There has always been that one friend with that one stubborn opinion, saying the SEC is the best division in college football. Okay, yes, the conference has been for a number of years. But college football is not the sport to talk like Yankees fans worldwide. It’s not all about the rings, at least not this year. Pac-12 schools have made and continue to make a statement. This year it’s becoming an elite conference, if not the elite conference, in college football. With such a strong conference, it’s time to break the Pac-12 and SEC down.

Although both divisions have “bottom feeder” type teams, all the focus is on the top teams. Because of this phenomenon, it only seems right to take the three best teams from the top division in the SEC and the Pac-12 and compare them.

In talking about the three best teams from each division, for the SEC West, it’s Alabama, LSU and Auburn. For the Pac-12 North, it’s Oregon, Stanford and Washington. Let the debate begin.

The latest BCS standings has five of the six teams ranked in the top 15 – Washington the lone team unranked — and three of the six in the top five. Looking at the schedules of each team, one would immediately recognize that Washington has already played its hardest part of the season, while Alabama still has LSU and Auburn to play and LSU also has Texas A&M.

With five weeks left in the season and the BCS polls not yet in full force, Emerald sports reporter Andrew Bantly breaks down who wins the position battles within each conference.

Quarterbacks: Pac-12 North

Led by Heisman front-runner Marcus Mariota of Oregon, the Pac-12 North gets the advantage. Along with Mariota, Stanford’s Kevin Hogan and Washington’s Keith Price put up a higher average EPA (total clutch-weighted expected points added, 38.77) and average adjusted QBR (79.1) than the quarterbacks of the SEC West teams. AJ McCarron of Alabama and LSU’s Zach Mettenberger are both ranked in the Top 10 of Adj. QBR, but Auburn’s Nick Marshall hurts the division in this category with just a 18.3 total EPA and 64.9 Adj. QBR. 

The Pac-12 quarterbacks also have ran for 12 touchdowns compared to the SEC quarterbacks who only have five rushing touchdowns, all of which are by Auburn’s Nick Marshall.

Running backs: Pac-12 North

To compare running backs, the qualifying backs needed to have at least 60 touches. The SEC West backs average 6.7 yards per carry and have scored 43 touchdowns. The Pac-12 North backs average 6.0 yards per carry and have ran it in the end zone 44 times. Now the Pac-12 North only has four qualifying backs, whereas the SEC West has five. The current starting backs for each of the three Pac-12 North teams — Bishop Sankey, Byron Marshall and Tyler Gaffney — are all tied for the nation’s lead in rushing touchdown scores with 12. LSU’s Jeremy Hill is also part of this nation-leading group.

Even further, star running back De’Anthony Thomas was not included in the numbers due to his mere 52 carries.

Wide receivers: Pac-12 North

Just as it was for determining the running backs, the receivers between each division are very close in production this year. In picking the two receivers from each team with the most receptions, SEC West receivers average 16.4 yards per reception, and the Pac-12 North receivers average 15.9. Not only have the Pac-12 North receivers scored 29 times this year compared to the SEC West’s 26, but the Pac-12 North receivers score more frequently on average. They average a touchdown every 7.3 completions.

Offensive line: SEC West

The Alabama, LSU and Auburn offensive lines in terms of sacks per passing attempt have been very effective this season. These teams’ offensive fronts allow a sack per 21.5 passing attempts, compared to the Pac-12 North offensive lines, which give up one sack per 16.6 attempts.

Defensive line: Pac-12 North

The SEC West teams allow only 130.4 rushing yards per game and 3.78 yards per rush. Also they give up, on average, just one rushing touchdown per game. Though the Pac-12 North schools fight at the line well themselves, allowing just 137.1 yards per game, 3.72 yards per rush and 26 rushing touchdowns in 24 games.

What separates the two divisions in terms of sack totals? The SEC West schools, through their 25 games, have just 51 sacks. On the other hand, the Pac-12 North schools have 75 sacks this season through 24 games, averaging over three sacks per game, a whole sack greater than the SEC West.

