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My memory is short, but didn't we struggle against Idaho and Wisconsin last year? This year so far, I thought we showed some lack of effort in both the NU and OSU games, unless you wanted to call that strategy? On the flip side, we stepped up big time against tOSU last year at home... Anyway, my point is that I am confident that we will put forth our best effort this Saturday and in 2 weeks, especially if IU is in the top-10.

Saturday Tradition on Indiana's Historic Win - Saturday TraditionIndiana puts a historic beatdown on top-10 Illinois teamIndiana absolutely demolished Illinois on Saturday, turning a battle of ranked teams into a historic embarrassment.

I'm curious about who gets play time as well. I don't expect to see as much run for Limar. I don't think he does as well in tight spaces as most of the others, and PSU's DL will keep spaces tight.

With the possible exception of Iowa, I agree. Indiana at Iowa on Saturday is an under-the-radar B1G game. Unfortunately, the game will be streamed on Peacock.

This. The Big House isn't listed as a very difficult place to play despite it's size. I think the white out atmosphere is likely more exciting than intimidating to the away team. Sure it's always tough on OLine communication like any loud stadium. Also I believe the start time is to our advantage. It'll be 4:30pm to our guys while 7:30 for PSU. Their players might be looking for a cot by the 4th quarter, having not played this late in about a year. So much like the bye week issue, the home field advantage issue isn't necessarily the big advantage it would seem on the surface. It could be a liability.

I'm glad we don't have to play us at Autzen 😄 Yes, there have been some wild environments in our old conference. Fans can cause the home team to get frisky and turn what should be easy games into nightmares.

If offered, Kiffin would be off to Gainsville before you could say: Hotty Toddy. It would be Lane's 3rd SEC job. Florida has won national championships and has the resources and the homegrown high school talent to do so again. I don't see anyone without head coaching experience at the Power-4 level getting the gig. Napier moved on up from Louisiana U and hasn't done the job. The Arkansas AD, before this week's loss to Memphis, noted that the Hogs do not have the resources to be the SEC's champion in football.😧But, after losing to memphis it would be just like Arkansas to beat Notre Dame on Saturday. I think Will Stein has a much better chance of being offered a job in the Big Ten or with a Texas located B12 school, Baylor perhaps, than an SEC job.

Our schedule difficulty looked pretty easy this year, but it could very well end up being harder than 2024. Penn State, IU, USC, Iowa and UW will all likely be ranked at the end of the season, with 3 of them in the top 15.

I'll have to politely disagree with Lanning teams playing to the opponent's level. I think they do it less than just about anybody else. Especially Mario Cristobal.

Penn State's record in White Out games is 12-8. PSU has won the last five games. No wins over a top 10 opponent in the last five. With the new media deal, PSU does not always play the opponent they want to play in a White Out. 2024 saw the game vs. Ohio State as the Big Noon game. Ohio State was the WO game PSU wanted to play. Instead, the WO was against Washington. The five straight WO wins include last season's PO win against SMU. James Franklin and PSU's biggest WO win came in 2016 when the Nits defeated Ohio State 24-21. Two-loss PSU won the B1G that season, but one-loss Ohio State was chosen for the PO. Ohio State was mugged by Clemson. Penn State was beaten by USC in the Rose Bowl, 52-49, Clay Helton's SC high-water mark. PSU got what it wanted this season. A WO game vs. top 10 Oregon. James Franklin's record vs. top 10 teams is 4-20. 1-15 against top 5-ranked teams, with the win coming over Ohio State in 2016. I doubt that the WO crowd on Saturday will be louder than what OBD has experienced in Seattle and Salt Lake City before the game turned into a blowout vs. Utah. Big Ten coaches voted Beaver Stadium as the loudest in the conference. Josh Pate, among many others, not caring about giving the nod to newbie OBD, ranks Autzen No. 1.

