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True, but it did look like the second one was going to be picked off anyway due to player positioning.

Honestly, after watching the James Madison game, I feel good about Oregon, but I’m not walking into the Texas Tech game acting like it’s a lock or anything. The offense clearly can score and they don’t really panic when stuff isn’t perfect, which is huge in a playoff game, but at the same time the defense gave up way too much for my liking. Against JMU you can survive that. Against Texas Tech, those mistakes turn into real problems fast. Tech’s defense is legit and they’re not going to give Oregon anything easy, so if the Ducks get impatient or start pressing early, this could turn into one of those games where you’re just uncomfortable the whole night. On the flip side, if Oregon stays balanced and doesn’t do anything dumb, they’re going to move the ball eventually because they always do. I think Oregon wins if they keep it clean and make Texas Tech earn everything, but if Tech controls the tempo and steals a turnover or two, I wouldn’t be shocked at all if Oregon is the one chasing the game late. It really just feels like one of those playoff matchups where whoever blinks first probably loses.

It's difficult for me to guage because of the varied competition. Example: Tulane and JMU QB's were going against the best teams they faced all year. The JMU QB played very well against OBD's. He executed well in the first half but could not punch in a TD against the Ducks frontline D. In the second half against the 3's and 4's he and his teammates rolled up 28 points. However, he did not win and that is what matters. On a do over, Tulanes QB missed wide open throws and couldn't execute. Ole Miss QB, just like Dante simply took advantage of lesser competition. Both QB's will face stout, pressuring defenses in the quarterfinals. Miami and A&M QB's cracked under windy weather conditions. Dante had wind, rain, sleet and snow flakes in Iowa and still executed very well. Beck and the Canes O will find moving the ball very difficult against the Buckeyes D. Didn't watch the Bama vs OU game. Cannot stand either team. For me, it will be easier to guage after the quarterfinals because the matchups are balanced and better. If IU dispatches Bama, as they should, Bama leaves the field with 4 losses. I ask the CFP Committee and their ESPN bosses, how are they one of the top 8 teams? As a Duck honk, at the highest level, i choose Dante. His first half performance was exceptional. He did miss a number of wide open targets, all game. Hopefully he clrans that up against TT. I am not pleased with DL and his playing Dante in the 2nd half. He rolled the dice because Dante could have needlessly been injured. I don't understand his thought process. We would not win the next game without the #1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft. GO DUCKS! It's about to get very real.

Loss of focus discussed by coaches. “This is an unacceptable performance in the second half by our defense,” Lupoi said. “I’m pissed off right now… We went in the locker room after the game and I made that clear, and coach Lanning of course as well.” Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Coach Tosh Lupoi Offers Warning Before Facing Texa...The Oregon Ducks knocked off the James Madison Dukes by a final score of 51-34 to advance to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. Despite the Duck

The betting line has Oregon as a slight favorite at -1.5. It’s the lowest point spread of any of the remaining playoff games which makes sense in a 4 vs 5 game. What surprised me was that every other playoff game has a point spread of a TD or better. Tech has a nasty defense, but their offense is just as good. They’re top 5 in total offense. However, they haven’t played against a top 20 defense yet. BYU (28th) was the best defense they played against. They played against one top 20 offense (Utah) and handled them easily. Oregon’s offense has been tested against three top 20 defenses (Indiana, Iowa, fuskies), but only played against two top 20 offenses (USC, Indiana).

And Beck? What the heck was that? It was windy, but 103 yards; that's a lot of dinero per yard. I understand A&M only played eight conference games, but in the name of Greg Sankey, how did the Aggies, without a rematch, find seven SEC teams without a winning record to defeat? The epitome of mega-conference scheduling. Lasso the Tortillas!

Couldn't have said it better. The intensity was totally gone. Killer Instinct. The one team that executes it better than anyone else is Georgia. They don't care if your QB had a career ending injury. You disrespect them by saying you deserve to be in the playoff against the team that won it the year before and lost a close game to be included-you picked the wrong team. OBD took offense to JMU saying they were going to give them a game. Then this happened... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9kRpS8mwJ14?si=YgC0VALI9zCg92un" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It's more than tradition, and pedigree. All three are playing better ball. Not as many mistakes. Better execution. Much better LBs. And the DCs prepare better for what they expect from their opponent (though Lupoi is doing absolutely stunning work with LBs that have no closing speed, or lateral coverage abilities against the run or pass).

