COLLEGE FOOTBALL FINAL: HOW ABOUT THOSE OREGON DUCKS

The Oregon Ducks didn’t play in the college football finals last night. Neither did Oklahoma.

Today the final rankings came out. Oregon was #5 in the polls that matter, #7 in a network poll where the people probably didn’t stay awake for PAC12 games, and #6 in a poll of experts last updateD in early December.

Final Four school Oklahoma was ranked behind Oregon in the two polls that matter, and #4 in polls where people mailed it in: “Loser in the final four stays in the top four.”

Georgia was #4 in the polls ahead of Oregon’s #5, and they would have crushed Oklahoma. And probably Oregon.

As an Oregon fan whose preseason predictions always start with the Ducks winning it all, I wasn’t disappointed this year. I saw the games on television, and Arizona State in the stands, but more on that later.

Oregon Lost Title Game Twice

After the 2010 season the Ducks played Auburn in the BCS title game. They lost a squeaker to a mercenary team led by Cam Newton in his one and done transfer season.

Four years later they lost to Ohio State in the CFP title game. This was the same school that was drug through the mud later.

According to my research staff, the national champion Buckeyes of 2014 were an exceptional team:

That Ohio St football team that beat the Ducks had Joe Burrow, Zeke, Michael Thomas and 3 other NFL receivers, Joey Bosa, 5 starting NFL secondary guys, a pro bowler tackle on the titans and 2 NFL linebackers. No wonder we lost.

A quick check shows Burrow showed up for Ohio in 2015, the same Joe Burrow who showed up for LSU in 2018 as a graduate transfer.

How good was Joe Burrow this year?

Heisman Trophy (2019), Maxwell Award (2019), Walter Camp Award (2019), Associated Press College Football Player of the Year (2019), Sporting News Player of the Year (2019), Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2019), Davey O’Brien Award (2019), Unanimous All-American (2019), SEC Offensive Player of the Year (2019), First Team All-SEC (2019), National Championship Offensive MVP (2019), College Football Playoff National Championship(2019), SEC Champion (2019), FBS single-season passing TD record (60) (2019), SEC single-season passing yards record (5,671) (2019)

No one was beating LSU with Joe Burrow, including the Ducks. But they would have done better than Oklahoma.

The Ducks didn’t get into the final four because of their game against Arizona State in Tempe, the game I saw live. What happened down there?

It wasn’t a normal game. Oregon came in big, but it was Sun Devil Homecoming weekend, complete with a four jet flyover that hit the afterburners on the way out. Every ASU superstar was introduced during TV timeouts.

The Devils had a skinny quarterback that hit his receivers all night long, mostly because of the pass rush, which was non-existent for most of the game. The guy had more time than it takes an Arizona Gila monster to cross the road.

On the Oregon side of the ball, the exchange between center and quarterback in the shotgun looked like slow-pitch softball. The hiked ball took as much time getting to Justin Herbert as the defensive linemen.

Arizona State ended Oregon’s title hopes, but not their will to finish the rest of the season on top. Which is what happened. They won the PAC12, then the Rose Bowl. If you’re a college football fan reading this and thinking, Big deal, go review the bowl games the rest of the league played in.

Instead of rolling over after losing a shot at the golden ring, the Oregon Ducks regrouped and ramped up against a Utah team built for the big time, then a Wisconsin team of bitter men who thought they deserved more than the Rose Bowl. Maybe they did, and another year might make a difference.

Finishing Top 5 in polls that pay attention is a huge year for a coach in his second season as the head man. After so much turnover at the top the past few years, Oregon is set.

Who’ve you got for next season? I’ll take the Oregon Ducks in the title game, but I always do.