Is Kiffin really going to leave Ole Miss? He has a pretty good thing going there. If Stein is offered the Florida job, I would imagine he would be all over that. That is a Top 10 job IMO

Arkansas is probably capable of making a surprise run at getting into the SEC title game, I probably would say they would struggle to maintain any amount of success over a long period. They have good facilities, that isn't an issue, but it seems to be difficult to recruit there. It's probably the closest to being a basketball school as anyone outside of Kentucky. When I think about Arkansas sports it's more Nolan Richardson than Houston Nutt or Petrino.

Very good points. I guess for a guy raising a family he must look at everything included. Guaranteed salary, resources, recruiting capabilities, how much freedom to build and retain staff. One of the reasons I didn't put Oklahoma State on this list is due to many of those issues. Luke Fickell had it made at Cincy, he was able to use his Ohio roots to bring in kids. He is on the hot seat at Wisconsin because he has been trying to be what Wisconsin wants him to be. It's just not a fit imo. Same thing with Scott Frost at Nebraska. He said he felt pressured to go there and tried to please everyone. Mark Helfrich tried to do things and match what Chip Kelly did. The pressure to keep Oregon at that level ultimately was too much. There are places you can win National Titles at. If you have a coach that you know can't do that , it's obvious he's not going to succeed. At Kentucky you can win right games and be great, that gets you fired at Florida. Lane Kiffin knows the ceiling is higher at Florida than Ole Miss. The leash is also much shorter, but he wants the prestige. What is the happy medium at Arkansas? Houston Nutt had some fun teams. Bobby Petrino got them to a Sugar Bowl. Can you win a title at Arkansas?

Depends on the outcome, the environment doesn’t seem as tough when you win. Hard to quantify what makes something tough, but we have no shortage of appearances in some of the toughest venues. That being said of the most cited top-10 toughest places to play (which includes Beaver stadium) we’ve actually only played at Ohio Stadium and Autzen to date. So Beaver stadium should be in the running. Two not listed in most lists that are very tough when the teams are good IMO are Martin and Husky stadium.

Fusky Stadium isnt exactly friendly to the Ducks.

This week, OBD will face a harrowing task going into white out conditions at Beaver Stadium for a prime time, Top 5 battle with Penn St. This venue should not be underestimated in a way that Ohio St. appeared to have underestimated Autzen last year. The question I have is whether this Saturday will be the toughest road environment the Ducks have ever played in? I think it could be. There is bound to be some recency bias, but here are some potential previous candidates and reasons why I don't think they reach the level of this Saturday: 1) Anything prior to the 1990's - were the Ducks ever good enough to command the attention of a frothing fanbase like a Top 5 battle warrants? Did fans froth prior to 1990's like they do today? (Just kidding - I know they did). Also, I'm looking for good Duck teams where it was clear the venue affected their play and they weren't just overmatched. 2) Any Pac-8/10/12 venue. I have to be careful here, because if I discount Pac-12 venues, it throws some shade on Autzen as well. We all know smaller stadiums can still affect games in significant ways. There have been some wildly difficult conference road games like Washington (2023), Arizona (2009, 2013), Utah (every night game), Arizona St. (every night game), Cal or USC in early 2000's, or Washington St. (2018). But do any of them rise to the level of Beaver Stadium this Saturday? 3) Michigan (2007, 2024) and Tennessee (2010) - these are two of the largest venues the Ducks have played in, but the games ended up being uncompetitive and it turned out the teams were going in different directions. 4) Nebraska (2016), Michigan St. (2015), Boise St. (2009), Oklahoma (2004) - All tough road losses. 5) "Neutral" Site Games - Auburn in the natty (2010-2011), LSU (2011), Auburn (2019), Ohio St. in the natty (2014-2015), Georgia (2022) all proved to be virtual road environments, but not quite at the level of playing in Death Valley or Athens. 6) Ohio St. (2021) - We all have to admit that Ohio St. fans were not quite awake for this game. We came in under the RADAR, took the crowd out early and earned an awesome road win. Are there any other candidates for the toughest Duck road environment ever?

