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Jon, I take the "Cig lead" and Penn State "bust" into account by adjusting the Divisions every two years. What bothers me most about Divisions is that one of the primary benefits of belonging to a Conference like the B1G is playing against the best teams in the country like Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana. My current thinking about the first two years of Divisions in the B1G puts those three teams in the East. May have to reconsider that.

Looking to stay undefeated. BIG+ 3pm Eastern, Noon Pacific... Oregon Ducks Looking to Secure Series Win Over Youngstown State

Happy birthday to offensive lineman Ismael Camara Dan Lanning Sends Message to Oregon Five-Star Recruit

Why are the Ducks ahead of both Indiana and Ohio State on this list? In my mind, it's all about the continuity. Oregon returns eight of its 11 starters from last year, and replaced one of those departing players — Dillon Thieneman — with one of the best transfers of the offseason — Koi Perich. Where the Oregon Ducks stand among Big Ten's best defenses in 2026

Ducks were robbed. Where Oregon Ducks stand in ESPN's 'QBU' top-100 ranking

Fairness? A good goal. But there is no accounting for a Cig lead Indiana or a Penn State bust. I think B1G HQ in 2023 put together schedules from 2024 through 2028 that, considering 'permanent' opponents, were as equitable over five seasons as could be. Looking back to 2023, OBD had a cakewalk conference schedule in 2025, including a home game vs. the pathetic Indiana Hoosiers. In theory, I love your scheduling matrix idea. It kind of works in the NFL, which is dedicated to parity, but the NFL has nowhere near the yearly roster turnover of today's CFB. And the NFL also has restraints on the number of terrific players a team can buy every year. I think forecasting schedules for five seasons, as we have in the B1G, or three seasons like the SEC, is as close to equitable as today's CFB format can allow. My biggest beef with Oregon's schedule this season is not with the opponents but with eight P4 games without a break and traveling to the Eastern time zone twice in November. Thanks again for the great article.

This season, it is Ohio State's turn to have the most difficult B1G football schedule. OBD's and Indiana's schedules are also more difficult than last season. Wisconsin goes from the most difficult conference schedule last season to one of, if not the easiest, conference schedules this season. So it goes. This is what the B1G HQ aimed for when it came up with the football schedules through 2028. Balance as much as possible over five seasons. With the vagaries in roster talent and the money invested in football, what we have in the B1G today is the best we can hope for. Am I happy Oregon's schedule in 2026 is more difficult than in 2025? No. When the schedules through 2028 came out, I think Dan Lanning and Ryan Day highlighted games against one another, but not games against Indiana. Just like the SEC teams three years back were not worried about Vanderbilt. When putting the schedule together, no one knew that Indiana would be a playoff team in 2024 and win a title in 2025, or that Ohio State would lose two games in 2024 and win a title, that Wisconsin's QBs would be injured in the first game of the last three seasons, or that Michigan's head coach would be fired. Try as you might, there are too many variables in CFB, as is the case in life, to come up with 'equitable' conference schedules every season. Would two more B1G teams and divisions make things more equal? I don't think so. Adding two more teams that are not bottom-line accretive will not help the bottom line, and will not bring in more media dollars or make a material difference in the teams that win titles. Thanks again for a terrific ponder point article.

Had to add the gunfight scene above….try to count the rounds out of Charlie’s pistol.

High school talent yes, but I think we saw that Cig created TEAM TALENT through his high school recruiting, portal recruiting and COACHING talent.

"Second Hand Lions" or "Open Range" One of the few actors I'll miss...

