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I think we are approaching peak offense. If Moore and the receivers perform just as cleanly as they did in the first half against JMU I think we stand a great chance. Yes, Moore had two interceptions. One was a fluke that should have been an incomplete pass but bounced right into the hands of a DB. There was also a collision between the receiver and another defender a few seconds earlier in the play but as it was before the ball was in the air it was not PI. The second was a bad pass that just kinda floated while Moore was pressured. However, Kamari Johnson did fall down which left the lane open for an uncontested interception. I think the decision to go there was the right one for Moore as that seemed like a hot route and Johnson was in isolation. He was bigger than the defender and if he didn't lose his feet he could have either caught the ball and put muscled the receiver for the TD or just deflected the ball for an incompletion. Both happened but I don't think either was super egregious just not ideal.

On defense, we seem to try to take away a teams strength. Our safeties seemed overly aggressive against the JMU run game, and that was what allowed some big chunk plays. It really seems that our defense plays well when DM struggles, and when DM plays well our defense seems to struggle. Lupoi needs to call a better game against TT.

This is the area we must improve on, versus trying to play it safe. Of all the team left we get to the qb the least amount. Thats how we got chewed up by Indiana's qb.

IMO, The team that puts the most pressure on the opposing qb, wins it all in this tourney. Yep, defense is the key factor. All teams left can score the ball however, the teams with rattled qb's will sputter big time.

Late in the regular season, these were the eyeball stats for West teams: 8.50Million—Oregon-Penn St (NBC) 5.59M—Oregon-Indiana (CBS) 5.43M - Oregon-USC (CBS) 5.37M—Oregon-Iowa (CBS) 5.23M—Washington-Ohio St (CBS) 4.64M—USC-Notre Dame (NBC) 4.32M—Washington-Michigan (FOX) 4.30M—USC-Michigan (NBC) 4.27M – Oregon-Washington (CBS) Even Ohio St vs Washington was not that much higher than Oregon vs Washington. In comparison to other games, a major factor here is network and kickoff time. These games were heavy to CBS coverage, rather than ABC/ESPN(multi). ABC/ESPN promotes the hell out of their SEC games, has GameDay, has attractive time slots, and a fanbase which loves watching Goober play Cletus.

Can’t say when you peaked until the season is over imo.

Great article. Nice to see that the WSJ still have some excellent writers. While the WSJ is not as good as it used to, I had a political science professor back in the early eighties who was a self-described Marxist -- and a reasonably decent person. We certainly didn't agree on much regarding politics and human nature, but he was actually a fairly rational individual. I once asked him if he could only read one single newspaper, which would it be. His reply actually caught me quite off guard as he said: That's easy... The Wall Street Journal.

Hallelujah! What a fabulous Duck Christmas present. I get praise to the Gawds of College Football for NIL, and of course, Phil and Penny Knight.

Great article, Darren. And yes, I care very little about what our defense allowed in the second half. As you point out, this might actually be what I would call a 'blessing in disguise,' as it gives DL something to get on them about. But I am a bit concerned that in the first half, our defense gave up 189 yards -- while fortunately, only giving up 6 points. JMU had a couple early solid drives, but thankfully our defense quickly stiffened, resulting in JMU ending up with a FG & an INT. I doubt TT would make the same mistakes. And hopefully, JMUs offense is just better than I realize. But speaking to your article title, the bottom line for me is either we peak now, or we likely will be, once again, talking about the season that could have been.

These ratings/viewership numbers makes sense. There's no way the only thing keeping the Oregon/Ole Miss games from ~14M viewers was TNT and an NFL game. Had to look at Oregon's biggest games during the year (I was rather surprised): Oregon v. PSU - 8.5M Oregon v. Indiana - 5.6M (this one is surprising; tosu v. Illinois almost matched this) Oregon v. Iowa - 5.4M Oregon v. USC - 5.4M Oregon v. Washington - 4.3M (this one also blows my mind; see below) Mississippi total population = ~3M ------ Combined Oregon and Washington population = ~12M And the Ole Miss v. Mississippi game got 1M more viewers . . . that's crazy to me. As I've always said, "Fans in the south don't love football more than fans on the west coast. They just have more people that love football in the South than the west coast."

TNT & TruTV.

That's the sign of a highly experienced sports sideline photographer. Chances are quite good that if he tried to avoid Dante, they would have collided. But that takes some serious courage & experience for Gary to believe in his QB, and to stay in the pocket.

Here's the game viewership graphic....

These numbers are different than the post...but it refers to ESPN GameDay, not the actual game itself.

The Ole Miss and Oregon home games on TNT, not ESPN. And, both were programmed opposite NFL games which always draw higher ratings. The Ducks vs Jame Madison was opposite Packers vs Bears. The other two games did not have NFL competition for eyeballs.

Great points. Oregon at it best is better than TT at their best. It's just a matter if getting it done.

Thanks. I hear ya, nice references, but im referring to this single, solitary season, and I dont think the Ducks have played their best yet. And, also, why Im not too concerned about the JMU 2nd half. The time is now!!!!

