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The thing that has helped Cig compared to other coaches, his DC and OC have been with him for over 10 years. He did lose his strength and conditioning coach last month to Tennessee and then replaced him with another that had been on his previous staffs as an assistant SC. Then what he talks about a lot "alignment from the top to bottom". He means from the school president down to the janitor in the football complex. Everybody on the same page. How many of you know that in Cignetti's contract from the time he stepped on campus in 2024 it states that IF either the AD or school Prez leave for any reason, fired or otherwise, then Cignetti is a free-agent and his buy-out is cut in half immediately. The AD has been there since he was a Bob Knight basketball student manager. Their school Prez just got a huge pay raise and contract extension this past week. So things look good in that direction. I guess it took IU over a 110 years to realize that good football teams make a LOT of money for everything else on campus. You cannot have anything closer to compare with Cig's success than this year or next two years than UCLA ... Chesney comes from JMU like Cignetti, brings 10 players with him and 7 of those 10 were All-Conference players. Two differences though ... Chesney has not been a head coach as long as Cignetti and UCLA's football history is better than IU's was. For example ... I use to buy tickets from my scalper friend outside the IU stadium and sit between the 40's, no higher than row 20. I'd have enough room to stretch my legs forward in the row in front of me and lean back like I was in a recliner watching IU football. That is how bad some years were. In all honesty ... from beautiful Southwestern Indiana ... Oregon has more than any team in the nation to win the 2026 Natty. The coaching, the returning players, the portal class and an outstanding ranking recruiting class. IMO it will not matter who wins that game in Columbus OH because by the end of the year the Ducks will be clicking on all cylinders for their Natty Run. Yes, as a Hoosier alum and life long fan ... I believe the Ducks are the team to beat for the 2026 Natty.

How could they have ever left off a QB with a name like Babe? Babe Laufenberg - Indiana - recruited by Lee Corso - NFL journeyman QB

From a view from the Midwest, that Oregon at Ohio State game is going to be monumental. UO has 8 of 11 back on defense and Ohio State imported every SEC player they could find for their portal players on both sides of the ball. Should be a beautiful fall day in Columbus with one of you having 1 B1G loss by the end of the night. A little west of that game I am 100% confident in IU replacing 6 starters on defense, some with the young players that played and return, plus possibly an Edge from Kansas State that will be better than the three Edges they had this year. Ponds may never be replaced at CB but I like their chances with AJ Harris from PSU, a 3rd Team All-B1G in 2024 and playing 11 games in 2025, missing a game due to injury. It is not so much the history (stats) of the players the transfer portal brings to IU but it's what DC Haines and HC Cignetti sees in those players to bring them to IU. No doubt they will be better at IU than where they came from after seeing two years of data. I will miss ragging on Thieneman on X. I know Duck fans have a different view of him as a player but in Indiana "once a PUke always a PUke" ... I will never forget seeing him bowled over in the end zone in Eugene by Hemby or him chasing Sarratt across the end zone in Atlanta for an IU TD. But that enjoyment is not really directed at the Ducks or their fans. It is enjoyment seeing those images with a tint of black and gold up in Laughingette. (Last night in basketball does not count 🤯) This FishDuck forum makes it harder for me to get through the off season for college football. A lot of good information, a lot of good discussions by fans that know ball and we all have one thing in common ... not only do we want to win we want to win natty's. Yes, I honestly think with Cig's "process" they can win another even if it's not back to back. My prediction for surprises in the B1G in 2026 .... watch out for Michigan, I hated seeing a coach like Whittingham take that job.

