All Activity

I think that makes good sense.

Robert Duvall had a pretty good supporting role in "A Civil Action". Very good legal drama flick with an amazingly star-studded cast. I couldn't believe all the recognizable actors that were involved in this movie.

By Gosh! Here's an update on Tosh. His recruiting efforts did not Sag. Instead of saying, 'Aloha, Bears, ' Sag stayed in Berkeley. On3'Where's Jaron?' Inside Cal coach Tosh Lupoi's wild first...New Cal coach Tosh Lupoi had a wild first day that included an impromptu flight to Hawaii to lock down QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

If you're Smart, you should answer the phone. 🤪 On3Fernando Mendoza reveals what stopped him from choosing G....

Challenging start to the season for Lombardi. On paper, her roster suggests superiority over last year’s, but clearly lacks the early focus that characterized 2025’s senior-led group’s motivation from being in her program for three years, and ready to break out. Day in, day out team consistency is not easy to achieve, and has to develop over time, if it does at all. But, that’s where I’m beginning to trust Melissa and her staff. They’ve shown a similarity to Dana Altman’s season long approach (this year being the exception) that has players team ready at the right time. This team has the determination. Game time experience together appears all that is lacking.

Dana Altman Eyeing Another Top Recruit for OregonEven with the No. 1-ranked player in the 2026 class still available, five-star forward Tyran Stokes, coach Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks should be focused on a more realistic recruiting target. Oregon Ducks On SIDana Altman Eyeing Another Top Recruit for OregonMany might believe that this is in reference to five-star forward Tyran Stokes from Rainier Beach in Seattle, Washington, who is considering the Oregon Ducks al

Not sure if this was mentioned, but we can't forget that in '14/15 and in '24/25, those were the first years expanding the CFP, from 2->4 and from 4->12, both expansion years opened the door to a lower ranked Ohio State team to make the field and both years Ohio State went on to win it all. A year earlier, Ohio State would not have made the field and who know what would have happened...

Is help coming in Dana's direction? Oregon Ducks On SITwo Recruiting Targets That Could Change Everything for O...The Oregon Ducks basketball program is in a position to add to an already solid group of 2026 basketball recruits, who are now committed and have also signed a

Oregon closes in on a 2027 quarterbackAutzen ZooOregon closes in on a 2027 quarterbackAt the Navy All-American Bowl in January, Will Mencl (rhymes with pencil) showed poise and accuracy against elite competition, picking up his fourth star.

A couple of B1G notes - OBD is one of 10 CFB teams that did not lose a 2025 starter to the portal - OBD, Arizona, Army, BYU, Miami, Notre Dame, SMU, Temple, and VA Tech. Curt Cignetti scores again! Cig's contract has automatic escalation clauses based on what the highest-paid CFB coaches are making. His adjusted payment of $13.2 million per annum will make Cignetti the highest-paid coach in CFB. CBB - Two of tomorrow's games could be a preview of the 2026 Final 4. No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 Duke in DC - 6:30/3:30 ESPN No. 2 Houston vs. No. 4 Arizona - 3/ Noon ABC I think Cig won the bet he placed on himself, right? 🤑

Oregon Ducks Reportedly Involved With NIL EnforcementThe Oregon Ducks reportedly received a letter of inquiry from the College Sports Commission (CSC) centered around the reporting of name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals.The Oregon Ducks were recently named by Yahoo! Sports reporter Ross Dellenger as one of a few schools that had received an inquiry from the College Sports Commission about name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals that were not announced. Dellenger also reported that Oregon's issue has since been resolved by the CSC. Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Ducks Reportedly Involved With NIL EnforcementThe Oregon Ducks were recently named by Yahoo! Sports reporter Ross Dellenger as one of a few schools that had received an inquiry from the College Sports Commi

The only change I would make to the Cross division games in Canvasbacks scenario is instead of 1st place playing 1st place have 1 play 2 in the cross division game. This way if the 2 best teams happen to be in the same division they can proof it and go out of the league as the 1 & 2 seeds.