Defensive secondary: SEC West

The Pac-12 North schools have picked off 30 passes this season compared to the SEC West’s 23, not to mention the fact that SEC West schools have played an extra game. But the SEC West schools have allowed eight fewer touchdowns. They also allow just 215.9 passing yards per game compared to the Pac-12 North’s 231 yards allowed per game.

Special teams: SEC West

Both sets of schools have a combined two kickoff return touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns, respectively. But special teams is more than just the return game. When looking at field goal completion, the SEC West is better. In taking more attempts (34) than the Pac-12 North (28), SEC West kickers have also converted at a higher rate. The SEC West has made 82 percent of its attempts compared to the Pac-12 North’s 78 percent, even with Washington being a perfect eight-for-eight in field goals.

Head coaches: SEC West

With the names Nick Saban and Les Miles, it is hard not to understand why the SEC West teams have the advantage. Even Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has an impressive track record in just his first year at the helm for the Tigers. Though the Pac-12 North has great coaches, too, in David Shaw, Steve Sarkisian and first-year Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich, they don’t have the track record to compete with Saban or Miles, who have a combined record of 259-78-1.

Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @abant3

The Oregon women’s soccer team has one home game left after losing Friday night’s battle against No. 8 Stanford 2-1 on senior night.

Seniors Achijah Berry and Gabbie Lindeman played the entire game and Berry played a vital role in keeping this game close. The Ducks other senior, Brynne Konkel, suffered a season-ending injury last season that cut her college career short. Konkel is serving as the team’s video coordinator and team manager this year.

However, the Ducks couldn’t get the win for the seniors against the Cardinal at Pape Field. The Cardinal played really physical in this game but the Ducks matched them throughout the night. But after the Ducks were down 1-0, emotions started getting in the way of focus. For junior midfielder Kiyomi Cook, emotions got the best of her as she picked up a yellow card for pushing a kneeling Stanford player to the ground.

“We’ve been working on her emotion a little bit,” head coach Kat Mertz said. “But she gets wrapped up in the emotion of the game and I don’t want to change that, we just want to make sure she does it smart.”

Stanford was lead by redshirt senior Courtney Verloo, who scored twice in the game. The first goal came off a penalty awarded to Stanford, which Verloo kicked to the left and in the back of the net. Verloo, a Tualatin, Ore. native, would score her 8th and 9th goals of the season.

The Ducks battled back after Verloo scored the penalty in the 36th minute, although Oregon didn’t get the ball into the back of the net until the 71st minute. The goal came off a wonderful through ball from Berry from outside the 18-yard box on the nearside. The ball was swung into the box and connected by the head of Kristen Parr. The strong header was Parr’s second goal in as many games.

“I had a little space around me and it came from Berry and that it was my chance to get some glory and finish it for her,” Parr said describing her goal. ”I just happened to be in the right spot.”

But the No. 8 team in the country would battle back after Chioma Ubogagu found Verloo’s chest from outside the box, and after a touch, Verloo’s ball found the back of the net in the 82nd minute.

In a change of scenery, Bri Pugh played midfield against Stanford with Parr and ShayLee Miner.  The three have scored 7 of the Ducks 12 goals this season.

“We wanted to find a way to get ShayLee Miner, and Bri and KP (Kristen Parr) on the field at the same time, Mertz said. “And we thought if we dropped Bri in the midfield it actually would give her more space once she did receive the ball.”

The Ducks are now 3-9-3 (1-5-1 in conference play) on the season and look forward to Monday night at home at 7 p.m. against No. 12 California.

Standing on the edge of Autzen’s metal stands, you witness the bright lights shining down on the Oregon Ducks running from end zone to end zone and the pool of yellow-clad Duck fans below your eyes. You taste the tailgate food in the back of your throat while yelling endlessly “Oooo” with your hands in the air. But you feel, while your ears are flooded with noise from loud cheering, the beat and bang of the drum line.

Dating back to 1908, the University of Oregon band has played a vital role in the atmosphere at Duck games. Its members were a part of the football team when they were playing at Hayward Field up until 1967. And during the Vietnam War, where they were booed for their military-like music, the band continued to strive to excite the team and its fans.

At the heart of the marching band, the percussion section leads the entire stadium to cheer for their Ducks.

