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Not ignoring that or any other non-Alabama run. SEC has had tons of good teams…just saying that Saban inflated it significantly. They wouldn’t have been the best conference (imo)most years if it was just Alabama.

I'm in the metropolis of Mount Pleasant. Where you are sounds much better :)

Yikes! Coach Altman just said Nate Bittle will be out for a month, maybe longer. And Jackson Shelstad is still not available to play. I hate to say this, but looking at the upcoming schedule, I don't see a single win for our Ducks with two of our best players out of the lineup for the foreseeable future.

You can't ignore what Kirby Smart built (back to back champs), and that 2019 LSU team that had just a couple ok NFL players...

The biggest tell that people making the rankings severe cognitive bias issues is Penn State and Indiana. 3rd vs. 20th. Really? Indiana had as good of a regular season record as Penn State and returned every bit as much production outside of QB. And Penn State had the QB that had the most to prove on a production basis not Mendoza. Narratives and cognitive biases are no way to set a baseline for how good your wins are in the next season. At least in the future 16-24 team playoff it will be nearly impossible to leave out an actual contender due to this issue.

Saban, Saban, and Saban. The SEC was the best conference in most years during the Saban dynasty imo. That being said, he propped them up. If Alabama had been struggling as much as USC the last 15 years no one would think that conference was dominant. To me it’s similar to Brady or Belichick debates. Belichick is probably solid without Brady, but Brady made him.

As college football embraces coast-to-coast chaos, it's illuminating to see where former Ducks are landing as they seek new opportunities in free agency run amuck. Over 6,700 Division I players have entered the portal, and more than 8000 from all levels of the sport. In that insane market, former Duck players have wound up in prime locations: Tionne Gray Notre Dame Dakoda Fields Oklahoma Jahlil Florence Missouri Sione Laulea Missouri Daylen Austin Arizona Jayden Limar Washington Jay Harris Kansas State Ashton Porter Houston Kingston Lopa Cal Cooper Perry Cal Kamar Mothudi trips to NC State and Cal Jurrion Dickey Memphis Kade Caton USF Justius Lowe San Diego State Kyler Kasper Brigham Young Makhi Hughes Houston Add: Blake Purchase to Ole Miss, Bryson Beaver to Georgia. It's staggering to think that guys who couldn't start at Oregon, in some cases even make the two-deep, are commanding NIL deals in the tens of thousands and some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars at SEC schools, bluebloods and playoff contenders. Autzen ZooOregon transfers are landing in some eyebrow-raising dest...Edge rusher Blake Purchase joined Al Golden's squad in Oxford. A Duck for a minute, true freshman quarterback Bryson Beaver is trending to Georgia.

True. He could be the exception to DeBoer

Absolutely. Ironic that Nike is known for Basketball shoes vs cleats. But hey, it's not my $$$

Yep, a bunch of Buckeyes are on the NFL early entry list - OBD has Moore returning rather than leaving early - 👍👌😍 On3NFL announces list of 63 underclassmen forgoing eligibili....

Here's my hope (based on no solid information): DL and staff are still talking to Terrance Green and Jericho Johnson and one or both opt out of the portal and return to OBD. I'm hoping that because OBD was in the playoffs until a week ago, they felt like they had to put their name in the portal to keep their options open while getting more information from the staff and others. I'm further hoping that with a little more time to gather information (and understand what NIL $ they may get from OBD as compared to others) and ponder their futures, they confirm that OBD is the best place for them.

Because he is getting paid!

The Nail in the Coffin? Paul Finebaum on why It Just Means More is morphing into It Just Meant More. [Not so Fast! It certainly looks like the B1G won the coaching carousel contest, but many terrific, top-drawer players remain in the still deep SEC. The SEC 'lost' the postseason, but it also 'won' the OOC season.] On3Paul Finebaum gives blunt take on the SEC's struggles in.... Why is this man smiling?

