I think if the Ducks had won the Rose Bowl last year they wouldn't be playing for the national championship this year. I think that loss made this team focus and work harder. Thoughts?
Its possible.. kinda like the effect the losses for Bama to finish 2008 against Florida and Utah. But I think also too is Thomas is the QB and not Masoli. Dont get me wrong (Nate ) Masoli did a pretty damned good job for a fringe team for a conference title. But DT is miles ahead of Masoli as a passer, so teams cant just key in on the run like the good teams could last year (Boise State, Stanford, and Ohio St) There is a balance this year that has put the offense on a whole nother level. Masoli's inconsistency with his arm made the team one dimensional at times. But I do think that the Rose Bowl loss woke them up thats for sure. Its no longer just "happy to be there" now its "we are here great, but our work is not done"
I think it was hard to get up for the Rose Bowl last year. Not the Bowl game they wanted to be in. (I'm completely kidding)
Reasonable conclusion, but this is a totally different team - as far as understanding of the system, maturity of players and line-play, etc. Keep in mind, we lost THREE games last season. This season, the only close call was really Cal. I really think we're seeing the dividends of players buying into Chip Kelley's system and playing with confidence.