Darren, i suppose the time has come in the next 3 games for OBD's to peak in all 3 phases of the game. Any of the 8 remaining teams can win their next 3 games and claim a Natty. It is A plus effort time. I do not like to look ahead because it is a 1 game season at this point and TT is now that season. TT averages 42 points a game and gives up like 10 points a game. Oregon D has done a great job holding opponents under their season scoring average. This game will be decided in the trenches. The D doesn't need to peak because they have been consistent all season. Keep TT under 21-24 points and OBD's improve their chances to advance. The Duck D is capable of slowing down the Red Raiders. How much I don't know. OBD's is the best overall defense TT has faced in 2025. TT and MU and the D tackles must cause havoc and force the Red Raiders into being one dimensional. They can do it........ The Duck O appears to be peaking, some what! Over the last 4 games they are scoring about 41 points. The previous 4 games, 31 points. But that includes 56 against Rutgers. The current version of the Duck O is what I expect. If the O line continues to protect, I expect OBD's to score between 28-38 points. OBD's offense is the best balanced TT has faced all season If IU and tOSU advance their defenses are stingy and difficult to score on. However, the Duck D is pretty darn good. But those games are another season all together. Merry Christmas and Go Ducks.....

Hmmm... I suppose you might have an excellent point or two here 😉. The only point I was really trying to make is that it seemed strange that we appeared to abandon a run game against IU. At this point, I have almost zero concern regarding our offense. Even though we were playing against JMU last week, what our offense did in that first half was just unbelievable. My best guess is that will carry right over into the TT game. My concern following the JMU game is that our defense gave up 189 yards in the first half. On the other hand, perhaps JMU's offense is better than I have given them credit for.

Plans for practices over Christmas and other comments about the playoffs. Oregon Ducks On SIDan Lanning Reveals Oregon Ducks’ Christmas Plan Ahead Of...EUGENE - Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks are all business mode during this holiday week. No. 5 Oregon punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff

CFP First round TV: Game Approx. TV Viewers Alabama vs. Oklahoma 14.9 million viewers (Friday)Â Miami vs. Texas A&M 14.8 million viewers (Saturday)Â Tulane vs. Ole Miss 6.2 million viewers (Saturday, afternoon)Â James Madison vs. Oregon ~4.4 million viewers (Saturday, evening)Â

In 1984 the Joe Montana led 49ers went 15-1. The next year they were 9-6. Jack Nicklaus won 73 times, but didn’t win a major for three years from 1967-70. He missed the cut in more than 15% of his starts. Michael Jordan missed lots of slam dunks. It’s sports. OBD had a great first half vs JMU. They had some faux pas in the virtually meaningless second half. No team or player is “peaking” all the time. It can come and go in the blink of an eye. Fan expectations are often unrealistic.

It does not seem we have seen this rendition of Oregon football play its best ball. Which begs the question: Will they? Here are some ramblings as I stew over Oregon’s upcoming Orange Bowl appearance against Texas Tech… The Second Half Letdown Against JMU I am not going to overreact to what happened to the Ducks in the second half ... Will the Ducks Ever Peak

OBDs, I took the following words from Geoff Schwartz's post regarding the selection of the Joe Moore Award on X. I recommend someone knowledgeable (like Geoff, or someone who has played on the O-Line in college) explain the terms Geoff uses in his comments. Otherwise, there is simply no means for interpreting and understanding at least part of the criteria the Joe Moore Award Committee chose to use to evaluate each of the three finalists for the award. Why am I requesting Geoff or someone else with the knowledge and the writing skill to describe what Geoff has stated? Well, Coach Stein tried to describe why the Duck O-line deserved the award, and he failed miserably. O-Line is simply not a tool he can take apart and easily, accurately, and simply describe and converse WRT the utility of each tool and/or technique; but, Geoff can do that. Geoff Schwartz stated, "Congrats to Iowa for winning the Joe Moore Award. On a personal note it's frustrating that Oregon's been a runner up three straight years. They absolutely should have won last season. This year was more of a debate. However I do not believe people value Oregon's pass protection or pass pro in general. They block 5 v 5. No full slide. No turning. Professional pass protection ID v pressure. Empty protection. Went on the road against good defenses and handled business. (sic)" If there is someone out here (and I believe most of us know there are former Duck players who can articulately describe these actions or techniques), please take a crack at these. I would like to become more knowledgeable about the O-Line, and I suspect the members of our O-line would be flattered and appreciative with regard to our interest in their skills and techniques, and the "why" that supports it all. In the world of Div 1 college football generally in the B1G, OBDs' O-line excels; their teamwork and play are the reasons our QB and RBs have the time to do what they do so well. It's great fun to watch the Ducks' O-line defeat/pancake an opposing player or effectively block potential pressure when the opposing players think they can pressure or tackle our offensive ball carriers for a loss. Thanks, and I remain VR, KCDuck1

Yay Poncho!!!