This is our running thread of Oregon’s signees as signing day commences.

We get most of our information from Twitter as Oregon doesn’t announce their letters of intent until Chip Kelly has a press conference whenever he damn-well feels like. Pretty run of the mill for Chip.

The media love him.

The question marks remaining are wide receiver Bralon Addison, a current Texas A&M commit, athlete Bryan Harper, wide receiver Thomas Johnson, a Texas decommit, wide receiver Chance Allen, a current Oklahoma State commit, and whomever else Oregon went after under the radar.

The experts are predicting Johnson goes to Texas A&M, while Oregon has the slight edge for the other three.

Stay tuned to this thread to see if Oregon receives faxes from those guys along with everyone else currently committed.

As the day goes on we will move the commits up to the signee area. Those are the kids who we confirmed (one way or another) sent in their faxes.

Update: Addison and Allen both signed with Oregon.

Update: Only remaining targets (that we know of) for Oregon are Harper and WR Julian Brooks, who is visiting this Friday.

Update: Harper signed with Arizona. Still just Brooks and possibly some more walk-ons to go along with former Sheldon two-star linebacker Dawson Housley.

Oregon’s 2012 Signees

National Rankings:

• ESPN: 18
• Rivals: 15
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): 15
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): 14

Position Breakdown:

• QB: 2
• RB: 1
• WR: 3
• TE: 2
• OL: 1
• DL: 6
• LB: 1
• DB: 4
• P: 1

Offense:

Jake Rodrigues, QB, 6’2″ 210 lbs. Whitney High School (Calif.) *Already Enrolled

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 12-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 5-ranked pro-style QB; No. 165 on Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 17-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 16-ranked pro-style QB.
• Elite 11 Quarterback.
• Video Highlights: Here.
• More Here.

Byron Marshall, RB, 5’10″ 195 lbs. Valley Christian High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 10-ranked RB; No. 127 on ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 8-ranked RB; No. 114 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 18-ranked RB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 95 OVR; No. 8-ranked RB; No. 102 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Brad Kupper

Dwayne Stanford, WR, 6’5″ 195 lbs. Taft High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 35-ranked WR.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 23-ranked WR; No. 164 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 51-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 66-ranked WR.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Liz Dufour

Kyle Long, OT, 6’7″ 290 lbs. Saddleback College (VA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 30-ranked JC player.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 94 OVR; No. 13-ranked JC player.

Chance Allen, WR, 6’3″ 191 lbs. Elkins High School (TX)

• ESPN: Three-star; 75 OVR; No. 141-ranked WR.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 94-ranked WR.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 115-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 84 OVR; No. 120-ranked WR.

Jeff Lockie, QB, 6’2″ 185 lbs. Monte Vista High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Two-star; 74 OVR; No. 105-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 49-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 84 OVR; No. 19-ranked DUAL QB.

Pharaoh Brown, TE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Brush High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 14-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 3-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 12-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 17-ranked WDE.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.
• Offense-Defense Bowl All American West Team Offensive MVP.

Evan Baylis, TE, 6’5″ 220 lbs. Grandview High School (Co.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 11-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 9-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 9-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 9-ranked TE.

Bralon Addison, WR, 5’10″ 182 lbs. Hightower High School (TX)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 18-ranked WR; No. 129 on ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 18-ranked WR.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 14-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 95 OVR; No. 11-ranked WR; No. 91 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All American “Elite Status”

Defense:

Stetzon Bair, DT, 6’9″ 260 lbs. Iowa Western Community College (IA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 83 OVR; No. 90-ranked JC player.

Oshay Dunmore, S, 6’2″ 195 lbs. Newport High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 65-ranked ATH.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 36-ranked ATH.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 60-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 18-ranked ATH.

Eric Amoako, S, 5’11″ 190 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 31-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 57-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 25-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 52-ranked S.

Photo from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Stephen Amoako, CB, 5’10″ 175 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 39-ranked CB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 62-ranked CB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 82-ranked CB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 35-ranked CB.
• Feature video on both brothers: here.