Top 25 Week 5 Games - USC has played and defeated Michigan State - No. 21 USC at No. 23 Illinois - Saturday 9 AM Fox - ESPN.comAP Week 4 poll reaction: What's next for each Top 25 teamA look at the new Top 25 after Week 4.

OBD under Lanning tends to play to the opponent's level. I am sure they will step up in the next 2 games. The bye after PSU is perfect before taking on IU. Go Ducks!

An Epic Week 5 is Coming! Unfortunately, Indiana at Iowa, 12:30 PM, gets the Bird. 🤔 ESPN.comWhat's changed since preseason for Texas, Clemson and the...Four weeks in, there's no real favorite to win it all or take home the Heisman. Here's what we think we know.

We know that different teams would want Stein to be their HC. What we don't know is what Stein wants. Before DL came to Oregon, he definitely wanted to be a HC. He even had his notebook of hot young coaches that he wanted to recruit to join him. One of the things that he said when he got here is that he didn't want to take just any head coaching job. He wanted to go someplace where he could win a national championship. He didn't want a stepping stone. He wanted a destination. He wanted a place where he could settle down and raise his family. He didn't want to be moving them around every few years. His actions over the last 3+ years have proven that this was his intent. DL stated that he was willing to stay at Georgia until this type of job opened up for him. Then the Oregon job came open. I wouldn't be surprised if DL called up Oregon and told them he wanted to apply for the job. Dillingham wanted to eventually be the HC at ASU. That is why he left after only one year at Oregon. If it wasn't for the fact that ASU came calling three years ago, Dillingham might still be a Duck. Back to Stein. What does he want? Does he want to take just any P4 job? or does he want to go where there is enough support, or at least the possibility of drumming up enough support, for competing at the highest level? What I'm saying is that Stein might want to stay at Oregon until the right job opens up, not just any job. He has a pretty good job now. Maybe he wants to slip on a championship ring before he leaves. That would get him some really good job offers... and it might not be a very long wait. So, I am not going to worry or even think about Stein leaving until it happens. Rumors will always fly. I don't need to get caught up in them. When/If Stein leaves, I trust DL will find an adequate replacement, hopefully someone who will also be as successful leading the QB room.

An ESPN Week 4 Top 25 - How the QBs are playing heading into Week 5 - OBD is ranked No. 3 No team in Week 4 was hosed over more than Auburn. The OK fumble returned by the Tigers for a TD should not have been overturned. As the SEC HQ admitted, the 'hideout TD' with a player pretending to leave the field, staying in bounds and participating in the TD play, should have been overturned for Unsportsmanlike Conduct. A 14-point swing in a game Oklahoma won 24-17. This week, Auburn gets to play closer to home at Texas A&M! 🤬 Somebody has to win the Red River Rivalry, right?😧Archie's over-the-top celebration of a TD against Sam Houston State was uncalled for. Not ranked, but Cal and Sag sagged on the road at San Diego State. SDS 34 - Tarnished Bears 0. ESPN.comPower Rankings: How has each Top 25 team's quarterback lo...After a month of college football in the books, how is each team's quarterback situation looking?

You can probably go back three years and find the same criticism I make of the Ducks in the early season all those years... lack of consistency in running the ball and being a bit too pass happy. We might end up seeing the rotation settle down a bit because of the need of consistency but at the same time I don't know how that would even look. Who do you take carries away from? Limar is coming along nicely but he's not there yet. Hughes has loads of potential but isn't there yet. Harris has shown flashes. And there is no way that the freshman duo of Hill and Davidson can be denied the field both are electric in their roles. Now add Whittington coming back at some point soon. And I know I left a name or two off this list.

Arkansas footbal has been a graveyard for head coaches the last 25 years.

Indiana is probably pretty good, but I take this as more of a statement about Illinois. Illinois was supposedly good last year and they left zero impression against us as we did our standard 35-3 at the half handling of inferior teams. No legitimate team should get boat raced by a fringe playoff team like they just did.