ESPN College Football

LOS ANGELES -- Oregon's football team is either the nation's best-dressed or the nation's worst-dressed -- depending on your new-school or old-school college football fashion tastes -- but at the very least one can say for sure that no other team's garb is more talked about.

Nike made sure it would be a hot topic during Rose Bowl preparations by revealing this week its latest space-age design, which the Ducks will don in the Rose Bowl on Monday.

The most dramatic addition is the reflective helmet, which suggests Darth Vader. The helmet was different enough to merit a question to Wisconsin's players on Wednesday.

Question: It looks like a big mirror. Have you seen the helmet? If so, are you worried about any reflection?

Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson confessed that he had not seen the helmet. He said he was "sure they're good-looking helmets" but he wasn't really worried about the Ducks helmets and whether he might be able to see his reflection in one.

"Oregon is a great football team," Wilson said. "They have, I guess, the fashion going on where they can wear whatever they want and look pretty good in it. But that's not what the game comes down to."

It's interesting that the Ducks mostly agree. Oregon's players embrace their varied looks, but few seem to spend much time thinking about it. Coach Chip Kelly insists that the uniform combinations be planned out in the preseason so it doesn't become a focus in the locker room.

"That stuff don't matter to us," safety Eddie Pleasant said. "It's nice to have it, but we don't care about that."

Added cornerback Anthony Gildon, "The jersey is cool to have, but it's more something for everybody that's looking in [at the program] than within the team."

Everybody seems to agree the players inside, not the uniforms, win games.

That said, sources who requested anonymity due to the fact they don't exist, said that the Ducks' lime green socks and shoes in last year's national title game against Auburn cost the Ducks four points from the football gods.

No other school has brought the fashion runway to college football like Oregon.

So it's no surprise that Nike is making a big deal out of its latest creation for the Ducks, which you can see here.

From the release:

Nike will celebrate the Ducks’ return to the Rose Bowl with the debut of its latest Nike Pro Combat system of dress – the most advanced football uniform system ever assembled.

This fully integrated uniform system, debuted in its first iteration by the University of Oregon during last years’ BCS National Championship Game, incorporates the pinnacle in performance innovation and design from the world’s most renowned athletic outfitter. The new uniform provides enhanced thermoregulation and more durability with the inclusion of Nike Chain Maille Mesh – a lightweight ultra-breathable material – used in both the jersey and pant.

Is it just me or do the helmets suggest a certain intergalactic villain?

I've always liked the Oregon uniforms that go with dark green as the base color. Not a big fan of the bright yellow or lime.

Ivan Maisel's Northwest tour continues at Oregon State, where the Beavers are trying to bounce back from their first losing record in five years.

The offseason hasn't been kind to Mike Riley's squad -- lots of injuries to key players, most notably WR James Rodgers -- but Riley is always a glass-half-full guy, even as nearby rival Oregon has climbed to the top of the college football world:

Oregon State football is the guy who lives down the street from the guy who won the lottery. Oregon used to be a regular Joe, too. The two schools used to never stray too far from one another in the basement of the league.

The University of Oregon, just a half-hour or so from Corvallis, has become the heartthrob of college football. America can't wait to see what it wears every Saturday, much less how it plays. The Ducks have benefited from the largess of former Ducks track athlete Phil Knight, who has lavished his swooshed millions on his alma mater.

Maisel also points out the unprecedented success for Riley in his hometown of Corvallis, as well as how Riley makes it work.

He couldn't be much more successful, either. Riley has a record of 69-54 in his 10 seasons at Oregon State (1997-98, 2003-10). If the Beavers win six games this fall, he will have more victories than any coach in the school's history. That's as good a description of the uphill nature of Oregon State football as any. Bob Stoops has won 75 games since he picked up his last dealer car.

Riley wins at Oregon State, like others haven't, because he can look at the unnoticed recruit and see the NFL player within. In an era in which the marquee programs no longer redshirt, Riley continues to swear by it. "This program is a development program," he said. "We love those redshirt years. ... We're not going to get the ready-made guy with five stars beside his name.

