Each week when the BCS standings are released, UO coach Chip Kelly shrugs and says he?s content to ignore them until after the regular season, trusting that if the Ducks handle their business ? i.e., keep winning ? they?ll be rewarded.
On Sunday that strategy showed itself to be sound. Though Kelly has passed on the chance to openly campaign for his team in a hotly contested, four-team race for two spots in the BCS title game, the Ducks moved up a place to No. 3 in the standings, and it had nothing to do with those troublesome computer rankings.
Oregon remains fifth by the consensus of the six BCS computers that are averaged to account for one-third of its score in the standings. But the Ducks strengthened their No. 2 position in each of the USA Today and Harris polls, thanks to their win over USC on Saturday.
That bump pushed Oregon (9-0, 5-0 Pac-12) past Notre Dame in the standings, .917 to .905. The Irish saw their score slip after falling from first to second in the computer rankings, but even if they?d held steady, the Ducks? bump in the polls would have been enough to move them into No. 3.
Alabama jumped to first in the computers and remained first in both polls, strengthening its score atop the BCS standings at .996. Kansas State remained second, at .932 but like Notre Dame saw its computer ranking fall, narrowing the gap between the Wildcats and Ducks overall.
Most analysts? projections still anticipate Oregon passing Kansas State and playing Alabama for the national title, if all of the top four teams remain undefeated entering the bowls.
?We still have three games to go,? Kelly said Sunday. ?It?s a ?what-have-you-done-for-me-lately? deal in college football. By the time we get to practice Monday, everybody will have forgotten what we did Saturday.?
While that sentiment has merit ? moving on quickly to this week?s opponent, California ? it?s likely Oregon?s win at USC will be remembered for some time. If nothing else it will hold a special place at Oregon, after senior Kenjon Barner ran for a school-record 321 yards with five touchdowns.
Fueled by that outburst, Barner moved into a tie for first nationally in scoring with 13.33 points per game, and jumped from 10th to second in rushing with an average of 143.89 yards per game. Chris Huston, the ?Heisman Pundit? who writes for CBS Sports, suggested Sunday that Barner remains one of three realistic candidates for the Heisman Trophy, along with quarterbacks Collin Klein of Kansas State and A.J. McCarron of Alabama.
?I?ve said I think Kenjon?s one of the great running backs in the country, and I think he?s proving that to everybody,? Kelly said.
Barner?s totals were boosted by a rare chance to continue carrying the load late in the game, something only possible because the Trojans matched Oregon touchdown for touchdown much of the night. Barner?s 12 carries in the fourth quarter were two more than he had in the fourth quarters of the Ducks? eight previous games combined ? he had nine against Fresno State, and one, for an 80-yard touchdown, against Washington State.
Barner ran for 71 yards on those 12 carries Saturday, with two touchdowns, as the Ducks clinched their 13th straight road victory, the longest streak in the country.
?I think it?s a combination of him staying at the level he was playing at early, and the other team getting fatigued,? Kelly said of Barner?s late production.
Barner was complemented by freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota, who completed 20-of-23 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Mariota moved up to seventh nationally and first in the Pac-12 with a 168.53 passer rating, and helped the Ducks remain first in scoring nationally, at 54.33 points per game.
Mariota also answered one of the few lingering questions out there, handling himself with aplomb as the Ducks endured a competitive fourth quarter for the first time this season.
?I think it helps, obviously,? Kelly said. ?You get a chance to see what guys can do in game-like conditions. We were confident that?s how they were going to respond, but you don?t know until you put them in those situations.?
The offense?s efficiency helped the Ducks overcome their worst defensive performance of the season, as they struggled to contend with USC?s passing game, particularly after suffering several injuries along the defensive front. USC?s Matt Barkley threw for 484 yards and five touchdowns, against an Oregon secondary that until Saturday had been a revelation this season.
?It wasn?t like guys were wide open and there was no one on him, and a busted coverage,? Kelly said. ?A lot of times we were close, but they made the play.?
Many of those plays were by receiver Marqise Lee, who also repeatedly hurt the Ducks on kickoff returns. Kelly said coaches discussed other strategies during the game but decided to continuing kicking to Lee, sticking by a kickoff coverage unit that had generally been solid until Saturday.
?We?ve been good at covering kickoffs,? Kelly said. ?But when you play a kid like Marqise, if one kid doesn?t fit his gap the right way, it turns into a huge gain.?
Oregon will try to clean up those deficiencies this week before taking on the Golden Bears on Saturday. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m., to accommodate an ESPN telecast, the fifth time this season the Ducks have played in that evening time slot.
A kickoff time for the following game, the regular-season finale in Autzen Stadium against Stanford on Nov. 17, will be announced either today or Sunday, if the TV networks use a second straight ?six-day window? option for filling their time slots.
The Golden Bears (3-7, 2-5) lost to Washington this past week. They played without star receiver Keenan Allen because of a knee injury, and lost quarterback Zach Maynard during the game to what was diagnosed Sunday as a knee strain. If Maynard is unable to start against the Ducks, Cal would turn to Allan Bridgford.
?Zach?s probably a little bit more mobile than Bridgford is, and I don?t know if that changes their decision about how they?re going to run things offensively,? Kelly said. ?I think we need to prepare for both guys, in terms of what we?re going to do.?
BCS standings
1, Alabama .996
2, Kansas State .932
3, Oregon .917
4, Notre Dame .905
5, Georgia .817
6, Florida ..787
7, LSU .705
8, South Carolina .621
9, Louisville .604
10, Florida State .597
See full standings in Scoreboard, Page C4.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rgsports/~3/8ze6ld1QqtM/ducks-oregon-game-barner-kelly.html.csp
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