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I assume Lanning will take this and Cignetti contract to get paid even more. The only thing I can see him leaving for is Georgia or Alabama (I don't believe he was even offered the last time despite what parasocial homers want to believe about their football papa).

There is nothing more that I like to see from an offense than a big bruising running back that will punish a defense for 4 quarters. You just know you are getting positive yards while softening up the D for either a big run where the RB breaks a tackle and is gone, or setting it up for the change of pace back to break one on the outside. I have been crying out for a back like Davison since we had Freeman. I always feel like you need that 225+ bruiser. Davison has become my favorite offensive player this year with his ability to either run the ball up the middle with authority or being a blocking back to free up his RB teammate. He should be getting 15 carriers at a minimum each game.

The difference between play action and rpo is for play action linemen only pass block and the QB has zero intention of handing the ball off.

Thanks. I'm happy to see the adds for once or else the top of my screen would just be a big red Wisconsin behind. Going forward it would be better if the duck player was on the left side of the photo. You could always mirror images to make that happen as well.

One of my favorite topics from Duck history that no longer is talked about too frequently. Not so much about not firing Brooks, just the many "what ifs/what could have beens" that sort of sank the Duck program in the early 1970s; and, the story of the AD who arguably took an ok program and led it to a decade of futility (35-82-4) followed by ten years of mediocrity (58-56) before the 1994 Rose Bowl season breakthrough. Sort of maybe fits in with the topic of coaching searches, hirings, and firings too. It starts in 1972. The previous 50 years Oregon had been a fair 242-216-28 (with only one losing decade). Jerry Frei, a member of Oregon's staff for 17 years and 5th year head coach, had gone 22-29-2 (but had shown an upward trajectoy in 70-71 going 11-10-1 behind the likes of Fouts and Moore) resigned rather than follow the direction of 2nd year AD Norv Ritchey (following pressure from boosters over five consecutive losses to the Beavers) to fire several of his assistants (a story at the time reported in the Register Guard and later confirmed by Fouts). At the time, the Oregon staff included, John Robinson who would go on to win a National Championship at USC and become a member of the college football hall-of-fame, George Siefert who went on to coach the NFL 49s and Panthers (retired with a top 5 career winning percentage among NFL coaches with 100+ wins), Gunther Cunningham who went on to coach 35 years in the NFL including head coach at KC, John Marshall who went on to coach 30 years in the NFL including DC stops with 5 teams, and Bruce Snyder future head coach at Utah State, Cal, and ASU. At the time, the Oregon job wasn't at all viewed as the bottom of college football world, but rather as stuck in mediocrity but a viable opportunity. Oregon had beaten USC in 70-71 and had otherwise been genetally competitive outside a couple paycheck games. Frei had recruited well, and Autzen wasn't even 5 years old. One name that had popped up in the early coaching search (which included over a dozen candidates) was then San Diego State head coach Don Coryell (who of course went on to revolutionize NFL offenses). AD Ritchey had apparently wanted Oregon assistant coach Dick Enright all along, a young former SoCal high school coach with exactly two seasons of college coaching experience (Enright, at 37, was the same age as Dan Lanning was when he arrived at Oregon). Ritchey eventually got his way and Enright was hired. Oregon went 6-16 the next two years and Enright reportedly learned about his firing from a phone call by a reporter. Ritchey then hired Don Read from Enright's staff, whose primary experience had been going 39-52-1 at Portland State from 68-71. He goes 9-24 in three seasons. Oregon' top target in 1977 to replace Don Read was none other than Bill Walsh. The story goes Walsh wanted to be a head coach in the NFL but after getting passed over for the Cincinnatti job, he took the OC job in SD for a season where he learned he had been essentially "blackballed" around the NFL by then legendary but ill-tempered coach Paul Brown. Walsh moved to the college game and picked the Stanford opening over Oregon. The second choice was UW DC Jim Mora, the eventual 15 year NFL head coach, probably most well known for his stay with the Saints (and his "Playoffs? We are just trying to win a game and you are talking playoffs?" rant). Mora was interested but eventually took his name out of the running. Brooks, who had been Oregon State DC in 1973, DB coach for the SF 49s for two seasons, and LB coach at UCLA under first year head coach Terry Donahue in 1976, got the job. Brooks goes 24-49-4 his first 7 seasons at Oregon trying to dig out of the Ritchey, Enright, and Read hole (not helped by the scandal plagued early 1980s), yielding a 12 year run of 38-89-4. Brooks finally goes 28-28 in the five year run up to the 1989 Independence Bowl. John Robinson, George Siefert, Gunther, Cuningham, John Marshall, Don Coryell, Bill Walsh, and Jim Mora coulda been. Instead Oregon got AD Ritchey directing 38-89-4.

