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When people say arm talent, I think they are talking about Dante’s efficient throwing motion/quick release, accuracy/ball placement and touch. He also throws a pretty, catchable ball. I don’t know how anyone can say he has more arm talent than Justin Herbert. That dude has an absolute cannon, even in the NFL. However, Dante has the talent to be a future starting QB in the NFL. I’ll be fun watching him continue to develop but I liked what I saw on Saturday.

The official box score lists 78 Oregon players who participated for at least one play. Home games do not include participation restrictions due to travel squad size. 78 is a very high number, even in a blowout game. Very high. For example, last season's close home game with Boise State had 53 Ducks on the field, which in itself is high for a close game. Whomever the assistant(s) that keeps track of that for coaches, credit is deserved for the logistics of all that during a live action game. And, to the individual players for keeping their heads in the game and being ready instead of joking around on the sideline.

I hope that Emmanuel Pregnon is okay and will not miss more than a couple of games, at most. The replay looked bad but I was encouraged that he came back to the sideline in uniform with his helmet.

I also don’t believe that Oregon showed much in the game against Montana State. They didn’t need to. We were content to spread the ball around and give everyone touches. I think the rotation will shrink and we’ll see some players start to emerge as the go to playmakers. It’s clear that Coach Stein plans to feature Kenyon Sadiq heavily in the offense this year and I expect to see him lined up all over the field to create match up problems for the defense. The same applies to Dakorien Moore - he’s too talented not to get the ball in his hands. I wonder what other players will emerge especially from the talented stable of running backs (note: I NEED to see more Jordan Davidson, especially in short yardage or goal-line situations)?

Oh yeah, I watched the whole thing. I was going into this game just stunned by local Beaver Nation that really thought they had everything figured out and had this game penciled in as a W. Oregonian writers borderline gushing and nearly unanimous in picking Beavis for this game because “Cal had a lot of turnover”. The day and age of returning players being the primary indicator are loooong gone. If you go 5-7 against a terrible schedule and no one wants any of your players, that’s not a good thing. Their miracle QB? Turns out Duke didn’t want him for whatever reason and he was desperate to find a team late in the game. Beavis thought they were being a pimp selecting whatever players they wanted from a P4. Surprise! I predicted 7-5 was their upside, but that may be optimistic. Teams like Houston and AP State might just bushwhack them. This was their roster at full strength and it’s not good. The starters are pretty bad and I’m guessing the backups are atrocious. Coaching is also pretty bad. They should have hired the Idaho guy. The new PAC launch is going to be scintillating next year.

In a twist, I actually prefer not having game break highlights since I’m recording and watching later. I try to avoid seeing scores so I can imitate watching live. But I agree with you about Gus; he yells a bit too much for my liking. I really like Joel Klatt.

I agree that the freshman and other underclassman looked more mature and ready to contribute immediately than prior classes (there were always exceptions). It’s probably a combination of the level of talent and coaching they’ve received along the way. Now it was against an overmatched opponent so I am looking forward to seeing how they do as the level of competition increases. Mr. FishDuck, you had an article a couple of weeks ago that questioned whether there would be a big falloff after this season due to players we will be losing due to graduation or departures for the NFL. I think we all feel a lot better after seeing the young, uber talented players littered across the roster on Saturday. Oregon has NEVER had this much talent and depth on its roster (e.g., running backs, wide receivers, QBs, defensive line). The future is damn bright in Eugene. Go Ducks!!!

Yes, the new Cal QB was the most impressive I ever seen a freshman in his first game. But Oregon State is absent, seriously absent, of talent. O-Line blocking was poor, receivers cannot get open, (When a Walk-On White guy is best WR? Yikes) run defense was poor...geez. By contrast, I was astounded at the depth of talent at Oregon yesterday, as Beavis would love to start some of our third-stringers. I believe an inter-squad scrimmage would be tougher than both Montana State, and Oregon State. For those who watched the game--agree?