This game was vey similar to the season opener versus Arkansas State (MM8’s first start) back in 2012. At one point Oregon was up 50-3 midway through the 2nd quarter and Chip pulled all of the starters. Oregon ended up winning 57-34 but ASU controlled the 2nd half. The game was never in doubt but you could tell the team lost focus.

Oh, you guys are peaking right on schedule. In my opinion (almost said in fact lol), Georgia is playing the best ball out of everyone-including Texas Tech.

The video of Davison needing to be helped to the locker room after the game in what looked like a very bad ankle bumbed me way more than some bad garbage time. ☹️

DL isn't happy. https://247sports.com/college/oregon/article/oregon-football-playoff-win-james-madison-dan-lanning-267388258/

DL took the starters out too early, particularly on defense. The 2nd string performed ok but as soon as the 3rd stringers were put in they struggled hard. He should have left the starters through the end of the 3rd.

Dante threw the best balls and the A&M QB threw the worst. I was very surprised at how physical Miami was. The next round of playoffs should be great. Another observation is now that they are down the final 8, there are 3 northern teams and 5 southern teams. Fans in the south do not like it when northern teams win.

I won't say anything bad about the team, but watching the second half was very difficult as a fan. It was like the person singing the national anthem forgot the words halfway through the song. It was like that bowl game vs TCU when Oregon lost after going up by 31. And they still won!!! Maybe this is the best thing for the team... to lose some focus and get smoked by a team they were blowing out a half hour ago. Maybe this is better than them putting away JMU and thinking they are great and have the playoffs in the bag. This team has been like Jeckel and Hyde in bits and pieces all season long. Which team is going to show up vs. Tech? Did the coordinators getting new jobs have anything to do with it? My take: I think they were mentally getting ready for Christmas stuff at the end of the first half. They thought the game was over, but it wasn't. They were dominating them so hard that they lost respect for their opponent. JMU knew they were not going to win, but they wanted to control the narrative of what kind of a season they wanted to be known for. Those players had a lot of pride. On the extremely positive side - the Ducks put in a defense that pressured the QB. Which was very nice to see. No more letting the QB sit back in the pocket and wait for somebody to get open. But the Ducks still need someone(s) who is an NFL type of pass rusher. And McClellan looked like one of those great USC receivers from the Pete Carroll era - he was unstoppable.

That's exactly what I was going to say.

Maybe a parent trap situation. Kalen went to a pristine academic, and astute aristocratic family, that loves fancy offense. Meanwhile Brent went to a more blue collar, nose to the grindstone country bred school of hard knocks, that loved gritty defense.

I mostly agree with your take. The ball that deflected off Benson’s hands/arm can’t be Moore’s fault. I don’t even think it should count as an INT on Moore’s stat sheet. I agree that the receiver slipped on the 2nd interception; however, that’s because it was such a garbage desperation throw due to the pass rush. All things considered, Moore played an excellent game. I can’t stop watching the two dimes to Benson over and over again.

Effectively, a JV squad put up 500+ yards on our defense.

JMU put up 500+ yards against Oregon. I'm not sure there is a lot to say following that.

Agreed, neither interception was Dante s bad judgement!

I find it amazing how people get angry at the interceptions, and blame it on Dante's "bad judgement," when the replays clearly showed that both receivers slipped and fell down. Moore is responsible for their footing?

Glad to get the win. Was entertaining to watch the offense. Dante Moore threw some absolute dimes to Benson. Dierre Hill hit 23 mph on his TD run. He’s a “Next Gen” weapon. Regarding the defense? Unacceptable to give up that many points to JMU. Dan Lanning’s reaction after the game says it all. Not sure I’ve seen a more somber coach after a playoff win. I know Oregon leans into the FEBU acronym, but there’s another crass acronym: FAFO. Don’t FA against Texas Tech or OBD will FO. I believe Oregon wins, but defense must improve.

I watched the U vs A&M game because I wanted them both to lose. And I was deeply satisfied. This was not a defensive clinic—it was total offensive (in both the literal and figurative sense) ineptitude. 5 missed field goals, which were only taken because no one was close to the end zone. It was a total crap show. Perfect! I was only slightly hoping for Miami because playing the bottom half of the SEC needs to be exposed.

ND, I expect and am hoping that your Dawgs assault and salt Ole Miss's title hopes in the Sugar Bowl. I'm UGA all the way, but we need a format without 1st round byes where Ole Miss QB and RB are dinged up in a game that the top seeds sit out.