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African or European?

I agree with you David, that a rule change in the middle of the season is not only odd--but I don't know if I've noticed that before. Thanks so much for all this research for our benefit!

I don't know Kirk how many games it will take for Jim Knowles' D to take at PSU, but I do know in year one in Columbus, he greatly improved the Buckeyes D. And this season he has three games against the cuppiest of cakes and a week off before the Ducks fly in for a visit. He also has quality players returning on every level of the defense. https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/longformarticle/penn-state-roster-tracker-2025-nittany-lions-drew-allar-nick-singleton-kaytron-allen-abdul-carter-dani-dennis-sutton-kobe-king-nick-dawkins-244103135/#258

Thank you, David, for another insightful take on the 2025 CFB rule changes and OBD's 'Mad Genius' coach, Dan Lanning. (I'm surprised Cristobal didn't come up with advanced strategies, right? ) The rub was in the Roses? Dan is a master motivator, but Ryan Day had superior incentive-making ammunition on January 1, 2025. 'We lost to these B1G newbies because of a technicality. Time doesn't run out, and Howie leads us to the walk-off winning field goal with a terrific end-game drive in their band-box stadium! And never forget those flag-planting sons of female dogs from Up North!' Let's get out there and pluck some Ducks! (Feel free to insert your favorite expletives deleted. ) I don't think Eagles from Philadelphia, let alone Ducks, take down Brutus on New Year's Day. Great explanations coupled with great illustrations in both articles on the new rules. If your students aren't 'getting it,' it's on them! One thing I am certain of: Devious minds will always find new holes to be looped.

Great to see OBD on the list. But the defense is full of new players, who could be great, tOSU has 3 starters on defense returning and a new DC, how is their evaluation valid. Isn't this just a list of the teams that have contended for the Natty for years now? Of the 22 starters last season, ASU is expected to have 18 back, including both coordinators, I predict they'll be top 10 on defense, close on offense, but no Skattebo.

Phil Knight picked Rosemary St Clair, who was previously a Vice President in Nike Women’s division, to run division street which is Oregon’s NIL collective. With Phil Knight’s goal of a football Championship, I have to think they have a handle on a recruiting strategy. There are two distinct approaches to recruiting. One is “buying” high school talent, and the other is using the transfer portal. While an all out bidding war stacking high school talent could get the job done, there are only so many playing minutes available. Using both is the way to get the job done. MLB has proven that you can “buy a title”, and they always use the draft and free agency to give themselves a shot. While the highest payroll doesn’t win every year, many years they get deep into the playoffs. A little luck, and a lot of talent will give us a shot at a title.

It absolutely does. In the NFL a good rookie QB is a great asset for a team because they don't get a big paycheck, $50 M, until his 4 year rookie deal expires, allowing the team to build around him with the salary cap.

Looking at some of the softball and baseball rules complaints I've seen from Ducks fans in both of those tournaments we as a fanbase would have absolutely been pissed off if the tables were turned. Though this is one of the mose instances with fringe rule in a fringe context that was so brilliant that every single coach int eh country studied what Lanning did to either use it or counter it after the game. I don't think it would have been a problem in the future. However, I guess I was more bent out of shape how the rule was initially changed mid season because a blue blood complained enough. It should have waited for the off season for a rule change. But I also love how Lanning has had an impact on the game already.

I don't really have a problem with the rules changes, I get that you can make an argument that it rewards clever thinking, but there are plenty of rules where the spirt of the game is being violated (violated might not be the best word) stretched might be better. I think it's a decent rule. I don't think tOSU people should have complained as much as they did last year, but again if that had happened against the Ducks in a high stakes game I probably would have been bent out of shape as well. I don't think it's Buckeyes fans who caused the change, it was simply because it was such a high profile game.

Which of course is now leading to the unintended consequence of players staying in college until they’re 23+ on a regular basis. Be interesting to see what happens.

A good friend of mine who is a Texas Longhorn told me today that Arch Manning is getting $20,000,000 for this season.

Early enrollee Cooper Perry Early Enrollee Spring Rewind: Cooper Perry

Tommy Tifi OL target chooses Cal Bears Highly rated Oregon OL target announces commitment days before visit to Ducks DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM One of the top offensive line targets for the Oregon Ducks announced his college commitment leading up to his official visit to Eugene.