Big-10 Commissioner Tony Petitti should see Mike's article and this thread. Thank you Mike Whitty!

Who do I think the Oregon Ducks are? What an interesting question, Mike! Just my opinion: The Ducks are an elite level CFP team, with talent 2nd to none. 2nd to none. At this point, while the coaches have upped their in game adjustments in the regular season they have not had the answers against the eventual champion. DL and staff were out schemed and out coached by tOSU and Cignetti and the Hoosier staff. .. The players did not lose their talent, skills and experience. DL and his staff had no answers when the Ducks got schooled. When that changes, the Ducks will get their Natty. GO DUCKS!

iubhounds, Thanks so much for joining the forum. You really contribute excellent posts. I can't even begin to show my appreciation for your fan base and the awesome job Kurt Cignetti has done at the FBS level. You turned the D1 level upside down! It's clear you're here to stay as well. Yes, you definitely experienced some injury snags. Yet you still elevated your play. Even better than we did last season when we faced our set of injuries. I believe the greatest contribution your school has brough to the game is never give up. A bottom dweller just upended the whole system. And coaches now have to demonstrate their true ability to elevate programs. You can't scream talent is the difference anymore. Thanks again for bringing even better perspective to the group.

Too many to list since I liked all of his movies but I guess I would have to say my favorite was Broken Trail.

I wasn't going to reply but I have to Jon ... LOL If the UO IU 2nd game would have been in Bloomington instead of Atlanta there would not have been 30-40,000 less IU fans. They would have bought as many tickets as possible just like they did in the peach bowl. Fewer fans ?? Sure ... IU's stadium doesn't hold 56,000 so the Peach Bowl around ~77,000, there would around 21,000 less IU fans. IU really didn't avoid the injury bug as you claim. Early in the season their #2RB goes out for the year. So Black #8 was #3 to start the season. #8 Edge rusher at Eugene game went out for the year with 5-6 games to go. His replacement Daley lead the B1G in sacks within 5 games played only to injure himself right after the B1GCG jumping up to touch hands with a fan to celebrate their win. So in the Peach Bowl they have their #3 Edge Rusher starting the game #17. But yes, overall compared to other opponents IU avoided the injury bug. I am asking in a friendly tone to please take your annual physical and hopefully an echocardiogram (both of us are old) to make sure your heart is up for more stress since this "traveling east thing" seems to elevate your heart rate. (joking with my dry sense of humor). 😂 With the B1G now stretched out from coast to coast every team has to travel and there will never be any way around it.

Sure thing Charles. We all want that elusive title. It certainly would shut up lots of haters. I'm still proud though, because Nattys these days go through us. You have to be able to beat US to win a Natty. That is so far from my first experience of being a Duck fan. Now we destroy USC. Now we chant Rose Bowl to the Fuskies. Now SEC teams can't wait to "silence us". Now Ohio State fans hate us. Michigan fans are scared of us. We get respect and hate on the same level as the Blue Bloods. Ain't it Cool?

Do that same thing with B1G that play in those four West Coast stadiums. I like what Cignetti said in 2024 about playing at UCLA and what Underwood said a few days ago after Illinois killed USC in LA ... traveling makes no difference to them.