DeForest Buckner, DE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Punahou High School (HI)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 57-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 17-ranked SDE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 17-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 25-ranked WDE.

Cody Carriger, DE, 6’6″ 230 lbs. Butte High School (MT.)

• ESPN: Not rated; 45 OVR.
• Rivals: Two-star; 5.4 rating; No. 3-ranked player in Montana.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 90-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 87 OVR; No. 38-ranked WDE.
• ESPN camp results: 4.85 40-yard dash, 4.79 20-yard shuttle, 33.6 vertical jump.

Photo by Walter Hinick/Montana Standard

Alex Balducci, DE, 6’4″ 262 lbs. Central Catholic High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 45-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.9 rating; No. 8-ranked DE; No. 97 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 33-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 22-ranked SDE.
• U.S. Army All American.

Brett Bafaro, LB, 6’2″ 220 lbs. Liberty High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 43-ranked ILB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 23-ranked OLB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 62-ranked OLB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 25-ranked ILB.

Terrence “TJ” Daniel, DE, 6’7″ 240 lbs. Bishop O’Dowd High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 102-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 45-ranked DE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 114-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 64-ranked ATH.

Reggie Daniels, S, 6’0″ 170 lbs. Hamilton High School (AZ)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 16-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 23-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 16-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 93 OVR; No. 14-ranked S; No. 231 on Top 247.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.

Arik Armstead, DL, 6’8″ 285 lbs. Pleasant Grove High School (Calif)

• ESPN: Four-star; 83 OVR; No. 3-ranked OT; No. 24 in ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 6.0 rating; No. 6-ranked DE; No. 61 in Rivals 100.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Five-star; No. 1-ranked OT.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Five-star; 100 OVR; No. 1-ranked ATH; No. 4 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All American.

Special Teams:

Dylan Ausherman, P, 6’3″ 180 lbs. College of the Seqouias (Calif)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank JC players
• Rivals: Two-star; 5.4 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Two-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Two-star; 70 OVR.
• Best Punter at the Chris Sailer at the Sailer Kicking Camp.
• No. 2 Punter in the nation, according to Sailer.

With signing day just a few days away, one of the few question marks remaining for Oregon’s 2012 recruiting class turned into an emphatic exclamation point Sunday afternoon.

As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Pleasant Grove High School lineman Arik Armstead committed to play football and basketball in Eugene.

Armstead puts a cap on (so to speak) what was already a solid class, especially at the defensive line position, which is where it’s expected he’ll begin when he arrives in Eugene. I say that because several outlets rate him as one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the nation, while others rate him similarly at defensive line.

Either way he’ll challenge to play immediately. His best chance at that is probably at defense end in the void left by Terrell Turner, but with his size it’s safe to assume he could play defensive tackle too.

Arik Armstead with his parents at his announcement today. Photo from Dan Greenspan's Twitter

I can’t remember who the last guy to play basketball and football at Oregon is, but … oh yeah, it’s Jordan Kent.

“Hey, did you know that Jordan Kent was a letter winner in three sports when he attended the University of Oregon?” said every play-by-play guy on every broadcast Jordan Kent ever played on.

Armstead is also a two-star power forward on ESPN.com, which should tell you he has pretty good feet. That athleticism would serve him well on offense, but Oregon recruited the offensive line extremely well last year and defensive line is a more likely place Armstead could play next year.

He already graduated high school and said he plans to enroll at the UO in March for Spring practices.

The only reason, it seems, that Armstead is going to Oregon is because Tosh Lupoi got hired by Washington after the Cal board of directors denied Jeff Tedford’s application to get him a raise. He was a very solid Cal commit up until that point. Obviously Washington isn’t enough of a draw for Lupoi to keep his grasp on Armstead, despite Washington sending seven coaches out in their last in-home visit last week.

