Okay maybe that's a little harsh but he was such a difference maker for us last season. I think he would have been the difference in tonight's game. USC wouldn't have scored as easily. Here's hoping that Cliff gets his head straight, comes back and has a great season for us next year.
I don't know if Cliff would have made a huge difference. He's not a lockdown corner. He's someone who takes gambles to make big plays and sometimes those gambles pay off. Sometimes those gambles end up with him being tackled in the endzone for a safety on a punt return.
Deep coverage is one of Cliff's strengths. He would have absolutely made an impact and at least knocked down that first pass to Lee.
Most of Barkley's completions were spot on throws with good coverage on the WR. Some of the throws, I think no other QB in the conference could hit. It's nonsense to blame one single player. Last time I looked, it's a team sport. USC gained 6.5 yards per play and our defense didn't look as flowing and loose as normal. We only had 1 sack and Barkley had all day to throw - that doesn't spell success with a QB like Barkley. Nearly 4 ypp rushing. Blocked Oregon punt. Two Oregon turnovers. Letdown. And none of those are Cliff's issues. Our once conference best kicker is injured. Missed two point conver. Questionable TD call when USC appear to not score. Tons of areas that lead to our loss. Scapegoats come cheap today, huh?
Sly, it's a very good thought. However, in the LSU loss DAT wasn't taking care of the ball and fumbled a couple of times. In the USC loss James had an inexcusable fumble on the 3 yard line. To be sure, Cliff would have helped, but we didn't protect the ball well enough in either loss.
Cliff Harris is to the Ducks as Greg Oden is to the Blazers at this point. He's whatever we want him to be...
. Cliff Harris is nowhere to be found when the Oregon Ducks need him most The University of Oregon football team tripped all over itself too many times in the red zone, and turned the ball over, and had a critical punt blocked, and struggled on defense, too, but it refused to quit on Saturday night. Anyone who saw Alejandro Maldonado's field goal attempt flutter away at the end of regulation, and watched USC dance off with a 38-35 victory must know the Ducks didn't roll over. They didn't fold, even down by 24 points late in the third quarter and with lines of their fans headed to the Autzen Stadium parking lot. Ducks don't quit, see? Well, all but one, that is. I don't know where chronically suspended cornerback Cliff Harris watched Saturday's game. Who knows? The guy may not have cared enough to tune in. He wasn't in uniform. He wasn't on the sidelines in street clothes. But if he bothered to watch, Harris must know today what the rest of us can't possibly ignore after watching USC's receivers work over his replacements. Drat. Harris could have won this game for Oregon, couldn't he? Not the Harris who flaunts his celebrity and drives too fast. Not the Harris who appeared in court this week to deal with the latest of his traffic offenses. Not the Harris who is quotable, but unaccountable. But the Harris who was the best lock-down corner in the conference last season. That guy, a year older, would have made Maldonado's last-second attempt unnecessary. Consider that Oregon was without defensive end Dion Jordan. Also, without linebacker Dewitt Stuckey and corner Anthony Gildon. "Injuries are part of football," coach Chip Kelly said. But selfishness should never be, and as USC receivers Marqise Lee and Robert Woods abused the Ducks secondary, I couldn't help but think of the consequences of Harris putting himself first this season. Had the junior simply taken care of business this summer. Had he learned from his mistakes, and dedicated himself to his teammates. Had Harris worked hard, grown up, and manned up, he wouldn't have been MIA on Saturday with the ball in the air, and a shot at a trip to the Bowl Championship Series title game on the line. Think the freshman Lee goes for 187 yards and a touchdown with Harris lined up against him? Think Woods skips off the field, laughing and slapping backs after three hours of wearing Harris like a wool blanket? Think Oregon's defense gives up 323 passing yards to Matt Barkley with Harris out there, no help needed, and his safeties free to blitz? This was USC. The country was watching. A possible rematch with LSU was in the air. Harris lived for the big stage, and this was it. Right up until the moment he left the spotlight shining and nothing but lint particles in the air. Cliff? You still out there? Oregon may have looked beat on the sidelines in the third quarter. It's offense may have struggled to consistently gain yards. Kelly's team may have made killer mistakes, including two red zone turnovers. But this was a bunch that proved as much about its heart in a three-point defeat as it could have in coming back to win. These guys aren't quitters. All but one, that is. A year ago, Harris was the best defensive back on a team playing for the national title. He picked off Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton in the game. Harris had a another near pick, two pass break-ups and three solo tackles against the team regarded as the best in the land. He led the country in passes defended and pass break-ups. But on Saturday, he was absentee, again. Forgotten. Left in his place to deal with the best receiving tandem in the country were a couple of Oregon freshman corners named Troy Hill and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. A year ago, Hill was on the Ducks scout team and Ekpre-Olomu was at Chino Hills High School. Kelly was asked about Lee's play against his young corners and said: "I don't know, can freshmen apply for the NFL draft?" He'll have to lobby harder for that one. Because after Maldonado's field goal missed, Lee stopped in the middle of the field after Saturday's game to announce that USC football, banned from the postseason, hasn't gone away. "We were psyched, and ready, and we just wanted to make plays," Lee said. "(Beating Oregon) means we're getting better, and we're going to go right back to work." Give USC credit for putting a back-alley whipping on Oregon through three-plus quarters. Give the Ducks credit for answering the bell when lesser teams would have looked at their mouthpiece lying on the canvas, saw the referee counting to 10, and packed it in. Oregon got up. It fought on. Kenjon Barner had 123 yards when his team needed him most. LaMichael James kept coming at USC, too. Darron Thomas made plays in the face of adversity. And tight end David Paulson's one-handed 18-yard catch that set up Oregon's final touchdown was all kinds of guts and grace. The defense came up with stops. The offense cashed in. The fans kept screaming. No quit here. I wanted to write that about Oregon football today. But I looked around while Barkley and his merry band of athletes picked apart a pair of Ducks freshman defensive backs, and dancing off with the prize at the end, and I couldn't help but think about how badly Harris let his team down this season. A day like Saturday reminds you of that. --John Canzano
I don't agree with that. To be sure, Barkley did thread the needle several times. But how many times did Lee & Co. run right accross the middle of the field on 3rd and long and ge the first down with the YAC (Yards After Catch). A couple of times, there was nobody in the screen! Sometimes I think Cliff Harris gets too much credit for being a so-called "Lock Down Corner", but he would have done better than what we had out there.