21ST CENTURY QBs... it sort of skews thi gs

Thanks for the post, Steven A., and for all of your other great posts. I cop to losing interest when I saw Bo's name next to Auburn and Fernando's name next to Indiana, and not Cal. Yes, Mendoza won the Heisman playing at Indiana. Indiana is appropriate for Fernando. But wasn't Bo a Heisman finalist when he played at Oregon, not Auburn? No Justin Herbert? Where are the Dutchman, Dan Fouts, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, and other impact QBs who played for OBD? No Joe Namath? For that matter, where's Bart Starr? Oh well, consider the source, and also consider that in today's wired world, everything that happened before 2000 is ancient history. Watch out for the waving cane! 🤬

That is exactly what happened as I have posted before, when the B1G "tried" division. It didn't matter if the split line was horizontal for a north south division or vertical for an east west division, the three best teams were in the same division. That did not include Indiana because at the time MSU was very legit as was PSU. Of course that might change a little adding the four west coat teams. Honestly I am not sure there is any answer for a conference with 18 teams. I like the idea of moving it back to scheduling every three years instead of five years. I was thinking yesterday that the least travel a west coast B1G team could do, would have those four teams play each other every year. What would leave five B1G games where alternating years west coast teams would travel east twice and three times in a season because dome of those team would also travel west for games. Yet that is not fair either, with the four west coast teams playing each other every year and only traveling up and down the coast highway. Yet it wouldn't be any different than those teams in the Midwest and East play a lot of the same teams every year. As mentioned in posts above, there are a lot of intangibles that can throw a monkey wrench into scheduling. Cignetti, PSU easy schedule, a better coach at Michigan, injuries ... All I can do is sit back and continue watching 14 hours of college football on Saturdays, some during the week (especially that new SacState vs BallState game 🥳). Schedules will not affect me but I will still complain about those with the "easy route" to the CFP. I guess that is where the focus is now, the CFP and only 10 slots open for the best teams. I probably need to spend more time researching robots. Not just the vacuum kind but one that can serve food to me during those long Saturdays, feed the dogs, let the dogs in and out of the house and even walk them. After all I don't want to miss a minute seeing Oregon playing in a driving snow storm some November at Rutgers, Maryland, or up north at Wisconsin, MSU or Michigan.

Jon, I take the "Cig lead" and Penn State "bust" into account by adjusting the Divisions every two years. What bothers me most about Divisions is that one of the primary benefits of belonging to a Conference like the B1G is playing against the best teams in the country like Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana. My current thinking about the first two years of Divisions in the B1G puts those three teams in the East. May have to reconsider that.

Looking to stay undefeated. BIG+ 3pm Eastern, Noon Pacific... Oregon Ducks Looking to Secure Series Win Over Youngstown State

Happy birthday to offensive lineman Ismael Camara Dan Lanning Sends Message to Oregon Five-Star Recruit

Why are the Ducks ahead of both Indiana and Ohio State on this list? In my mind, it's all about the continuity. Oregon returns eight of its 11 starters from last year, and replaced one of those departing players — Dillon Thieneman — with one of the best transfers of the offseason — Koi Perich. Where the Oregon Ducks stand among Big Ten's best defenses in 2026

Ducks were robbed. Where Oregon Ducks stand in ESPN's 'QBU' top-100 ranking

Fairness? A good goal. But there is no accounting for a Cig lead Indiana or a Penn State bust. I think B1G HQ in 2023 put together schedules from 2024 through 2028 that, considering 'permanent' opponents, were as equitable over five seasons as could be. Looking back to 2023, OBD had a cakewalk conference schedule in 2025, including a home game vs. the pathetic Indiana Hoosiers. In theory, I love your scheduling matrix idea. It kind of works in the NFL, which is dedicated to parity, but the NFL has nowhere near the yearly roster turnover of today's CFB. And the NFL also has restraints on the number of terrific players a team can buy every year. I think forecasting schedules for five seasons, as we have in the B1G, or three seasons like the SEC, is as close to equitable as today's CFB format can allow. My biggest beef with Oregon's schedule this season is not with the opponents but with eight P4 games without a break and traveling to the Eastern time zone twice in November. Thanks again for the great article.

