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I don't really like beer most of the time (there are situationalexceptions to every rule), but I can appreciate the moment! Hear, hear!

Pass protection and pass rush were below the standard especially against the better teams. Everything else was very good. Dante needs to learn what to do when under pressure - but he is so good at everything else, he has that as his only item to work on. During games, mistakes were made, most not fatal, but some were to the season. Final Grade: A--- 1 minus for pass protection, 1 for lack of pass rush, and 1 for mistakes, the A for achieving with new players

I just watched the last 2 minutes of the national championship more because I wanted to see if Mario ended up not having a headset for the rest of the game after his sideline temper tantrum. He did end up getting it back up and working but I noticed something else. Miami was moving the ball well, Indiana was lost/unorganized and got called for a really dumb roughing the passer penalty. Miami got down to the IU 45 or so and had all the momentum. I was thinking crap Miami's gonna pull this out and win the natty even with Mario! That's when Cignetti called a timeout with a few seconds left on the play clock. He called everyone over, nobody will ever know what was said (I wish I did) but he wasn't panicked! He allowed his defense to take a deep breath, took the momentum away from Miami and Beck and allowed Mario and his staff to rethink(like we've all experienced) their game plan. Sure enough the very next play was the int. BRILLIANT!! That Cignetti is one goofy dude but he sure can coach!! I think I'll have a beer!! Hilarious!

After such a great record of wins, that last game hurt real bad. Perhaps even more than the embarrassing loss to tOSU in the championship the previous year. In looking back at the season, trouble signs were flashing. The Ducks seemed to lack a killer instinct. They displayed a lack of intensity, of urgency in some of those games. The offense went flat more than once. There were too few complete games where both offense and defense operated in sync and at a high level. Call it what you will, the Ducks now have yet another shot at the top prize. My biggest concern is with the new coaching staff which is a big question mark for me and will have a chance to prove itself along with the 2026 team. Coaches and players accomplished a lot in 2025 and that is to their credit regardless of falling short of the top prize.

Sounds like the staff likes the guys they have. I don't feel I understand how linebackers are supposed to work in Lanning's system but they seem to need to be able to do everything. Which requires an athletic freak which is difficult to get. I kinda feel they may need to rework what linebackers are supposed to do and maybe even simplify the role. But I say this feeling inadequate to really answer. But I also feel most people don't exactly know what linebackers are supposed to do in Lanning's defense.

A-. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for one of the younger rosters in college football. The minus is for Dante and coaching staff not making greater strides and adjustments after a very promising start. Thinking back to Lanning's success, had Bo Nix not been injured near the end of the 2022-23, OBD would have likely survived Washington and ran the table to the playoff as the #3 seed. The "only losing to national championship game participants" would have held true for all four years under Lanning. Remember #4USC was primed for a playoff berth had they beaten Utah for the PAC12 title. That should have been OBD pounding USC and we would have jumped TCU who lost the BIG12 title game.

I am all in favor of the Ducks leading the charge and making the B1G the national champions for the 4th straight year -- with 4 different teams winning it! P.S. After four years, Dan Lanning is averaging 12 wins a season. That that rate he can surpass Joe Paterno's 409 wins in another 30 years. Just sayin'.

The team and staff gets an A from my perspective. They took care of business at Penn State, Iowa, and Washington, and beat SUC. The coaches are not making headlines for the wrong reasons, and are quite young to accomplish what they have done so far under DLs tenure. 13 wins…Go Ducks!!!

I’ll give Oregon an A. They’re the only program to beat the national champions two years in a row.

Offensive play calling and a lack of focus on LB play drove me crazy throughout the season. Hoping Mehringer is willing to push Dante where Stein seemed to lean on what "should" work instead of what's actually working. Expecting Boettcher and Mixon to be good enough was Lannings biggest shortcoming this season. Bryce had great instinct but lacks size and strength to make a difference in the A gap. We need an ILB that can make a solo tackle and also blitz up the middle without sacrificing the athleticism needed for coverage. Portal has been open for weeks and we have yet to address LB. Am I crazy to be concerned or is it early enough to still fill that spot?

Reading today the number is expected to reach $4 million. If a team makes the playoffs, with no injuries (minus time coming out for "garbage time" snaps), what is a good number of expected snaps for a LT? Maybe 850? 4,000,000/850 = $4,706 per snap Imagine going 3 and out and your bill for just the LT is $14,118. Maybe the Duck offensive staff does need to rethink all those WR screens. 🙂 $4,706 a snap? It wasn't that long ago a guy couldn't get extra cream cheese on his bagel. I might be a bit more stunned if I didn't then realize Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zac Wheeler threw 3,134 pitches over a full season with a contract average of $42 million per year. 42,000,000/3134 = $13,401 per pitch So, $67,005 for that five pitch walk in the 1st inning. 🤷‍♂️

I’m excited! Will be interesting to see who steps up to replace the offensive production of the Luschar sisters and Paige Sinicki. Kaylynn Jones looks to be a good bet to take over the lead-off spot, while replacing Dezianna Patmon’s power could be by committee.

