The Whacky Pac-10

This conference is insane. Really. How can so many teams still have a shot at a trip to Pasadena on January 1st? What more insane is that all those teams sport respectable records and a Top-25 ranking. Here is a link to a post I did two weeks ago about the state of the Pac-10 after Week 9. Now, look how the conference looks right now (courtesy of ESPN):

Here is what jumps out to me with the current state of the Pac:
1. U$C is in 5th place and will probably not finish higher than 3rd.
2. 6 teams have earned bowl eligibility, with UCLA one win away, and ASU having a shot at it too.
3. While Arizona is in 4th, they still control their destiny.
4. Stanford is 2nd, and would probably not fall beyond 5th.
5. A 3 way tie, if not 4 way tie is still not out of the question.

Oh by the way, I am pretty sure that I correctly gave props to Stanford a month and a half ago, after just 5 weeks into the college football season. Furthermore, I also knew Andrew Luck was a special player (took me a game in person to do it, but still) in addition to TG. Then again, if Cal beats Stanford in Palo Alto next Saturday, it can all change once again. How can anyone NOT love this???

The Stupidity of the Polls

This past weekend in college football was an exciting one as many top teams fell to lesser opponents most notably Oregon and Iowa. The most disturbing development in the aftermath of these upsets in my opinion is how Oregon is down in the polls behind none other than, wait for it... U$C. When I first saw the polls on Sunday, I plainly responded with a "Say What?" How is it possible that both teams have the same overall record, Oregon holds the better conference record by one game, and Oregon destroyed the Trojans a week ago yet are four and six spots lower in the polls? Short term memory much? Perhaps. More disturbing is the fact is that U$C was facing a potentially winning drive by ASU, a team that is far from being bowl eligible. Earlier in the day up in Palo Alto, Oregon lost to Stanford. Stanford's record is 6-3, ASU's is 4-5. Both the Ducks and Trojans have another blemish on their record. U$C lost to lowly Washington which has a record of 3-6, and Oregon lost to Boise State, which has yet to lose a game.

To summarize: the teams that beat Oregon have a record of 15-3 while those that beat U$C have a record of 7-11. Additionally, Oregon handed U$C it's worst loss of the decade with a pounding on Halloween night only a week ago. My question is, who are the morons that are allowed to vote in these polls? I mean, it's not like national championships and millions of dollars are on the line here, right?

Oregon Football Jersey Week: Part II

I guess if my school had the CEO of Nike as an alum, I'd have a new jersey each season too. You would think though that a reputable sports outfitter like Nike would have at least hired some decent fashion designers so that travesties like the one below never happened.
Oregon Football 2006: We're so hard our shoulders and knees are steel pattern bro! Man we're tough!

Oh man. These were the jerseys that Oregon debuted my freshman year of college. I remember seeing them for the first time and being like..."what is that on their shoulders...isn't that like a steel pattern that you see inside of submarines and battleships?...what does that have to do with Oregon?"

Face it Oregon. You might have had pretty great offenses over the past few years and that's cool and all, but you represent the state of Oregon. Not the U.S.S. Oregon. Here's some fun facts about state of Oregon that don't exactly match up with this rough and rugged jersey.

State Animal: Beaver. Oh man. Ohhhh man. The things I want to say about the Beaver could go on and on and would ultimately travel down a path of sexual innuendo not becoming of the fine writership featured here at RJS. Aside from that. Beaver huh? Man beavers are TOUGH. Look at them. They so...small...and furry...with cute little buck teeth. Oh and don't forget the big flappy tail! Honestly, there are few animals more tough...and rugged... ah crap I can't even complete this sentence without busting up.
State Beverage: Milk. How nice. It's healthy and builds strong bones. Fits perfectly with the uber hippy mentality they have over there in California's hat (not be confused with America's hat, which is Canada). Health, fitness, nature, beavers, the Oregon way of life. Silly Oregonians.
State Dance: Folk dance. AHA. HAHA. HAHAHAHA. HA. I seriously can't handle this. When I first learned about this fact about Oregon all I could imagine was a bunch of hippies dancing in the forests singing songs about peace and love and kumbay yah and all that stuff.

Wow Oregon. You're SO TOUGH. Tough like...a battleship! Weeeeee! I salute you Oregon, and your awesome steel plated jerseys. Maybe you need those steel plates after all, to cover up all the furry softness we know lies beneath.

Oregon Football Jersey Week: Part I

Oregon is in town this coming weekend to play the Bruins and as a tribute of sorts to our awkward neighbors to the north we here at Ran Jeremy Sports are each taking a look back our own favorite football jerseys worn over the years by the University of Oregon Ducks. If you’re one of those people who just asked themselves, “why their jerseys,” then you obviously aren’t well acquainted with the University of Oregon. In what must be the result of a designer with ADHD the school keeps each one of its football players more inundated with clothing than Paris Hilton. In 2006 they bragged to have more than 500 different uniform combinations I kid you not.

Today we’re going back to Oregon vs. Mississippi State opening day 2003 to take a look at a real douzie that lasted all of one game.



Let’s make no mistake here folks. I like bold, and brash, and the occasional mix of the two. But bold, brash and insanely yellow is another story. Oregon had some bad jerseys before the Nike era but this little number makes me hearken back to a day without Phil Knight.

The only redeeming part of this jersey is the subtle irony of the yellow seeming to form a “Y” right in front. “Why” indeed must have been on more than a few minds as the team gallivanted onto the field for warm-ups on opening day of the 2003 season. Reportedly gasps were heard in the crowd, from both Oregon’s and Mississippi State’s cheering sections.

Fortunately for both the fans and the team these jerseys only saw the gridiron once and have since been recycled into police caution tape. 2003 had many ups and downs; this was certainly one of the latter.