This season, it is Ohio State's turn to have the most difficult B1G football schedule. OBD's and Indiana's schedules are also more difficult than last season. Wisconsin goes from the most difficult conference schedule last season to one of, if not the easiest, conference schedules this season. So it goes. This is what the B1G HQ aimed for when it came up with the football schedules through 2028. Balance as much as possible over five seasons. With the vagaries in roster talent and the money invested in football, what we have in the B1G today is the best we can hope for. Am I happy Oregon's schedule in 2026 is more difficult than in 2025? No. When the schedules through 2028 came out, I think Dan Lanning and Ryan Day highlighted games against one another, but not games against Indiana. Just like the SEC teams three years back were not worried about Vanderbilt. When putting the schedule together, no one knew that Indiana would be a playoff team in 2024 and win a title in 2025, or that Ohio State would lose two games in 2024 and win a title, that Wisconsin's QBs would be injured in the first game of the last three seasons, or that Michigan's head coach would be fired. Try as you might, there are too many variables in CFB, as is the case in life, to come up with 'equitable' conference schedules every season. Would two more B1G teams and divisions make things more equal? I don't think so. Adding two more teams that are not bottom-line accretive will not help the bottom line, and will not bring in more media dollars or make a material difference in the teams that win titles. Thanks again for a terrific ponder point article.

Had to add the gunfight scene above….try to count the rounds out of Charlie’s pistol.

High school talent yes, but I think we saw that Cig created TEAM TALENT through his high school recruiting, portal recruiting and COACHING talent.

"Second Hand Lions" or "Open Range" One of the few actors I'll miss...

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Sanford, Ducks Blank Penguins in Game 2 EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon baseball team got a terrific outing from starting pitcher Will Sanford and three scoreless innings from the bullpen in a 3-0 win over Youngstown State on Friday afternoon at PK Park. A day after the offense put up 18 runs in a series-opening victory, it was the pitching staff that carried the Ducks (6-0) in game two of a four-game set. Sanford (2-0) struck out six batters across six scoreless innings before Tanner Bradley delivered 2.1 strong innings of relief and Devin Bell (1) closed out the save. “There was really good execution today,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “Really solid pitching and defense. They were able to slow the game down and execute when they needed to. Our pitchers came in and made big pitches.” Sanford and Youngstown State starter Braden Gebhardt (0-1) were locked in a pitcher’s duel from the onset. The Ducks managed just two hits across seven innings against Gebhardt but were able to push across a run on a passed ball in the fourth inning before manufacturing a pair of insurance runs against the Penguins’ bullpen in the eighth inning. The win marked the 300th of Wasikowski’s head-coaching career. “I'm blessed to be at this place,” Wasikowski said. “Working at the University of Oregon is unbelievable. It's a dream of mine, and I got an opportunity to do it. Thanks to Mr. (Rob) Mullens for being able to represent this great school; it is something that I take a lot of pride in.” How it Happened: Sanford walked his first batter of the game but bounced back immediately to retire the next three with a pair of strikeouts. He did the same over the next three innings, giving up a single in each but never allowing a runner to get past second base. Will Sanford “I felt good,” Sanford said. “Just knowing that I have a good defense behind me, letting balls get put into play. I felt like I could beat them with my fastballs and that’s what I did.” Oregon was able to get to Gebhardt in the fourth, with Jax Gimenez working a leadoff walk before Dominic Hellman followed with a double for the Ducks’ first hit of the day. Gebhardt was nearly out of the inning after retiring the next two batters, but a passed ball brought Gimenez in from third and put the Ducks ahead. Sanford set the Penguins (0-5) down in order in the fifth and then erased a leadoff hit-by-pitch in the sixth with a double play. He then stranded an infield single with a flyout to center field to complete six shutout innings. “Will Sanford made big pitches all day when he needed to,” Wasikowski said. “He matched their ace … I thought his stuff was good. I don't think it was his best stuff, but I thought he had good stuff today. But his mentality, I thought, was fantastic, just knocking them loose.” The Ducks got to the Youngstown State bullpen for a pair of runs in the eighth, as freshman Owen Morgan legged out a pinch-hit, infield single and stole second before coming around to score on an error and a wild pitch. Jack Brooks then worked a walk, stole second, got to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by Gimenez. Bradley came on for Sanford in the seventh and set down the first six batters he saw, recording three strikeouts to send the game to the ninth with Oregon up, 3-0. Bradley returned to the mound for the ninth to try and finish the three-inning save, but he walked the bases loaded with one out before being relieved by Bell. With the tying runs aboard and the go-ahead run at the plate, Bell struck out the first batter he faced on a full count and then ended the game with an infield popout. “I think we have the best staff in the nation,” Sanford said. “I think every guy in the pen can shut a game down. Having Tanner and Devin follow me after that, I have so much faith in those guys to shut it down and, you know, they put up three zeroes.” Box Score Notes: Sanford gave up just four hits and one walk across six shutout frames, and he has now thrown 11.0 scoreless innings to open the season … Bradley has combined to throw 4.1 scoreless innings of relief in two appearances this season without surrendering a hit … Bell earned his first save as a Duck and Oregon’s first save of the season … Hellman, Morgan and Ryan Cooney accounted for Oregon’s three hits, and Gimenez worked a pair of walks … Oregon recorded its first shutout win of the season. On Deck: Oregon will go for the series win over Youngstown State on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. (Mr. FishDuck Note: We have a great GameDay Thread of the game below with more in-depth description and videos of the action.)