I can tell you as a resident of Indiana, hell will freeze over before Notre Dame joins the B1G. They have had plenty of chances to do so and have turned the B1G down every time. Yet their hockey team plays in the B1G because there is nowhere else for them to play. They don't want to share any of their tv money, no matter which network wins their contract. Now that they have a written guarantee of being in the CFP every year as long as they are on the CFP's Top 12, the odds joining the B1G get longer. That's good. Anything I say about Notre Dame would be very vulgar and not politically correct here, so I will do what my mother use to always tell me "keep your mouth shut." Don't think the B1G can logically make two even divisions with any number of teams. They tried that before, then used different names, leading to the East and West Divisions. They were so even that a bad Indiana team was stuck playing Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State (when they were good) and Penn State every year in the East Division ... some times 3 games in a row. While the PUkes just a little west of the line drawn down the middle of the conference, kept their rival game with Indiana but played powerhouses like Northwestern, Wisconsin, Nebraska, a bad Illinois team while playing one or two of the big dogs in the East. I don't like 20 teams. I don't like 18 teams and never liked 12 teams in the B1G. TV does and I am not the B1G commissioner so my likes don't mean much. I would/will get my drawing board out to see the possibilities of splitting the conference in two but I can see already if they would do it by location, the East already has more better teams than the 10 teams west of what I assume would be the Indiana/Illinois state line. That line would be just a little west of their original line down the center of Indiana, extending straight up into Michigan. IMO the B1G will never get it right in scheduling because they haven't since they expanded the conference multiple times. I will say though by the next tv contract the B1G will have two new teams ... probably from the ACC. Those teams will be based only on their tv market so take your pick. Thanks Grandpa Duck for scrambling my braincells today ... that is always a good thing. Now, it's time to enjoy some "teasing" nice Indiana weather.

Jon, We've had more than enough tough hurdles to jump. We also haven't had the kind of talent these blue bloods have consistently fielded. But we were more talented than Auburn. Nobody will convince me otherwise. Chip just refused to drop Little Boy and Big Boy on Hiroshima that day. That and a decision to run inside instead of outside on a crucial 4th and 1 mid third quarter. I also believe we had more talent that Indiana. But they had more experienced coaches and really got the most out of their Band of Brothers than we did out of some pretty elite talent. They didn't make but one mistake over two games. One. We fielded a season's worth. One thing I hope Lanning does is use that American Arsenal of Nuclear Bombs this year. I don't care if they're accurate, I want the threat to scare teams into opening up OBD's pretty effective running game. Teams needs to loosen up the box. Nuclear Power does that. I'll never say there are no longer any excuses. Lanning has us right where we want to be. On everyone's tongue. Whether it's to make fun of us because they think we'll choke, or because they know we are elite. People no longer ignore us. WE DECIDE WHO WINS TITLES. We really do.

Oh, I like your comment Solar. Much to chew on regarding the odds. To think, I didn't believe Miami deserved to be in the playoff. I thought Texas did despite loathing the SEC. Texas scheduled to risk three losses. Miami didn't, and Miami lost to basic teams( though Texas did lose to Florida-sorry GatFlorida but Florida was extremely disappointing this year, given they were supposed to be very talented). Now imagine another Ohio State circa 2014 moment when a team blasts an equal so dramatically that they sneak into the playoffs while they are hot. Will that steal DL's thunder? Will Dan Lanning get some luck, or like Cignetti find ways to lesson the blow of talent gaps by flat out finding solutions to every problem lack of talent presents? Because in my opinon, boy oh boy did Lanning upgrade performance based on his team's talent versus really talented teams the past two years. Indiana crushed the narrative that coaching up isn't a possible method to win a title. Indiana didn't sneak in. They blew down little piggy and big piggy houses. Neither straw nor stone stopped the Hoosiers. And while they did catch some breaks after late game mistakes, those mistakes were very few all season-which is why they slayed teams like Ohio State and Oregon. Your premise is solid. It will take talent, massive coaching prowess, luck and momentum to win a title. Now that the playoff field has expanded, teams with enough talent like Cignetti's pre-season predicted Big Ten 17th talent laden Hoosiers can win a natty.

