College football starts today, and we even get a little Pac-10 action to keep us occupied. So let's see what's happening around Duck land.

Well, Costa did in fact tear his ACL and is done for the year. We wish him the best, though this may give him a shot at a medical hardship.

Overall, I'm not worried about Roper. He doesn't have the ceiling that Costa did, but he seems to know his limitations more, which may help limit turnovers. As far as his running ability, he reminds me of Kellen or Joey. He's not someone that has a great scrambling ability, but he can run designed plays, and has enough speed to keep the other team a bit honest. If he can get his passing consistent, which he seems to have done lately, I don't see the offense slipping too many beats, with all the weapons around him.

The RG has a great article today on what may have been the most underachieving team in Duck football history, the 1998 team. Though seriously hampered by injuries at the RB position, the team took you to the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows. The UCLA game and OSU games will forever be classics, but were also games where Oregon shot themselves in the foot. Against UCLA they turned the ball over 5 times, and against OSU...Michael Fletcher.

One thing that hasn't been discussed in the upcoming UW game is the new defense the UW will be employing. I'm not really worried, only because of the rather large talent disparity between the Oregon offense and the UW defense, but the Oregonian has an article on the issue this morning.

Also, the Portland Tribune had an article yesterday on Kelly and Aliotti and their gameplanning this year. It will be interesting to see what Kelly has up his sleeve, but I think I may be more excited to see what Aliotti can do. He has his perfect defense this year, with a stellar secondary and defensive line that can rush the passer. Of all the positions that can change the game on that side of the ball, those are it. With the secondary giving the rest of the defense the opporunity to blitz, and the line getting to the quarterback quickly on it's own, Aliotti will be able to do whatever he wants. It should be fun to watch.

That's all for now. If you have any links or thoughts to share on today's news, add it in the comments!

GO DUCKS!

Well, we know as much about Costa as we did yesterday. The MRI results are back, but won't be released until the orthopedist gets back on Sunday. Everyone is keeping a pretty tight lip, but apparently the injury is "different" than it was last year. I'm not really sure what this means, but because of how its been handled, I'm leaning away an ACL tear. Now, it could be something just as harmful, but it's more wait and see.

And that shouldn't be a huge problem. Roper has been stepping up. In the scrimmage yesterday, he was 3/4 for 61 yards and had a 25 yard touchdown run. Granted, this was with most defensive starters out, but seeing 2 good performances in a row is very encouraging. And Roper is saying all the right things as well. He's been preparing to be the starter since Day 1, and he's ready to make the most of his chances, even under unfortunate circumstances.

One added problem to Costa's injury, which Rickert brings up, is that our depth takes a shot. Yes, there is a ton of talent, but these are players with weeks in the system, not years. I think with the talent around, we'll be better off than last year were we to lose a bunch of QBs, but if Costa is unavailable, that is quite a shot to the depth of the QBs.

In the rest of the scrimmage, Blount and the offense were "dominant". Blount had 87 yards on 4 carries, which was against the mostly 2nd string defense, but still quite impressive. The rest of the QBs played solidly as well, and Remene Alston drew praise for his 27 yards on 6 carries.

The only bright spot on defense was a Scott Grady 100 yard interception return for a touchdown off Darron Thomas.

However, despite the praises, there were also some criticisms. From the RG:

On the negative side, Bellotti ticked off a number of things that needed improvement.

“We had too many procedure penalties, too many snaps on the ground and too many missed tackles,” he said. “Our tempo needs to improve and overall, our kickers and punters did not have a very good day. I was disappointed in their performance and it hurt our ability to evaluate some of our return people.”

Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti was even sharper in his criticism of the overall performance of his players.

“We played a lot of younger kids, but that’s no excuse,” he said. “I didn’t see a thing I liked ... we didn’t give a great effort, we didn’t give great focus, we didn’t pay attention to detail, we didn’t tackle, we weren’t mentally tough. We didn’t do anything that a great defensive team would do to win football games. The only good news is, we didn’t play a real game today. It was brutal, as bad as I’ve ever seen it.”

So there is definitely a lot of room for improvement. But with many of the top players on the sidelines today, that shouldn't be too difficult.

