Instanalysis: Andrew Luck Won’t Pass The Buck; Rematch Duck Stew

A good leader will always accept responsibility, even if blame doesn’t lie with himself. Don’t expect Andrew Luck to point out he isn’t a defensive player, thus had no part in Stanford surrendering 53 points. Luck also won’t bellyache about Chris Owusu’s injury eliminating a vital, long ball element of the Cardinal offense. The redshirt junior was never behind the out-of-control hype machine responsible for the equally absurd backlash now cast upon on him. He also probably won’t lose any sleep over supposed experts who cast his 27-41, three touchdown showing in a 53-30 loss as some sort of indictment of his abilities.

Andrew Luck is a consummate leader, so parish the thought of any such complaints escaping his lips, no matter how valid. Saturday night’s loss with the whole country watching makes Luck an easy target, both for amateur and professional pundits. Various personalities have lined up to take not-exactly-subtle shots at the consensus No. 1 NFL Draft pick in the build-up to tonight’s top 10 showdown with Oregon. Phil Simms famously confronted Desmond Howard for criticizing his son and Tennessee quarterback Matt Simms’ play, yet had no qualms about making some eyebrow-raising comments about Luck’s NFL potential. Steve Sarkisian, perhaps forgetting Luck captained an offense that hung 65 points on his Washington Huskies, said he would take USC’s Matt Barkley over Luck.

Backlash? Probably. Luck and Barkley have similar statistics this season, though any reasonable observer of the game recognizes Barkley is passing to a far more talented receiving corps with Stanford featuring no one at the level of either Robert Woods or Marqise Lee. If you doubt what Luck could accomplish passing to receivers the ability of Woods or Lee — NFL caliber receivers — you must be watching a different game from me, or seeing what you choose to see. Luck didn’t surrender those points. Even the interception returned for a touchdown was a bobbled completion more than a missed throw from Luck.

And you’ll hear none of it from Luck. No, the Cardinal’s leader will take the burden of defeat as a captain does, with an eye turned toward finishing out with wins over rivals Cal and Notre Dame.

The BCS title aspirations Stanford once held are now Oregon’s. The Ducks now boast a win streak longer than any team except LSU, Oklahoma State or Houston — of course, LSU helped build its run with a three-touchdown trouncing of these same Ducks in Week 1.

Much has been made of a potential LSU-Alabama rematch in the BCS championship game, but Oregon’s emphatic defeat of Stanford has already created a stir for a different Tiger rematch. Each season is its own lifetime, and over the course of a lifetime we all mature. For example, 28-year-old me wants to smack some sense into 20-year-old me plenty.

Oregon is undeniably improved from that Week 1 shellacking in Dallas. Darron Thomas seems more settled into his role, DeAnthony Thomas has grown into fill the receiving void Jeff Maehl’s absence left, and the defense is showing steady signs of…well, it’s done enough to give the offense plenty of breathing room at least.

Has Oregon improved to the point of erasing a 20-point gap, though? UO is better than it was in September, sure, but so is LSU. The Tigers’ defense shut down a Heisman Trophy contender in Trent Richardson last week, and has shown a more diverse offensive scheme than what Les Miles employed in Week 1. Improvement at even half Oregon’s rate still makes LSU a 10-point winner.

Two little words are apropos here: PLUS. ONE. LSU plays Oregon in a rematch, but Alabama isn’t snubbed should the Tigers again prove too much for the Ducks. That’s because the Tide plays Oklahoma State, assuming the Cowboys win out. Beat the Pokes, and baby, you got yourself a rematch stew.