When those players come out the other side, Oregon State has older players playing against younger ones. And they're pretty good, too. Two years ago, the NFL drafted seven Beavers, which made Oregon State second only to USC.

And what of the Beavers' prospects this season? Of course, Riley is optimistic.

"This team is going to have to be a great 'team.'" Riley said. "People are going to have to step up. I told the team this [on Tuesday]: This team, almost to a man, has improved noticeably from last year."

For years, Pac-10 fans -- college football fans across our fine land -- have poked fun at Oregon's funky uniforms.

What about tradition? And school colors? The Ducks just cackled -- or quackled -- all the way to the bank, picking up recruits along the way who seemed to actually (for better or worse) include uniform style in their reasoning for picking an institution of higher learning and higher football.

Ah, but times change. So does bandwagon thinking. And, ergo, so do Pac-12 uniforms.

While Arizona State has earned plenty of attention for a savvy marketing campaign in advance of an announcement today at 5 p.m. ET of a uniform change, Washington State also got into the act on Monday night.

Check out the new-look Cougars here. The key change is the addition of a gray helmet option. Here's the official explanation:

Since becoming athletic director in March, 2010, [Bill] Moos has been focused on a consistent look for Cougar Athletics. Upon his hiring, and dating back to his days as a WSU student-athlete and later an associate athletic director, Moos has seen multiple colors, fonts and styles used to brand Washington State and its student-athletes, most notably on team uniforms.

"One of my priorities when I became athletic director was to have a recognizable look across our department and athletic programs," said Moos. "We have what I and many believe to be the best logo in college athletics, yet we have not had the consistent look on our apparel or throughout our facilities that allows instant recognition for that brand.

"From the outset of our discussions with Nike I challenged them to be innovative, unique and to align the look of Cougar Athletics with the premier programs in America," Moos continued. "After seeing the final product, I believe they delivered on all counts."

First off, Washington State does have a cool logo. But I'm guessing some of you might share my feelings on the football "gray-on-dark-gray" look here. My first reaction was to think of this book. Don't think that's what the Cougs were looking for.

ASU is expected to mostly ditch Sparky, emphasize the pitchfork and add lots of black. If so, then we can only conclude the Sun Devils are going dark, focusing on the "devil" and blocking out the sun.

Future call this week to ASU: "Hello, My name is Myrtle from the Society of Sanctimony, calling to complain about the new, evil uniforms."

Don't worry Myrtle, Cal and its new, white hats will ride in to save the day!

Couple of thoughts: First, does this change give the edge to among Arizona State fan blogs to House of Sparky over Pitchfork Nation? (And does Sparky get kicked out of his house?)

Second, will ASU fans now admit the striking resemblance between Sparky and this guy?

Want to know what Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott was salivating over Texas? Well, let Brett McMurphy of AOL Fanhouse show you.

Simply put: Texas' pure profit in football is more than just about everybody else's gross revenue.

Writes McMurphy:

The Longhorns' $87.5 million in gross revenue from Texas' football program is nearly $20 million more than the amount from the next highest school, Ohio State at $68.19 million. Ohio State spent a national-high $32.3 million on its football program, about $10 million more than Texas.

Not surprisingly, USC is the biggest gross revenue producer in the Pac-10, ranking 21st nationally at $35.203 million. But guess who makes the most in net revenue?

Here's the list:

Pac-10 2008-09 net football revenue (in millions)
1 Oregon State $18.35
2 Washington $15.64
3 USC $13.83
4 Arizona State $12.64
5 Oregon $8.92
6 California $8.62
7 Arizona $8.31
8 UCLA $8.25
9 Washington State $2.48
10 Stanford $0.66

Oregon State ranks 18th nationally, while Washington is 22nd and USC is 26th.