Id have fuskies in top six. And, that game it could determine a whole lot..

In Kinnock Stadium, Kirk Ferentz has won .687 of Iowa's home games. Iowa gutted Minnesota and is showing signs of life on offense behind run-first QB Gronowski, not to be confused with The Gronk or the Big Leboski, and a very good O-line. Iowa DC Phil Parker is a Broyles Award winner and one of the best in the business. Coming off a bye, Ferentz is slightly over .500. Ditto for Dan Lanning, who at one point was 5-1 coming off a bye. Ferentz has the most overall wins in the history of the conference. Against Big Ten opponents, Ferentz is 131-89. The 89 losses are the most conference losses by a Big Ten coach.

He won't be a WOW hire, but 42-year-old Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert has the Demon Deacons 5-2 with Saturday's upset defeat of SMU. He's doing this with the smallest student body, stadium, and the smallest football budget in the ACC. Dickert is 42 with 17 years of coaching experience, including at Washington State, another low-budget program, where he had the Cougars, with now Oklahoma QB John Mateer and OC Ben Arbuckle, playing competitive football. He helped move Mateer and Arbuckle into a higher tax bracket. Hw won't be offered the top-tier jobs, but he'd make sense at VA Tech or at Stanford.

Ducks at Hawkeyes is one of four games that will not be announced until November 2. (Sometimes they happen late night Saturday) Of the four, 3 games are at East/Midwest locations: Indiana at Penn State, Other UW at Wisconsin, Oregon at Iowa. No Big Ten Fox Big Noon Game has yet been designated. Don't be surprised if there is an 11:00 am CT kickoff in Iowa City. 9:00 am PT.

My favorite PI of the game was late. Receiver and DB slap fighting their way down the field,, on 4th down, IIRC. Receiver turns for the ball, grabs the DB securely by the jersey, and crashes to the turf! Ouch!

The one penalty that confuses me is Pass Interference-- they call it then they dont then they call it etc etc-varies from ref to ref and game to game LOL

According to the AP voters, OBD has one ranked team left to play in the regular season, No. 23 USC. According to the widely circulated and referred to Massey Computer Ratings, including USC, OBD has three top 25 games left, with two of the games on the road at No. 18 Iowa and No. 19 UW. It will be very interesting to see the playoff committee's first ranking on Tuesday, 11/4. Will SEC commissioner Greg Sankey still be enamored with the committee's new metrics? Will B1G commissioner Tony Petitti have reason to stay with his automatic qualifier PO format? Oregon Ducks On SIBreaking Down Oregon's Rough Remaining Big Ten ScheduleThe Oregon Ducks are 7-1, going 4-1 in the Big Ten conference, following a win against the Wisconsin Badgers. The Ducks are heading into a bye week, and will ha

There was a time when most of the SEC was 3 deep at most positions but that IS NOT the case over the last 3 years. I agree with Jon -Franklin roasted the Duck.

Not a guru, but my opinion is that if the mesh is done as you suggest--it can be an RPO, or a play-action pass regardless of where the QB begins the play. Making the linebackers commit to defending the run is the reason for the fake, or mesh, so the passing lanes are open, IMHO. With that being said...coaches everywhere have their own terms and definitions.

Those guys could gain a great perspective if they read Jon's articles. I'd love for Finebaum to have a conversation with Jon as well. But most in Dixieland still think the SEC should have all the top ten teams.

Rumors are swirling that Lane Kiffin might be on the move. If so, I think he should take the PSU job. Lots of resources, great history and college town. Their uniforms are some of the ugliest in college football, but that's probably a bit superficial. I think LSU is the next best opening, but I don't know enough about other coaches around the nation to make a suggestion here.

I think the SEC is deeper, no doubt. But I haven't watched an SEC team this season, including Texas A&M, that cannot be defeated. A&M surrendered a ton of points to Notre Dame and won on a Domer's special teams mistake. A&M defeated Arkansas 45-42. Terrific win over LSU, but LSU has floundered the entire season. The B1G had a winning record against the SEC last season, including winning two games, Illinois vs South Carolina, and Michigan vs. Alabama, where the B1G teams were significant underdogs. I think the SEC is the top football conference, but it is not that much superior to the Big Ten.

