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I'm looking at this as the best Lanning could do under the circumstances. Not knowing what Moore is going to do, with the transfer of two backups, leaving basically just Smith and Beaver, he had to get somebody. With a bidding war for Leavitt going on, Raiola was the next best option. It didn't seem to me like there were a lot of good options in this transfer class, and a lot of schools were, and are looking for a plug in quarterback. I'm actually surprised Lanning was able to get him with the uncertainty of Moore.

Patullo was cut loose today by the Philadelphia Eagles. His background looks like a coach the Ducks could really use. I hope that DL will at least arrange a call with Patullo’s agent.

Fun fact, I spoke to his mother last week at the game, and she alluded to him returning and that he was excited to have the opportunity to shine as the #1 TE next year. We discussed how he has had the opportunity to learn and grow from one of the best TEs in Oregon history. I then made a joke that Dillon Thineman was my son and I was proud of him and asked if she saw a resemblance (which there is not)...

Raiola does not strike me as a home run selection. If the plan is a development year and having a back up next season, then depending on how things go, there is the 2027 recruitment and next year’s portal in play to improve. I’m willing to watch and wait before any verdict. My first reaction was like being burned - “ouch”.

I was a season ticket holder for both football and basketball since the later 60's and early 70's. I know what it feels like to pull for a bad team. The current Duck's are certainly not that. To be able to root for a team that has a chance (even a slim chance) to be a national champion each year is nothing but enjoyable. It sometimes takes a few days to get over that final loss, but I have to admit that for years. I never would have dreamed of the Ducks still playing when only 3 other teams were also playing. I love the Ducks, their players, their coaches, the mascot and everything associated with them. With Dan Lanning I think the Ducks have their best chance ever to be National Champs and I am going to enjoy every moment, even the ones that hurt.

Hmmm. Quarter finals in 2024-25. Semifinals in 2025-26. Dan Lanning is heading into his 5th season with many players who could have gone pro returning, and some good pick-ups from the portal. I doubt Dan is done with this season's portal picking. It took Kirby Smart and Ryan Day six seasons to win a title. Getting pantsed in the last act in 2024 and 2025 is hard on the CFB soul. This season, OBD lost to an Indiana team playing a home game in Atlanta, with more fans on hand than the Hoosiers would have had in Bloomington. Neither loss is as devastating as Ryan Day's loss to Michigan in 2024. But Ohio State gets PO gifts from the football gods. A season earlier, TOSU would not have been in the PO field, and Day's job would have been in jeopardy. OBD did not have good fortune against Auburn, Urban Meyer's Ohio State team, Ryan Day's Ohio State team, and this season's No. 1-ranked team. Next case. In 2024-25, No. 1-seeded OBD 'earned' a 1st PO game against the eventual champion. The bracket this season had the top remaining top seeds playing in the semi-finals. FWIW, very little, I think OBD would have defeated Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl, Indiana would have defeated Miami in the Peach Bowl, and the two teams would be playing Monday night in Miami with many Oregon fans in attendance. OBD does not get PO gifts. That's the way Fortuna fumbles. I look around CFB, and I do not see a supposed top drawer coach, Day, Sark, DeBoer, Kiffin, Mario, or even Kirby Smart, that I'd prefer to have coaching the team in Eugene. From this fan's POV, I find the two bowl losses to be easier to swallow than when Lewis wiffed on a FG in Seattle that would have tied the game, and worse, the second loss to UW after taking the lead that resulted in a game against Liberty instead of a 1st round game in the PO. I'm certainly not happy about how this season ended. But I'm certain I am happier than Texas Tech fans. So it goes. There is no teacher like experience. OBD will be in the 2026-27 PO field with an excellent chance to reach the champ game in Las Vegas. Give me five? Monday night's championship game will be competitive, but Oregon is odds-on to lose its second 12-team PO game to another winner of the national championship.

Pairing him with Ulesh is a great combo.

