As the Ducks prepare for their Saturday tilt against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Duck Sports Authority starts off your morning with some water cooler subjects for your Wednesday discussions.

The Ducks conducted their Tuesday practice at Siuslaw middle school in Florence. That was because the air quality in the Willamette Valley and especially Eugene was abysmal. The Lane Regional Air Pollution Agency deemed the level in the Eugene due to regional forest fire smoke as “hazardous.” So the Ducks made the hour drive west to the coast where the air and sky were clear.

“A sudden change,” said Taggart. “But change is always good. You are never comfortable, you never know what is going to happen. Just have to be ready to go practice.”

Today the Ducks are back in Eugene. Yesterday LRAPA pegged the air hazard level at 376 on a scale that goes from 0 to 300 but the Wednesday forecast is for half as bad; 152 (unhealthy). And as dawn broke at DSA headquarters west of Eugene you could see it. While yesterday visibility with the smoke was about a mile, today it is closer to three miles. Hopefully this trend will continue and the region's wildfires will have no effect on Saturday’s game.

In our Tuesday notes we mentioned how glad we are that Husker QB Tommy Armstrong has moved his talents on to take a shot at the NFL. After getting some intel from HuskerOnline’s Sean Callahan, we might not be so sure given his insights into Tulane transfer Tanner Lee who will be starting against the Ducks on Saturday.

“Tanner Lee is the guy for sure. He is as talented as any quarterback they’ve had since Eric Crouch. Zac Taylor was the 2006 Big 12 player of the year, but I would say Lee has a much stronger arm and will be a draft pick, where Taylor never made an NFL roster.

"Lee is very poised, and in less than a year he’s one of the most respected guys in the locker room, which says a lot right there. Former NFL GM Phil Savage thinks Lee could challenge Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and others as a top draft QB even for this year if he decided to go out.”

The Oregon OL graded out very high after the Southern Utah game in DSA’s Grades and Analysis. Coach Cristobal agreed.

“They really did a good job communicating at the line of scrimmage,” said Co-OC/OL Coach Mario Cristobal. “They were able to run the ball against some tough looks and some outnumbered boxes which is always difficult. Some things were done well and some things we need to get better. You’re going to hear that every week.

“A lot of guys got to play which is good.”

Coach Cristobal has said he would like a ten-man rotation at some point. Sounds like right now that is not the case with the number closer to seven. But the competition is good.

“Guys like Brady Aiello and Doug Brenner really, they got time with the ones in there as well almost like they are co-starters,” said Cristobal. “They are certainly pushing. There is still a pretty significant separation between the ones and the twos. They know that. There are some threes that are working their way into being twos. No one is going to be content and lackadaisical. We are going to keep stoking the fire and making sure we are getting the best out of each and every guy.”

And there was more good blocking news from the Ducks’ season opener.

“I don’t think the receivers got the credit for the way they blocked on the perimeter,” said Cristobal. “I thought those guys were extremely physical. It’s pretty neat when you watch the film on offense and see those guys get after it.”

Fifth year senior Taylor Alie has been battling true freshman Braxton Burmeister to be the backup for Justin Herbert this season. The coaching staff gave him his shot in the fourth quarter against Southern Utah and he delivered.

“I think that’s awesome,” said Co-OC/QB coach Marcus Arroyo. “I think that’s one of the hidden gems in a game like that is, when you put the guy behind him in, how much fall off there is. And with our guys there wasn’t. He went 6-for-6, executed and knew what was going on. He was locked in the whole game and that’s hard to do. It’s hard to stand there for three-quarters of a game and then be perfect. He did an awesome job. That is exactly what I want to see from him.”

Does this mean that true freshman Braxton Burmeister gets to preserve his redshirt year in 2017? Maybe.