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I choose this scenario.

That's an interesting take. Seems to me Nick Saban chewed out players routinely. How many titles does Saban have? And yes, plenty of those rage fests were about dumb things players did. I'm sure this is a generational divide. This old dude never saw stupid acts of display from players because we knew damn well we'd get chewed out AND benched. Discipline matters. That's the gist of my argument. and if you're going to be hard on players, you better love them massively, because that is the only way yelling at them will work.

I was under the impression that Evans was done for the season. But it sounds like you are suggesting that he may be back this year. Is that correct? Because that would be awfully nice.

Hopefully, those never saw the light of day anywhere 😉

No way is he a NFL QB as of right now.

Waiting one year could be the difference between a solid retirement contract to generational wealth. 2025 draft produced $70+ million for a top 4 draft pick. #16 was around $30 million. After all the finger dipping is done, 40% ends in your wallet. Still more than most of us will ever see. For comparison, Derrick Harmon was drafted #21 for $18 and $10 for a total of $28 million. Cam Ward was #1 for $49 and $32 for a total of around $81 million. B1111G difference from #1 to #21. If Dante isn't projected in the first 4 picks or so, and he projects to be a top pick in a weak 2027 QB class? Then I would wait for 2027 draft. There is a lot of ball left to play though. When that O-line finally gels then DM has a great chance to rise in the rankings. These last 4 games have a beautiful opportunity to put the finishing touch on this season. If DM plays beautifully through the end of the season, I would expect a declaration for the draft. A top 4/5 pick is a serious possibility. Just my thoughts.

Baylor AD and Playoff Chairman Mack Rhodes: 'The rankings are a blend of art and science.' No. 9 - Oregon is 7-1 with the 28th most difficult schedule according to the Massey Ratings. OBD's future SOS is ranked 18th. (I'm using Massey because, of course, the metrics the PO committee uses are super-secret, and I lost my Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Decoding Ring five or six decades back. 😁) Oregon's sole loss was to the Committee's 2nd-ranked team, Indiana. The undefeated Hoosiers SOS is ranked No. 34, undefeated No. 1 Ohio State's is 44th, undefeated A&M's schedule is ranked the 7th most difficult. I get why Booger is bugged. No. 8 - Texas Tech is 8-1 with Massey's 51st most difficult schedule and 54th in future SOS. Texas Tech's loss was to a not-unranked ASU team. Looks like science was used to drop Oregon from AP No. 6 to 9th. Looks like Texas Tech benefited from the PO Artful Dodgers Eye Test. The highest-ranked 2-loss team is Notre Dame because of two close losses and a win over No. 19 USC. ND defeated SC in a downpour by 10 points. If this is such a great win, why isn't 2-loss SC in the top 15? USC's remaining SOS is No. 17, Notre Dame's is 42nd. 2-loss Notre Dame is ranked ahead of 1-loss Virginia, Louisville, and Georgia Tech. And 2-loss Miami, which defeated Notre Dame. I remain bullish on 2-loss B1G teams making the PO field, but even with touted 'new metrics,' it's PO CT. SSDD. FWIW (Nada!) Oregon has two wins over teams with winning records; Montana State is ranked 2nd in the FCS poll.

I disagree. If I was Iowa....I would pack the box, and make Dante Moore beat them through the air, and I believe we will see that. So relying on the run is going to create a ton of punts, and play the Hawkeye game. C'mon....we are DUCKS, and if anyone can pass and catch in the rain....it is us. We will get a ton of man-coverage in the secondary, and we have a bunch of receivers who can exploit that. If Evan Stewart returns, then not only can he stretch the defense, but he can be a tremendous decoy to pull their best corner away from Dak. Pass to loosen things up, and get a normal box in terms of numbers on defense, and THEN have Davison go to work, IMHO.

I'd say we have to split the first TD in the 2nd half between Brock and Dante, since Dante Moore got the ball to the Wisconsin 30 yard line.

If Dante was dominating every game and bored out of his mind, MAYBE he goes. The reality is Dante is playing the long game. He sat for a year to get better already, and sees Uber experienced Bo and Dylan starting in the NFL while Shadeur rides the pine. The only thing that could make him think twice at this point is if Will leaves and he can't stand his replacement.

Another note. Simpkins didn’t miss a shot inside the 3 point line. His midrange game is already 10x better than what we got from Bamba last season. A starting 5 of Shelstad Simpkins Stewart or Pryor Evans Bittle Looks pretty good, especially on defense. This team could be elite on that end of the floor. Just need some time to gel and a couple others to step up for rotation minutes. They absolutely have to stay healthy this year with a dropoff on the bench.

Yeah. It's not exactly the most probable outcome, but there is definitely a world where Dan and Will discuss this contingency during game prep. I'm shocked that people here still think Brock is some kind of charity case and not our actual #2 QB, at least in bad weather. Does anyone actually think Moore played better than Brock against Wisconsin? I think it was close. We scored twice as many points with Brock in the same amount of game time. Does Dante handle those bad snaps that Brock handled? Dante's advantage over Brock is only the arm talent. But if it's pouring buckets and windy and the arm talent is neutralized, and if Dante is rattled, then he isn't making efficient split second decisions.

Zero chance of Brock playing unless Moore gets hurt. I'm more interested in seeing Will Stein dial up the offense we rolled with in the second half of the Wisconsin game from the jump on Saturday. Jordon Davison should see a healthy dose of touches. That OL should be in the face of the Iowa D line early and often. It's rare that I will ever say this so here I go. The part of our running game during the Mario Cristobal era that I never had an issue with (not talking formations) was how we would continuously beat the heck out of the opposing defensive lines until they were worn out and broken. By the second half we were breaking off solid runs and creating "3rd and short" scenarios regularly. We have an OC that is far better than anything MC had during his time and has more talent at his disposal. With as good a defense as Iowa claims, we need to run right at them. Moore needs to be a high level game manager. Make the necessary throws, but get plays into the right run reads. Keep the clock running and get out of there with the W.

