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This was a Chip Kelly game. Blow their doors off in the first half and then fart around in the second half. Sometimes Oregon would start slow and then blow their doors off in the second half. It was very seldom that Chipks (and Helf’s) teams put together a solid 4-quarter performance. I still remember Aliotti getting mad at Mike Leach for not rolling over in the second half of the 2013 game.

It used to be that if you could recruit Florida, Texas and California really well then you were going to have an excellent program. I think the same rule applies today, but I would add Georgia, Louisiana and Alabama to that mix. This is why the southern teams have dominated for so long. Ohio State and Oregon each have 25 players on their roster from the SEC footprint. OSU has always recruited the South pretty well due to their brand. Oregon has come along lately due to NIL and their rising stock as a CFB brand. If throwing money at players is all it takes to win then the Texas schools would dominate. Much of Oregon’s success with NIL comes from helping players manage their brand. The wild card in all this is Cignetti. If he keeps winning with 3-stars and portal players I would expect a few NFL teams to make a run at him. His ability to evaluate and develop talent is perfect for the salary cap environment.

Ed O confirming your theory. Of course, he also spent a few years at USC as well.

David it certainly was a tale of 2 halves. After the long interception return from the Ducks red zone, an entirely different Duck defense finished out the game.The players seemed to channel the ghosts of a past 2nd half collapse in an Alamo Bowl! Because the announcers did a poor job of telling us who missed tackles, missed coverages or assignments, it is hard to tell who and how many #2's, 3's or 4's were in on those let down plays. Some of those players because of redshirt rules may have not played since October. Either way execution went out the window. DL and staff will have the players full attention this week. Coupled with a quarter and a half of bad duck film to review.. The good ducks will show up in Miami and give TT all they can handle. Either way, congratulations to OBD's first CFP victory. Let's get #2....... Go Ducks.....

Oregon took down JMU in the first round of the college football playoff and the first playoff game in Autzen. However, the game was a tale of two different Duck teams. Good Duck Let’s start with the good stuff. For two and a half quarters, there was plenty to be happy about. Even Mr. FishDuck took a break from his ... Read More Source Read the full article here...

If I was a gambler, the one game I would've picked the favorite to cover a three score game in a playoff, would've been this one. It seems like Oregon just lost focus after going up 48-13. James Madison didn't have the speed on the outside to challenge Oregon. The Dukes averaged less than two yards a rush in the first half. In the second, they were averaging over five. That's more than Indiana, USC, Penn State, Iowa, or Washington. I like to give credit to the opponent, but Oregon just lost gap integrity imo. It's a good thing I'm not a gambler, because my first bet would've been on Oregon covering. I think Oregon is a 1.5 favorite right now over Texas Tech. It's still early, so we'll see how the line moves.

They’ve earned being the “primary” receivers. They’re as good as any we e had in recent years.

This I can’t really argue with, if the B1G wins three in a row, they have absolutely closed the gap at the top and 3 in a row proves it. I think the B1G has consistently had one or two of the top teams for awhile, give or take a few years in the modern era. Also, the addition of Oregon and USC and others have only strengthened the conference.

So you’re saying that the Southern teams have only dominated college football bc they started paying players, and otherwise the northern teams that once upon a time dominated in a much different era and landscape would have continued their dominance? If you truly believe this then I won’t even try to argue with you because it would be pointless! Come on man, you certainly know better than this!

Meh. I think after this year is completed and a Big-10 team wins the 'Natty for the third time in a row, that it will be shown that while the SEC is deeper? The Big-10 has the best teams.

Historically, I am inclined to think the North has proven to have the advantage. Princeton, Yale, Chicago, Notre Dame, Army, Michigan, Nebraska, etc for decades dominated championships. It really wasn’t until the SEC mastered the art of paying players under the table that the South became dominant. I think NIL has re-leveled that playing field somewhat. I fear we are moving into an era that the schools with the richest donors will hold the real advantage.

I remember posting on more than one occasion that NIL would level the playing field. I just never expected it to happen as quickly as it has. Now if only the 18-team B1G could find a way to level the playing field a little better intra-conference. Recently Ohio State's Caleb Downs was asked the difference in playing an SEC schedule vs. a B1G schedule (remember he played, and played very well, at Alabama his first year). He said exactly what I thought he'd say remarking that you really only needed to be in top form for 2-3 of the 9-Game B1G contests to prevail. He then remarked that in the SEC you better be on your toes always as you are going to face "DUDES every game!" That is a bit of an overstatement but still truer of the SEC than the B1G IMHO.