In other news, one of the things I am most excited for this year is the return of Jeremiah's stiff arm. With how much the team went through after he went down last year, it's easy to forget just how awesome it is. Ted Miller did a feature on him yesterday, and he sounds confident and ready, a great combination. I really like Jeremiah, and am excited to see what he will do as a team leader.

Bleacher Report has some good info on Jairus Byrd. The dude can play, and I am excited to see the secondary in action.

Well, we'll a mere 7 days away from season kickoff, and only 5 days away from college football in general. It's game week everyone!

GO DUCKS!

95.5 the game just came out with breaking news that Nate Costa suffered a knee injury in practice last night.  They didn't know which knee or the severity, but said that an athletic department source described it as "potentially serious."  They'll get more from Bellotti in a conference call tonight.

The first thought is last year, and if Nate reinjured his ACL.  I hope that's not the case.  But, with a bit over a week until the Husky game, I hope that Roper's ready.

I'm glued to the computer and radio on this.  The moment I get anything, it'll go right up.

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

[UPDATE] Ducks Attack wonders if this is a hoax, as they've been unable to get confirmation from the athletic department.  He also cites lack of updates by Moseley, etc.  I hear Moseley's out of town.  And athletic department officials can't comment publicly on injury matters (only coaches with player consent).  I can tell you that Jay Allen is the longtime sports director at KXL/95.5, and he broke this himself.  He has inside sources, and a ton on the line.  There is no way this is a hoax, and, if it is, I would be beyond shocked.

[UPDATE]: Moseley confirms an "incident".  Also says there will be more info as it becomes available.

[UPDATE]: Moseley and 1320 the score are reporting that Costa has injured the same knee that was surgically repaired last year. Good news is that he finished out the practice and then discussed this with the coaches. From what we've heard, he will be getting an MRI tonight. However, Oregon's orthopedic surgeon is out of town, so results may not be back until Sunday. At this point, we don't know the extent of this. It could be very serious, or quite minor. He won't be playing for at least a few days.

We've all kind of figured since spring ball that Nate Costa was the starting quarterback.  In spite of Justin Roper's great bowl performance, Costa just always seemed to have more tools (namely, a pair of legs) that fit our offense.  That the coaching staff called him the 'heir apparent' did little to quell those thoughts.

So what are we to make of this?

Roper has apparently 'closed the gap' on Costa, and a decision will be made by the end of the week?  And he may even try to use Chris Harper, too?

My gut tells me that its still Costa's job to lose, and that this is to serve as a bit of motivation.  And, hell, if Roper wins the job and is the starter, I don't have a huge problem with that, either.

But if MB decides that he's unsure, and goes with the ol' two-QB system, I'm going to vomit.  Between the disaster of the Holiday Bowl, and letting Jason Fife leech playing time way too long, I've seen enough of the two QB system.  Pick a guy, and stay with him.  If he really sucks, go to the other guy.  But PLEASE don't rotate QBs in and out every other possession.

As for Harper, please redshirt him.  In talking with Jared, he mentioned the possibility of using Harper as a RB in trick plays where you can make him throw.  If that's all you want him for, use Crenshaw.  But wasting the redshirt this year strikes me as akin to putting Dixon in against Oklahoma "to see what he can do."  Without that, Dixon is our starting quarterback right now.

In other notes:

Could there be a controversy at punter as well?  I think this is just public praise for Taylor.  Syria is the best punter in a decade at Oregon, no way he's not the starter (though nice to hear that the future is doing so well).

Also, no Drew Davis for the Washington game as he just had a tonsillectomy.  Get well, Drew.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

One more week until the start of fall camp. One week. I can taste it. So, as we wait for this last week, lets get a feel for the Pac-10. Seems like just about everyone is posting their Pac-10 rankings, so lets do the same.  Here is my pre-season Pac-10 predictions.

1) USC

They are absolutely stacked, especially on defense. They have the best linebackers in the nation, and the best D-line in the Pac-10. I don't see too many offenses scoring on them. However, I think they will blow a game somewhere, due to the passing game.  I don't feel that the passing game alone will be able to carry the team.  This may not matter, as their defense is so good, but they could get into some tough games at some point.