It was reported that Chip Kelly and Jim Mora Jr. were the only coaches who didn’t use negative recruiting, and that Kelly was honest and up front about things, including his own shaky future in Eugene.

Some players appreciate that kind of thing. Armstead’s father, Gus, said Arik is clearly one of those.

The only question remaining is whether Armstead’s buddy Shaq Thompson flips from Cal to Oregon as well. Both of them discussed going to the same school for a long time, but the change at Cal probably changed that. The thing to watch for is that Thompson is a lot more connected to Lupoi than Armstead, so the experts expect Thompson to follow Lupoi to Seattle, despite him still being a solid commit to Cal.

Obviously — getting back to Armstead — a commitment is a lot different than a signed letter of intent, so we’ll see if he actually sends it Oregon’s way.

Stay tuned, I guess. All will be answered Wednesday.

By the way, the plan, as we did last year, is to have our SIGNING DAY SPECTACULAAAAAAAAAAR, where we’ll update the LsOI as they’re reported on Twitter. Remember, Oregon doesn’t announce their signees until a mid-day press conference, so the best anyone can do is pay attention to Matt Prehm, Justin Hopkins, Greg Biggins, and Chris Courtney and whoever else reports that stuff for Oregon on Twitter. Or you can follow our thread on Wednesday because we’ll do it for you.

Arik Armstead, OT/DE/DT, 6’8″ 285 lbs. Pleasant Grove High School (Calif)

• ESPN: Four-star; 83 OVR; No. 3-ranked OT; No. 24 in ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 6.0 rating; No. 6-ranked DE; No. 61 in Rivals 100.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Five-star; No. 1-ranked OT.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Five-star; 100 OVR; No. 1-ranked ATH; No. 4 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All American.

Oregon’s 2012 Commits So Far:

National Rankings:

• ESPN: 21
• Rivals: 15
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): 12
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): 15

Position Breakdown:

• QB: 2
• RB: 1
• WR: 1
• TE: 2
• OL: 1
• DL: 7
• LB: 1
• DB: 4

Defense: 

Reggie Daniels, S, 6’0″ 170 lbs. Hamilton High School (AZ)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 16-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 23-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 16-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 93 OVR; No. 14-ranked S; No. 231 on Top 247.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.

DeForest Buckner, DE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Punahou High School (HI)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 57-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 17-ranked SDE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 17-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 25-ranked WDE.

Alex Balducci, DE, 6’4″ 262 lbs. Central Catholic High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 45-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.9 rating; No. 8-ranked DE; No. 97 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 33-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 22-ranked SDE.
• U.S. Army All American.

Cody Carriger, DE, 6’6″ 230 lbs. Butte High School (MT.)

• ESPN: Not rated; 45 OVR.
• Rivals: Two-star; 5.4 rating; No. 3-ranked player in Montana.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 90-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 87 OVR; No. 38-ranked WDE.
• ESPN camp results: 4.85 40-yard dash, 4.79 20-yard shuttle, 33.6 vertical jump.

Photo by Walter Hinick/Montana Standard

Oshay Dunmore, S, 6’2″ 195 lbs. Newport High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 65-ranked ATH.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 36-ranked ATH.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 60-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 18-ranked ATH.

Eric Amoako, S, 5’11″ 190 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 31-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 57-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 25-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 52-ranked S.

Photo from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Stephen Amoako, CB, 5’10″ 175 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 39-ranked CB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 62-ranked CB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 82-ranked CB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 35-ranked CB.

Feature video on both brothers: here.

Stetzon Bair, DT, 6’9″ 260 lbs. Iowa Western Community College (IA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 83 OVR; No. 90-ranked JC player.

Brett Bafaro, LB, 6’2″ 220 lbs. Liberty High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 43-ranked ILB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 23-ranked OLB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 62-ranked OLB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 25-ranked ILB.

Terrence “TJ” Daniel, DE, 6’7″ 240 lbs. Bishop O’Dowd High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 102-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 45-ranked DE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 114-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 64-ranked ATH.