As for the new Pac-12 members, Colorado is 24th in the nation (14.78 million). And Utah? From the story:

Utah, which recently accepted a bid to leave the Mountain West for the Pac-10 Conference, had the greatest net profit [among non-automatic-qualifying teams] at $6.54 million, which ranks 49th among all 120 FBS schools. Utah, however, was the exception among non-automatic qualifying BCS schools, as 34 of the 51 either showed no profit or lost money.

In other words, Utah is a well-managed football program that's about to get a cash infusion. AD Chris Hill and coach Kyle Wittingham can't make their Cheshire Cat grins go away.

This article looks at bang for the football spending buck, which Oregon State obviously gets and Washington doesn't (at least not during an 0-12 year). What's interesting is that California ranks second in spending on football ($19.12 million) and Oregon, which is supposed to be flancypants Nike-U, only ranks sixth ($15.86 million).

From the "Toilet Bowl" in 1983 to the Civil War for the Roses in 2009, the Oregon-Oregon State rivalry game has traveled a vast distance.

But that 0-0 tie played in obscurity by two bad teams in a deluge 26 years ago shares a foundation with Thursday night's showdown that determines on national television who wins the Pac-10 and goes to the Rose Bowl.

It's Ducks vs. Beavers, and for many folks that's enough.

"To a lot of people, it's more than just a football game," Oregon State linebacker Keaton Kristick said.

It's easy to draw the line in this rivalry. There are myriad contrasts between the institutions and football programs, which are separated by only 45 miles.

Start with the stereotypes, enduring if not always completely accurate.

Oregon State is the former agricultural school. Beavers are conservative. They hunt and fish. Oregon is a liberal arts school. It's got a lot of hippie-arty types. Oh, and "Animal House" was filmed there.

Then there are the football programs.

Oregon is Nike U. Sugar daddy Phil Knight has given not just millions to the athletic department -- he's given $100 million. Oregon has cutting-edge facilities, an immaculate stadium, locker rooms that are more luxurious than an exclusive country club and a quirky style of dressing its football team that annually inspires incredulous stares from across the nation.

The Ducks run a fancypants spread-option offense that is the offspring of mad-scientist head coach, Chip Kelly.

Oregon State? It's Lunchpail-U. It's facilities are practical, well-kept and functional, but not terribly flashy. The Beavers wear black and orange and white jerseys on the road.

The Beavers run a mostly conventional pro-style offense, though the presence of the Rodgers brothers, James and Jacquizz, has added some flash and dash.

Oregon isn't a recruiting powerhouse, but it annually signs at least a couple of elite, national recruits. Oregon State almost always ranks near the bottom of Pac-10 recruiting rankings, and coach Mike Riley is best known for plucking under-recruited players out of obscure places and making quality starters out of them.

Both, by the way, develop their recruits. Last spring, seven Beavers and six Ducks were picked in the NFL draft.

Oregon gets national attention. It's been ranked in the preseason three of the last four years. The Ducks are on track to finish ranked for the third time during that span, including a No. 10 ranking last year.

"We're in the spotlight a little more than they are," Ducks linebacker Casey Matthews said.

Oregon State hasn't been ranked in the preseason over the past four years. Ah, but the Beavers are on track to finish the season ranked for the fourth consecutive time.

What is it they say about where you start compared to where you finish?

The one year that Oregon State got preseason hype? They started ranked 10th in 2001 but finished 5-6.

Oregon has mostly dominated the 113-game series. It leads the overall count 56-46-10 but is 24-9-1 since 1975.

And yet: Oregon State is 6-5 since 1998.

Kelly adds another new contrast. He's an East Coast guy with no roots in the rivalry who left New Hampshire for Eugene three years ago, while Riley grew up in Corvallis while his dad, Bud, was a Beavers assistant.

They are different sorts.

Riley is probably the nicest guy in coaching. His patience with fans and reporters is legendary. Ask him a stupid question, and he almost always begins with, "That's a good question!" Asked about his job Monday, he said this: "I love the people I work with. I go to work every day with friends."

