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The second-ranked Oregon Ducks are keeping quiet for their bye week.
Practices in Eugene were declared closed to the public and the media, and the players weren't talking to reporters. Coach Chip Kelly shut the Ducks down because he thought that's what the team ''needed.''
Kelly himself was speaking only because he had to. On the weekly Pac-10 coaches conference call he gave a few terse answers about what was going on with his team, both mentally and physically.
He insisted the directive for silence wasn't made because of Oregon's ranking and the attention that comes with it.
''We don't shield our team. I think our kids can read whatever they want to read. I don't talk about that,'' Kelly said. ''But they also know that it means absolutely nothing. You can just look at Alabama; they were the No. 1 team in the country and they lost. Now they're the No. 8 team in the country. I don't shield my team.
''I know our kids can read the paper, I know our kids can read the Internet. But we don't need to discuss it. Because it means nothing.''
To Kelly's credit, he did go on to discuss the team in general terms and to address individual performances.
Following a 43-23 victory over Washington State, Oregon moved up a spot in the AP Top 25, falling in behind No. 1 Ohio State and just ahead of No. 3 Boise State. The Ducks are off this weekend before hosting UCLA next Thursday night at Autzen Stadium.
The silence out of Oregon was frustrating, mostly because of the physical condition of running back Kenjon Barner, and, to a lesser degree, quarterback Darron Thomas.
The scene was unnerving when Barner was injured in Pullman. His parents rushed to his side as he lay prone on the field tended by trainers, and pal LaMichael James paced nervously with a towel on his head.
An ambulance pulled onto the field to remove Barner, who was taken to a local hospital. Then he reportedly was transferred to a hospital in Oregon because of a concussion.
But the information flow stopped there. When asked if Barner was back with the team, Kelly said: ''I'm not talking about that. Practice is closed.''
It is Oregon's practice not to discuss specific injuries because of privacy concerns. Kelly has often said that injured players are day-to-day until game time, when they're either out or playing.
Barner, who is a return specialist and backs up James, has rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns this season, and he's caught six passes for 107 yards and another score. He's also scored on a punt return.
Then there's the matter of Thomas, who left the game against the Cougars with his arm dangling at his side. He had fallen awkwardly on his right shoulder during a 1-yard run that was brought back by a penalty. He was replaced by backup Nate Costa.
Thomas has passed for 1,231 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He has also run for 221 yards and a pair of scores.
His injury did not appear as serious as Barner's. More should be evident on Saturday when Oregon reopens practice.
The Ducks are 6-0 for the first time since 2002, but that season they dropped six of their final seven, including a 38-17 loss to Wake Forest in the now-defunct Seattle Bowl.
Kelly was wary of complacency.
''We can improve on blocking, we can improve our tackling, our kickoff-return team needs a lot of work. We've got to clean up ball security in terms of fumbles lost. We've got a few holding penalties, because fundamentally our hands are getting outside the framework,'' he said. ''So we need to get them back inside the framework.
''We don't look at this as a bye week, we look at this as an improvement week.''