Bryce Cottrell, DE, 6’3″ 230 lbs. Plano West Senior High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Two-star; 74 OVR; No. 115-ranked OLB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 42-ranked SDE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 50-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 49-ranked OLB.

Offense:

Evan Baylis, TE, 6’5″ 220 lbs. Grandview High School (Co.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 11-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 9-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 9-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 9-ranked TE.

Pharaoh Brown, TE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Brush High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 14-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 3-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 12-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 17-ranked WDE.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.
• Offense-Defense Bowl All American West Team Offensive MVP.

Jeff Lockie, QB, 6’2″ 185 lbs. Monte Vista High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Two-star; 74 OVR; No. 105-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 49-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 84 OVR; No. 19-ranked DUAL QB.

Kyle Long, OT, 6’7″ 290 lbs. Saddleback College (VA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 30-ranked JC player.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 94 OVR; No. 13-ranked JC player.

Dwayne Stanford, WR, 6’5″ 195 lbs. Taft High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 35-ranked WR.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 23-ranked WR; No. 164 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 51-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 66-ranked WR.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Liz Dufour

Byron Marshall, RB, 5’10″ 195 lbs. Valley Christian High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 10-ranked RB; No. 127 on ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 8-ranked RB; No. 114 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 18-ranked RB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 95 OVR; No. 8-ranked RB; No. 102 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Brad Kupper

Jake Rodrigues, QB, 6’2″ 210 lbs. Whitney High School (Calif.) *Already Enrolled

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 12-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 5-ranked pro-style QB; No. 165 on Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 17-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 16-ranked pro-style QB.
• Elite 11 Quarterback.
• Video Highlights: Here.
• More Here.

The 5-star linemen that everyone wants, has apparently (?) enrolled at Cal.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but just enrolling isn’t actually ‘binding’ in the eyes of the NCAA, right? One has to actually start taking classes before the commitment becomes official?

Mr. Armstead is currently enjoying his trip out to Auburn, and haters gon’ hate (namely, USC fans).

All I have to say is that Tedford is an absolute magician in the recruiting field. I don’t get it, at all. With all of his recent wizardry, one has to wonder how he the partnership of himself and Willie Lyles didn’t create the worlds next superpower?

Oh well, they are still rolling with bumbling Jefferey, so no real reason to sweat about their on-field performance.

Cal Football: First on signing day, fourth in the North.

Fast forward to the 1:12 mark

Ha, it’s about time the sports gods were on the Ducks side for once. If the back judge was actually paying attention to the ball game, Wisconsin would have got to regroup for one final play. And if history is any indication, they would have scored a TD and eventually gone on to win the game… It would have gone down with the “Blount Punt”, “Michael ‘Fucking’ Dyer” and  “MaLOLdonado” as blunders sticking with the Ducks like a Thanksgiving meal to your rib cage.

If you remember the previous play, Boyett went ‘Chuck Cecil’ on Nick Toon and got up weebling and wobbling like Dennis Erickson leaving a bar, so I guarantee you Boyett has no idea why, or even that he was wanting that time out.

If nothing else, this just confirms that Bert Bielema committed a gaffe by spiking the ball and not running the play. Even a guy with a concussion knew there is no way to spike the ball with two seconds and get another play…

I would love to know what Boyett was saying to that official. “Dude, I was calling a time out, what gives?!?! Oh, the game is over? He really called for the spike? Listen, I can’t see straight, he really did that? Oh, thanks, for not calling that time out, I was just signaling a play to Money Makin’ Mitch anyway.”

This brings up so many questions. Is this common place in Wisconsin? Just going for a nice leisurely Sunday drive with Grammy, and all of a sudden you’re just dodging chicks pissing on the side of the road like it’s no big deal? That’s disgusting. Notice how all the guys actually ran up the little hill, so they could pee in privacy? And they are infinitely more equipped for the roadside piss. That is proof that not only are chicks lazier than guys, but we are 100% smarter. Seriously, if I have the option of peeing in a crowded thicket, or along the 110 in Rose Bowl gridlock, I’m choosing the thicket every single time. See this is why I don’t ever want a daughter. The thought of them pulling a stunt like this already keeps me up at night.

