Ducks fly together. (Remember that from The Mighty Ducks?)

A week after losing to I-AA Appalachian State, Michigan lost yet again at home to an unranked team. The Oregon Ducks absolutely manhandled the young Michigan defense, dropping a total of 624 yards of offense on the Wolverines, 331 of which were on picked up on the ground. If ever there were a game that illustrated just how much defensive talent the Wolverines lost to the NFL, this was it. The win has catapulted Ducks into the AP top 25 at No. 19, bringing the number of ranked Pac-10 teams to four. Luckily Dan Fouts wasn’t one of the commentators; I can only imagine how delighted he was.

As glad as I am that Oregon won one for the Pac-10, I must say that I have little respect for Mike Bellotti. While the guy certainly produces consistently talented teams, he has almost no class as a play caller. With Oregon up 32-7 at half, there was little reason for Bellotti to come out with guns blazing in the third quarter. Though the Ducks put up only 7 points in the third, they played their starters on offense until the last five minutes of the game. In my mind, there is no reason for this, except to rub salt in the wound and impress the pollsters. Not only had Michigan failed to even sniff the goal line since the first quarter, but both Chad Henne and Mike Hart were injured. There’s simply no reason for Oregon to have their starters in the game at this point!

I was also unimpressed with Bellotti allowing the team to use the hammer in the Michigan end zone during halftime. That shows no respect for the other team’s field. I love when our teams can dominate non-conference opponents, but I want us to be respectful as well. Mark my words: this one’s going to come back to bite Oregon in the ass. Michigan may be down now, but a team like the Wolverines won’t be down forever. And they’ll remember this the next time the meet the Ducks.

Rob Moseley, who covers Oregon football for The Register-Guard, had a bit to say about the hammer in his blog. In response to what he said, I think it’d be different if the Ducks’ mascot had been holding the hammer instead of a player. It also would have been better if this were done before the game started rather than at halftime, when Michigan was already getting blown out. There’s a difference between pumping fans up for a game that is about to begin and showing off when you’re way out ahead. Would Moseley think the same thing if Tommy Trojan stabs center field after USC creams the Ducks in October?

This is just bad karma. I predict that Oregon loses at least 4 games in conference play.

Meanwhile, Washington was able to upset Boise State and Heisma-hopeful Ian Johnson. The Huskies got a solid performance from redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker, who threw for 193 yards and rushed for another 84. He’ll be a force in the Pac-10 by the time his junior and senior seasons roll around.

Washington Coach Ty Willingham is now in his third year in Seattle, and the team has shown signs off improvement the last two years. The Huskies started 4-1 last season before quarterback Isaiah Stanbeck suffered a season-ending injury. Considering the 0-2 start of the Fighting Irish this year, one must question if Stanbeck’s firing from Notre Dame was a bit premature.

Consider that this is going to be an “off” year by recruiting standards for the Irish — Coach Charlie Weis hit the recruiting trail late before his first season after helping the New England Patriots win yet another Super Bowl. While mega-recruit Jimmy Clausen was certainly a big win for Weis, don’t forget that Notre Dame’s recent success was built off of players that Willingham had recruited, most notably Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija. Quinn is now in the NFL and Samardzija plays professional baseball.