legarrette blount

LeGarrette Blount punches out opponent after embarrassing loss

Thursday's season-opening loss at Boise State was the worst possible scenario for Oregon in every way: The vaunted Ducks offense was lethargic, ineffective, impotent and any other synonym you can imagine for "really bad," held to a meager eight points and 150 total yards in a deflating loss that could send the entire season careening off the tracks. And no Duck was more disappointing in the loss than LeGarrette Blount: The senior running back, last seen hurtling over and through Oklahoma State defenders in a breakout Holiday Bowl performance last December, finished with –5 yards on eight carries and was dropped in the end zone for a safety in the second quarter.

A frustrating night, for sure, especially for a guy who spent the week before the game leading the nation in trash talk. But "frustration" does not quite describe Blount's reaction after the game as well as "psychotic flip-out" directed at anyone and everyone in his general vicinity:

Blount has returned from one suspension already this year, an academic issue that kept him out of spring practice. But cold-cocking an opposing player, taking a swipe at a teammate and attempting to head into the stands after opposing fans is another animal entirely: Blount will certainly be suspended for the foreseeable future, if not the rest of his senior season, and could plausibly be hit with assault charges if Boise State or local authorities were feeling especially vindictive about it. At any rate, his very promising future at the next level is -- to use a technical, "insider" term -- kaput.

The hero of the fracas: Oregon assistant and former Nebraska star Scott Frost, the quick-reacting blonde dude who saved a Bronco fan from the fate of Byron Hout on the field. General rule of thumb: When your night ends with you being restrained by an ad hoc coalition of authority figures and security guards, you have had a very, very bad night. As a Duck, at least, Blount may not have many left.