“Everything we do, we do to support the athletic program,” said senior Eric Bloombaum, center drummer and section leader for the Oregon marching band.

The drum line is a sound that has been so closely related to college football, but at the UO, it can be heard at many other sporting events as well. The drum line is a part of men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, softball and recently, women’s soccer. Snare drummer Anthony Castro started the support for performing at women’s soccer games.

When at Papé Field and witnessing the new drum line energizing the women’s soccer team, one would notice that they almost never stop playing, a luxury that can’t happen with football or basketball.

“If we get the chance to play, we’ll play,” Castro said.

At the collegiate level, sports use the drum line more so than at any other level. Though there are two NFL teams with a game-to-game marching band, the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens, the impact and importance of a collegiate band far outweighs those at the NFL level.

“There’s a few professional teams that have a drum line,” Bloombaum said, “but they don’t really play in the stands, they do some tailgating stuff and rally the fans outside before the game. I feel like the drum line, as an activity, is more centered around people our age.”

One focus of the band is to give players extra energy, but their main focus is to help ignite the crowd.

“I think a bigger part of it is giving the fans more energy so everyone helps support the team,” Bloombaum said.

Though most fans go to college football games for the game itself, without the band or drum line, it would be incomplete experiences. Oregon alumnus and director of marching percussion, Micah Brusse, says the drum line provides a “primal nature” in exciting the fans.

“It really helps, at least on some level, that unity, and helps bring everybody together, at least mentally,” Brusse said.

Though football doesn’t get all the energy, Brusse commented, the drum line also magnifies the experience of smaller sports.

“There is another element of the University coming together to support the activity on the field,” he said.

In reflecting on some of his most memorable experiences, Bloombaum shared his perspective on tailgates.

“It’s just a really cool moment to bond with fans that I might never see again, but I feel we have made their game day experience that much better,” he said.

No matter if the Ducks win or lose, the Oregon drum line will beat its drums until the clock hits zero, giving the fans the full sporting experience.

Former Oregon basketball player E.J. Singler was recently cut by the Portland Trail Blazers and will be playing in the NBA Development League. As one of the final three cuts for Portland, Singler will have to play for the Trail Blazers’ affiliate, the Idaho Stampede.

The former Oregon forward went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft this past June but was one of two players signed to a training camp contract by the Blazers in August.

Though being cut from Portland, Blazers head coach Terry Stotts had a good impression of Singler.

“I really liked E.J.,” Stotts said. “He was really good to have in camp. He was there every day early, he worked hard, he made our practices better. He can shoot the ball, he’s a smart player.”

Though Singler, 23, won’t be playing for Stotts this upcoming year, the former Duck got to spend time with his soon-to-be new coach Michael Peck. Peck was around Singler during the entire training camp and now will get more time with the 6-foot-6 Singler to develop his skills with the Stampede.

Singler struggled in his second and last preseason games with Portland. In the final 8:05 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, Singler shot 0-for-2 and committed three turnovers. Stotts thinks Singler will improve in these areas by playing in the D-League.

“I think the experience of the D-League will do him well,” Stotts said. “As a two-guard, working on his ballhandling will probably be a help. Getting his shot off a little bit quicker, maybe.”

Though his in-game results were not that impressive, Stotts said he enjoyed seeing Singler around camp.

“Who knows where his career is going to go from here,” Stotts said. “But certainly, the three weeks that he was here was a positive for us.”

After coming off the biggest win of the year, the Oregon Ducks have a great deal of momentum in finally playing, and beating, a strong opponent. Now this week they head home to Eugene, Ore. and welcome a pass-happy Washington State team. Oregon is used to preparing for these type of passing teams after facing California and Colorado, both teams the Ducks beat by a wide margin. But the Washington State Cougars have played well on the road this year beating USC (ranked ranked No. 25 at the time) and California.

Oregon’s defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti has talked at practice about how they are prepared for the pass-heavy Cougars team.

“It’s like three hours of live seven-on-seven, except it will be live 11-on-11,” Aliotti said the other day. “My point is that they throw the ball a ton. So whenever a team throws that many times, good things will happen for them, but hopefully some good things will happen for us too as far as picks or sacks.”