COVID shirts have kinda skewed the blue chip ratio. Having players who are older and more experienced do make up for having more athletically talented and younger players. Oregon has had younger teams than the last few national champions because we haven't been able to hold onto our young talent into their 4th or even 5th years. Yeah... we've had some 5th and 6th year QBs in Nix and Gabriel but not a roster of them. What is the average age of the starters on Indiana's roster? Like 22? That's super old and old vets are going to be more consistent than younger players. It might be the new path forward to undermine the blue chip ratio ... just get a bunch of old grizzled vets. Also the way the transfer portal works it doesn't get put into the blue chip ratio. At least I believe blue chip only counts players out of high school and some of the most coveted transfers are players who didn't big names out of high school but developed into something. Probably need to start changing how the metrics work.

We went to the Fiesta Bowl vs Kansas St. Fun times. But spending such large $$ for poor seats isn't my thing anymore. My Hi-Tech 60" TV with my leather recliner, which includes beer service, (my pretty bride), is all I'm up for these days. But spending $1000's for a couple night trip is tough. Now we have to do it 3 times?! I think the crowd at Orange bowl was pretty good, but to do it again for Atlanta? While hoping for Miami again? Tough call. Well, I'm starting a savings account today to make Vegas next year. 🤞

Got to be, unless your bay area or LA sensibilities an be tempted by a time-share offer in Corvallis or Pullman.

As a fan, I get caught up in the naive “everything is coming up roses” positivity that excites the recruiting phase of our team’s development. I want nothing more than for these young men coming out of high school to follow their Duck dream and achieve their goals. For me, the hard part of today’s college football is accepting that it’s become nothing more than a business — NFL Jr. I must admit, my enthusiasm and excitement are tainted by the fact that the student athlete as once known no longer exists. Nevertheless, just as fans of the Steelers or Browns remain so inspite of players being nothing more than commodities, I remain a Duck. I like you only if you’re useful to the team. From the naive point of view, this reality can almost feel like a broken promise: “you said you really wanted me, and now you don’t?” But I’m equally sure today’s promising high schools athletes understand this, and are coached to accept it as part of growing up: there’s only so many spots at the table. I’m literally old school. I miss the humane, college student-growth aspect that once shared this table with the athlete. As a fan, I don’t pretend to the conceit of being a savvy and harden NFLish insider who knows how the game is played. I neither need nor want that vanity in my life. I just want the best for these young men.

No. 1 Offensive Tackle In Transfer Portal Eyes Texas And OregonFormer Colorado Buffaloes offensive tackle Jordan Seaton is one of the highest-ranked players in the portal. As it could come down to a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) bidding war, the Oregon Ducks and Texas Longhorns are teams to watch for Seaton. Oregon Ducks On SINo. 1 Offensive Tackle In Transfer Portal Eyes Texas And...Since their season ended, the Oregon Ducks have been active in the transfer portal. Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks have landed quarterback Dylan Raiola

Huge! Thank goodness!

First game I would say yes... Second game... maybe.

"...since 1967 and don't remember the Ducks ever having the most fans at a bowl game." It would be a very slim list. Maybe the Vegas Bowl vs Air Force (1997)? Seattle Bowl vs Wake Forest (2002)?

"ACC hasn't fallen apart yet, but the Clemson and FSU settlements set the stage for it to happen" Likewise, why would potentially UCLA, Cal, UW return to the Pac without demanding the biggest portion of revenue for themselves? Certainly if Notre Dame joined the B1G or SEC they would request a bigger share....though the B1G and SEC would tell them to pound sand. The New Pac would be in no position to do that with those Canzano Three. The benefit to the other 8 members of the Pac would be limited to better ticket sales, not media contract revenue increases. Those 3 are going to join a conference with Texas State, Utah State, Colorado State? And, Cal/UCLA joining with Fresno, SDSU, Boise State just seems improbable on its face.

