Nate Costa News

It surprises me that Oregon coach Chip Kelly, who gets so many things so right on the field and off, sometimes can get public relations so wrong.

When it comes to Chip Kelly and video, most fans would picture the Oregon coach poring over game footage.

Nate Costa isn't going to take any chances with his Rose Bowl ring. "I think I'm going to get a safe deposit box at Wells Fargo and just keep it in there forever," Costa said.

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, right, and Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel shake hands after a news conference in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec.

The comparisons are inevitable. Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli vs. Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor.

The offense and the defense: The yin and yang of a football team. "I guarantee you this,'' Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said.

The all-star teams are nice. I'm sure the Ducks are all glad to be in Pasadena instead of Vegas or El Paso this holiday season, and that they'll take that over a mythic individual award anyway.

Everybody get my Christmas list? To the notes. JT from New York writes : Do you think the success of Utah, Cincinnati, Boise, and Oregon, and the fall of USC, Georgia, and Notre Dame, will put a damper on the star system for recruits and the overall ranking of recruiting classes? Seems that the emphasis placed on the incoming guys becomes less and ...

Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was the No. 1 recruit in 2008, one of the most coveted talents in recent years and a player who considered coming to Oregon before narrowing his choices to the Buckeyes and Michigan.

One of those funny trends you notice when you follow college football writing long enough is the tendency for game predictions to be wrong, not only about the winner, but about the entire character of a game.

One of the keys to Oregon's running game: Intelligence, apparently. Three Ducks offensive linemen and a tight end were honored Wednesday by the Pac-10 when it announced the All-Academic team.

At first glance, Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and Oregon State's Sean Canfield couldn't be more different.

Arizona-Arizona State, UCLA-USC and Washington-Washington State all play rivalry games today, while Oregon and Oregon State fans wait impatiently for the biggest Civil War in history, five days from now in Autzen Stadium.

The Civil War is three days away, and the energy is building. "You see more flags and banners and cars and stuff,'' said Nate Costa, Oregon's backup quarterback and college football's most famous holder.

In Nate Costa's opinion, ABC announcers Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit deserve some of the credit for his Pacific-10 Conference special teams player of the week honor.

EUGENE - There will be an assortment of adjectives used to describe the magnitude of the 2009 Civil War.

No. 10 Oregon has made a mission this season of defying first impressions. After a disastrous opener, the Ducks regrouped and now sit atop the Pacific-10 standings, with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line next Thursday in the Civil War game against No.

Oregon and Oregon State are trying to keep preparation for the Civil War completely normal, even though the game itself is anything but ordinary.

Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli is mobbed by teammates after scoring the winning touchdown.

Some are crying foul over the University of Oregon's reaction to a humorous rap video paying homage to the No.