Thanks, Mike. It's always great to 'hear' from you, terrific articles and comments-wise. OBD is 2-for-2 in qualifying for the 12-team playoff. In 2024-25, OBD went 1-1 versus the team south of Michigan. Because of the screwed-up seeding format, OBD played Ohio State in the 2nd round instead of the winner of the Boise State at Indiana 1st round game. Against one of these two teams, Oregon shakes off the rust and wins the Rose Bowl. My guess is that no other No. 1 seed in the postseason history of college sports playoffs, team and individual, has ever been hosed over as badly as was No. 1 seed Oregon. The other seeding bad juju also involved the Rose Bowl. Joey Harrington and OBD, and not Nebraska, should have played Miami for the BCS title. However, was there a Rose Bowl opponent that could have defeated that Hurricanes team that embarrassed Nebraska 37-14? How about NO! There's bad luck, and then there's being screwed over so badly by the system in place that the rules are changed the following season. 🤬 Last season, a group of wounded Ducks lost its second game in a two-loss season to the champion Indiana team playing with the Heisman Trophy winner at QB. Had the 2nd loss been played in Bloomington, Indiana, instead of in Atlanta, 30,000 to 40,000 fewer Hoosiers fans would have been in attendance. This was the second occasion in 2025-26 that the Ducks had to travel thousands of miles more than their opponent. Under the current playoff format, Oregon is odds-on to be the 'victim' of geography. Call this 'bad luck' if you so choose, but you cannot Duck geography. Urban Meyer's Ohio State team that defeated OBD was loaded with future NFL players. Same for Ryan Day's championship Ohio State team. Both teams had and benefited from a roster advantage. Indiana? Even playing at home, Miami could not overcome the fickle finger of football fate that came up pointing at the biggest rebound in the history of college football; a history that goes back to 1895 when Yale went 16-0. So yes, to win it all, you have to be lucky as well as good. The Auburn and $cam loss was a referee's hose job at the hands of Big Ten refs who didn't have the foresight to see they were favoring the SEC over a one-day B1G brother. 😧 But the two champ game losses to Ohio State and the home and Peach Bowl loss to Indiana? The Buckeyes and the Hossiers had the better team, the better-coached, and better-prepared teams. Teams that also, for the most part, avoided the injury bug. Season five for Danno. It took Kirby Smart six seasons to win it all and six seasons for Ryan to win the Day. Let's hope that for OBD, timing will soon meet opportunity. This season is the only time under the current broadcast agreement that the playoff champ game will be played in the Pacific time zone. See you in Las Vegas? Can't win it all if you ain't playing for it all. No thrill of victory 😍 without the possible agony of defeat. 🥶 Thanks again, Mike!

Canvasback, you and I are on the same track for a workable two-Division structure without expanding the conference. Upon reading Jon Joseph's first response, #2 above, I had the same idea when he spoke of a flex-schedule at the end of the season. With nine teams in a Division, after the eight game round-robin, the ninth game would be against a team from the other Division, with the opponent based on standings after the eight games. I have a different take on home field. In the next article I willl propose that for the final game, in odd years. the home field is in the east and even years the home field is in the west. That will allow for schools to plan and sell tickets in advance for the final game. They will know the day and place, and the opponent will be determined the on the standings after eight conference games. Teams will know that they are going to travel, they just will not know for sure where. Ties within the Division would be broken in the usual way, with head to head deciding. A three way tie would be broken by comparison of results with other teams in the Division. For example if one of the three beat #1, that team would win the top place in the tie, and so forth. And, the conference champion will be the winner of #1 in the east vs. #1 in the west. This is a change that could be put in place for 2027, without waiting for a conference expansion. And, Jon, you underestimate us humans when you say that in-conference scheduling cannot be fair. I agree that computers are not the answer. Computers are no better than the humans that invented them, and in many respects not as good. We are getting closer to fair scheduling just by making proposals and discussing them.

I like Grandpa Duck's idea and have a thought on how to possibly make it work with the current 18 members. As stated in the article - two divisions based on geography but keeping major rivalries. Play all eight other teams in your division. The 9th conference game would be set up as inter-division play based on conference rankings (may be difficult to do). 1 in West Division plays 1 in East Division. 2 in each division play each other and so forth. The higher ranking of the two teams has home field. Maybe some other version of this system would work better. This in lieu of conference championship game. My thought is this would help in final rankings for the CFB playoffs. Anyway, a slightly different version.