Not So Civil War, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. Last week's heartbreaking loss to Stanford really put a spin on the Ducks' season. We are in a very similar spot as we were last season after the USC loss, except we had a PAC 12 Championship game to fall back on last year. Now the Ducks are in need of a UCLA win over the Cardinal for a shot at the Rose Bowl. However, there is a scenario where Oregon does not want a championship game. There's a chance that Oregon can still make it to the Natty without winning their conference.
I know that USC is without Barkley, but that doesn't mean Notre Dame is just going to steamroll over the Trojans in Los Angeles. Keep in mind, SC quarterback Max Wittek was a top five recruit in his class, and he has two tremendous receivers to throw the ball to. The Irish have been having some troubles in their secondary as of late, and the Trojans have the type of firepower to exploit those weaknesses. So if USC can upset the Irish, that makes Oregon's road to Miami a little bit easier.
They would still need Florida State to beat Florida, but I don't think that will be much of a problem. Gator QB Jeff Driskel is probable to play with his ankle injury, but he is on the road against a very talented Seminole team, and the Noles should win with no issues. If both Notre Dame and Florida drop their rivalry games, all the Ducks need to do is take care of the Beavs in Corvallis, which will be no easy task.
Oregon State is looking for an At-Large bid for the BCS, and a win over the Ducks would make them very attractive to a game like the Fiesta Bowl. The Ducks are not only playing for a Rose Bowl or a possible National Championship, but they want to lock up a spot in the BCS. If Oregon doesn't want this season to be a complete bust, they need to beat the Beavers in the Civil War.

Natty Bound, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. It took some help from Johnny Football and the Aggies, but the Ducks now control their own destiny for a trip to the Natty. Before last week, many thought that if Oregon were to win out, they would have surpassed K-State in the polls anyway. But after the A&M upset over Alabama, they don't need to worry about leaping anybody. Their task becomes simple... Just win. With Game Day in town, tomorrow is by far the biggest test of the season for the Ducks. They may have more at stake, but Stanford is in control of their own fate to get to the Grand Daddy of them All, and that is plenty of incentive to win. A slight concern for the Ducks are the health status of their two Heisman hopefuls who suffered injuries against Cal. Barner and Mariota gave fans a major scare when they both left the game last week, but were able to come back in the game and make an impact. Kenjon Barner had a bit of a struggle, but was picked up big-time by Freshman QB Marcus Mariota, who threw for a career high six touchdowns and completed nearly 80% of his passes. Mariota has really proved himself over the last two weeks as an elite quarterback, and he should be given some serious consideration for a trip to New York. In my opinion, the Ducks have three players who have the potential to win the Heisman this year, and I think it will happen. I'm just not sure which of the three it will be.
The MVP for both leagues were announced yesterday, and there were no real surprises in the writer's choices. Buster Posey was the clear choice in the NL, and he beat out Ryan Braun and Yadier Molina to add an MVP to his list of hardware. Posey now has a ROY, Comeback Player of the Year, a Silver Slugger, Hank Aaron Award, 2 rings and now an MVP to put on his mantle. That is a great career for most players, but this 25 year old just finished his first full season in the big-leagues. Over in the AL, I had no idea why it was even a discussion. I mean, Miguel Cabrera won the first Triple Crown in 45 years and that alone should be able to give him MVP. Plus, the fact that he lead his team to the Playoffs is a big boost for him in the writer's eyes. Don't get me wrong, Mike Trout had the greatest rookie season ever recorded, but this honor was rightfully rewarded to Miggy. In the very near future, Trout will get his first MVP, and it won't be his only one.

Soaring, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. After last week's tough road test in Southern California, the Ducks have another crucial Pac 12 contest tomorrow in Berkeley, as the Cal Bears try to spoil Oregon's dream season. Last week, the Duck's offense looked just as explosive than ever, as Mariota and the boys dropped 62 on the Trojan defense to lead them to a perfect 9-0 record. Kenjon Barner put himself in the Heisman spotlight, rushing for a career-high 321 yards and found the end zone five times. I may be a bit bias, but Barner's season stats are second to none as far as the Heisman race goes. With three regular season games left, Barner has already rushed for nearly 1300 yards and 19 touchdowns. What makes this most impressive, is the fact that he is putting up these kind of numbers while only playing in one full game so far this season. By the way, that full game was against a preseason #1 on the road. Although the speedy Oregon offense may be better than ever, their defense will have to step their game up from last week's performance. Before the USC game, the Duck D was stellar, but the secondary didn't quite show up to the party last week. True, SC does have two spectacular wide-outs in Robert Woods and Marqise Lee receiving the ball from a talented Matt Barkley, but I don't think they should be able to put a 50 spot on the scoreboard. To our credit, we did get the stops when it mattered most. Tomorrow shouldn't be to big of a task, but Cal always plays the Ducks close, so it won't be a total cakewalk. This is just another stop on Oregon's way to another Natty.
I know we're less than two weeks into the NBA season, but there have been some pretty big story lines thus far. Let's start with the struggling Lakers. Sitting at 1-4 on the season, the Lakers haven't been looking to sharp with the new addition of Dwight Howard. Although Howard himself is playing at a high level, it just doesn't seem to mesh very well. Their lone win on the season is against the Pistons, who aren't particularly the toughest competition out there. The good thing for them, is that they have plenty of time to adjust before it is too late. Another hot topic is the new back court of the Houston Rockets. Consisting of James Harden and Jeremy Lin, the Rockets have gone from cellar dwellers to contenders overnight. Harden is leading the league in scoring, averaging over 30 PPG while Lin is back at it again averaging 7 assists and 3 steals. It looks like the west is going to be loaded this year, and it's going to be a fun season to watch.