I wasn't saying the conference games were easy, just that I wouldn't label any of those games as on par with what you would call a great win. Winning at Oregon was a great game. I've been saying all along that the SEC isn't as great those on ESPN do. Look at the post season results. Alabama lost to a terrible ACC team, but rolled along against what is perceived as top ten teams that haven't beaten a top ten team outside of the conference which got over ranked with South Carolina and Florida both being top fifteen. Both were given the SEC boost. Oklahoma beat a fringe top 25 Michigan. Texas A&M won at Notre Dame. That's what the SEC has done out of league. But you have to look South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma and give them credit for at least scheduling P4 opponents or Notre Dame. Indiana plays absolutely nobody outside of their required conference slate. Oregon has played Georgia in the Lanning era, that's something I've always enjoyed about the Ducks. They've gone to Michigan and Ohio State before they were in the B1G. They earned their flowers and stretched their wings. Indiana has one great win, they looked great in it. They've looked great in dismantling above average B1G teams like Illinois by fifty. But I can't say Curt Cignetti has proven himself to be in the Ryan Day conversation. I can't put him in the Dan Lanning conversation either. Dan Lanning has a B1G title. Ryan Day has a couple B1G titles and a National title. I give them incredible weight. Curt Cignetti has been called by some in this hyperbolic time frame as the greatest coach in college football. To that I quote Lee Corso "Not so fast my friend." To be considered in that elite class and not some plucky underdog with so so expectations, you have to have more than one great win. A great win isn't just winning against conference opponents. If that were the case, James Franklin would still have a job.

This is the best description of what is probably going to be happening at these schools. However, most of them did not resort to these hiring practices in the past when they had a high degree of success. LSU hired Saban from Michigan State after his only successful season in East Lansing (9-2). They then hired Les Miles who never finished higher than 3rd in the Big 12 South. Then they hired Ed O after he was successful as the Tiger's interim HC. Florida had huge success with Steve Spurrier whom they hired from Duke. He was fairly successful but had never won a bowl game before coming UF. Urban Meyer was a highly successful yet unknown coach out of Utah. He had only coached the Utes for two years and was the HC at BGU for three years before that. It seems like schools aren't even interviewing candidates anymore. They just pick a big name and throw money at him. The three big names from 2021 who got poached were replaced by guys who have had more success. I would much rather have Freeman, Venables and Lanning over Kelly, Riley and Mario.

David spot on i would love for JD to start because he brings power and agility to his carries. Perhaps that may bring a quicker jump start to the Duck offense. This old Duck fan owes DL and WS an apology. I have never commented on the game thread until this Wisconsin game. I was critical of the play calls and O line energy and performance. As an old coach who cut his teeth in the Roman Coloseum, i know better than to criticize during the game. A football game at this level is a high stakes chess match. Calling plays to see how the other teams D reacts. Looking for the other teams tell signs. The chess game may take all 60 minutes and the only goal is to win. DL said, because of the wind and rain that there wasnt going to be much passing. OBD's needed to run the ball to win this game....and that the BIG plays great run D and Whisky was strong against the run. On the first few drives NW and JD ran into stone walls. DL said in his post game comments that Wisconsin had tells from film review. And the Duck O had to run different plays to expose the tells. This took awhile but once they did, then JD found a little room and they moved the ball. NW was running designed plays to set up future play calls. On the 99 yard drive, once they got breathing room on the 3rd down pass conversion, then they exploited those tells. Moved down the field and scored.OBD's owned the last 4 minutes of the first half. Then inspite of Dante going down on the 3rd play of 2nd half, Brock came in and the Duck O continued to exploit those tells and controlled the first 4 minutes and beyond. And Whisky could not stop the Ducks. Only 7 penalties, some drive killers and a lazy holding penalty by MU kept the Ducks out of the endzone. These tells and adjustments opened up the running plays. Didn't matter whether NW or JD carried the ball. DL and the team were proud of Brock. DL said Brock called and executed his check downs. They even carried him on their shoulders in the locker room. We may all be underestimating his performance...... Before the start of the 99 yard drive the Ducks had very few rushing yards or any yards for that matter. DL acknowledged that they ended up with over 200 plus rushing yardsl Thats impressive and this fan says kudos to the Duck O. Its fun, exciting and also frustrating to watch these games. It's even more fun to read the game thread comments. The highs, the lows and all that goes into those 4 plus hours during the game. So sorry DL, WS and the O. That was a coaching masterpiece and I criticized it while it was being created. The Duck D dominated Whisky and repeatedly gave the O the opportunity to win this game. I think the pollsters recognized this solid win...... GO DUCKS.......

