My co-host in the mornings on 95.5 The Game, Chad Doing — the legendary CIP — asked this question the other day on the air and it’s a good one:

Which bet would you most likely make, Oregon State getting 12.5 points in Dallas Saturday against TCU, or the Ducks at home giving 35 to New Mexico?

See, for me, I kind of like taking both our teams. I think Oregon State is going to beat the number in its opener and will play well. But I also like the Ducks to pound that spread by a mile. I mean, they’re going to have a great chance to be up 35-0 by halftime.

So if you allowed me only one bet, it would have to be on the Ducks. But the Beavers wouldn’t scare me, either.

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… but condolences to Nate Costa. I was dead wrong about this one. I thought Costa would win the job. Now, unless Thomas gets hurt, it’s hard to imagine Costa playing a lot.

The way the early schedule breaks down for the Ducks, this team is very likely to get off to a terrific start. The only difficult game shapes up to be the one in the second week at Tennessee, but that game isn’t as difficult as it used to be. The Volunteers are down and it kind of reminds me of that year when Oregon went back and caught Michigan in a down year and beat the pants off the Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

Anyway, Thomas has every opportunity to get his feet on the ground before the schedule gets rough later on. Now will Costa eventually play? Yeah, he better stay ready. This offense, as we’ve seen, can be tough on quarterbacks — and Thomas doesn’t look as if he’s built to take a lot of punishment.

All I can say is that game week is finally here. Man, it will be great to have actual games to talk about.

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… before he names his starting quarterback.

Yeah, sure. Hard for me to believe that. I mean, I would think that by now Kelly knows exactly what he’s going to do. It’s just easier to tell the media that he hasn’t made up his mind yet. Even if he hasn’t made up his mind, it’s hard to believe the whole thing hinges on video of that one final scrimmage. Really?

But, whatever… On the day before it becomes public, go ahead and tell me who you think will be the starter and why.

For me, I’m still saying Nate Costa. There’s so much admiration from his teammates for what he’s overcome to get in this position. That counts for something — something that you don’t see in the video of that scrimmage. The players, not the coaches, decide who the leaders are — and at quarterback, you need a leader.

Can’t remember this much anticipation for a starting quarterback announcement.

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… when I heard about a naked Oregon State lineman in a three-point stance I kind of thought of, well… never mind. Just a picture I couldn’t get out of my mind there for a minute.

I have to agree with colleague John Strong on 95.5 The Game — when it comes to arrests, Oregon State may not quite top the Ducks (although it’s close) in sheer numbers but the Beavers seem to be involved in funnier ones.

Mike Riley took swift action in this one and the obvious question is, if this wasn’t a third-string freshman, would the decision have been as easy?

Am I the only person who would say, “Of course not.” I mean, if this was Quizz Rogers I’d hope Riley would hesitate. Really. And I know there are many who would argue with me. But you saw the Ducks be very careful with Masoli and Blount and I understood that, to a degree. They were important players who had an impact on their team’s success — so any punishment of them affected the success of other players.

I love how people believe that all players ought to be treated the same, whether they’re stars or not. They all think that special treatment for stars is something that doesn’t happen in real life — only in sports.

Yeah, right.

If you work for a company, in these economic times, and your star salesman is making money for everyone — do you think he’s not going to be treated differently than the guy at the bottom of the list barely making his draw each month? He better not be.

It just doesn’t work that way. Maybe that’s not the way it should be, but it’s the way it is. Success buys you second chances in this world.

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Kerry Eggers has this today in the Portland Tribune. At some points, kids are going to have to recognize that their Myspace and Facebook pages can be rather embarrassing.

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Well, if you read between the lines, you might think so.

So far, this is the kind of thing that’s being said about Darron Thomas:

Thomas’ problem has been what everybody assumes is his strength: his feet. Footwork issues have gotten Thomas out of whack and have led to the now declining number of errant, wobbly passes.

“When Darron gets his feet set, he’s outstanding,” Kelly said. “When Darron gets out of whack, and off-balance, so to speak … that’s when he gets a little erratic and his arm starts to move. But if he can keep his feet underneath him and stay in balance, he’s really, really a good passer.”

Helfrich has used an analogy that, although it’s generally lost on the college kids of today, provides a good visual: Stay in the phone booth. Thomas “gets big” with his arms and his legs when he throws. He over-strides, the release point drops, and he gets in trouble.

“He’s corrected that to a degree,” Helfrich said. “Now he just needs for that to become his instinct, his reaction rather than having to think about it.”

And this is what they’re saying about Costa:

On media day, Kelly talked about the U.S. troops withstanding the 117-degree days in Baghdad. Even three major knee injuries pale in comparison to that, but the inspirational effect is similar.

“If someone can come back from that, it shows how strong and how committed they are to the team and to himself,” receiver Jeff Maehl said. “And for it to happen three times, and to keep coming back and keep battling – it really does, it really is like the troops.

