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Josh Pate's playoff prediction shows dream is still alive for the DucksAutzen ZooJosh Pate's playoff prediction shows dream is still alive...Narratives change. Some teams grow and others collapse. It's all about coaching, development, execution, health and luck.

Hopefully, when you first gazed upon the featured photo above of the Indiana Hoosiers partying it up at Autzen Stadium, it has fueled something within your soul. Oregon’s loss to Indiana last Saturday better dang well be fueling the Oregon football team. It sure has our Mr. FishDuck taking a moment from his gaming fun with Crusino Casino no deposit ... Sometimes Losing is Winning

Lane and Kirby have an interesting relationship and can get away with going after each other both on and off the field. They do so this because they are friends with a sense of humor stemming from their coaching together at Bama in 2014-15. Typical barb: yesterday Lane insinuated that Kirby looked a little chunky and out of shape running up and down the sidelines against Auburn on Saturday. You can bet Kirby will have a couple of zingers ready for "Lame Kitten" should the dawgs prevail in Sanford Stadium on Saturday. Yet they really do deeply respect one another I am told. And you can bet that these two will have a good time laughing and jabbing at each another the next time they get together at SEC media days. That's just who they are.

Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald will be a head coach again in 2026. Penn State? Wisconsin? He did wonders at Northwestern, the Vanderbilt of the B1G. With Penn State's resources, facilities, and lower admission standards? Seeing as how it's McElroy doing the predicting, I wonder why he passed on Nick Saban?🤪 CFB-HQ On SIGreg McElroy identifies former Big Ten coach to consider...The search for Penn State’s next head coach is already picking up steam, and Greg McElroy believes one familiar Big Ten name deserves attention. On Tuesday’s ep

I always love your insights Mike. Zooming out a bit, as I would get lost following you into the weeds: To start the season most thought OBD would be rebuilding to some extent, with so many starters gone. Dominant wins over subpar opponents began to turn that tide, as the first weeks of the season looked so different than last year. The win at PSU solidified that narrative for most, as it appeared to confirm that OBD were for real. Then PSU stumbles, and OBD loses at home... IMO we're simply back where we expected to be. OBD are loaded with talent but need to grow and come together as a team. They still have the potential to be great, but still need to become who they are going to be. The loss can help that if leveraged correctly. I'm still excited about this team. Just as I was preseason. Let's not let the quick expectation inflation/deflation ruin that. Go Ducks!

I think Oregon should try to hire back Mike Cavenaugh from OSU while they're in coaching chaos.

I believe experience -or lack thereof - was in play. Cignetti and his crew adjusted immediately to almost everything. DL and crew don't know how to do that yet. I honestly believe the staff needs to go completely out of character from here out. They need to just junk what they like to do. Both sides of the ball. Just line up and play some basic football. They're predictable. And if I can see it, you bet every elite coach, including high school coaches, can see it. I also thought the players were stiff, and out of sorts. I'm not quite sure what kind of team we're looking at yet. They're good, and can be great, but they don't know how to deal with their flaws in a way that produces success. That's where it is at now. Turning weaknesses into strengths. Speed, agility, vision and playmaking. Keeping players out of the tendencies that get them best. Teaching them how to be where they should be, and in Dante Moore's case, setting his feet and learning how to slide in the pocket to buy time. It's a great opportunity. Shedding assumptions and playing to what the game gives you and what you do with your natural abilities that produce consistent, executable results. This team ,not any-including Ohio State - are going to Georgia circa 2022/2022 people. It's the little things that produce the most maximum results that is going twin the title this year.

I think Davidson (the RB) was the better option. A nice soft arc to the end zone is a TD. He DID look right at Bryant, and wasn't looking at the "out and up"- but both were there It appears Moore was rattled and didn't settle down. A few of his sacks were "not thinking it through" moments in my opinion. This is where coaching and development will be tested. Moore panicked instead of trusting himself and his ability to make plays that were there. I do NOT agree with the play calling however. But I'm not sure Stein knew what I to do given his QB was out of character. I still want to see simple routes like a down and out when the QB is struggling. Stein did go up top on the fade route twice. I want to see that six, maybe seven times with sequential options underneath those routes. I'm looking for 45 points ON EVERYBODY. Which means looking for the jugular early and often. I want Stein to be much more aggressive. Loved his run play calling for the most part. Now we need to make teams respect our deep game for real. I need to see that Ohio State strategy in Eugene from now on.

I don’t like admitting this…..but I think it’s pretty clear that we were “out coached.” And maybe in the end, it will be a turning point……and have the Ducks heading in the right direction…..the playoffs.

