Oregon running back LaMichael James is skipping his senior year and declaring himself eligible for the NFL draft. James, a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2010, said Friday he has not hired an agent. “I feel like I’m leaving with a bang,” said James, less than a week after he helped the Ducks to a victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Yahoo! Sports – NCAA Football News
Tags » ‘Oregon’
Oregon RB James declares for NFL draft (AP)
January 7th, 2012 by admineBay has an Oregon Rose Bowl helmet and it could be yours (Updated)
January 7th, 2012 by adminPlease see the update at the bottom of the post — ed.
There’s not a uniform collection in college football more publicized and scrutinized than the one belonging to the Oregon Ducks. Thanks to co-founder and chairman of Nike Phil Knight, an Oregon alum, the Ducks are supplied with an endless string of ostentatious uniforms that range from the beautiful to the bizarre.
The latest in the collection that ran that gamut were the wild new uniforms the Ducks wore in Monday’s Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin, which featured a HydraChrome helmet that reflected anything it its path.
It was one of the more original uniform adornments in recent history and now it can be yours on eBay for the low, low price of $ 1,250. Well, that’s actually only the current bid. The reserve, which is unknown, has yet to be met and could be a couple thousand dollars.
Not sure how the helmet was obtained as the seller acknowledged that it is one of the first helmets to “get loose from the team.” It was not used during the Rose Bowl, but during a practice on Dec. 19. However, the seller assures that the helmet is authentic.
Now we don’t know who the seller is, but let’s hope, for the sake of Oregon’s compliance, that this isn’t a situation where a player or even a staff member is selling one of these helmets for profit. Seems like a booster or even a person with Nike would be able to get their hands on one of these bad boys, so we’ll see if that’s the case.
If one of our loyal Doc readers happens to drop a small fortune on this item, be sure to send us a photo of you and your prize — preferably on your head.
UPDATE, 6:16 p.m. ET. In a not-so-shocking turn of events, the listing for the helmet was pulled. I know, sad panda. Shortly after we posted that there was an “authentic” Oregon helmet for sale on eBay, Craig Pintens, Oregon’s senior associate AD for Marketing/Public Relations, contacted us and said all of Oregon’s fancy HydraChrome helmets, including promotional helmets, were accounted for by the Ducks equipment staff. So, we may never know whether the helmet was, in fact, authentic, or whether it was a scam. Pintens did say replica helmets would be on sale soon.
- – -
Fist bump to Lost Lettermen
Graham Watson is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow her @Yahoo_Graham
Oregon wins first Rose Bowl in 95 years (AP)
January 3rd, 2012 by admin
The Oregon Ducks had waited 95 years to win another Rose Bowl, and the last few seconds stretched for an eternity. The players in mirrored helmets held each other back on the sideline, waiting on tiptoes for video review to confirm Wisconsin was out of time. The call went Oregon’s way. The Ducks stormed the hallowed field.
Oregon empties both barrels in overdue Rose Bowl burst
January 3rd, 2012 by admin
Rose Bowl: Oregon 45, Wisconsin 38.
When the dust cleared, this was the highest-scoring Rose Bowl in the 98-year history of the game, so you know you’re going to get hit with a few numbers. But for a little context on Oregon’s offensive explosion, let’s start with two simple ones: Eight and six.
That’s where Wisconsin’s defense ranked at the start of the day: Eighth nationally in total defense (293 yards/game) and sixth in scoring (17.0 points/game). Exceptional numbers that, by the end of the day, were rendered utterly meaningless by an attack staking its latest and arguably most impressive claim as the most dynamic offense in college football.
Under the circumstances, “hitting on all cylinders” doesn’t quite do the Ducks justice. Playing a few miles from his hometown, true freshman De’Anthony Thomas broke the longest run in Rose Bowl history from 91 yards out, scored again from 64 yards out and tied a Rose Bowl record for all-purpose yards (315) as a rusher, receiver and return man, all on a dozen touches. Playing in probably his last game as a Duck, LaMichael James went for 159 yards on the ground, a hair above his best-in-the-nation average for the season. Even with an interception, three touchdown passes left quarterback Darron Thomas with the highest pass efficiency rating of his career (206.5) against a defense from a “Big Six” BCS conference. As a team, the Ducks averaged 9.7 yards per play and struck for nine plays covering at least 20 yards.
Before this afternoon, no starter on the Wisconsin defense had been part of a unit that allowed 500 yards or 40 points in a game. Today, they were gashed for 621 and 45, respectively — a bloodletting even by Oregon standards. Only one team has ever given up more here, Illinois in 2008, the victim of a lopsided mismatch against USC.
Of course, this was a long way from a mismatch: The first three quarters played out as an extended volley between two equally potent offenses determined to hold serve. Wisconsin mounted extended touchdown drives on three of its first four possessions, and mounted another one in the second half. It wasn’t until late in the third quarter, down 38-35, that the Duck defense began to clamp down, beginning with an interception by linebacker Kiko Alonso. That set up a short, go-ahead touchdown drive, followed by Oregon’s first three-and-out of the night and finally, on the heels of a Duck field goal, a critical fumble at the end of a long Wisconsin pass that effectively put the game on ice.