BCS, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. After an all out demolition of the Sun Devils in the desert, the Ducks come back home to face the Colorado Buffaloes. For a team known for their potent offense, the most impressive aspect of Oregon's game has been their defense. The speedy Duck D has been outstanding thus far, allowing only 20 PPG in seven contests. And keep in mind, our scrubs gave up all 21 against ASU, so if it wasn't for Chip calling the dogs off so early, the Ducks' defensive stats could be even more impressive. Playing Colorado tomorrow won't help us any in the BCS polls, where the computers give no love to the city of Eugene. I mean, is it Oregon's fault that we are beating the teams on our schedule? Last season they received a lot of scrutiny for opening against LSU, and so far this year, we're being punished by the polls for not having an SEC type schedule where every game is a test. The Ducks have faced two ranked teams this year, and have outscored them 101-21. Now if that isn't taking care of business, I don't know what is.
Today is a World Series travel day, and for the first time this Postseason the Giants have a lead in the series. Tomorrow, the series will shift to Detroit tomorrow for three games, and if I'm a Tigers fan, I want to head back to the Bay only down 3-2. If they can win 2 out of 3 at home, they have a fighting chance in San Francisco. The Giants have been playing with their back against the wall all Playoffs long and I don't think they are going to blow this. This series will be closed out in Detroit, and the Gigantes will be World Champs.

Game Five, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. This is the first time in Postseason history where all four Division Series' have gone to a Game Five. Yesterday the two teams from the Bay fought their way back from an 0 - 2 deficit to force a Game Five, and the Giants ended up prevailing while the A's are headed home to watch the rest of the Playoffs on their couch. San Fran became the first NL team to win 3 straight games after being down 0-2, not to mention this new 2-3 format where the Giants dropped the first two games at AT&T. Their opponent in the NLCS will be determined today between the Nationals and the Cardinals where Jason Werth's walk off homer kept them out of elimination and alive for a Game Five. That game will be played tonight in Washington at 5:30 and the winner advances to play the Gigantes in the NLCS. Over in the American League, the Tigers were able to avoid disaster like the Reds and have advanced to play for a chance at the World Series. They now await the winner of the Orioles and Yankees today at 2:00 in Yankee Stadium. New York will be without a struggling A-Rod in the starting lineup as Joe Girardi decided to bench him after two straight games of being pinch-hit for. I personally do not agree with the decision. I think this team should live or die with Alex Rodriguez at the plate, regardless of his recent struggles. It has been a really exciting week of baseball and it continues tonight for the chance at the Fall Classic.
Speaking of New York, the Jets aren't having the kind of start to the season like they wanted to have. After getting demolished by the 49ers two weeks ago, people were already chanting TE - BOW, and I could not agree any more. On Monday, Sanchez improved but still doesn't have the kind of awareness that elite quarterbacks do in this league. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Tim Tebow is an elite QB by any means, but its time for Rex Ryan to give Tebow Time a chance. The Jets have a tough task on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colt,s and this game will either make or break Mark Sanchez of the starting quarterback role over Tebow.

Win or Go Home, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. 162 games have been played, and it all comes down to tonight for these four teams. In the NL, the Braves and Cardinals take on each other at Turner Field today at 3:00. Atlanta sends Kris Medlen to the mound as they look to win his 24th straight start. That's 23 in a row! He has been incredible this year for them, posting a 1.57 ERA and a 10-1 record , as he broke Whitey Ford's record for the most consecutive starts with a team victory. Not to mention the Bravo's have an extra incentive to win knowing this might be Chipper Jones' final game of his Hall of Fame career. He has not yet said if this in fact will or will not be his last game, but he is a class-act and probably does not want to distract from the game. For the other game over in Arlington, the Rangers take on the Orioles, as both teams had a disappointing end to the season. The O's were in position the win the East, but couldn't pull away with it, however they did not collapse like the Rangers did. Going into a final three game series with Oakland, they were up two games and all they had to do was win one and they couldn't. And that leads me to ask the question, did Oakland really have to celebrate clinching a Playoff birth, when they are two games away from a potential Division Title? Anyway, that game is also played tonight at 5:30, and the winner advances to the NLDS.

Some Competition, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. After last nights game between the Huskies and Stanford, it looks like the Ducks aren't the only team in the Pac-12 North. Cardinal quarterback Josh Nunes did not impress me at all, while Keith Price's composure on the Washington side of the ball really showed me that he can play at a high level, even when he doesn't have the numbers. It doesn't look like an easy road for Oregon this year to the Championship Game.
Speaking of the Ducks, they take on Washington State in Seattle tomorrow and the Ducks look to improve to 5-0 on the season, while Wasu is looking to get above the .500 mark. Sophomore CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu has been the spark plug to this Oregon defense and was named the National Defensive Back of the Week last week. With the contributions of Michael Clay and Ekpre-Olomu, this defense has had two consecutive shutouts and they believe they can get a third in Seattle tomorrow. The Cougars are definitely on the rise from where they were for the past couple of years, with Mike Leach as the new head coach and they are looking forward to the opportunity of knocking off the second ranked team in the land. Prediction -- Ducks 52  Cougars 20
Now with just over about a week left in the regular season, the race for October is just about as tight as it can be. In the AL East, the Yanks have just a one game lead on Baltimore and Tampa Bay is still holding on at four back in the division and only two back in the Wild Card. Over in the Central, the Tigers have taken a two game lead over the White Sox. In the National League it's a little more simple. Two teams have already clinched their division and two more have locked up a Playoff birth. The LA Dodgers, after spending all that money, are hanging on by a thread in the Wild Card at three games back. I look forward to what the rest of the week has in store!