Ducks projected to receive commitment from 5 star receiver. Oregon Ducks To Land 5-Star Receiver Recruit Calvin Russell Over Miami, Michigan? WWW.SI.COM The Oregon Ducks are looking to bolster the future of their already-talented wide receiving corps through the 2026 recruiting class. Per On3's Hayes Fawcett, t

Mudslide, Great point on market value. But is that really NIL? To me, that's more a signing bonus for joining the team. Of course, we don't know what the language is in the House Settlement, so what exactly are we paying for when we shell out $10M a year to a serious unknown entity? I'm quite sure all those attorneys feeding off the system are salivating at their chance to slop off the gravy train. It really is a matter of the schools being wise. The NFL is already stupid. But they're all pulling in $500M a year in revenue. That is not going to happen in college football. Ever. So if it's an arms race (including the portal), this year is more important than last year. Draft picks and a Natty appearance are a must for OBD. We need 10 kids plus drafted in the NFL this year. And that Natty appearance depends on a hell of a performance from kids we most haven't seen. If we're going to keep up, we're going to have to stomp on at least one Blue blood, if not two. Nothing says more than laying the wood on a blue blood. If course, I'm hoping one of them is The Ohio State.

And that is the question. Can you name any of these high school kids of the to of your tongue that have endorsement deals? Anybody? Any of these kids signing hundreds of autographs at elite camps? And I mean sitting down for two hours straight. I agree there should be no limit to earning money on your NAME LIKENESS AND IMAGE I'll be the first to congratulate a high school kid that can demonstrate he is worth more than Caitlin Clark ( Mr. Bowman, where is your Nike,Adidas, or Under Armour deal?). Do you think those $2M deals are going to hold under scrutiny? I'm curious about which local car dealership is going to shell out more than $500,000 to a prospect over four years. And will the commercials start running the moment the kids gets on campus? We KNOW who the current players are. And yes, I've seen some freshman in the spring I'd drop some money on. But I'm not cutting a $10M check on my grandmother. And she's dead. I can bet my bottom dollar both my grandmas get $10M before some schmuck that hasn't played a second of fall football at the next level. Both would be great in commercials too. ,

In 2024 Oregon head coach Dan Lanning seemed to have broken football. He found ways to exploit rules to his advantage, and the result was not one but two B1G blue bloods going down to the new blood Ducks. While one of these exploits got the most media attention as it resulted in a one-point win over the eventual National ... College Football 2025’s New Rules Review - Stop Lanning! | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM In 2024 Oregon head coach Dan Lanning seemed to have broken football. He found ways to exploit rules to his advantage, and the result was not one but two B1G…

I can understand why he put tOSU and PSU up so high. However both of them are dealing with new DCs coming in which often leads to disruption for a while as the team adjusts to the new defensive schemes. I think both will have spotty defensive performances for the first 4-5 games of the season which puts OBD's game with PSU right on that cusp...if Franklin's guys are still getting used to the new DC then our Ducks may have a better shot than expected over on their turf.

What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

How can this be? "While the exact number of deaths attributed to rhinoceros attacks each year is unknown globally, research suggests that such attacks are relatively rare." "However, it's important to remember that rhinos, especially the larger species like white rhinos (which can weigh around 5,000 pounds), are wild animals and can be dangerous, especially if provoked or if someone enters their territory. Their poor eyesight and tendency to charge when feeling threatened can lead to serious injuries or fatalities." "Hippos are considered a dangerous land animal, with estimates suggesting they kill around 500 people per year. While some sources claim a higher range (up to 3,000 deaths annually), the more widely cited figure is 500. This aggressive behavior is often attributed to their territorial nature and tendency to charge at boats, mistaking them for predators." Hippo Charging a Boat in Namibia...

For instance, generally we think of a rhino as definitely being a creature we wouldn't want to encounter, and a hippo as being a much better alternative, but it seems that's wrong! Hippo's have got great PR from "Fantasia" And a Rhino looks like this But it turns out that about the last place you want to be is between a Hippo and their watering hole. So, anybody else have a thought, a topic, that has been burning a hole in your synaptic process?

Winning is hard enough. Winning a tournament of this magnitude is a major accomplishment. You have to have talent, but you also have to be on a hot streak. College baseball is a strange animal. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen a team win by double digits in the first game of a 3-game series only to go stone cold in the final 2 and get eliminated. It happened to Beavis in 2017. I hate to say it but I’m hoping Beavis knocks off FSU. Those boys are a little too cocky for my liking.

While I’m not happy to see Penn State as one of the nations top defenses, it certainly is not a surprise. We are going to have our hands full!

Why not! Greg McElroy ranks Top 10 college football defenses entering 2025 - On3 WWW.ON3.COM Greg McElroy ranked college football's Top 10 defenses entering the 2025 season with a Top 5 full of College Football Playoff...

Very true, and given the nature of recruiting, committing, transferring, it makes perfect sense that our "Rival" to the south is the shiny object now. I don't like them getting a star out of Mater Dei. but if he's still there for the '28 season, I'll be surprised.