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ND, thanks for the spot on take. As you so noted, a meltdown decision by Mateer and the team fell apart to the point where it looked like the fix was in. The punter muffs a perfect snap. Mateer throws a pass for a pick six that was supposed to go to ...? How to upchuck a 17 point lead. A terrific win by Bama and DeBoer, first expanded playoff road win, but the OK coaches lost their poise and concentration and the team followed suit. A lot of the good will Venables built up this season after going 6-7 the prior two seasons left with the early departing crowd. I'm surprised Boz didn't make an arrest. Bama heads to Pasadena with Mo along for the ride. Best of luck to your Dawgs in the Sugar Bowl. Give Ole Miss the Kiff of PO death. PS - What happened to Bama WR Ryan Williams?

Ducks win 48-10 3 sacks 2 turnovers 241 yds pass

I couldn't agree more. That play flipped the game. Mateer went for the home run instead of getting the first down and slowly twisting the dagger into Bama. Okie looked undisciplined from that point on. Looking forward to watching that Rose Bowl after OBD dispatches TTech on NYD. I know I'm jumping ahead, but Hoosier daddy in that bowl of peaches? Oregon! Tough to beat the same team twice. Go Ducks!

Alabama has the talent on the outside, but they tend to give up pressure. I watched how Indiana pressured a more poised QB, with even better receivers two weeks ago. DeBoer had better put it in Simpsons ear, that Indiana will take the ball away if he is not precise. I think they led the B1G in turnover margin. Mendoza didn't win the Heisman because he was a gunslinger. He won it because he didn't lose his team the game.

It was entertaining, but not well played. Spaghetti Cignetti is going to make ragu sauce with Alabama, if the Tide are that sloppy next week.

Indiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma uniforms are almost identical to me. As for DeBoer, and Venables. There was a comment saying Venables was DeBoers evil doppelganger. Imagine DeBoers offensive mind ,paired with Venables defensive one.

Oregon 45-10 4 sacks 2 TOs 280 yards passing

Oregon 35-14 3 Sacks 2 TO 235 yds passing

DUCKS 49-17 3 5 312

Great post and I 100% agree! Play your best and let the chips fall where they may. It’s sports so it’s not always so cut and dry, when it comes to winning a championship though. We can look back at most national championship teams and see a bit of luck or providence or whatever one may call it during their season. I will freely admit that my Dawgs certainly benefited in 21 and 22 from a bit of good fortune. Doesn’t at all take away from the accomplishment, but it could have certainly easily turned a different way. Your comments though remind me of my Dawgs playing for the title at the end of the 2017 season. We played well and I was extremely proud and also a bit heartbroken. In the end we were beaten by a team that played just a little better and deserved it a bit more, but while heartbroken, I was extremely proud of our team. If the Ducks play to the level that they are capable, they will be a very hard out, and may very well win it all! I’m not sure exactly what I think just yet. To be honest, if UGA plays near their best I’m not sure anyone can beat them, but I’ll admit that I’m a bit biased in that regard. Either way, I’m going to enjoy these Playoff games as much as possible! I hate the off season! Go Ducks & Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!

As far as they have fallen in football, mostly not their fault, they have done some things in the baseball playoffs. We may end up playing them in the playoffs if they start winning their conference. Bashing them is like bullying - they have fallen that low. I would rather put my mental energy into going after the blue bloods and taking them down.

Oklahoma proved tonight that they suck playing with a sizable lead. The biggest play of the game IMHO came in the 2nd Quarter when Mateer, facing a 3rd and 3 around midfield, spun away from pressure and threw ACROSS HIS BODY to a receiver 20+ yards down field when he had 10-15 yards of unoccupied green grass in front of him. Had he not committed this egregious brain fart and simply tucked the ball and taken the easy 8-10 yards and the first down, he'd have put his team in FG position and likely been in position to improve on his 17-3 lead. What happened? The stop put a charge in the Bama offense and before you knew it, they marched down the field to cut the lead to 7. Plus OK quit pressuring Simpson and let him pick apart their zone defense. Really the game was never the same from that point on: a complete turn around. Will Bama compete with Indiana. It will not surprise me in the slightest. However, because the opponent is Bama, this is one of the very few times I will root for a B1G team other than OBD to win a playoff game.

Success to me is playing every playoff game (however far they get) like a complete team that knows what it is doing out there. That starts with eliminating the mistakes: penalties, blown coverages, dropped balls, missed throws, protection breakdowns, missed field goals, sacks that should have been made, bad play calling, etc etc etc Winning the physical battles: tackling, blocking, breaking tackles Being explosive: special teams returns, long runs, deep balls, int returns, big hits, winning jump balls, ferocious pass rush It is how they play, not the final score. Oregon vs. Oregon. Reach that potential.