I certainly hope not.... because if he is, that means that Moga and Novosad are also below average. We have already said that Novosad and Moga could easily start somewhere else (something I agree with). I take all this to mean that BT could start somewhere else also. Will Stein and Dan Lanning didn't all of a sudden forget how to assess talent.

Absolutely agree. Just because we’re doing what is best for us in 2025, it doesn’t mean it gets my juices flowing. Most of the B1G conference schedule is a slog, and with the size of the conference and the way the schedule rotates, it would take 25 years before I had a chance of caring about Rutgers, etc. This is all essentially USC, UCLA, Cal, and to a lesser degree ASU & UW’s fault imo. Those should all be great brands, but they greatly underperformed the last 15 years overall, which was absolutely fatal for the PAC. Don’t even get me started on CU, they joined and promptly became irrelevant.

Are you serious with this?

I liked the old Pac12 games because of the QBs and the athletes. The long passes, the punt returns, the sacks, the interceptions, etc. The big10 is a little on the boring side sometimes. The Pac12 games were more competitive. The semi-old Beavers were a threat to beat anybody. Remember the Rodgers? I would watch other Pac12 games just for fun. If Purdue played Northwestern, how many of you would watch that? My guess is probably none. But the downside of Oregon in the Pac12 (or Pac10) is when Oregon played teams outside that conference. The physical weakness of the Pac got exposed. Even in the glory days, Oregon got handled by Ohio St, Auburn, LSU. They even had tough games vs Michigan St. The loan exception is when they blew out Tennessee. What would really be exciting is if Oregon played in the SEC. Those would be great games every week.

Sharp and clean, much harder to throw an interception! 👍

I think we're going to see huge dividends from the Wisconsin game. To quote AF of the O: Early in the second quarter, the Ducks found themselves scoreless and pinned on their own one-yard line. Suddenly, after having produced minus-16 yards rushing in the first quarter, Oregon got rolling. During a 16-play, 99-yard drive, the Ducks found a formula for success in the running game that led them to the end zone for the first time. Oregon never stopped running on the way to a 21-7 win against one of the best run defenses in the nation. “To be able to finish the game with 203 yards rushing, I think shows that we figured it out,” UO coach Dan Lanning said. Lesson learned. Now apply the learning and reap the benefits!

If Oregon can't win out, then they would have a lot of trouble in the playoffs, even if they did make it in. Iowa will be their third competitive game. They won one and lost one so far. How well the Ducks play vs Iowa will be a sign of what kind of playoff potential they have. Talent wise, Oregon is near the top of college football.

With all the talk of who deserves a ranking, or which conference deserves more at large berths. I have an outside the box idea, let me know if it's idiotic, or unfeasible. Picture this. The first two weeks of the season we could have a P4 OOC challenge, and a G6 one as well. The champions of each league could match up with the champions of the other, and you could do that down the line. This year you'd have Oregon face Georgia and Clemson. Penn State could face Texas and Iowa State. Arizona State could face Georgia and Clemson. Third, Fourth, and Fifth could matchup, and down the line. We could truly find out the quality of each conference as a whole. The overall winners of these mini two week challenges could get two points for each win, which could help determine byes and home field advantage. The G6 winners could square up to help determine which could get the at large. Now if those teams fell out and had five losses, you could go to best record and rank. But if you were to get Memphis or Boise State tied, you could use the two week challenge. I think it would help make the first two weeks mean something. It would eliminate all those terrible games we see like Penn State vs Villanova, USC vs Missouri State, Florida vs Long Island, Oregon vs Portland State, etc.... I know it's never going to happen, but it'd be fun. Would you like to see Oregon play Clemson at home, and then play Arizona State on the road to open the season? I know ASU is a familiar opponent, but it wouldn't be like that every year. You could get Oregon vs Ole Miss, and we'd stop having this silly what if. It could help to dispell the perception that one conference is head and shoulders above another. Imagine just finding out in September, and it wouldn't be hypothetical. Believe me when I tell you ESPN needs an earlier lesson. Paul Finebaum would be shut up earlier. We'll probably not. He'd find some excuse.

We could easily go 9-3 imo, so yes we could absolutely miss the playoff. There is value in making the playoff even if you don’t expect to win it; $$, a great experience for young players, minimum goal for a successful year, recruiting tool, etc. I personally can’t imagine any scenario where playing in a bowl game is the preference. Making the expanded playoff each year should be the minimum expectation moving forward. Favorable match-ups, key injuries, and getting hot can easily lead to a 4 game win streak and title. ND and OSU both experienced elements of this last year. If we go 10-2, I think when and how we get a second loss is everything. Generally speaking, the earlier you lose the better. If we have to have one more loss, losing this week is the best option for making the playoff at 10-2 imo. Going 10-2 with a lopsided loss in Seattle to end the season is what would put us in the most jeopardy at 10-2. Let’s not test that theory 😆

I hope we don't rely exclusively on former Pac-12 opponents when it comes to OOC scheduling, I would dislike that lack of variety so much.

The only way that Moore is coming out is if he gets injured, he throws 5 interceptions, or the Ducks are up by 35.. Brock Thomas is most likely a below average college QB. He had 4 passes in the game against Wisconsin one of which should have been a really bad interception that the Wisconsin defender had go off his hands into the waiting arms of a receiver. I'm sure Brock is loved by the team, but he hasn't shown anything to show he can beat a team like Iowa on the road in any way.