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Sanford, Ducks Blank Penguins in Game 2 EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon baseball team got a terrific outing from starting pitcher Will Sanford and three scoreless innings from the bullpen in a 3-0 win over Youngstown State on Friday afternoon at PK Park. A day after the offense put up 18 runs in a series-opening victory, it was the pitching staff that carried the Ducks (6-0) in game two of a four-game set. Sanford (2-0) struck out six batters across six scoreless innings before Tanner Bradley delivered 2.1 strong innings of relief and Devin Bell (1) closed out the save. “There was really good execution today,” head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “Really solid pitching and defense. They were able to slow the game down and execute when they needed to. Our pitchers came in and made big pitches.” Sanford and Youngstown State starter Braden Gebhardt (0-1) were locked in a pitcher’s duel from the onset. The Ducks managed just two hits across seven innings against Gebhardt but were able to push across a run on a passed ball in the fourth inning before manufacturing a pair of insurance runs against the Penguins’ bullpen in the eighth inning. The win marked the 300th of Wasikowski’s head-coaching career. “I'm blessed to be at this place,” Wasikowski said. “Working at the University of Oregon is unbelievable. It's a dream of mine, and I got an opportunity to do it. Thanks to Mr. (Rob) Mullens for being able to represent this great school; it is something that I take a lot of pride in.” How it Happened: Sanford walked his first batter of the game but bounced back immediately to retire the next three with a pair of strikeouts. He did the same over the next three innings, giving up a single in each but never allowing a runner to get past second base. Will Sanford “I felt good,” Sanford said. “Just knowing that I have a good defense behind me, letting balls get put into play. I felt like I could beat them with my fastballs and that’s what I did.” Oregon was able to get to Gebhardt in the fourth, with Jax Gimenez working a leadoff walk before Dominic Hellman followed with a double for the Ducks’ first hit of the day. Gebhardt was nearly out of the inning after retiring the next two batters, but a passed ball brought Gimenez in from third and put the Ducks ahead. Sanford set the Penguins (0-5) down in order in the fifth and then erased a leadoff hit-by-pitch in the sixth with a double play. He then stranded an infield single with a flyout to center field to complete six shutout innings. “Will Sanford made big pitches all day when he needed to,” Wasikowski said. “He matched their ace … I thought his stuff was good. I don't think it was his best stuff, but I thought he had good stuff today. But his mentality, I thought, was fantastic, just knocking them loose.” The Ducks got to the Youngstown State bullpen for a pair of runs in the eighth, as freshman Owen Morgan legged out a pinch-hit, infield single and stole second before coming around to score on an error and a wild pitch. Jack Brooks then worked a walk, stole second, got to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by Gimenez. Bradley came on for Sanford in the seventh and set down the first six batters he saw, recording three strikeouts to send the game to the ninth with Oregon up, 3-0. Bradley returned to the mound for the ninth to try and finish the three-inning save, but he walked the bases loaded with one out before being relieved by Bell. With the tying runs aboard and the go-ahead run at the plate, Bell struck out the first batter he faced on a full count and then ended the game with an infield popout. “I think we have the best staff in the nation,” Sanford said. “I think every guy in the pen can shut a game down. Having Tanner and Devin follow me after that, I have so much faith in those guys to shut it down and, you know, they put up three zeroes.” Box Score Notes: Sanford gave up just four hits and one walk across six shutout frames, and he has now thrown 11.0 scoreless innings to open the season … Bradley has combined to throw 4.1 scoreless innings of relief in two appearances this season without surrendering a hit … Bell earned his first save as a Duck and Oregon’s first save of the season … Hellman, Morgan and Ryan Cooney accounted for Oregon’s three hits, and Gimenez worked a pair of walks … Oregon recorded its first shutout win of the season. On Deck: Oregon will go for the series win over Youngstown State on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. (Mr. FishDuck Note: We have a great GameDay Thread of the game below with more in-depth description and videos of the action.)

I've been around long enough to have seen Apocalypse Now on the big screen. Pretty messed up movie as I recall, but my most memorable scene is Duvall, riding the chopper in toward the beach. Somewhere in there is my favorite line from the movie, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning, it's the smell of victory". I've used that line many times at work, substituting any number of things: "I love the smell of XXXX in the morning, it's the smell of victory!". RIP Robert Duvall!

The women's game was great. The Men's final has the potential to be better. Thr US vs Canada has been much watch hockey for several years.

I couldn't have said it better Drake.

Well said DanLduck. We do have the ingredients. It is a matter of having some luck. The great thing about Indiana winning it all is every coach is under the microscope. Is it a one off? Most likely. Is Cignetti a great coach? Anybody that turns a perineal loser into a national champion is a great coach. Cignetti did better than Kirby Smart and Ryan Day when both had much more talent. And sooner. I hope more fans simply trust Lanning, let him do it his way, and enjoy the ride. We are an elite program no matter what anyone else thinks. That isn't drinking the Kool-Aide. Lanning is going to win a title. Its a matter of when.

Jon, I started with two threads from a couple of weeks ago where posters were complaining about unfairness of next year's BiG schedule. That's all I am addressing. I have no purpose whatsoever to make college football teams equal, or even equitable. I know the playoff format is all screwed up and there is nothing we fans can do about that. I'm not even going to try. All I want to do is have the football teams in the B1G all begin the season from the same starting line. I have made a list of B1G teams as they finished, first through eighteenth, over the last two seasons. That whole list will be in the next article I write on this topic. Here are the top eight from the list and the teams from that top eight they are scheduled to play this year: 1. Indiana Ohio State, Michigan and USC 2. Oregon USC, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan, 3. Ohio State Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, USC, Oregon, Michigan 4. Iowa Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois 5. Michigan Iowa, Penn State, Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State 6. Illinois Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa 7. USC Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana 8. Penn State USC, Michigan (Note: in making the above list I'm working with a difficult block schedule that has only the team logos, and I'm very human.) I doubt that any serious fan of the B1G would argue that those eight are, at least, among the top ten teams going into the 2026 season. You tell me, Jon, would two Divisions playing round-robin be more fair than Ohio State playing six of the top eight teams in the conference? As things are in College football, I would not change a thing about recruiting, the portal, or NIL. With Dan Lanning as our coach, the Duck facilities and Division Street providing the money, OBD are near the top in opportunity to make the playoffs. But if I were a coach in the B1G, I would much rather be Penn State playing two teams from the top eight than the schedule of Ohio State playing six teams from the top eight. Or do you want to be Michigan playing teams 1-4 plus Penn State? All I want is scheduling fairness, and next year's B1G schedule doesn't make the cut.