Thank you, DM, for another spot-on article. Several player rotations seem to be off this season, at least to me. 🙃 Some of this may be due to the coaching staff looking at the long game? Assuming Indiana and Ohio State run the table and Oregon makes the playoff, with the goal being a Natty, ideally, the season is half over. Eight more games to play with three in the regular season against Massey's top 25-ranked Iowa, USC, and Washington, and four PO games against top competition. Davison is a stud, but he is also a freshman who I don't think has played a 16-game season. Not an exact comparison, of course, but on many occasions, rookies in the NFL start strong and taper off as the season progresses. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for pointing out that the Badgers' run defense is not a pile of garbage. Luke Fickell could not have asked for better weather on Saturday. Oregon is not going to roll over every Big Ten opponent. OBD ran the B1G regular season and champ game table last season; Oregon won by three points in Madison. Winning football games is hard. Notwithstanding what ESPN has to say, winning B1G football games in a Power 2 conference is very hard. Even with a talented QB, but one who has not started close to sixty games. Thanks again. Please, OBD, win this bye week and kick Iowa in Kinnock on 11/8.

People at Penn State compare the Franklin firing to Georgia, the funny thing is Kirby still has only beaten Alabama once in his tenure. Of course that was the 2022 National Championship game, but Alabama still owns a place in Athens. Kirby has those two National Titles, but I don't think he's going to have a dynasty like Saban. It's hard to win titles, much tougher in today's era. I don't think you have to be at a traditional power to contend every year. What the heck is a traditional power anyway? The prerequisites change depending on who you ask. Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, and Ohio State think you have to have titles in the 40's. Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Miami, FSU, Tennessee, Nebraska, and Penn State think you have to have at least two titles. So is Minnesota, Army, Michigan State, Colgate, Navy, University of Chicago, and Harvard considered blue bloods? Truth is Indiana, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, BYU, Oregon, Houston, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, and a G05 program is going to make a run. Imagine a world where Vanderbilt and Indiana meet in the playoff. Imagine a world where Ole Miss is playing memorable games that have actual meaning while Florida , Penn State, and LSU are waiting to talk to their head coach because they have nothing else to look forward to. Penn State is playing at Ohio State this week. Guess where College Game day is headed? Not Columbus for the millionth time. They are going to be in Utah, the first Big 12 game in over three years. A Cincy game is more important and high profile than an Ohio State game. In November!! The nuts in Ohio are going to explode if they discover that. Scott Frost made some waves preseason when he said he regretted taking the Nebraska job. He said he felt pressured to go home and save the big brand, he said he never felt at home back "home", and he discovered UCF is truly where he felt comfortable.. " Sometimes home isn't where you grew up, or even where you played. Sometimes home is where you feel like you can just be you with no pressure. It's not even where all your family and childhood friends reside. You grow up and realize home is where you make it. You get married, have kids. Make new friends, and you find out that you don't have to go any special place to go back home. Sometimes that special place is where you already are, and you discover you've been home all along"

To Gat’s defense, I do believe that the SEC is more balanced, so week-in and week-out it’s more of a slog and teams will beat up on one another. The B1G is top heavy and its teams might be the best this year (we’ll see in the playoffs). I wouldn’t bet Oregon straight up on a neutral field this year against Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss or Texas A&M. Oregon has not beaten a ranked team, yet, and we are midway through the season. What’s our best win to date - Northwestern or Montana State?

It would appear that we share the same favorite teams: Ducks and 49ers . . . awesome! Great comment as I was also thinking that the Ducks could involve more play action with Davison setting the tone in the run game. Question for any Xs/Os gurus. When the Ducks QB does the mesh with the RB, then pulls it to pass, is that "play action". Or is "play action" specifically defined as, from under center, QB's back to the line of scrimmage pretending to hand the ball off but doesn't so he can pass?

Joel Klatt names the first three calls LSU should make, and No. 3's a stunnerAutzen ZooJoel Klatt names the first three calls LSU should make, a...LSU is one of the top jobs in college football with a rich regional talent pool, a passionate fanbase and deep, committed booster support.