November 5, 2009

Olin Buchanan
Rivals.com College Football

MORE: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | SEC | Others

And now that Oregon has extended its winning streak to seven in a row with a 27-point demolition of USC, they're talking about the Ducks.

There has been talk about winning the Pac-10 championship. There has been talk about going to the Rose Bowl. There has even been talk that the Ducks, who climbed to No. 8 in the BCS standings, could fight their way into a spot in the national championship game.

But the Ducks aren't talking. At least, that's what first-year coach Chip Kelly is saying.

"We don't talk about the league," Kelly said earlier this week. "We don't talk about championships. It would be going against everything I teach and our philosophy if we talked about the conference championship. We never talk about the Pac-10 championship, we never talk about the BCS rankings or any of those things."

Maybe that's because the Ducks have been in this position before, only to hear all talk abruptly silenced.

Two years ago, Oregon was ranked second in the nation and rolling to the national championship game. Then, quarterback Dennis Dixon suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-November and the Ducks closed the regular season with back-to-back losses.

Kelly insisted that isn't an issue.

"I don't sense that at all," he said. "The motto of this football program and what we stand for is 'Win the day.' We played very well [against USC] because of how we practiced. People keep hearing me say that - and I sound like a broken record - but when you practice well, you play well."

Kelly said the Ducks were extremely focused in their high-intensity practices before a 42-3 rout of California. They practiced well before a 43-19 victory over Washington and before ripping USC 47-20.

"The players understand they're in the position they're in now because of their preparation in the week," Kelly said. "The style and tempo we practice in - you have to be dialed in mentally. You can't go through the motions."

He said the Ducks must prepare for Stanford similarly this week, and not just to guard against letdowns after the emotional victory over the Trojans.

Stanford is coming off an open week and needs a victory to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time in eight years. A victory also would indicate the Cardinal are an emerging force in the Pac-10.

"There's definitely not a feeling of fear around the locker room," said Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, the Pac-10's leading rusher. "There's a feeling that this is an opportunity to make a name for ourselves and show that we're moving up into the top tier in the Pac-10."

Stanford is making that move largely because of the improved quarterback play of redshirt freshman Andrew Luck, who has passed for 1,825 yards and nine touchdowns with only three interceptions.

"I believe [Luck] is one of the top kids in the country," Kelly said. "You just can't gang up and put nine guys in the box and take care of Toby Gerhart. It probably takes nine guys in the box to take care of Toby Gerhart because he can really, really hurt you.

"But [Luck] does not allow you to gang up on just one aspect of the game. He forces you to be very balanced in your approach."

Oregon isn't changing its approach. Go ahead and talk about Oregon winning its first outright Pac-10 championship since 2001 and making its first Rose Bowl appearance since 1994. Kelly said his Ducks aren't listening.

"Just because we beat USC doesn't mean we'll win the rest of our games," he said. "You can't just go and show up. The key to winning the rest of our games is to prepare the way we did the last seven."

KEY MATCHUP: California rush offense vs. Oregon State rush defense. Cal ranks third in the Pac-10 in rushing offense. Oregon State ranks third in the conference in rushing defense. Cal RB Jahvid Best remains one of the most spectacular breakaway threats in the country. He has rushed for 838 yards and 11 touchdowns. But last week, he managed only 63 yards and didn't score in a come-from-behind win over Arizona State. Oregon State has allowed only one opposing running back to reach 100 yards this season.

PLAYER ON THE SPOT: Washington QB Jake Locker. Locker, who is slowed by a deep thigh bruise, has completed just under 55 percent of his passes and thrown four interceptions in the past two games - both losses. That trend is disconcerting with the Huskies next facing UCLA, which is second in the Pac-10 in pass defense and interceptions. The Huskies have lost four of their past five and their bowl hopes are fading fast. They must win three of their last four to become bowl eligible. They won't make it unless Locker plays extremely well.

NUMBERS GAME: The future looks better for Washington. Chris Polk is the Pac-10's second-most productive freshman running back with an average of 80.1 yards per game. Meanwhile, James Johnson, who averages 4.4 receptions per game, is the league's leading freshman receiver. And sophomore K Eric Folk is 12-of-14 on field-goal attempts. In the Huskies' most recent game, Folk connected on a career-long 48-yarder.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"If his arm was totally healthy, it'd be different because he gives you a little bit of a different dimension. But it's not there, so we've just got to kind of pick and choose what we do with him." - Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson, on the possibility of sophomore backup QB Samson Szakacsy seeing more action this week

"It's going to come down to everybody swarming to the ball and making sure we got him. They're going to try to run the ball and use the clock, just like we do." - Oregon State LB Keaton Kristick, on the plan to contain Cal's Best

"Stay the course. Our guys had a gutsy fourth quarter on Saturday. I'm proud of them hanging in the fight. ... This ship will sail!" - UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel's Twitter message to Bruins fans

ETC.: Arizona doesn't expect RB Nic Grigsby to be ready to play this week because of a sprained shoulder. ... Arizona State has lost sophomore WR T.J. Simpson for a month to a high ankle sprain. The Sun Devils lead the Pac-10 in rushing defense (80.1 yards), turnovers forced (21) and interceptions (13). ... Cal QB Kevin Riley has thrown eight touchdown passes in the past three games and leads the Pac-10 in scoring tosses with 13. Bears LB Mike Mohamed has led the team in tackles with at least nine stops in each of the past five games. ... Oregon redshirt freshman RB LaMichael James has rushed for 918 yards. He's 51 away from setting the school's freshman rushing record. ... Oregon State QB Sean Canfield has exceeded 300 yards passing with no interceptions in each of the past two games. The Beavers have won four consecutive games at Cal's Memorial Stadium and have won eight of the past 10 over the Bears. ... Stanford's Gerhart is 6 yards from the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive year, which would make him only the second player in school history to reach that plateau in multiple seasons. Darrin Nelson did it three times. ... USC has a 27-game winning streak in November. Trojans RBs Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford sat out practices early this week because of injuries. If they cannot play, C.J. Gable likely will get the start against Arizona State. ... Washington State DT Toby Turpin has blocked a field goal and an extra point attempt in the past two games. ... Former prized running back recruit Darrell Scott left Colorado and has indicated UCLA is among the schools he's now considering.

Olin Buchanan is the senior college football writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at olin@rivals.com.