Jamari Johnson Announces Return to Oregon, Giving Ducks a Star Tight End for 2026 Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson announced Tuesday that he will return for the 2026 season after a breakout 2025 campaign, solidifying the Ducks’ tight end room and bringing back one of their most productive offensive weapons.

Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson announced Tuesday that he will return for the 2026 season after a breakout 2025 campaign, solidifying the Ducks’ tight end room and bringing back one of their most productive offensive weapons.

Great thoughts Alex, and I chalk this up to how MOST of my judgements are about the program come from knowing nothing of the truth on the inside of the Oregon football program. I can have an opinion from a distant view, but I and we do not know any details. With that being said....our coaches are human and make mistakes too on occasion. This Raiola move will provide plenty of entertainment and discussion here on the OBD forum!

Fan since 1967 and don't remember the Ducks ever having the most fans at a bowl game. Any willing to spend the money were probably hoping to get to the Championship Game.

GET THIS GUY! These 5 schools are instant top contenders for Colorado transfer Jordan Seaton

I really don't know what to make of this, I don't like getting another QB who can't move around and extend plays. This is more of a personal preference, but I like athletic QBs who can make plays when things break down. If you look at our history we usually do our best when we have a dynamic QB who can freelance when things break down. Moore really struggled to do this against the elite defenses, if he had a bit of escapability then he might have been able to produce a bit more offense. You are putting a lot on your O-line if you don't have a QB who can at least step up in the pocket. Moore strikes me as a someone who can do this when things are going well, but is very fragile once he takes the first hit. If I had to pick between two I would rather have Leavitt just watching the two of them play. I obviously don't know the finer details about the two, but I know that just watching the two of them play, Leavitt is the one that makes me get out of my seat more often. Guess it's just wait and see at the point.

I think we can include the Fiesta bowl as well as a west coast bowl. So we have two which is probably what we should have considering the amount of teams out here compared to rest of the country. The problem is that the Rose Bowl is a much more attractive bowl compared to the Peach, Cotton, or the Orange bowl in my opinion. Better city to visit, more historical prestige, better venue in terms of pre-game. I think playing historical blue-bloods is also more attractive to the common fan. For instance if we were playing a historical team that we hadn't played before I think the game would have attracted more fans even if it was thought we would most likely lose. Our fans have been asked to pay a lot of money compared to others over the years considering the distance of both bowl games and conference championship games. In the end though the solution is to have games at college sites until the semi-finals. It only makes sense.

Amen! Far fewer Hoosier fans would have been in attendance. Using the NFL format, Indiana would have hosted Miami, and OBD would have hosted an SEC ream for the first time since Tennessee came West, Ole Miss. Sigh. Even with the game in Miami, I think Indiana has the chance to win Monday night's champ game attendance battle. With apologies to Charles Dickens (not Fischer 😁), this is likely CFB's worst of times and also the best of times. It's not Ohio State vs. Notre Dame. Instead, a somnambulant championship program with the chance to be the lowest seed to win a title, and a program that only woke up for the last two seasons since 1887, are playing for The Prize. A team with the composite 72nd-ranked roster is in the running for a championship. Huh? 1980 Miracle on Ice redux? Nah. The team without a Blue Chip Roster is the favorite? This will be a battle between the hometown Heisman winner versus the homegrown head coach, who happened to play high school football with the Heisman winner's Dad. This unrealistic script would be rejected by every studio in Hollywood. After all, the Hickory High Hoosiers, coached by Norman Dale, not Gene Hackman, and led by Jimmy Chitwood, did win a championship. Will Curt Cignetti measure the field before kickoff? Forget the Buckeyes and the Irish; ticket prices for this game are at an all-time high. And there will be millions more viewers tuning in on Monday night than watched last season's Blue Blood championship battle. Go Hoosiers! Make it a B1G Three in a Row!

Thanks for this article Alex. I have had the same concerns as you. How does this really work with both of them on the same team? FWIW I asked CHAT GPT what was the length of the healing process for a male athlete with a broken fibula and it seems to be completely healed within six months.