Good

• It’s always good to have some perspective. While in Colorado for this weekend’s football game, Ducks at the Beach — a group of Oregon football boosters — has decided to donate 250 backpacks full of school supplies and other items in light of last month’s Colorado floods. The backpacks were a product of donations from Nike, the Gearhart schools and the Duck Store, and will be given to the Lyons Colorado School District. The gifts are estimated to be worth $10,000.
• This Saturday’s Bill Dellinger Invitational will be the Oregon cross country team’s one home meet of the season, as the squad will make the short drive to the Springfield Country Club. The No. 4 men’s team will face a tough challenge from No. 8 Portland, while the No. 5 women will battle No. 7 Washington, among others. Freshman Edward Cheserek will look to follow up his win at last weekend’s Boston College Invitational, while seniors Parker Stinson and Sarah Penney will compete in the final home meet of their collegiate careers.

Bad

• After ESPN’s Reggie Rankin reported yesterday that power forward Ray Kasongo had verbally committed to Oregon, the 6-foot-9 senior out of Phase 1 Academy in Arizona took to Twitter to distance himself from the report. The Ducks will lose power forwards Mike Moser and Richard Amardii after the 2013-14 season, making interior big men a key focus for the upcoming recruiting class.
• USC receiver Marqise Lee did not participate in Wednesday’s practice after suffering a knee sprain last week against Arizona State. The junior wideout indicated that the injury has gotten better daily, but he will continue rehabilitation treatment in the meantime. USC is on a bye this week and play their next game against Arizona on Thursday, Oct. 10.

Ugly

• If there weren’t enough reasons to appreciate the Duck, Throwback Thursday gave us one more. The University of Oregon Athletics posted this gem to its official Instagram account on Tuesday, presenting the oldest Oregon mascot uniform to exist. While this version of the Duck more closely resembles the stork from Dumbo than a mascot that cranks out push-ups on Saturdays, the flashback is likely to make you chuckle.

After a dominating performance at this past weekend’s Boston College Cross Country Invitational, the Oregon men’s squad moved up eight places to No. 4 in Tuesday’s USTFCCCA National Coaches poll. The ranking is the highest the Oregon men have received since their preseason No. 4 ranking in 2011.

Without top transfer Eric Jenkins and NCAA 1500 champion Mac Fleet, the Ducks scored 22 points in Beantown, easily dispatching of a talented field that included No. 10 Syracuse, No. 18 Providence and No. 19 Wisconsin. Freshmen Edward Cheserek and Jake Leingang were the top two finishers for the Ducks.

Oklahoma State received all 12 first-place votes and Colorado leapfrogged Northern Arizona for second place in the polls. UCLA moved up one spot to No. 12, Stanford dropped three spots to No. 23, and Arizona State moved up one spot to No. 28.

On the women’s side, Oregon dropped two spots to No. 5 after finishing second to No. 1 Providence at this past weekend’s meet. Arizona switched places with Oregon, jumping from No. 5 to No. 3, and Colorado jumped one spot to No. 14. Washington and Stanford stayed at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively.

This weekend kicks off the first big weekend of collegiate cross country, with several high-profile meets around the country pairing up top-ranked teams. The Oregon squad traveled to Boston this weekend for their first ever appearance at the Boston College Cross Country Invite.

The Oregon women came to Franklin Park as the defending NCAA champions and were pitted against Providence – the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s current No. 1 seed. Along with the No.3 Oregon women, Friday’s field included ninth-ranked Cornell and 24th-ranked Boston College.

The Providence squad comfortably took the women’s team race and was led by a 1-2 finish from seniors Emily Sisson and Laura Nagel. Sisson traversed the 5,000-meter course in a winning time of 16:51, with Nagel finishing seven seconds behind at 16:58. Rachel Sorna (5th; 17:17), Catarina Rocha (7th; 17:28), and Erin Murphy (36th; 18:09) made up the remaining of the Friars’ scorers – who concluded the day with 50 points.

The Oregon women were led by senior Megan Patrignelli, who stopped the clock at 17:22 – good for a sixth-place finish. The next three Ducks crossed the finish line in close proximity, as freshman Maggie Schmaedick (11th; 17:33) and sophomores Molly Grabill (12th; 17:34) and Abbey Leonardi (17th; 17:35) finished within two seconds of each other. Senior Sarah Penny (40th; 18:13) rounded out the top five for the Ducks, while junior Maria Elbon (46th; 18:20) and freshman Therese Haiss (51st; 18:23) finished as the final two Oregon harriers.

The Oregon women came away with second place, scoring 85 points. Cornell finished in third place with 101 points, while Boston College scored 110 points to edge out Wisconsin by one point for fourth place.

On the men’s side, the Ducks made easy work of a solid field and were led by a pair of talented freshman making their Oregon debut. Edward Cheserek was billed as the top distance recruit of 2013 after winning two Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships and the 2013 Gatorade National Cross Country Runner of the Year. Cheserek hadn’t lost a prep race since 2010 and continued his winning ways in his first collegiate meet, finishing the 8,000-meter race in 24:11 alongside teammate and fellow freshman Jake Leingang (2nd; 24:11).

The rest of the Oregon men weren’t far behind Cheserek and Leingang, as junior Ryan Pickering finished in fourth place at 24:14, with sophomore Matthew Melancon (24:18) and juniors Jeramy Elkaim (24:20) and Daniel Winn (24:20) finishing 7-8-9 overall. Senior Parker Stinson finished in 18th place, clocking in at 24:42. Junior and Northeastern transfer Eric Jenkins didn’t lace up for Oregon, but is expected to be a top scorer for the team this year after a strong outdoor track season.

The men of Oregon attained an impressive 22 points, with Syracuse finishing in second place with a 69-point score. Rounding out the top four teams were Providence and Wisconsin, with 81 and 88 points, respectively.

Marcus Mariota joined teammates De’Anthony Thomas and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu in the most recent Top 32 NFL draft prospect rankings written by ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay. Mariota cracked McShay’s list for the first time, coming in at number 23 as the third-highest ranked quarterback behind Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater (2) and UCLA’s Brett Hundley (6). Mariota has completed 59.8 percent of his passes this year and has 11 total touchdowns without throwing an interception. Thomas (ranked 21st) is the only running back inside McShay’s Top 32, while Ekpre-Olomu (27) is the second cornerback behind Florida’s Loucheiz Purifoy (24).

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that rookie quarterback Mike Glennon will get the nod over Josh Freeman when the team plays host to the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday. Glennon was selected by Tampa Bay in the third round of this year’s NFL draft and will take his first NFL snap against an Arizona defense that ranks 26th in passing yards allowed.

This is Freeman’s fifth season with Tampa Bay. The former first-round pick out of Kansas State ranks last among starting quarterbacks with a 45.7 completion percentage this season.

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After being carted off the field following a gruesome leg injury during Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has been diagnosed with a torn medial patellofemoral ligament. The 21-year-old is expected to require 6-to-8 weeks of rest before being allowed to begin light running. There was initial fear that Machado had suffered a torn ACL, so all things considered, his diagnosis is considered to be a favorable outcome.

The third overall pick in the 2010 MLB draft finished the 2013 season with a .283 batting average, 14 home runs and 51 doubles.