Kelly is a good dude -- everybody at Oregon speaks highly of him. But he's edgy. He doesn't suffer fools. And he clearly enjoys quibbling with reporters.

The huge stakes? His first Civil War as a head coach? None of those sorts of issues were going to inspire Kelly to romanticize the moment for reporters because that would mean deviating from his season-long message of living only in the moment and winning the day.

"We're excited no matter what's on the line," Kelly said when asked about his first Civil War. "Every game is a Super Bowl for us."

Meanwhile, Riley played along with the media, though he emphasized that the same overall message was critical for his team.

"It would totally mean a ton to win this game, but we can't go there yet," he said. "It's one of those traps that really can put you in jeopardy of not playing your best."

Finally, there's the 2008 game.

Kristick, the pride of Fountain Hills, Ariz., said he didn't hate the Ducks his first two seasons -- both Beavers wins. But in the midst of a 65-38 beatdown last November, which knocked the Beavers out of the Rose Bowl, he experienced a Civil War epiphany.

"My feelings have changed," he said. "I do not like them now."

Ah, but with such high stakes, there seems to be at least one intersection of Beavers and Ducks fans.

It's sorta fun being the center of the college football universe for one night.

"I couldn't be prouder of the two teams in our state," Riley said.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Eighth in a series looking at potential dream and nightmare scenarios for all Pac-10 teams, starting at the bottom and working up from my vote in the Pac-10 media poll.

Up next: Oregon

Best case

Just because Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is a chill dude doesn't mean he can't hold a grudge.

That became abundantly clear when he took a spread option keeper and smashed his shoulder into the chin of Boise State safety Jeron Johnson. It appeared that Masoli, who was knocked out of last year's upset loss to the Broncos on what some described as a cheap shot, had no interest in juking Johnson, who left the game with a broken jaw.

Call it revenge on the blue turf, but Boise State is no match for the enraged Ducks, who roll up 574 yards of offense in a 56-28 win.

"Guess our offensive line is going to be OK," Ducks coach Chip Kelly quips afterwards.

The Ducks don't let up, breaking the 50-point barrier in wins over Purdue and Utah. Masoli's newfound proficiency of as a passer starts to generate Heisman Trophy buzz.

"I always knew he could be a proficient passer," Kelly said. "It's not newfound."

[A Pac-10 blogger notes to himself that it's eerie that Kelly seems to be participating in a fantasy post about the Ducks].

"Why is it eerie?" Kelly asks.

[Voices ... in ... my... head. Quiet!].

Oregon ascends to No. 5 in the national rankings, and a visit from No. 8 California brings ESPN's College GameDay to Eugene.

Lee Corso dons the Duckhead. Kirk Herbstreit taps the Bears.

"It's fair to say the winner of this game will send a player to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony," Chris Fowler says about Masoli and Cal's Jahvid Best.

Cal's defense is a different animal. It bottles up Masoli and running back LeGarrette Blount. The Bears lead 17-10 at the half, a 76-yard run from Best being the difference.

With 3:05 left, the Bears lead 24-20. From the Oregon 47, Cal quarterback Kevin Riley does a play-action fake to Best and launches a bomb.

But Ducks safety T.J. Ward doesn't bite on the fake, and he outleaps Marvin Jones for the interception.

Masoli takes over at the Oregon 5-yard line. He connects with Jamere Holland for 15 yards. He finds Ed Dickson for 26. He scrambles for 18. A screen to Blount goes for 12 to the Cal 34.

But Jeff Maehl can't haul in a tough ball over the middle, Blount drops a short pass in the flat and a scramble nets only two yards.

It's fourth and 8 with 0:55 left. Masoli sets up to pass, but Bears end Cameron Jordan is on him. Masoli stiff arms Jordan, and starts to backpedal. Jordan is joined by Mike Mohamed in pursuit of Masoli, who reverses field and starts directing receivers downfield.