Here are some intriguing matchups for this Saturday’s contest.

Oregon’s Offensive Line vs. WSU’s Secondary:

Protected by Oregon’s offensive line, the turnover-less Marcus Mariota has had the Heisman Trophy talks following his every move this season, but the Washington State secondary currently ranks sixth nationally with 11 interceptions. Their ranking is in large part due to the tandem combination of safety Deone Bucannon and cornerback Damante Horton, who each have 4 interceptions on the year.

Oregon Key: After coming away from last week’s game against Washington without a turnover, again, Mariota has tough opposition again this week but should still be well protected. Washington State, who has 11 sacks recorded this season, will be up against a offensive line who have only let Mariota get sacked 5 times. If the offensive line continues their great season protecting Mariota, Oregon’s quarterback will keep making good decisions passing, or running.

Washington Key: The Cougars defense will have to take advantage of Oregon’s star running back De’Anthony Thomas possibly not playing in the game. If the defense can at least slow down the run, then Mariota will be forced to throw the ball more than desired, giving Bucannon and Horton opportunities to create turnovers.

Advantage: Oregon

Conor Halliday vs. Oregon Defensive Line

Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday ranks third in the FBS in passing yards (2,241) because of his ability to diversify his passes. Washington State has, remarkably, 10 receivers who have catches in five straight games. But the Ducks have proven, especially against pass-happy teams, their ability to get to the quarterback. 

Oregon Key: In their 6 games, the Ducks have 16 sacks. Leading the Ducks is defensive end Tony Washington, who has engulfed the opposition’s quarterback 4.5 times. With putting pressure on the quarterback, the Oregon secondary will be in a good position to make plays. Halliday has been sacked 10 times this year while still averaging over 48 passing attempts per game. Expect Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Terrance Mitchell to be ready for a wild ball.

Washington Key: The Cougars will have to continue to be “creative” with their routes and Halliday must continue to be a diverse passer. Halliday, who isn’t a very accurate passer, has been helped out a ton by his receivers who have gone after the ball.

“You can look at a route and say ‘wow’, that was not the right throw but maybe the guy broke the pattern off completely,” Mark Helfrich said in an interview about Halliday.

Advantage: Oregon

In their first conference win, the Oregon women’s soccer team was led by ShayLee Miner who scored the lone goal in the game for the Ducks 1-0 victory over Arizona.

In the 60th minute, the freshman Miner was all alone in front the of the Arizona back line and took her shot on goal. Though the ball was saved by the goal post, it rolled to the left where Miner followed up her shot and took another that Arizona goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman couldn’t get to. This was Miner’s third goal of the season, which makes her the leading scorer for the Oregon Ducks.

“It bounced off so I followed my shot and was lucky enough to get it in,” Miner said. “It’s nice to get that goal, it feels great. I know our whole team just feels great.”

Oregon starting keeper Abby Steele was superb in this one, not allowing the Arizona offense to beat her. She ended the game with four saves but the last 10 minutes were a stressful time for Oregon fans as Arizona twice hit powerful shots that rattled the crossbar. Steele would then be in position for both shots to recover the ball and stop the Wildcats’ attack.

After the Friday night loss to Arizona State where the Ducks only could get seven shots in the entire game, the Oregon offense had several opportunities to score in this game. It took 14 shots on goal until Kaufman would finally give up the winning goal from Miner. The Ducks finished the game with 19 shots and had seven corners.

“It was nice for us to get numbers in forward and we had a couple opportunities and I thought we could have put another one away,” Mertz said after the game.

The Oregon Ducks came out slow in the first half but really left that in the locker room at halftime and played completely different in the second. Good passes, which weren’t completed in the first, accompanied the high-energy second half.

In the 67th minute, Oregon fans had some concern for star player Bri Pugh who left the field with an injury. She walked off the field under her own power and would return later in the game but showed signs of discomfort. Oregon head coach Kat Mertz said she is not concerned.

“No, she’s okay,” Mertz said when asked if Pugh was injured. “It’s her birthday so we’re glad we got a win.”

Mertz then added, “She’s a competitor, she’s going to shake things off, she’ll come back ready.”