McClellan has two of THE best “almost” catches I’ve ever seen. The “one handed pin against the helmet” catch in a prior game, and the over the back of the defender in this game.

I agree, USC isn’t a southern team. This won’t be popular, but college football has been dominated in modern history by the south. While I will admit that certainly tOSU was the best team last season, I don’t think UM would have beaten UGA the year before. Neither here nor there though, it’s not Michigan’s fault that they didn’t play GA, it’s GA’s fault, so they were justifiably the champions. Maybe it’s starting to change, but the South has a bit of an advantage in that there are so many top football recruits that come from southern states, and also that in the south the NFL is secondary to college football for the most part. However, NIL and the money it brings is changing the narrative it seems. The one thing some of the big Northern teams do have access to is money, and that money can bring in southern recruits and transfers. Time will tell how things will ultimately adjust, but it’s a certainty that the dust hasn’t settled yet in the new frontier of college football! Perhaps the stranglehold that the south has had may be coming to an end, or at least the playing field is leveling.

A TON of SEC players have come to B1G in the NIL-Portal era. I did not anticipate how a couple of Big Ten teams could load up on portal athletes from the south to the degree that we have. It has been quite a leveling of the playing field between the two power conferences…

Saturday Tradition Posts JMU Game Stats - Saturday TraditionRapid Reaction: Oregon runs over James Madison, into CFP...Oregon ran all over James Madison in the first half of Saturday's College Football Playoff first-round game to book a trip to the quarters.

Yep, the rope a dope has started.

Well, you evened up the teams by adding ewe dub dragging down the North and sc for the South.

Let's see all four plus Sadiq spread out and running streaks, crosses and posts on the same play . . . and then count the broken ankles on D.

Yeah, he's not the only one . . . I had bet the spread and a teaser spread - 27. Good thing I had Ducks over 19.5 for the 1st half and 35 for the game to go along with at least 1 TD either team over 43.5 yds. I thought Johnson's TD was going to save me, but the other 4 x 45yd+ did.

Benson is probably the punt returner for the remainder. I also don't see either Benson or McClellan being benched for Bryant at WR. Bryant will work back into the 2 deep. Dak Moore will work back into starter.

It is hard to think of USC as a south team when they are a card carrying member of the B1G. I put them in the north.

Thanks, AOD, for the terrific post. TX Tech played five teams with winning records this season, defeating BYU twice. TT scored 21 plus points in all of its wins. OBD went 5-1 against teams with winning records, plus two wins over 6-6 Northwestern and Penn State. Both teams handled a common opponent, Oregon State, with ease. SOS - OBD 16 and TT 54. As you ask AOD, how much of TT's success was the result of playing inferior competition? On 1/1, will Oregon face an elite defense? By the numbers, the answer is 'Yes.' The TT defense is 1st in QB pressures, and No. 1 in TOs created with 31 on the year, including four against BYU in the champ game. Texas Tech finished the season No. 1 against the rush, allowing an average of 68.5 yards a game and 2.3 yards per rush. In 2024 and 2025 to date, Oregon is 25-0 when rushing for 100 yards or more a game, and 0-2 when rushing for fewer than 100 yards. If OBD cannot run the ball against TT, the Red Raiders should win the game. This should be a classic battle on the line of scrimmage. Wreck Tech!

Who has the advantage? Northern teams: Washington, Oregon, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio St, Penn St Southern teams: USC, Texas, T a&m, Oklahoma, LSU, bama, Georgia, Clemson, Fla St, Miami, Florida, Tennessee I think the south had the advantage except for the last couple of seasons. Now, I think it is very close. NIL has made it more feasible for kids from the south to play for teams that are further away. Not too long ago, only Ohio St had the size, strength and athletes to compete against the best southern teams. Any thoughts?

Tech has the same problem that Oregon had last year - sitting out the first round while their opponent got a warm up game. Now Tech has to play against better players, just like Oregon did vs Ohio St last yr in the playoffs. I see an exact replay of the situation last year. Can't see it any differently. Just hope Lanning doesn't go aggro and get a bunch of players hurt in practice. Only semi-real teams Tech played so far are Utah and BYU. And they lost to Az St. I don't think Tech is ready to play Oregon. Although at this point, I think they could beat the crap out of our backups.