Jay's 10 Quick Hits: Oregon-Boise State "Nuts" Edition

[Publisher's note: What are "Jay's 10 Quick Hits"? At the insistence of One Click Sports News and Duck Sports News co-manager Ryan Welch, DSN co-manager Jay Jones ceased sending Ryan costly text-messages during University of Oregon football games. Heeding this decree, Jay turned to inflicting his reactionary quips, in the form of a blog entry, on the general DSN audience, much to the displeasure of management.]

Barely escaping a neighborhood Reign of Terror by a nut-hurling squiddle (British annunciation of "squirrel"), I managed to evade bodily injury and flee to Autzen Stadium yesterday for the Oregon-Boise State football game to bring you this edition of "Jay's 10 Quick Hits"…

 "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…": Pre-game Warm-ups

On the KUGN 590AM pre-pre-game show with Steve Tannen and Justin Myers, former Oregon coach, and current Special Assistant to the Athletic Director, Neal Zoumboukos referred to the UO-BSU game as "nut-cutting time". Considering the regime I had just eschewed, my ears perked up at the mention of this reference because I had never heard that term before yesterday.

It's legit. And oh-so apropos.

I don't know what nuts Zoomer was talking about (although, I could probably take a guess—filbert?), but he had this game nailed. I think Zoomer thought Oregon would pull out a victory. But in just about every aspect of the game, he said that it was a push between Oregon and Boise State, with the exception of Oregon's advantage on the offensive line. And he was right about that point too, much to the chagrin of Oregon fans.

Why does Boise State's combination of orange and blue look so sharp? They are complimentary colors, providing a nice, pleasing contrast, making the other appear brighter.

On the other sideline, Oregon's green and yellow are analogous colors, adjacent colors on a color wheel, offering more nuances with a richer appearance.

Lots of meanings there, folks. Do with it as you will.

Here endeth the color theory lesson.

"Pass the beer nuts…": 10 Quick Hits

1. LeGarrette Blount has hurdled more when it counts in the last two games than Liu Xiang has in the Olympics over the last four years.

2. How do you describe those new, cutting-edge Oregon Marching Band uniforms? That's easy. They're tracksuits! Each and every band member is now a gold chain and wife-beater t-shirt away from admittance into the witness protection program. Nike, Tony Soprano wants his wardrobe back!

3. What's worse than Pac-10 officials? WAC officials.

4. I guess they are right. Running the ball for the first 45 minutes really does set up the pass!

5. What's worse than WAC officials? PAC-10 officials who review plays while highly trained medical professionals examine an injured, immobilized, and motionless player laying on the field.

6. You know what else sets up the pass? A quarterback who is called on, and permitted, to throw the ball.

(Oh, no. I'm now done for about the next two or three hours: "The Fifth Element" is on TNT. Highly underrated movie. Luke Perry's best work. And Chris Tucker's, too.)

7. No, no, no. Fans weren't booing the play calling. Fans were saying, "Throoo," as in throoo the ball.

8. The new marching band uniforms are about as cutting-edge as the band's song section: "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Aquarius." Even the strongest supporters of the ecumenical movement would be hard-pressed to reconcile the world-views of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Hair." Can't the band just learn, and pay for, some new music and avoid these weird on-field religious, philosophical, and cultural clashes?

9. Darron Thomas will not be the recipient of this week's "Uncle Rico Quarterback Award," sponsored by Big J's Restaurant, because coach put him in for the fourth quarter. But could he throw it over the Coburg Hills? Hmmm…

10. No-Love Triangle: Oregon, Boise State, Oklahoma. Wasn't it a bit odd watching Dennis Dixon's fake "Statue of Liberty" play against Michigan last year on Duck Vision while playing Boise State? And didn't Oregon's comeback against Oklahoma come to mind at some point in the fourth quarter as fans were pouring out of the stadium? Nuts…

"Nuts…": Post-game Late Hits

I noticed a full-page ad in the Sunday edition of The Register-Guard promoting Oregon Sports Network programming on Comcast. It also included a call-to-action for Duck fans to call their cable or satellite provider if they were not getting OSN programming. Passing the buck to Duck fans? Or a measured response to broadcasters?

Half the home schedule is over. And Boise State will be the best team the Ducks face at Autzen Stadium this year. It's downhill from now on, right? But I'm not exactly sure what I mean by that.

Get all your sports news on the Oregon Ducks at DuckSportsNews.com.

Be Jay's Facebook friend. Join DSN's Facebook group.