This Duck Still Has BeLEAF in Oregon.

With Dennis Dixon out for the season with a torn ACL, and the National Championship game is all but officially ruled out of the future for the University of Oregon, most Ducks have decided to pack up the season and call it over.

With talk of the national championship replaced now with discussion of the prestigious Emerald and Holiday Bowls, many Oregon fans are calling for the head of Brady Leaf—before he has even started a game for the Ducks in 2007.

But while the Duck fans might be warranted in canceling their hotel reservations in New Orleans, it's far too early to call the season over.

While Leaf does not provide the dual threat the Ducks had with Dixon under center, he is a quarterback who is has been game-tested. The same Oregon fans who are calling for Leaf to be benched in favor of redshirt freshman Justin Roper are forgetting that Leaf has been thrust into this position before—and succeeded.

When Kellen Clemens—now with the New York Jets—and Dixon both went down with injuries in the same game in 2005, Leaf was removed from his position as clipboard holder and thrust under center.

Leaf provided the Ducks with offensive firepower over the next three weeks, completing nearly 64 percent of his passes and throwing for two touchdowns in time shared with Dixon.

Even the Ducks came up short of winning the Holiday Bowl that year, it's probably the best example of what Leaf is capable of doing on the field.

The landscape surrounding Leaf has changed over the past few seasons, with a new spread offense installed, instead of the classic under-center offense which Leaf was recruited (and more suited) to run. It's been pointed out by plenty of pundits that Leaf would never have been recruited by head coach Mike Bellotti had the spread already been in place at Oregon.

The spread offense places a premium on athletically gifted quarterbacks who can make plays with both their arms and their feet. Leaf is more adept at the three-, five-, and seven-step drop patterns, which explains the problems he had in Arizona after Dixon went down.

While Leaf is one of the strongest quarterbacks in the Pac-10, as well as one of the more accurate, he is prone to being sacked while in the shotgun set, as he is not very fleet-of-foot. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is sure to scheme a few more formations more suited to Leaf under center, and the carries for Jonathan Stewart are also a lock to increase.

Those fans who are calling this season a wash need not look farther than the 2005 season to see what Leaf is capable of doing. While Roper may be the future quarterback at Oregon—although he has yet to be tested—this season is by no means over.

The Ducks are still alive in the BCS and are still in the race to win the Pac-10. While their destiny might no longer be in their own hands, the Ducks should feel comfortable that, with the proper game preparation, Leaf is probably not going to lose them any games.

However, the converse of that is that Leaf is probably not going to win the Ducks many games on his own. But if the rest of the team steps up, Leaf is definitely the man to lead Oregon through the rest of the season. The Ducks are going to have to rise to the occasion for Leaf to make it happen.

So Duck Fans, while New Orleans is a great city to visit, we'll probably have to settle for Pasadena, and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Not bad, for a team that most people had slated to finish in the middle of the pack back in August.