2) Oregon

I think that 2-4 in the Pac-10 are quite the toss up.  Each team has its weaknesses, but I think Oregon's will be least important.  This could simply be due to the fact that I know Oregon better than the other teams, but whatever.

The biggest hindrance to Oregon being the #2 team in the Pac-10 is the schedule. And you know what, that's not deterring me. Cal and ASU have enough holes that I think going into Tempe and Berkley will be tossups.  Oregon's defense is set up to be one of the best in years, with one of the best secondaries in the nation, which Allioti will use well.  They have a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball, with one of the top 2 O-Lines in the conference, making QB transition that much easier. I think this is one of the deepest and most talented teams Oregon has ever had, and the way the team did not implode last year and fought to the end will carry over into this season. If they get B play from the QB and WR positions, I think the team will go 10-2. But, with the talent at those positions, there really isn't a ceiling.  If Costa can get settled in over the first 4 games and J-Will decides not to drop any balls, the offense will be clicking, and then who knows what will happen.

3a)  Arizona State

I really don't like putting ASU here.  But here they are, thanks almost solely to Dennis Erickson.  Their offensive line was terrible in pass protection last year, but much of that unit is now gone.  Will it get better?  Can it get worse than last season?  Either way, I don't have much faith in this unit (and neither did Phil Steele, ranking it as the worst in the Pac-10), and if they do not improve significantly, they will have a tough time beating the upper half of the Pac-10.  The rest of the team is solid, but this is a massive weakness that is being overlooked by many.  Other than that, they should be pretty good at other positions, being ranking by most in the top 1/2 of the Pac-10, but I  just can't put them higher due to that O-Line.

3b)  California

They have a stellar O-line, which will carry them for much of the season.  But they lost huge players at the skill positions.  While Cal fans are really excited about Jahvid Best, and the guy is highlight reel waiting to happen, will he be able to carry the load for a whole season?  I'm doubtful.  Also, all of their running backs weigh less than 200 pounds.  Make of that what you will.  For the rest of the offense I don't have a whole lot of confidence in Longshore or Riley.  They have a great linebacking corp, though the rest of the defense is above mediocre. They also have an easy schedule.  Overall, they have their issues, as does ASU.  I feel they will end up in about the same place, with their weaknesses becoming very clear in a couple key games during the season.

5)  Oregon State

This is where things get interesting.  I am putting OSU here because you usually know what you have with these guys.  They will not be blowing many people away, but after some huge losses at Penn State and against USC, they will settle in and do fairly well in the Pac 10.  I think their D will be solid, as will their running backs and wide receivers, though I think their QBs are below average at best.  I don't think they will make many big plays, which will hurt them in games where their D cannot hold the opponent to less than 25 points.

6)  Arizona

I don't like having any Mike Stoops team this high, but this team will score.  They will score a lot.  And they will probably give up more points over the entire season.  The main reason I don't have them higher than OSU is that they will be incredibly inconsistent.  They will win a few games they shouldn't, and lose some they should.

7)  UCLA

No set QB and an incredibly bad offensive line spells trouble, even with the great coaching they have at the assistant positions.  They don't have anything impressive on the offensive side of the ball, and defense isn't gonna be good enough to carry the offense.  But, at least they don't have Dorrell coaching them anymore, so the guys over at Bruins Nation can be happy.

8) Washington

Jake Locker.  Jake Locker.  Jake Locker.  The rest of the team is flat out awful.  They have the worst rated RBs, WRs, and D-line according to Phil Steele. 

9)  Stanford

They have some experience back, and...well, they aren't Washington State.

10)  Washington State

Yep, it's a rebuilding year.  They don't have too much that is special at any position, though I think they will be decent in a couple years.  I'm just glad we'll be in the Pallouse in September.  I hate that place in November.

So, there you have it.  That's exactly how the conference will turn out.  Okay, maybe not, but leave your comments, thoughts, predictions in the comments.

GO DUCKS!

This post represents the views of only myself, and not any of the other ATQ moderators.