Playing through the discomfort, Pugh had a great offensive game. She was running all over the field and setting up her teammates as well as taking shots of her own. She sent a great cross in the 17th minute while running full speed, but Arizona defended it well and nothing was made of the cross. Pugh also sent a powerful shot in the 82nd minute where it beat the keeper, but unfortunately for the Ducks, it hit the crossbar and the threat was gone.

Noteworthy:

– Through 13 games this season, Oregon has allowed just two goals in the first half.

– The Ducks wore pink accessories such as socks and shoes in support of breast cancer awareness month.

This week the perfect Saturday starts out early. As college football fans, this is the kind of Saturday that we call in sick to work for. Of course all local eyes will be waiting to watch Oregon play Washington at 1 p.m. but be ready to watch some impressive football from multiple conferences.

Morning:

Today is not the day to smack the snooze button on your alarm clock because there are two big games to watch early in your Saturday. A Big 12 matchup between No. 12 Oklahoma at the University of Texas will nicely complement your breakfast. If you’re more of a SEC kind of person, watch newly-ranked No. 25 Missouri at No. 7 Georgia. Georgia is coming off a shaky win last week against Tennessee where they won due to a controversial fumble call in overtime. The Missouri Tigers, led by a strong running game, have started out the season 5-0, 1-0 in conference play. Personally I prefer to switch between games but if that’s not your style, don’t worry, either game will be sure to entertain. A breakfast including two over-easy eggs, three waffles and a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice will complement these games nicely, but if you’re more of a pancake fan then you can substitute. PJs are also suggested for these games.

Afternoon:

Between the two morning games and 12:30 p.m. would be the ideal time to grill. Whether it be burgers or hot dogs or something else, get grillin’ now. Because once the time strikes 12:30 p.m. you will need to be glued to your couch. No. 17 Florida will be at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. No. 10 LSU is looking to keep up with current SEC West leader No. 1 Alabama, who will be facing a weak Kentucky team in a big SEC matchup.

This, of course, is just the warm up.

Though the Florida vs. LSU game will surely be a great one, at 1 p.m. the channel should be changed. Not only is this the biggest game of the week, but No. 2 Oregon will face their big rival in No. 16 Washington in Seattle at the new Husky Stadium. Obviously one of the biggest big Pac-12 North matchups of the season, this game will have an effect on the polls come Sunday. With two dominant offenses who both rack up yards, expect big plays often. A huge question for the Ducks will be if star running back De’Anthony Thomas will be on the field after missing the game last week in Colorado due to an injury on the opening kickoff two weeks ago when Oregon hosted Cal. 

Evening:

After what is likely to be a stressful game for both Oregon and Washington fans, I recommend you start thinking about dinner. Though watching the end of No. 5 Stanford at Utah might be entertaining, the likely blowout might make Oregon fans even more tense. Therefore watch at your own risk. A SEC West matchup between No. 9 Texas A&M and Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., might be a better game to watch to wind down your Saturday. Sure to be an entertaining game with Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel on the field, a nice steak with some A.1 Steaksauce with your preferred veggie might be a good way to approach dinner. This game will start at 5:30 p.m.

Finally at 7:30 p.m. (like I said it will be a busy Saturday) a Pac-12 matchup will take place in Pasadena, Calif., with No. 11 UCLA hosting Cal.

It wasn’t too long ago that Darron Thomas led the Oregon Ducks to the BCS National Championship game in 2011 and the Rose Bowl in 2012. Soon after the Rose Bowl victory against Wisconsin, Thomas shocked Duck fans by choosing not to return for his final season at the University of Oregon. The former Oregon Quarterback holds the UO’s record for career touchdown passes with 66, but those days are over.

So where is Thomas now?

After going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft and failing to get that NFL contract he was striving for, Thomas signed with the Lincoln Haymakers, a team that is part of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League. He won’t make his CPIFL debut until March when the season starts.

However, as of October 9, 2013, Darron Thomas could get some professional football action sooner rather than later. With only four games left in the Canadian Football League season, the Calgary Stampeders (11-3) signed Darron Thomas to its practice roster. The Stampeders currently have three other quarterbacks in Bo Levi Mitchell (Eastern Washington), Drew Tate (Iowa) and Kevin Glenn (Illinois State).

