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Agree with the consensus in this thread. ESPN FPI deserves to be flushed down the toilet! This article speaks of it. Ducks snubbed in the most drunk, inaccurate, useless ESPN FPI ranking everThere are lies, damn lies, and statistics. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli never saw a football game, but he apparently knew more about it than ESPN, which updated its Football Performance Index after Week One in college football, only to come up with the most preposterous ranking ever. The update was issued before AP No. 10 Miami's 27-24 win over No. 6 Notre Dame. FPI purports to be "The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is." It ranks all 136 teams based on 20,000 simulations, but something about their data or calculations is haywire. ESPN’s FPI has been updated following Saturday of Week 1. No one can take this seriously ever again pic.twitter.com/IVzsX7meNk Autzen ZooDucks snubbed in the most drunk, inaccurate, useless ESPN...There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

With Alabama losing it's fourth game vs an unranked opponent under DeBoer in the first game of his second season, he has already matched the amount of times Saban lost to an unranked opponent during 17 years. It got me thinking about dynasties and how eventually they all end. The Patriots and Crimson Tide both won 6 championships in eras that weren't meant to allow it. Salary cap, walk on and scholarship reductions plus draft slots were meant to keep programs from dominating like Bear Bryant, Chuck Knoll, or Tom Landry did. But during our lifetime we have seen two dynasties under two men that shouldn't have happened. In baseball you don't even have runs anymore like the Yankees in the 90's or in the NBA with Michael and the Bulls. We've seen the Dodgers win a couple, the Warriors won four and in the NHL we've had the Kings, Blackhawks, Lightning and Panthers win multiple times or back to backs. But nothing like the 80's Islanders or 90's Red Wings. But in football we had the Crimson Tide and Patriots run dynasties concurrently. Will we see another team take that title in college football? Can the Chiefs continue on their trek to get Patrick to match Tom? I think the Chiefs dynasty is over, but I could be wrong. I don't think I'm wrong with the Crimson Tide being done though. The majestic whale has finally been caught by Ahab. There is no bigfoot or dragon out there. In the NFL you have the Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, Ravens, Commanders, Bengals and Rams as potential multi championship winners imo. Mostly because of young QBs or great young coaches that can win another Super Bowl. In college it's obvious to put Ohio State up there as they just won a title, they have a young coach that now has a title and recruits very well. But who else? Texas? Notre Dame? Georgia would be the other obvious choice as Kirby has two titles and runs his program like Saban. But I'm looking for new blood. I'm looking at a program led by a guy in his late thirties that learned under Kirby. I'm looking at Moby Dick to become Moby Duck. I think Oregon has a great chance to not win one title, but multiple titles. Perhaps we won't have another six title dynasty, but Oregon can have a Clemson type run.

Thank you, David. And thank you, Natalie. No one appreciates an excellent editing job more than I do. What's the news on Hughes? Will OBD receive a positive ROI? I hope so, but as you noted, with or without Mahki, Will Stein has a deep RB room to work with. Great first outing from Benson. OBD sent a darn good Benson to FSU, the top RB on an undefeated Seminoles team. Wouldn't it be nice if FSU returned the favor? Love the Triple Lindy Skadoo! I said, 'Shotgun!' formation. Right out of backyard ball with the neighborhood boyz, where little brothers blocked and big bros played QB or went deep. 😁 A perfect result from a perfectly scheduled, and sold out 🤑let's get the Duck feet wet game. Lasso the Cowboys!

I may be in the minority, but I personally don’t want to see the Buckeyes in the playoffs again, after the past few games…

Yikes. Maybe they'll get it sorted out later. Everyone keeps saying that on paper Alabama is the most talented team in the country. That points at a coaching problem, but... Perhaps their 5 star freshman QB can get up to speed soon and take over for Simpson and be a Penix like miracle worker. Perhaps the Grubb offensive scheme is a big adjustment for the players to get used to. And FSU was really balling. It's still really early to completely write Alabama off.