Hats off to a judge with gumption. When 'Anything Goes in CFB' morphs into Peyton Manning possibly returning to play QB for Tennessee ... On3Judge denies Joey Aguilar preliminary injunction against...A judge has denied Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar a preliminary injunction in his lawsuit against the NCAA.

You mean besides the "bad" we've had in these instances. I don't think the expanded playoffs hurts us. It gives us, and other teams, more bites at the apple. Someday the ball will bounce the right way. Until then we will just have to enjoy the tribulations of ewe dub and $c.

Is smoking cigs still against the rules in Bloomington? If so, are you allowed to put them out? You could be spot on, my friend. I relied (lied?) on On3. But I'll still wager that next to Julius Caesar, and we know how that ended, Cig placed the all-time bet on himself. And even at the Quacking losing end, it was great to witness.

Ducks win 3-0, but it got dicey at the end. Tanner Bradley had such incredible pitches and control for two innings just melted down under the pressure, and lost control. He got an out, but walked THREE batters to load the bases! Oregon brought in big 6'4" transfer from Western Oregon, Devin Bell to rescue Our Beloved Ducks. Geez, he has hardly pitched here and thrown in to save the game? He created a strikeout with a 95 mph fastball, and created a fly-out to end the game. Whew! Guess we found our closer?

3-0 Ducks after eight innings. Tanner Bradley put them down 1-2-3 again and shows us a nasty changeup. Owen Morgan came in the pitch-hit and the freshman got his first hit in Eugene in shallow RF. He steals second, but the throw by the catcher is wild and he scoots over to third. Jack Brooks moves slightly inside as a batter to avoid an inside pitch, and the catcher missed the throw and the ball went to the backstop to score Morgan from third! Brooks walks, steals second, and another passed ball puts him on third. Jax Gimenez bunts and scores Brooks!

When Cig walked on campus in November 2023 they signed for a little over $4M per year with a list of incentives you thought were impossible. He checked them off like my home to do list. I think his a few hundred thousand behind Kirby Smart for the highest paid head coach though.

Grandpa, I enjoyed this and your other articles, and I admire your quest for 'Fairness in Scheduling.' The NFL does everything it can to ensure that one team does not have more Jimmy's and Joe's than another NFL team. But there is no accounting for Joe Montana and Tom Brady. If CFB were a collective of 138 teams, or, more likely, 68 Power 4 teams, would conference schedules be 'in synch' if there was a high school draft with draft choices based on the reverse order of the prior season's results, restrictions on transfers, a salary cap on direct payment, but not on a player's unrestricted NIL deals, penalties for improper contact with players and coaches, and a conference schedule that gave the prior season successful teams the most difficult schedules and the worst teams the easiest schedules? Doing all it can, the NFL cannot come up with 'equitable scheduling?' Oregon State's rules of the CFB road are no different than Oregon's rules of the road. The rules were the same for Bear Bryant's and Nick Saban's Alabama teams as for the other members of the SEC. Oregon men John McKay and John Robinson had success at USC. Clay Helton had the same resources and ... Perhaps, in a perfectly balanced CFB world, 34 of 68 teams could finish 6-6. But you and I know that this isn't happening on this plane of existence. When the Big Ten had 14 teams with two divisions, the East Division dominated. Regardless of travel and traditional issues, swap Ohio State and Penn State with Minnesota and Iowa, and there would have been a material difference? Most likely, Ohio State and, on occasion, Penn State, would have played East champ Michigan for the conference title season after season. Again, I very much enjoyed the article and the discussion it engendered, but at least from my experience, you can legislate, in part, moves toward societal equality, but equality in sports? The wheel turns. Not so long ago, Drew Brees and Bob Griese led Purdue to B1G titles. We just witnessed Purdue's rival, Indiana, make the greatest Phoenix-like flight in the history of the sport. IMO, there is no way you can make any conference in football or any sport at whatever level, grade school through the NFL, equal. Because humans in every respect are not equal. And this is why Indiana's champ game meant, sorry SEC, so much more. Add ASU and Arizona, CU and Utah, or Notre Dame and ? to the B1G, and have 10 teams in a West and East conference? Such a great article and fun to discuss. However, the cream, or more in synch with today's game, the dough, will rise.

Cignetti has a point in his contract that if he makes the Semi-Finals in the CFP, his contract is rewritten at the end of the year to keep him in the top 3 salaries of college coaches. Not only that, today it was announced the IU President also got a substantial raise. As you know success in football makes a lot of money for the academic side of the house.