Another 1 for OBD - Let It Happen, Please https://www.profootballnetwork.com/cfb/oregon-following-indiana-as-college-football-champions/

ESPN has us No. 5, tops for the BIG. Good pitching; year two of a fab four frosh class; a trio of transfers. Three reasons to be excited about Oregon softball in 2026

Playoff team baby, playoff team. Oh, and a "just means better" conference!

As always, great comments JJ, appreciate your insights. However, to limit the meaning of ‘lightening in a bottle’ to lucking-out is to limit the expression itself. The phrase is generally described to refer to achieving rare or unlikely success, often in a way that feels fortunate or extraordinary, and not easy to replicate. Luck certainly enters into that. As DM pointed out, he by-enlarge escaped the injury bug and portal losses as a result of a senior laden roster. However, the expression emphasizes not only being ‘fortunate’, but also ‘achieving’ as well. Whatever fell in his lap he not only didn’t take for granted, but knew how to take advantage of. While you can’t predict outcome, you can affect it by the choices you make, and that’s where we’re in agreement that his coaching experience and savvy played a huge part in helping to keep his stars aligned; ie, he couldn’t have predicted the “misfit” mentality his team would eventually acquire, but once they did, he knew how to take advantage of it. One item I would disagree with is Mendoza’s recruitment being the product of luck. While all coaches attempt to recruit players who love the game, and instill in them that the sum is greater than its parts (Sabin’s wisdom imparted to ALL the semi-finalist HC’s?), Cig appears to be a ‘recruit whisperer’ on another level from his peers. Once he set his sights on him, I’m not sure Mendoza ever had a chance of going anywhere else. In short, lightening in a bottle does involve luck, but then becomes making that luck work for you. It’s both fortune and achievement.

We really don’t need a radical change imo, we just went 11-1 and made the final-4. This year we needed a better pass rush and to not be starting our 5th string HB (he was in the portal no less) in the semi-final. I don’t think Indiana won because of a slogan.

I don't think there will be much change at all... I think there is a greater chance at refinement. But I do think there needs to be some change to get over that last hurtle.

A+ season with an F- on the final…what does that equal? What percentage of the grade is the final exam? Is there a curve? My expectation going in was a 10-2 regular season with a home playoff win for a final record of 11-3. We certainly exceeded that, and unless we’re preseason top-4, we really should consider making the final-4 a great season. That being said, what a flop to end it on. I have no doubt we were severely impacted by injuries, the portal, and our coordinators having at least one foot out the door. The first priority above any playoff expansion should be fixing the calendar…but it will not be. Anyways, exceeding lofty expectations, but still having a dud to end gets a B+ in my book. I would give an A- if it had been competitive.

Made me think of the Bad News Bears!. 😂

To quote Cignetti, "We play to win. Other teams play to 'not lose'" This could not be a better explanation of ODB in recent years. Mario figured it out at Miami and damn near won with his Mari-go offense and Mari-no defense. I'm highly skeptical of Lanning's coordinator hires. Where is the 'change' going to come from? I'm not seeing it.

Up now on The Athletic site, Mandel has OBD No. 1 in his Way Too Early Top 25 for 2026.

Sweat, Lame Kitten, Sweat! 🤪 Death Valley VoiceLatest Jordan Seaton development has LSU fans everywhere...Lane Kiffin continues to pull out all the stops in an effort to land 5-star offensive lineman Jordan Seaton through the transfer portal. Kiffin has already brou

Fun to read these B1G better than SEC takes, but IMO, Not So Fast! B1G game on 9/12/26 when Ohio State visits Texas. Both teams have warm-up games on 9/5/26 - Ball State at TOSU, and Pac-8 (12?) Texas State at Texas. Also on 9/12 - Minnesota at Mississippi State, and Oklahoma at Michigan. A B1G game on Sunday, 9/6/26 - Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame in Green Bay, WI 9/5/26 - OBD opens against Boise State - Portland State is on the schedule, why open against an too early top 25 (never, ever, never schedule) Boise State? Saturday BlitzThe SEC’s reign is over as the Big Ten now runs college f...For the first time since 1942 (Minnesota in 1940, 1941, and Ohio State in 1942), the Big Ten has won three straight National Championships. Michigan in 2023, Oh

Get ready to watch these 11 Ducks in 2026 - https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/01/21/oregon-football-upperclassmen-break-out-2026/88235728007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SMGbaseline&utm_ter