Oh you can absolutely make that case. UCLA had just lost a 4 year starting QB in Dorian Thomas-Robinson in which that last 2022 season was probably Chip Kelly's apex at that school. Then Dante walks into an immediate starting role where the team that following season was just bad all around. Kelly had pretty much checked out so I doubt Dante was getting any sort of meaningful development in practice while being sacked over and over during games. The silver lining is that he realized he made a bad call flipping for starting time right away and came back to OBD.

ND, this Saturday, please clip Lane 'Tween the Hedges and kick his booty all the way from Athens to Trinidad. 😁

I have a great deal of respect for Dante after reading articles on his comments about the game. The young man felt that the offense was off its normal energy and tempo and that he made a number of pre-snap mistakes. He missed numerous pre-snap simple reads on the defense. Because of that he didnt make audibles to change the O's formation to block the pressure. IU played a simple pressure defense with a front 7 talented enough to bring it all day to the Ducks. Experience has taught us all that points are scored when the QB steps up in the box with his head up looking for the open man. Dante simply put himself and the team in a situation where his head was down, running to escape. Bo and Dillion had eyes downfield and their scrambles downfield not only put pressure on the defense but many times generated first downs. Dante will get there in time. Dante felt key penalties stalled the Ducks in key moments. He was right and we all saw it in real time. Couple all this that IU played their best big time game ever! While the Ducks couldnt find their stride. Credit IU for that fact and props to them. Cant wait for the Rutgers game..... GO DUCKS!

Malik Benson speaks about anyone on the team being able to speak up for the team. It doesn't matter if they are a freshman or a 5th year senior. Everyone has a voice. Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Wide Receiver Malik Benson Describes Ducks' 'Wake-...Football fans will learn a lot in the coming weeks about the No. 8 Oregon Ducks, depending on how they respond to their first loss of the season. Ahead of the D

I'd bet my eye teeth that a 10-2 Ducks team gets in. But then again, my eye teeth ain't worth much. The second loss would have to be a really bad one to strike the Ducks from the CFP field. Safest path, of course is to just win baby. Go Ducks!

Couldn’t you make the case that the UCLA situation and experience was so bad that it should count as a negative? I don’t know Dante but it appears that UCLA destroyed his confidence. Our coaches seem to have been trying to build up his confidence and his emotions poured out after the Penn State victory. Unfortunately, Dante took a step back on Saturday (he didn’t have much help from the coaching staff or players). Hope everyone can learn from this and keep getting better throughout the season.

Whoa Nellie on the negative talk surrounding OBD. Tom Fornelli's Power Ratings have a B1G trifecta on top. 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. OBD https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-power-ratings-indiana-ohio-state-oregon-big-ten/ I'm off to watch my recording of Tommy Boy! 😁

That's the key word right there. It's easy to forget that we've been kinda spoiled with the grizzled veteran type of experience Bo and Dillon brought from the onset. Those guys had seen it all and never got rattled because of that. I call a mulligan on Dante's time at UCLA as it was miserable with a bad OL and a head coach that was pretty much checked out. So in my eyes, he's just in his 2nd real year with the 1st learning Oregon's system. As he plays more we'll see him reading defenses more easily and making better decisions under pressure, it's just going to take time. I suspect he'll be a much different player by the end of the season.

This game kinda reminds me of the DeBoer Washington teams Lanning struggled with. The game was close..much closer than the 10 point loss. It's in the details and the minor things and the preparation that would make all the difference.

IMHO, Davison is the best all around running back and should get the majority of carries (~20 per game). Bring in Whittington and Hill as change of pace backs but I want Davison grinding down the defense all game long.

Ahh okay.

I think everything that went wrong last Saturday is pretty obvious to us and the coaching staff from the film, and they will learn and adjust somewhat. IU is really good, but it's clear we are capable of beating them if we learn from the experience. I think some OC at some point is going to remember the reason why nobody uses a 4-3 base set anymore and call the appropriate plays to beat IU's defense.

Well, I stand corrected, it was Limar who took the head snapping hit. Dante was hit on a scramble on the previous play, both of which happened in OT. Please execute me, I must have had a senior moment!

This seems fixable. However, Moore could have a mental hang-up after being hit too much. If he can't get past it then they should get Novosad ready. Iowa's defense is going to test his mettle in a few weeks. He can count on that.

I don't know. I do know I'm the most tech-challenged guy on the planet, so this is a WAG, but I think it provides an overhead view downfield and does not just follow the ball as is the case on TV. This is a guess, and I hope someone more on the ball 😁tech-wise will provide a definitive answer.