“You think you’re tired at practice and you look at him and think, ‘this guy, he hurt his knee three times, and he’s still working hard for us.’ ”

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to put a possible Rose Bowl team at risk with someone who still doesn’t have his throwing fundamentals down. But I would probably like to have a guy whose teammates see as a charismatic leader.

Obviously, the quotes are selective. But I do believe if Thomas is still having footwork problems, it’s going to hurt his chances. Look, a whole bunch of people out there are saying that Thomas should start because he’s the quarterback of the future. Might as well throw him out there now, they say, because it’s going to help get him ready for the next two seasons.

Well, sorry — not this time. This is a season when the Ducks could go to the Rose Bowl. Heck, they’re favored to go to the Rose Bowl. It’s no time to think about the future. For the Ducks, the future is right now.

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Things I saw while holding a microphone for Comcast Sportsnet:

• Chip Kelly has lost weight. “Pac-10 football coaches diet,” he told me off camera. Kelly looked very relaxed and comfortable. And I have to say he was very impressive in his interviews. He actually looked to be enjoying himself — which is the only way to attack that part of the job.
• I think people are getting stuck with the stereotypes in the whole Derron Thomas-Nate Costa battle for the quarterback job. Thomas, who is black, is being thought of as the runner and Costa, a white guy, is considered the passer. That’s an old stereotype — the black guy is always the runner, right? In this case, I’m not so sure. I think Thomas considers himself a passer first and may throw better than Costa — who made his early reputation with the Ducks as a whisper-quick runner. I asked Costa how much speed he’d lost since his freshman season, what with all the injuries, and his answer surprised me. “By now, none,” he said. “My times now are right back where they were when I got here.” If that’s the case, I think you’re going to be surprised at how well he motors in space. I asked each player who was the fastest and neither would answer — leading me to believe that it’s at least close.
• Nick Aliotti is a classic. In his 35th season of college football, Aliotti had lost his voice already — on the first day of practice. He’s a survivor who has taken his share of heat over the years and he isn’t getting full credit for his defensive squad at Oregon right now because the offense gets all the attention. But the Ducks led the conference in defense last year and may just do it again. Nobody cares more about his players than Aliotti — I love the guy.
• LaMichael James says his work with the track team last spring had a big impact for him — “I’m faster now,” he said with great confidence. “No doubt about it. I learned so much about running fundamentals. You’re going to see a difference.”

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As this story tells us, the former Oregon quarterback now has a new website (with the obligatory photo of him hugging his grandmother) and a public relations firm helping him out.

First off, am I the only one who wonders where this kid got the money for a public relations company? Second, it seems to be working. I sat on the set of “Talkin’ Ball” last night marveling at how much everyone is willing to buy into the new Masoli story.

Come on, you did not participate in a robbery yet you were willing to plead guilty to this fraternity house crime and torch your chance to to be a Heisman Trophy candidate? Why say you did it if you didn’t? That makes no sense — the kid blew his whole life apart and he didn’t even do the crime? Just as it makes no sense, as he tries to tell us, that he spent months in a juvenile facility during his high school years for robbing someone of 10 bucks and a Jamba Juice card.

Really?

This is a guy who still admits he lied to his coach and the cops — but we’re supposed to believe him now when he says he didn’t have anything to do with that robbery?

Sorry, not buying it. Not buying it at all.

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At least that’s what it appears in this story, which indicates a candidate who was heretofore unknown:

Jackson also said he did not anticipate coaching at the collegiate level, although a booster from the University of Oregon contacted him in hopes of Jackson taking over that program.

That’s PHIL Jackson, in an ESPN story.

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Oregon apparently didn’t recruit this guy. He sought them out. But this is his story:

Marcus Davis was an US Army All-American high school player in his first year at Texas but was suspended indefinitely by Longhorns Head Coach Mack Brown following an incident in the early morning hours on November 29, 2009.

According to the web site, sportsnewsandscores.com, Davis was stopped around 6:45 a.m. because of driving on a flat tire. He was then arrested for driving while intoxicated and for possession of a controlled substance. The charges against Davis were later drastically reduced.

Brown suspended Davis immediately from the Longhorns final games of the season and the Rose Bowl game for the BCS Championship. On January 1, 2010, the blog site BurntOrangeNation.com posted a report indicating Davis was transferring and sources tell eDuck.com that soon afterward, Davis contacted Oregon’s Chip Kelly about transferring to Eugene, ironically prior to a number of legal incidents involving Oregon players.

Apparently the Ducks will announce his signing later today.

So… is this what’s going to happen in the future — kind of like the way a certain type of player always kind of gravitated toward Jerry Tarkanian? Is Oregon going to become some sort of home for wayward boys? Is Chip Kelly the new Father Flanagan for college football?

I guess only time will tell.

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