In their first road game of the 2013 season, the Oregon’s women’s soccer team fell to the Utah Utes 1-0.

The Utes got off to a hot start on Friday night in Salt Lake City, Utah, shooting three times in the first eight minutes and taking a corner soon after. Oregon soon responded with a couple of shots by Kira Wagoner and Kristen Parr in the 11th and 13th minutes.

The first half settled into a grove where it showed, yet again, that this would be a defensive game. In the first half, the offensive attack was fairly balanced with Utah shooting seven times and Oregon taking five shots of their own. Though Oregon made Utah goalkeeper Lindsey Luke work on their shots. Luke recording three saves in the half, while Oregon keeper Abby Steele was needed only once to record a save.

In the second half, the Utes played great defense. While the Utah offense continued to have opportunities to score — taking five shots — Oregon was limited to only two shots in the half. In fact, Lindsey Luke didn’t need to record a single save in the second half. Utah, though, got their chance when sophomore midfielder Katie Rigby put the ball in the back of the net in the 69th minute off an assist from Katie Taylor. The Utah defense would continue to defend well against the Ducks to close out the game for the win.

The Ducks are now 2-5-3 on the season and 0-1-1 in Pac-12 play.

Last season, the Ducks struggled on the road, ending the year with a winless road record (0-5-0). Oregon head coach Kat Mertz said the other day that she’s hoping her team will improve their road record this year.

“We have to find a way to win on the road,” Mertz said the other day. “I think we have to take a more serious, business-like approach to road matches. Yes, it’s fun to get out and travel, but at the end of the day you’re there for business — to do a job.”

Oregon’s road trip will continue on Sunday in Colorado where they will take on the Buffaloes (9-2-0) for their third conference game of the year.

Before Oregon kicks off against Washington State on Saturday, Ducks head coach Mark Helfrich spoke to the media following Thursday’s practice.

Here’s what Helfrich had to say:

You’ve got a young secondary that hasn’t faced an offense like this, do you go through some adjustments with them in practice?

So much of it is fundamentals, of a coverage fitting around our formation, and communicating with confidence, and aligning . It sounds so simple but when things are going quickly, a little bit differently than they’ve showed on film, that’s where you have to go back to your fundamentals and trust it. And play.

Scott Frost said on Monday that the quarterback picture was not clear, he didn’t know who was No. 1, 2 or 3 . Have things changed?

I think yes and no. I think we know what is going to happen and what we’re going to do, but it’s not in granite right now. If it was in granite I’d tell you.

Has there been an emphasis on the running game in your offense this week?

We’re kind of in a position of how we game plan is consistent of a run-pass ratio kind of thing. Obviously there are different strengths and weaknesses of how you’re going to approach things. Washington State takes away a lot in run game by how they align, so we’re going to run it and throw it – do some different things.

What is it about this Washington State team that has given Oregon fits? Last year, it took a ridiculous performance by Marcus Mariota to escape with a win. What is it about this team?

I think if you look at their play last week, they gave Cal a ton of fits. They’ve always gave Oregon their best shot for a long, long time for whatever reason. They’re extremely talented. They’ve been a little bit up and down this year, but their talent at the skills positions is always great. The defensive front is fantastic.

Last week you requested a moment of silence in Colorado, and this week you’re giving away free tickets to Umpqua CC students and staff – how much of a rule have you had to make sure to build awareness and support?

I think our administration does a great job, Rob (Mullens) was the first guy to call me right after that all occurred. Obviously we’re going to do anything we can to support that, the fallout from that situation. There is nothing you can say or do to solve it, just to provide something, whether it’s entertainment, joy or distraction or something.

Because of your roots in southern Oregon, does it mean more to you?

Absolutely. That’s an hour and change from where [I grew] up – it could be anywhere, it could be our kids. All the lessons you need to learn from that, they slap you right in the face, whether it’s going to the deal at Thurston (High School) several years ago or all the other things that happened all around the country. You got to at least talk about it.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly