All they're quacked up to be

Oregon's Ducks prove they're national title material

PHOENIX -- Not much is clear in college football, but this much is. Either Oregon is a lot, lot better than everybody thought, or Colorado is a whole lot worse.

Really, how do you figure this national championship thing out? Tuesday in the Fiesta Bowl, Pac-10 lightweight Oregon manhandled Big 12 bully Colorado -- beat 'em like a red-headed Husker -- scoring 38 unanswered points and cruising in a 38-16 laugher. (Well, the Buffs weren't laughing.)

This just a few weeks after the Buffs -- favored in the Fiesta, by the way -- ran all over then No. 1 Nebraska, 62-36.

Jumping to conclusions is not real smart in college football. It's downright stupid, if you want to know the truth. But if Colorado ripped Nebraska, and Oregon ripped Colorado, it seems only logical to assume that Oregon could …

"Pleaaase," says Colorado safety Robbie Robinson, "there's no comparison between Oregon and Nebraska. Defensively, we didn't play very well against Nebraska, but we beat them by 26 points. And then Oregon comes and beats us.

"[Oregon] is a far better team than Nebraska."

Which, of course, is what the folks up in the Pacific Northwest have been saying all along. We just weren't listening.

The nation finally heard the Ducks on Tuesday, but their win did little but murk-up college football's attempt to figure out a national champ. If Miami beats Nebraska in the Rose Bowl on Thursday, it's not so murky. The Hurricanes would be the only undefeated team in the country. It's easy.

But if Nebraska wins -- remember, the Huskers made it thanks to our friends at the Bowl Championship Series despite that 62-36 squeaker -- the Huskers will get the coaches' vote and the Ducks likely will get the Associated Press vote. Then what would we have?

An Oregon team with its first national championship (albeit a shared one) that would feel as if it should hold that baby all alone. And a Nebraska team that should count every single one of its lucky stars that it got a chance to play Miami in the big game and didn't have to face Oregon in the Fiesta.

"We could've beaten them by 50 points," Oregon cornerback Rashad Bauman said of Colorado. "Listen. If they [the Hurricanes] lose, we're national champs. Not co-[national champs]. We just smashed the team that smashed Nebraska. How could you vote them national champs?"

We informed poor Rashad that, if the Huskers beat Miami, the coaches are obligated to vote for the Huskers. It's in the contract or something.

"Some things," said Bauman, "just ain't right."

Oregon did something amazing Tuesday, something no one could have guessed. Even the Ducks couldn't have seen this one coming.

The softies from the Pac-10, the ones who hadn't really played anyone, made the Buffaloes look like … well, like Cal or somebody. Joey Harrington, Oregon's clutch quarterback, threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns. The Oregon running game put another 150 yards on the Colorado defense.

And the Oregon defense -- heck, no one this side of Eugene even knew the Ducks had a defense -- outright embarrassed the Colorado offense. Embarrass is probably not strong enough. The same Colorado team that ran for 380 yards against Nebraska ran for 49 against Oregon.

Not 149. Or 249. Or 349, even. Forty-nine. The Buffs went backward in the second half, actually losing 12 yards running. That kind of stuff will get you thrown out of the Big 12.

Tell us again why the Ducks, now 11-1, weren't in the Rose Bowl in the first place instead of Nebraska?

"Well, I thought we should have been playing in the game, obviously," said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti.

If Miami wins, no one will dispute that the Hurricanes are the rightful champs. But if, somehow, the Huskers pull things out Thursday, if they beat Miami, Oregon will have plenty to say about it.

Maybe this time we'll listen.

John Donovan is a senior writer for CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.

Comments? To e-mail Donovan, click here.

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