That was all the breathing room the offense needed: Three stops with the game on the line for Oregon’s first Rose Bowl win since 1917, ending the longest drought in the conference after 94 years. With both Darron and De’Anthony Thomas on their way back next year along with 15 other starters who have come up entirely in Kelly’s program, it’s a good bet the next one isn’t going to take nearly so long.
- – -
Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
• Carpenter: ‘Tebow Mystique’ evaporating for Broncos
• 2012 MLB season: What’s ahead from A to Z
• Mystery abounds as Big 12 basketball begins league play
Oregon outlasts Wisconsin in Rose Bowl shootout
January 3rd, 2012 by adminDarron Thomas passed for three touchdowns and De’Anthony Thomas scored on runs of 91 and 64 yards as the Ducks beat the Badgers 45-38.
No pressure for Kelly as Oregon faces Wisconsin in Rose Bowl
January 2nd, 2012 by adminDucks coach not carrying burden after his team has lost BCS bowl games the last two seasons.
BCS win would be the final piece of the puzzle for Oregon
December 27th, 2011 by adminLosses in the 2010 Rose Bowl and last season’s BCS National Championship mean the Ducks have unfinished business against Wisconsin.
Cliff Harris Facebooks his apology to Oregon fans
December 8th, 2011 by admin
Cliff Harris was dismissed from the Oregon football team Tuesday after violating team rules. Reports speculated those team rules included a citation for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana in Fresno, Calif., on Nov. 25, however that’s not been confirmed by the university.
Still, Harris took to his Facebook page to apologize to Ducks fans for “the circumstances that got me kicked off the team.”
It’s been a bad year for Harris, who started the football season suspended after being ticketed for driving 118 mph with a suspended license in a car that wasn’t his. On Oct. 24, he was suspended indefinitely after being cited for driving with a suspended license, without insurance and without a seat belt.
Harris finished his junior season with nine tackles and an interception, which was in stark contrast to his sophomore season that saw him break up 23 passes, average 18.8 yards per punt return and score four punt return touchdowns.
Harris’ football future is uncertain. He would have another year of eligibility remaining if he decided to transfer to another FBS school and use a redshirt season to sit out per NCAA transfer eligibility rules. If he were to go to a lower division school, he’d be eligible to play in 2012.
While Harris’ Facebook message is a bit cryptic, it will be interesting to see if he does, at some point, come clean about the events that led to his dismissal. At the very least he has a lot of support from Oregon fans: As of this evening, nearly 400 people liked his comment.
- – -
Curtsy (female version of the hat tip) to @Duckfootball
Graham Watson is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow her @Yahoo_Graham
The clock strikes midnight on Cliff Harris’ last chance at Oregon
December 6th, 2011 by admin
Based on his sophomore season at Oregon and the accompanying hype over the offseason, this should have been the week Cliff Harris basked in the adulation of All-America teams and whatever other awards were his for the taking. Instead, after a season on the bench and in the doghouse, it was the day he was booted from the team for good: Per a release from the university, Harris has been dismissed for — altogether now — an undisclosed violation of team rules, ending an enormously promising career on a whimper.
Whatever happened to be the final straw, we can be fairly certain that it was dumb. Harris’ previous suspensions this season were the result of progressively dumb infractions, beginning with getting caught going more than 50 mph above the speed limit in June, subsequently revealing $ 8,500 in unpaid fines since 2008. He was suspended again in late October for driving on a suspended license and without insurance. He was not cited on the first stop for telling an officer that he and starting quarterback Darron Thomas did not have any marijuana in the car because “we smoked it all.”
In a perfect world, Harris would have stayed on and turned in the kind of all-purpose season that just got LSU cornerback/punt returner/noted 420 aficionado Tyrann Mathieu invited to New York for a shot at the Heisman Trophy. Instead, he finishes the seasons with nine tackles and one interception in six games, none of them starts. He finishes his career with 61 tackles, eight interceptions and five touchdowns, four of them coming on punt returns. Presumably, he will now take his proverbial talents to the NFL Draft, where there will still be interest as long as Harris can still lock s— down.
Two of the six games Harris missed were the Ducks’ losses at the hands of LSU in the season opener and USC in October, where Oregon was especially stung by special teams errors and lapses in coverage, respectively, that made a critical difference in both games. Enough difference to turn either one in the Ducks’ favor? That’s too much to put on any player. But however small the margin, their chances of landing in the BCS Championship Game are somewhat higher if Harris plays in those games.
As it stands, the Ducks had more than enough explosiveness to win the conference without him, and did, and will go on to the Rose Bowl without him. Harris may still be on his way to the next level, but between him and his now-former team, I don’t think there’s much doubt which side missed the other this season the most.
- – -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
Oregon wins Pac-12 as James runs for 219 (AP)
December 3rd, 2011 by admin
As LaMichael James danced to celebrate Oregon’s third straight conference championship, fans surrounding him shouted “One More Year!” The junior running back ran for 219 yards and three touchdowns in the eighth-ranked Ducks’ 49-31 victory over UCLA in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game Friday night.