Ducks 48 - 10 2 4 285

OBD 49-20 1 3 291

I have a tough time believing OBD are "there" yet. This Oregon team hasn't even played a complete game yet. Not against teams that have enough talent to force them to. So that is what I truly mean. Play your very best. Force teams to take a victory from you (give them nothing). Make a team show they have more playmakers, that have to make incredible plays (that Indiana last second TD in Happy Valley comes to mind). Play the kind of game like last October in Eugene, where you force the most talented team in football to play their very best, and force them into a few mistakes. Play the kind of game like like Alabama did tonight-showing resolve, the ability to adjust immediately, and bring your A game after a slow start. Like in Iowa City with the game on the line, and having to make extraordinary plays to win it. I am not sure how this year's team stacks up against Indiana, Georgia, what we saw from Bama tonight, Ohio State, and Ole Miss. Indiana and Georgia finally showed what they are when they play complete games. We haven't and neither have the rest of the teams I mentioned. Success means to me OBD play 95% perfect. It doesn't matter the results then, because that is true success. That is excellence personified. You can't fault a team that loses to a better team if they play their very best ball. My dad used to tell me all the time: "Do your best son. Be your best". I have never regretted anything in my life when I have done my best. Results didn't matter. What mattered was I conquered the "worst in myself" That to me is true success. OBD will probably play in the title game if they bring their best to the table this post season. They even have a shot at winning it all. Just bring your best damn it. Make us proud.

They made it to their Conference Title Game in clearly a much tougher conference than Notre Dame's. Oh...Notre Dame isn't in a conference are they? Not to mention, the closest iteration of a conference they played in was the ACC. Home of the weakest P4 conference by far. Furthermore, the Tide victory is an "in your face" moment for arguing Bama didn't deserve their spot. Especially since Bama erased a 17-0 lead. Question: how likely would ND be able to erase a 17 point lead against the playoff field? I don't mind giving the SEC credit. Especially when they display prowess legitimately. The conference dared giving Texas a tougher schedule, and Texas demonstrated what the conference is like when balanced scheduling is in play. Bama played nearly as tough a schedule, and matched Texas in eliminating Vandy as a contender-whom had a weaker conference schedule. Scheduling matters and Bama had a tougher schedule than Notre Dame. It was front loaded like ND, but they had more teams to get through, and they did. Not to mention, getting to the SEC Title game should be an automatic bid. If Vandy would have done that, I'd say the same. They would have had to win the two games they were guaranteed to be underdogs in. How many times is ND an underdog? That should be another factor involved frankly, because teams must demonstrate they can win games against a tough field, not just win games because they are pretty good. I had to lecture here, so pardon the soliloquy. Alabama absolutely deserved to be in the playoff in my opinion. A CCG game loss isn't the regular season. It is the post season. It is proof you belong amongst the best. Especially given Bama is in a pretty tough conference. Losing three regular season games makes it far more unpalatable to place a team from ANY conference in the playoffs. Even in a 16 team field in my opinion. Let's hope in the future, the SEC gets soundly rebuked if a three loss team in the regular season has the nerve to lobby for a playoff spot.

Ducks 38-7 4 2 312

It makes me laugh when I see those ‘letter-turned-into-number’ comments. They’re usually made by beaten, frustrated fans who - if they stopped to consider what they are saying - would make them less than zero?

I agree with this. If he’s healthy now, I still think this JMU game would be great to work Stewart back into game shape; warm the engine and parts back up.

***Ducks ***45-13 ***3 sacks ***2 forced turnovers (1 fumble recovery, 1 interception) ***288 passing yards

Great comment about context. Totally agree. I understand the view from other posts that say “how can an 11-1 season not be a success?” My reply: A loss to JMU.

My nightmare is tosu, but if Oregon wins the championship, I’d want it beating tosu . . .

I try not to get ahead of myself. What’s already happened speaks for itself. What’s yet to happen just creates anxiety if it gets me into expectations. I prefer goals. However, when it comes to what makes for a successful season, I can’t really separate the two without feeling like I’m not looking at the bigger picture. So, my definition of a successful season is seeing the team carry on into the playoffs what they built during the regular season. No one can know how the unexpected will affect a game, but - win or lose - if the Ducks are playing their game, it’s a success. Of course, that has nothing to do with desire. I want to see them beat the crap out of everyone.

It really sucks watching two teams with identical colors. White and dark red. Even the head coaches are nearly indistinguishable.