PS-I’ve been on those bowl game charters, you know a month in advance when the bus is heading for the stadium, so you empty your bladder on the way from your room. Which begs the question of who had worse clock management; these ladies, or Bret Bielema?

I checked the first 4 preseason polls for the 2012 college football season that the Google machine produced and all agree LSU, USC, Alabama, and Oregon get the top 4 slots. Can’t disagree and good company to be in on an annual basis, I must say. While I agree with King that non title game bowl wins speak much less about a program’s worth than what most say, it is cool for the ‘hoopla’ that surrounds the last 5 months – but little more than that.

Now if more than two teams in the conference could be worth a shit…

No offense+regional rematch+not getting hooked by “game of the century” hype again=moribund TV ratings for last nights Alabama bludgeoning of LSU.

Honestly, I’m a little surprised the numbers aren’t higher, mainly because, what else was really on? Using that last free night of the NBA League Pass to check out Bobcats v Hawks? Was the Soup Nazi episode on again?

Last night’s game drew a paltry 13.8 rating, the lowest for a title game in the BCS era that started in 1998. The previous low was Miami-Nebraska in the 2002 Rose Bowl. If you want to draw a parallel between the two; both of these games were semi-controversial (2002 exponential more so)  and involved team most didn’t believe belonged in the game.

For comparisons sake, last years game between Oregon and Auburn shattered ratings at the World Wide Leader, with 27.3 million people tuning in and earning a 17.8 overnight. Not much of a surprise, as it involved two high powered offenses and teams from the west and the south. Oh, and lets not overlook how unlikeable both Auburn and Oregon are to a lot of people. Cam and Cecil, Chipper and his wardrobe changing Ducks, lots of people probably just tuned in to see their least favorite team lose.

As an aside, I wonder if the low rating will force ESPN to move the games off of cable. Surely there is a method to their madness, but if the games were on ABC, the rating would no doubt be higher. The BCS games in general this year on ESPN were down 21 percent from 2009 when they were on FOX — free TV — and no one could even  stand the FOX production of the games.

In a rematch of an SEC West Division game that promises to be as exciting as a night full of Tylenol PM and and the Lifetime channel, those outside of the gooberish and meatball Bible Belt are grasping at reasons to not only watch the game, but pick a winner.

The only logical way, is to compare the LSU and Alabama ladies that are partying on Bourbon Street today.

Looking good ladies! Unbelievably sexy, no question. Give me anyone of those and a gallon of sweet tea, and just call it Heaven. Roll Damn Snide.

GRRRRRRR…Tigahs bay on da preauxwl.

Umm…does anyone really win here? I guess it’s all personal preference, but regardless, the face of Southern Belles has been inextricably altered.

Now that the dust has settled, the confetti has been cleaned up and the hangover is gone from last weeks Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin, it’s time to look back and try and place the 2011 Oregon Ducks football team in it’s proper place in school history.

Listen, in no way am I trying to diminish what the Ducks accomplished this year. It was fantastic, no question about it. Finally getting that ’1917′ monkey off the back was a relief. The win was like one giant middle finger to everyone saying Oregon can’t win a big game (though, I would argue the Rose wasn’t even the Ducks biggest game of the year)  and confirmation that, yeah, Chip Kelly is a good little ball coach. It has left all of the 206 scrambling for new ammo, and predictably shooting blanks, that’s always fun.

Because it was the first Rose Bowl win in 95 friggin’ years, it seems some are a little drunk on the accomplishment.