I've been around long enough to have seen Apocalypse Now on the big screen. Pretty messed up movie as I recall, but my most memorable scene is Duvall, riding the chopper in toward the beach. Somewhere in there is my favorite line from the movie, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning, it's the smell of victory". I've used that line many times at work, substituting any number of things: "I love the smell of XXXX in the morning, it's the smell of victory!". RIP Robert Duvall!

The women's game was great. The Men's final has the potential to be better. Thr US vs Canada has been much watch hockey for several years.

I couldn't have said it better Drake.

Well said DanLduck. We do have the ingredients. It is a matter of having some luck. The great thing about Indiana winning it all is every coach is under the microscope. Is it a one off? Most likely. Is Cignetti a great coach? Anybody that turns a perineal loser into a national champion is a great coach. Cignetti did better than Kirby Smart and Ryan Day when both had much more talent. And sooner. I hope more fans simply trust Lanning, let him do it his way, and enjoy the ride. We are an elite program no matter what anyone else thinks. That isn't drinking the Kool-Aide. Lanning is going to win a title. Its a matter of when.

Jon, I started with two threads from a couple of weeks ago where posters were complaining about unfairness of next year's BiG schedule. That's all I am addressing. I have no purpose whatsoever to make college football teams equal, or even equitable. I know the playoff format is all screwed up and there is nothing we fans can do about that. I'm not even going to try. All I want to do is have the football teams in the B1G all begin the season from the same starting line. I have made a list of B1G teams as they finished, first through eighteenth, over the last two seasons. That whole list will be in the next article I write on this topic. Here are the top eight from the list and the teams from that top eight they are scheduled to play this year: 1. Indiana Ohio State, Michigan and USC 2. Oregon USC, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan, 3. Ohio State Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, USC, Oregon, Michigan 4. Iowa Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois 5. Michigan Iowa, Penn State, Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State 6. Illinois Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa 7. USC Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana 8. Penn State USC, Michigan (Note: in making the above list I'm working with a difficult block schedule that has only the team logos, and I'm very human.) I doubt that any serious fan of the B1G would argue that those eight are, at least, among the top ten teams going into the 2026 season. You tell me, Jon, would two Divisions playing round-robin be more fair than Ohio State playing six of the top eight teams in the conference? As things are in College football, I would not change a thing about recruiting, the portal, or NIL. With Dan Lanning as our coach, the Duck facilities and Division Street providing the money, OBD are near the top in opportunity to make the playoffs. But if I were a coach in the B1G, I would much rather be Penn State playing two teams from the top eight than the schedule of Ohio State playing six teams from the top eight. Or do you want to be Michigan playing teams 1-4 plus Penn State? All I want is scheduling fairness, and next year's B1G schedule doesn't make the cut.

Hats off to a judge with gumption. When 'Anything Goes in CFB' morphs into Peyton Manning possibly returning to play QB for Tennessee ... On3Judge denies Joey Aguilar preliminary injunction against...A judge has denied Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar a preliminary injunction in his lawsuit against the NCAA.

You mean besides the "bad" we've had in these instances. I don't think the expanded playoffs hurts us. It gives us, and other teams, more bites at the apple. Someday the ball will bounce the right way. Until then we will just have to enjoy the tribulations of ewe dub and $c.