in this game would have been ugly for them

[QuackininBama]

Yea the Ducks went in to clock killing mode at 10:00 and still scored. Another quarter that thing would have been a slaughter.

[GrandpaDuck]

You have to campaign to get into the playoffs with a loss. Best to start early.

[UOducksTK1]

Dr Lou Holtz can be pretty funny. The Oregon/MSU section starts at 10:20. They also talked about Oregon's scratch and sniff tickets earlier int he video. Lou eventually picks Oregon... He actually picked USC over Stanford too.

[thomas time]

I found a couple mocks who have Cook going 7th and 13th overall so hopefully that will be enough for him to leave, unlike Marcus last year