Only 9 Days until our team takes the field under the lights at Autzen to take on the Huskies. Now, we've talked about the game itself, and we've been thinking about the matchups and all that for some time. So over the next week, let's take a look at some of the great plays of the rivalry.

I'm gonna kick things off in 1988. In Musgrave's sophomore year, Oregon had a nice 5-1 record going into the Washington game, but were still underdogs against a ranked Husky team led by Don James.

But Oregon held in there most of the game, making enough plays to stay in it, and got the ball down 10-14 with little time left. Musgrave led the team deep into Husky and the team found themselves in a 4th and 1 situation at the 5 yard line. With star backs Derick Loville and Latin Berry, everyone expected the dive, but OC Bob Toledo (yes, this was a loooong time ago) called the reverse, the 49 special to Terry Obee, and magic happened:

Pandemonium ensued. I grew up hearing about this play from my dad, and this was one of the first big breakthroughs against the Huskies after years of domination.

Unfortunately, this would be the last win of the 1988 season. In the next game, Musgrave broke his collerbone and the season was effectively over. If not for that, this play could be rememberred in the same vein as another famous play from 1994.

GO DUCKS!

Purdue Boilermakers
Location:  West Lafayette, Indiana
Enrollment:  39,228
Coach:  Joe Tiller (83-54 @ Purdue, 106-73-1 overall)
2007 Record:  8-5 (3-5 Big Ten)

I am really looking forward to September 13, when Oregon will take on Purdue in West Lafayette, IN. I’ve heard good things about the stadium and its environment, and it should be a fun time for all Duck fans (myself included!) making the trek.

When I first started to think about Purdue, I assumed them to be a very mediocre team. From what I’ve read since then, this appears to be an accurate assumption. NYTimes preview had them pegged at 43. And while their senior QB (Curtis Painter) has received a lot of hype, he seems to be the team’s only decent player. Phil Steele’s rankings agree:  he ranks Painter #2 in the nation, but ranks every other offensive and defensive unit in the latter half of the Big 10. Really, there are no standouts on the team besides Painter.

Many others have done a more adequate job of breaking down Purdue, and I will not go into that detail. The always great Brian over at MGoBlog has an extensive breakdown that shouldn’t be missed, and Travis over at the OffTheTracks has been previewing all of Purdue’s positions, with very little prejudice. Both previews are worth a read.

Instead, I am going to focus on how Oregon stacks up against Purdue, and the important battles to watch...

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Two more Oregon games are now online:

The Washington State game is now up. As is the Washington game.

Here is the current list of games available:
Houston (cut)
Michigan (cut and PAL, which won't play on a normal TV)
Fresno State (cut)
Stanford (cut)
California
WSU
Washington
USC
Sun Bowl - USF

If anyone has the entire ASU and OSU games on DVD, or any other old games on DVD, those would be greatly appreciated. All games listed as cut are not online at the moment, though I can put them up by request. They are in divx format and have in between each play cut out, so the game becomes about one hour long.

In the second week of fall camp, not much has been happening, and that is an amazing thing. Oregon thus far has avoided any major injuries, and lets hope it stays that way. Everyone seems to be progressing in play and in health.

Jeremiah Johnson seems to be 100%, quelling any fears I had about the running game. Johnson and Blount are potential big-time stars, and Crewshaw (despite his recent minor injury) and Alston round out a very talented backfield.

It also seems that offensive line is getting fleshed out. C.E. Kaiser, who has an awesome name, is getting a lot of time at right tackle. Whatever happens, we have 7-8 guys that are very good. This is a great offensive line, and will be a key to helping the young QB develop.

Spencer Paysinger is making a splash at the "will" linebacker, shoring up another position that was questionable.

I am also getting more comfortable with our defensive line. Despite the lack of big-time names, there seem to be many bodies, all with a decent amount of talent and ability. Despite Justin Thompson being late to camp, the move of Stevens has helped a lot. He and Blake Ferras have been getting a lot of time with the No. 2's, as have Simi Toeaina and Toni Celotto. 

As far as the QB goes, it is doubtful that Costa will lose the starting spot. He has been solid thus far, and no one else has done anything to surpass him. On the receiving end, Jaison Williams has been catching just about everything in sight, and when he drops passes now, it's almost a shock rather than a concern. It's also good to hear that Dickson has been involved. He will be a huge mismatch for any defense, and I'm excited to see what Chip Kelly can do with him.

Overall, this team should be ready to play come August 30th. I don't feel underwhelmed at any position, and there are few teams that will hold large position advantages.

We all know that these things could change at any moment, but for the time being, I'm happy about where this team is at and where it's heading.

Here are some other interesting tidbits from all around:

SBNation writer The Boy, and leader of RockMNation is really into statistics. I mean, really into statistics. He has gone so far as to create his own statistics. His Beyond the BoxScore series is incredibly detailed and highly interesting. Based on his research, he has been looking around the nation at every major conference. Today he previewed the first part of the Pac-10. There's nothing that's much of a revelation, but it's a good read, and come on, what haven't we heard at this point. Also, he drives home the point that no one outside of Corvallis pays attention to OSU's "success", so that's always fun.

For all of you chomping at the bit to talk about Utah State, you won't find much around here, but Bronco Nation previews the Aggies. That's pretty much all you're getting out of us on Utah State.

Lastly, UW's Locker is still day-to-day, and had trouble running today. Every day he sits out, the better it is for our defense.

GO DUCKS!

In the last couple days, Ted Miller has been running through the best and worst case scenarios for each Pac-10 team. Today, he went over Oregon's. Reading this will get you excited and depressed all at the same time.

The thing is, I could see it going either way. We have a very talented team. If the offense clicks, then many good things will happen. If we get mistakes at the QB position, they we will be screwed, especially if we can't get momentum early.

Despite the tough overall schedule, I believe the early part really sets us up well. 3 games, with the two hardest in that stretch (UW and BSU), are at home. The WSU game is early, so weather in the Palouse will not suck. The Purdue game will be a good test, as it is a road game across the country. But I don't believe Purdue is a very good team, and their weaknesses can (hopefully) be easily exploited. Also, our strength (secondary) mirrors their strength (passing game).

What this means is that the schedule will challenge this team early, but not so strenuously as to break them. I am very hopeful for a 5-0 start, and believe that should happen, as we will most likely be favored in all of those games.

If we have that momentum, we can take that into USC, and we also have a BYE before consecutive weeks at ASU and Cal.  If we don't have that momentum, if our offense is turning the ball over and making a lot of mistakes, that will spell disaster.

I'm very hopeful that this team can pull it together early. If that happens, then, we'll have some very fun, very big games in October and November.

GO DUCKS!