Yeah...I am less than amused with some of the kidding, because nobody knows the crap I have to deal with in the background, all the damn egos. Most men LOVE the rules...until they apply to them. Remember Haywarduck? He posted every day and often, and was a founding member of the forum. Twice he broke our rules, and instead of owning up to it, moving forward, and we forget about it? No, he fought me, and blamed his writing ON ME. With the ensuing emails--he would not ever admit he made a mistake--even when presented with the rules and what he wrote. I removed Moderator status from him since...you have to know the rules? I did NOT ban him, but he left last December...never to return. So I have to put up with everyone's "mistakes," deal with their ego, and now put up with the "jesting" when I am trying to find a solution that allows little boys...to be unfettered little boys.

That freshmen were playing ahead of the No. 1 JC transfer two years ago, (Sione Laulea) and ahead of Dakoda Fields, and veteran Jahlil Florence in the secondary? Wowsa.

This Texas TD should have been overturned by the folks in the SEC review room. Scarlet and GameSlow-motion clip shows SEC refs gifted Texas a free TD la...At the end of the Ohio State football vs. Texas game on Saturday, goodness, people were holding their breath thanks to Arch Manning and Co. storming back a bit.

This. Many of our usual plays--were not used, (yet) and we heard the announcers say a ton of times how Stein told them that, "we are keeping things simpler this year in the first game." So, smaller playbook, and frankly--I felt going into this game that Oregon would overwhelm in the trenches...and they did. But instead of ball-controlling and scoring 24 points as a former HC here did, Lanning/Stein let it loose. Way too soon for a judgment yet on the offense, but boy--what a great start! I also thought it was notable that the first play from scrimmage was an outside zone left, snapped from behind center, with a DEEP "I" formation. I was looking at how far Whittington was positioned...and was surprised. A new wrinkle... Beast!

OK, the SEC refs did screw up the Texas TD call. Overall, I thought the crew did a good job. Texas Longhorns On SIHow Texas Longhorns' Lack of Discipline Cost Them Against...Week one didn't go as planned for the Texas Longhorns, who lost 14-7 to the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. While they were able to move the ba

Ducks can navigate and persevere through a whiteout. The lead duck breaks the wind for others leading the formation. The others fall in off his wings creating a draft for the other ducks following. Go Ducks!

I think this game was more about making sure the offense did a lot of the basics right. There are a lot of new and young faces and making sure that Donate Moore is doing what he's supposed to do and ensuring that Dakorian Moore is on the same page is a big deal moving forward. Last year the offense was out of sync badly at times during the first two games. The coaching staff has already said they tried to do too much in those opening games. Just because a play was done in practice a few times doesn't mean it's ready for game day. I fully expect to see this offense evolve in the coming weeks. It will look significantly different once Oregon State comes to town (game 4).

Unless circumstances require otherwise, I don't believe we'll the B1G O Reveal before OBD plays in a White Out.

Great observations. I very much dislike FOX coverage of college football and I’m grieved that they are the primary broadcaster for the B1G. Gus Johnson is over the top too much. Good play-by-play guys can maintain a balance between exciting plays and dismayed fans from the opposing side. He grates on me to no end. They don’t keep a score ticker and they don’t give gamebreak highlights from other games. Those very much add to the Saturday viewing experience.

Norvell hit the transfer portal lottery in 2023, was portal-pathetic in 2024, and looks to have hit the lottery again in 2025 with a QB who lacks the offseason love of DJU, but is far more athletic. Plus, Norvell made two great coaching hires. Bringing in Gus Malzahn (a name that lives in OBD infamy 🤬) from his head coaching job at UCF, where he was treading water, to coach up QB Castellanos and implement a 21st-century offense, and DC Tony White from Nebraska, looks to be (in a possible Week 1 overreaction) two terrific hires. Again, it was only Week 1, but the Nebraska D that carried the Huskers to a bowl game and a winning record last season did not look as cohesive versus Cincinnati as it did last season. FSU looked gritty, focused, and determined. The highly touted Bama O-line? Meh. FSU hosts Miami, Pitt, and VA Tech. Plays tough games at Clemson and Florida, but misses SMU and Louisville. The Seminoles have a very good chance of playing for an ACC title. And if Bama does figure it out, Saturday's win could have an impact on PO seeding.