There's room to run. Masoli tucks and makes a break, but just short of the line of scrimmage, he stops and lobs the ball into the corner of the endzone.

Dickson leaps, but the ball is tipped away by safety Brett Johnson.

And into the hands of Rory Cavaille. Touchdown.

Autzen erupts.

"Oregon might be the best team in the nation," Herbstreit says after the game.

The Ducks roll through Washington State, UCLA and Washington.

No. 2 USC heads to town to take on the No. 3 Ducks. It's billed as the biggest game in Autzen Stadium history. GameDay comes back to Eugene. It's impossible to get a seat at Beppe & Gianni's Trattoria.

But this is not the Ducks day. The Trojans have the offense to match and their defense is fast enough to keep up with the Ducks. USC wins 38-28.

"We should have won this game," Kelly said. "Why didn't we win this game?"

[Must ignore him... how does he do that? We knew he was a control freak but this is a little much.]

Predictions of a hangover prove overstated. The Ducks roll through their final four games, including a 40-28 win over Oregon State.

With USC playing Florida for the national title, it appears Oregon will head to the Rose Bowl to face Ohio State. But by some complicated BCS machinations that everyone agrees would make your head explode if they were explained, the Ducks head south to play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Masoli finishes third in the Heisman Trophy race.

"Neh," he says. "No big deal. I ate at Le Bernardin and hung out with Thomas Pynchon and the the Kings of Leon. That was cool."

Oregon, which has thrived on balance much of the year, throws only four passes but rushes for 388 yards against the Bulldogs in a 48-21 victory.

After USC beats Florida in the BCS title game, Oregon finishes No. 2 in both polls.

Worst case

Boise State doesn't lose on the blue turf, and the Broncos season-opening 38-35 victory over Oregon becomes the foundation of an unbeaten season and another BCS bowl berth.

The Ducks rebuilt offensive line plays fairly well, but it surrenders three sacks. The defense, however, is clearly a work in progress, with Boise quarterback Kellen Moore throwing three touchdown passes and the Broncos rushing for 190 yards.

Oregon whips Purdue and outlasts Utah, but quarterback Jeremiah Masoli suffers a concussion in the fourth quarter.

Nate Costa is the surprised starter the following week against California, but he goes down in the second quarter. With a thumb injury.

Darron Thomas comes off the bench and plays well, but the Bears roll 40-24 on 173 yards and two touchdowns from Jahvid Best.

The Ducks whip Washington State and UCLA, Masoli returning to action against the Bruins.

Then they head to Husky Stadium. The Ducks have owned rival Washington of late, winning five in a row in the series.

Huskies quarterback Jake Locker passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns and rushes for 98 yards another score, but the key play comes when it seems like Oregon is driving late for the victory.

From the Huskies 8-yard line, Masoli throws the ball to his left into the flat toward the endzone pylon, but Washington cornerback Quinton Richardson snags the ball and sprints down the sideline.

"Quinton Richardson's gonna score!" screams Huskies play-by-play man Bob Rondeau.

Huskies win 31-20.

Richardson's 97-yard interception return for a game-clinching touchdown becomes known as "The Pick," and it will be played repeatedly in Husky Stadium whenever Oregon visits in the future.

The Ducks seem lethargic while losing 35-17 to USC, but they bounce back with wins over Stanford, Arizona State and, in double-overtime, at Arizona.

The stakes in the Civil War are mostly pride. Oregon State appears headed to the Holiday Bowl in any event, while Oregon could end up in the Sun Bowl with a victory.

Yet the Beavers clearly have revenge on their minds for the disaster of 2008. They pound the Ducks defense with Jacquizz Rodgers, who rushed for 159 yards and three scores, and Masoli and company never find their rhythm in a 35-20 defeat.

Oregon then beats Boston College in the Emerald Bowl and finishes 8-5.

Three days later, Nike files for bankruptcy.