My little quibble with the notion that the 2011 Oregon Ducks ended up having the best season ever is an indictment of the BCS, not the actual team. Listen I’m generally a “BCS guy”, I could adapt to a new format, but you can’t convince me this system isn’t exponentially better than what college football used pre-1998. The notion that one team could earn a share in the Rose Bowl while beating an 8-win turd from the Big Ten, while  Miami and Nebraska had to slug it out to garner the other half later that night in the Orange Bowl, boggles my mind. All that said, the BCS system has marginalized the actual non-title BCS games. Perhaps they always really were, but in the BCS era the games have become the destination, not the actual outcomes. Save for maybe 2003 when SC and LSU split the title, they have no real tangible importance. Sure, you get a bigger trophy if you win the BCS game, but who cares.

Listen I understand if you are playing the game the object is to win, I do. But, take last year for example. Oregon crushed Stanford, won the league. Oregon lost by three to Auburn in the BCS Championship Game. Furd beat a ‘meh’ Va Tech team in the Orange Bowl. Both finished with one loss, who had a better season? I mean, Stanford did win their BCS game… The only answer is Oregon, period.

I know they weren’t played on a glorious January afternoon tucked in between the San Gabriel mountains, but if you just go off the final regular season rankings, Oregon played three “bigger games” against “better teams” than they played on January 2, right?

The one debatable game is the USC game, as regardless of the outcome, Oregon was still going to end up in Pasadena. But, no question in my mind that the LSU and Stanford games were “bigger” than the Rose Bowl. Beat LSU, maybe Oregon is prepping to play Alabama right as we speak? Lose to Stanford (even if they followed that up with a win over SC), Oregon probably got the nod to put 102 points on that shitty Baylor defense in the Alamo Bowl…

Again, winning the Rose Bowl was really really cool. But, considering the circumstances that landed the #2 Ducks in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl against the #3 Buffs, in a way I already sort of thought they had won their ‘Rose Bowl.’

That Fiesta Bowl had national title implications for the winner, as if Nebraska shocked the world in the Rose Bowl against The U, the AP certainly would have given the title to the winner. How was that not bigger than this years Rose Bowl? Traditionalists probably will disagree, but to argue otherwise is foolish.

Obviously last years title game was bigger than this years Rose Bowl, no one will debate that.

So the question of where this teams is placed historically, to me, is an easy one. It’s squarely sitting at #3, and it doesn’t even bother me that a team that ended it’s season with a loss is placed above it.

Separating the 2002 Ducks and the 2010 Ducks is where it gets a little tricky. If it came down to pure talent, the 02 Ducks were clearly a notch above. Think about all the guys that played in the NFL off that team. But, it’s not always about that, as the 2007 Ducks were off the charts talented as well, and well…I won’t even bring that one up. You have to give credit the the 2010 Ducks for going unblemished in the regular season and obliterating everyone other than Cal and eventually Auburn. Also, if Oregon had rightfully gotten their chance against that historically good Miami team, they probably end the season with two losses instead of one. Though, would you really bet against Joey pulling a rabbit out of his hat and mucking out a win somehow???

In the end, I give the slight nod to the 2010 Ducks as the best in school history. Do I think they were as talented as 2002, no I don’t. But, college football is the one sport that puts more importance on games in September and October (or at least that’s what they say, pay no attention to that SEC West Division rematch tonight…) than they do on any bowl game that isn’t being played to crown the champion, so going undefeated in the regular season and playing for the title puts them over the edge.

1. 2010 Ducks

2. 2001 Ducks

3. 2011 Ducks

4 2007 Ducks (just because come on, they had the Heisman and title on absolute lock)

Craigslist.com

I mean, hey, why not? After all, he did just win a Rose Bowl.

Pics from the seller:

Other LaMichael James autographs for sale, for comparisons sake.

The validity of these autographs, or any others purporting to be signed by James, are  certainly questionable. Regardless, it’s nice he is going pro so he can finally financially gain from such silly things as signing initials and numbers on a plastic helmet or a piece of paper.

If you want to spend $350 on this, you know where to go. It’s America, spend as you please.

[thanks to @jedsparty for the heads up]