07-12-2011, 08:29 PM
I guess I'll take the bait on this one.
Let me preface my comments by saying that I definitely do not think LaMichael James will be ruled ineligible for this season. Nor do I think that Chip Kelly will exit Eugene prior to or during the season. Too much is at stake for the Ducks this year for Kelly to be fired based on what's emerged so far. And my guess is that this story will play out more at the pace of the Reggie Bush case (over the course of years) than the pace of the Jim Tressel case (months). I think it's a lot more likely that Kelly will leave Oregon after the 2011 season than before it.
All of that said, from a selfish standpoint, I would not be upset at all if James is ruled ineligible and Kelly is fired, and the Ducks go only, say, 9-3 or 8-4, which seems like a worst-case scenario for them, instead of 11-1. No matter what the Ducks' record, I think Stanford will play for the national championship if they go undefeated. It just seems very unlikely that there will be two additional undefeated teams from the SEC, Big 10 and Big 12, and barring that scenario, Stanford's spot in the title game would be safe. Plus, a victory in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game would give us a boost that other West Coast teams have not gotten in past years.
So my attitude is this: anything that makes it more likely that Stanford will run the table is a good thing, and any misfortune that befalls the Ducks falls into that category. If Stanford wins the national championship and Luck wins the Voldemort, no one is going to look back and insert a mental asterisk. This is just how college football works: teams cheat, and sometimes they get caught.
Let me preface my comments by saying that I definitely do not think LaMichael James will be ruled ineligible for this season. Nor do I think that Chip Kelly will exit Eugene prior to or during the season. Too much is at stake for the Ducks this year for Kelly to be fired based on what's emerged so far. And my guess is that this story will play out more at the pace of the Reggie Bush case (over the course of years) than the pace of the Jim Tressel case (months). I think it's a lot more likely that Kelly will leave Oregon after the 2011 season than before it.
All of that said, from a selfish standpoint, I would not be upset at all if James is ruled ineligible and Kelly is fired, and the Ducks go only, say, 9-3 or 8-4, which seems like a worst-case scenario for them, instead of 11-1. No matter what the Ducks' record, I think Stanford will play for the national championship if they go undefeated. It just seems very unlikely that there will be two additional undefeated teams from the SEC, Big 10 and Big 12, and barring that scenario, Stanford's spot in the title game would be safe. Plus, a victory in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game would give us a boost that other West Coast teams have not gotten in past years.
So my attitude is this: anything that makes it more likely that Stanford will run the table is a good thing, and any misfortune that befalls the Ducks falls into that category. If Stanford wins the national championship and Luck wins the Voldemort, no one is going to look back and insert a mental asterisk. This is just how college football works: teams cheat, and sometimes they get caught.