Didn't hear or see Bear Alexander. Wonder why.

Didnt hear Hughes named called much.

Give Lee Corso's prediction of LSU defeating Penn State for the title looks pretty good after the No. 9 Bayou Bengals road win against No. 4 Clemson. The visiting QB, LSU's Garrett Gussmeier, whose Dad, Doug, is the New Orleans Saints OC, looked far more composed and in control than did Clemson's Cade Klubnik. LSU plays Florida, South Carolina, and A&M in Baton Rouge, and will have the better QB on the road against Ole Miss, Bama, Vandy, and Oklahoma. LSU misses Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee. And don't forget 'overlooked' Georgia. The SEC's standard bearer was buried under an avalanche of Arch hype (tripe?), and how terrific Bama would be with DeBoer reunited with OC Grubb. Georgia plays Bama, Ole Miss, and Texas in Athens and is the SEC's Top Dawg until proven otherwise.

Thank you, Steven. After the top three or four, these rankings are a WAG. UCLA No. 12? Utah on the road, played with its Bruin food. B1G 16-2, which is nice. 2-1 against the P4, where the results mean more (ask Kalen DeBoer.) The B1G competition is more difficult in Week 2. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz is now tied with Woody Hayes for the most overall wins by a Big Ten coach, but will be the underdog in Ames, Iowa, against 2-0 Iowa State. Illinois has a tough game on the road against Duke. GameDay will be in Norman for Michigan versus Oklahoma, one of Week 2's headline games. Boston College visits Michigan State, and 1-0 Oklahoma State is OBD's 1st P4 matchup of the season. UCLA is -10.5 at 2-0 UNLV in a game Dan Mullens and his Rebels will be fired up to play. With USF's beatdown of Boise, Tulane, Navy, James Madison, USF, and UNLV are among the frontrunners for the G5/6 PO spot. Tulane has its home win over a bad P4 opponent, and UNLV will be looking to pick up a P4 win. As to starting the season with block buster games? Meh. I would have liked to see Texas at TOSU, and LSU at Clemson, with a couple of easy wins under the belt. But FSU out of the gate looked to be in mid-season form. 😁 How bout Lee Corso! Wins his first and last Hat Dance with Ohio State victories over Penn State and Texas. Lee has LSU defeating Penn State in the PO champ game. LSU looked the part last night, and LSU QB Nussmeier looked far more composed and in control than did Clemson QB Cade Klubnik. Lasso the Cowboys!

Dante looked the part and played smart. The aforementioned play on 3rd down after the blocked punt may have come up short, but did result in 3 points. DL praised that decision post game. Moore did not try to squeeze the ball into a tight window with its inherent risk of a pick, something he has learned from his UCLA days and with the help of DL screaming in his ear at practice. By and large his passes were accurate and on time, he didn't tend to lock on a primary receiver and he had a couple quick check downs that moved the chains. The two incompletes to Sadiq were more on Kenyon than Dante, and I suspect the former will spend some extra time on the Juggs machine this week. Novosad ran the offense well but really underthrew Kaspar on the go route that resulted in a long gain but not a TD. Against a high quality safety or DB that could have been a pick, even considering the WR's height advantage. Good to see Moga use his wheels and Thomas get in for a few garbage time snaps.

LOL, now you give us the freedom when their is nothing to complain about! It's like your parents finally letting you take the car out by yourself for the first time and it's Sunday morning and all your friends are out of town. Joking aside, I appreciate the introspection and adaptability. Hopefully there is little to lose our "stuff" over this season.

What I noticed, in this small one game sample, is how methodically the Ducks spread the field. Oregon challenged from sideline to sideline. As an added observation, the quarterbacks when passing seemed to search the entire field of play, and find the best option to pass to with a couple of exceptions. With a deep group of skilled and talented receivers this opportunity should only get better as the team gels.