I was curious how Oregon's players lined up with other players around the country. But I found that the NIL value is undisclosed and not recorded as public record. But I did find a list that shows the top 20 paid athletes. The figures are in millions of dollars. 1. A. J. Bybantsa BYU 4.1 2. J. J. Toppin Texas Tech 2.8 3. Yaxel Lendenborg Michigan 2.3 4. Boogie Fland Florida 2.1 5. Donovan Dent UCLA 2.0 *** 6. Jayden Quaintance Kentucky 1.9 7. Braden Smith Purdue 1.9 8. Moustapha Thiam Cincinnati 1.8 9. Oscar Cluff Purdue 1.7 10. P. G. Haggarty Kansas St. 1.7 11. Bryce Hopkins St. John's 1.7 12. Owen Freeman Creighton 1.6 13. Malik Reneau Miami 1.6 14. Ian Jackson St. John's 1.5 15. Josh Dix Creighton 1.5 16. Henry Veesaar North Carolina 1.5 17. Cameron Boozer Duke 1.5 18. Bennet Stirtz Iowa 1.5 19. Dayyrn Peterson Kansas 1.5 20. Darrion Williams N. Carolina St. 1.4 *** Here's an example of what can happen even if you spend a lot of money on a player. Donovan Dent at UCLA is bringing in a cool two million but that doesn't guarantee a spot in the NCAA tournament. As of today, according to ESPN's bracketology, the Bruins are currently listed as the first team out. As my Duck friends who commented on a previous article, Oregon would have to spend some series cash to make them competitive. Spending more on basketball would probably cut back on football funding. How do you guys feel about this? Keep it the same, with our football program close to the top of the football pyramid and basketball floundering at the bottom of the standings or make basketball more interesting and exciting to watch. It takes a lot of money for a lot of football players to achieve that 'natty' we so desperately crave. But with basketball, probably two players and a strong supporting cast could bring a championship caliber team to Eugene.

Was having dinner last night with a friend that went to ND, and he was very excited about getting the D-line transfer from OBD. I say again, a diehard fan of Notre Dame was excited about getting what was a reserve player from OBD. Think it just cements the point that no one is going to be 2-deep with All Americans at rare positions anymore. Incoming HS players and random 3-star dudes from the portal are going to be the new depth imo.

It should be that simple, they over complicate everything. Though I wouldn’t reseed, no need to introduce an additional window for bias.

Perhaps? So far, Indiana is one of the top teams in this season's portal picking. Indina fans, including fans with deep, deep pockets, are fired up over football. QB Hoover is coming in from TCU to replace Mendoza, and like Fernando, he was ranked the 4th best QB in the portal. Cig is also bringing in the best group of high school players Indiana has signed since 1887. Win Monday night, and he'll likely bring in more top recruits. Both of the coordinators who have been with Cig for 11-plus seasons have signed contract extensions. Cig's process will not, in 2026, be derailed by his top assistants leaving for bigger jobs. Many folks, FWIW, not I, figured that Indiana was a 2024 one-hit wonder. In 2025-26, if this Indiana team wins Monday night, the Hoosiers will tie the Yale 1894 team with 16 wins and no losses. The man has won consistently everywhere he has been. I don't see him losing his mojo. In 2026, Indiana plays North Texas, the Mean Green's top players are moving with coach Eric Morris to OK State, Howard, and Western Kentucky OOC. 3-0. Ohio State, USC, along with Minnesota, Northwestern, and Purdue, visit Bloomington. Cig is 1-1 vs. Ohio State. USC, we'll have to see the on-field product. Worst case, 3-2, but more likely 4-1 or 5-0. Conference away games are at Michigan, Nebraska, Rutgers, and UW. There is a chance of a loss here, but I see no worse than 3-1. I think that Indiana is odds-on to finish 10-2 or better, and be back in the playoffs for the third season in a row.

9 conference games 2 rent-a-victim games No conference championships 16 team playoff field Re-seed after each round Minimize rematches until final 3 rounds on campus Final in the Rose Bowl My $0.02

This is why I don’t get attached to names (even when hilariously ironic) before they play. I also find it interesting how fans assume a certain level of loyalty from players (to coaches) that just isn’t always there. Would you automatically uproot and go to Kentucky when you were good enough to be recruited by OBD? Gross. Visit any Beavis site and you can see the disappointment taking hold as their fans begin to understand they aren’t getting a dozen players from Alabama in the portal. As to Novosad, I wish him well, but if he wasn’t good enough to be QB2 with OBD he’s probably not good enough to start in the SEC…even if it’s Kentucky.

I think there is some truth to that. While I realize Novosad got hurt early in the season, I think it was telling about what DL said regarding Brock Thomas’ work ethic and earning his way to backup.

This. Cig has the luxury of a boatload of players that have been in his system for multiple years at JMU. After this season, his roster will start to flux with new people and we'll start to see cracks in the foundation.

I think it's interesting that Novosad didn't go to Kentucky. Stein must know something we don't. Bryson was fine waiting his turn until Raiola signed. That alone pretty much guarantees he would sit 3 years. You're right about playing time, he has to have it. Better to play at a smaller school for 2 years than sit for 2 or 3. Maybe a Pac(St)eight team.

There are literally thousands of players in the portal right now. Finding reserve guys is not going to be a huge issue. A few of the D players that left Oregon have a shot at being NFL guys. A little more challenging to replace that level of talent.

D-line guys that entered the portal: Xadavien Sims, Ashton Porter, Jericho Johnson, Tionne Gray (Notre Dame), and Terrance Green A bunch of portal Ducks have found new homes. The D-line guys seem to be taking longer which seems counter-intuitive to conventional wisdom?

Fore will be better . . . then I can tell my golfing buddies why I am yelling at them to DUCK.