LSU’s performance was extremely underwhelming due to the fact that Clemson’s defense doesn’t come close to what they were when they were winning championships. They get Florida in a couple of weeks at home and I think the Gators will knock them off. The SEC’s worst nightmare is ending up with a two or three loss conference champion like the ACC last season. There is a decent possibility of that happening

DSC Inside Read: 3-2-1 Look at the win over Montana StateThree Observations1. Dante Moore Looks Ready for the Stage 2. Run Defense Shows Needed Growth 3. Preparation and Execution Set a New Tone Two Questions1. How Predictive Is This Blowout? 2. Can Oregon’s Secondary Handle More Sophisticated Passing Attacks? One PredictionIf Oregon replicates Saturday’s discipline (3 penalties), balance (253 passing, 253 rushing), and defensive control (1.7 YPC allowed), the Ducks will beat Oklahoma State comfortably — especially with the Cowboys starting backup quarterback Zane Flores. But don’t expect the same kind of physical mismatch we saw against Montana State. This game will reveal more about Oregon’s ceiling than the opener did, particularly along the defensive front and in the secondary. Duck Sports CentralDSC Inside Read: 3-2-1 Look at the win over Montana StateOregon Ducks football, Dan Lanning, Oregon recruiting, college football, NIL, Big Ten, Pac-12, Scott Reed, Duck Sports Central, recruiting news

Great article, lot's to be excited about. I think MSU was probably better than Northwestern and little bro U are. We're going to be a problem in the B1G again this year. I wasn't crazy about the shotgun full house formation. It's like trying to clog 2 more players through the same pipe and compacts the defense over center even more, and it takes longer for the exchange to happen while the DEs and DBs crash down like a pistol run. I'm not a fan. You'd be better off removing the QB with a wildcat snap and putting a WR way outside to pull away one defender. I remember Taggart running something similar based on the same premise of having all these good backs so get them on the field at the same time. It wasn't worth more than a shoulder shrug and I think it faded as the season progressed.

Welcome back, Buckeye! Matt Patricia at DC was a 'pretty good' hire. 😊 ESPN - FPI - BIAS? Res Ipsa Loquitur! 🤬 Texas is still No.1, right🙃? Conference champ game? How about 1/19/2026 - Hard Rock Stadium - Miami Gardens, Florida?

Welcome back! Always love to have fans from other schools joining our forum with their knowledge and insight on the college sports landscape. Agree about ESPN and the SEC. If you look at the changes happening this year with playoffs, it benefits the SEC. New College Football Playoff Committee Metric Could Endanger Ducks Playoff HopesStrength of schedule means more in 2025. Politicking at playoff time will be more intense. The College Football Playoff Committee announced last week that it has “adjusted (SOS metric) to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents. An additional metric, record strength, has been added to the selection committee’s analysis to go beyond a team’s schedule strength to assess how a team performed against that schedule.” Autzen ZooNew College Football Playoff Committee metric could endan...Strength of schedule means more in 2025. Politicking at playoff time will be more intense. The College Football Playoff Committee announced last week that it h

He ran a 10.4 in high school. I think game breaking would be a matter of route selection. Now that he has leaned out, bring on the double moves. He will likely be every bit as dangerous as Evan Stewart which is the point of this thread. Thoughts of concern about not being able to replace Evan Stewarts ability and production have been addressed by Malik Benson's development. I'm projecting a little bit, but I'm trusting my eyes here. I'm excited about our ceiling in the passing game.

Should Division Street buy the Ducks this Taco? https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2025/09/01/oregon-ducks-lauded-montana-state-wr-speed-athleticism/85924432007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email

Great to see you back, and hope you will continue to offer feedback about B1G foes. I treat ESPN with the same disdain I do when I hear over-the-top political commentary. "Ignore it because it is dumb." I was extremely impressed with how your Buckeyes reloaded on defense, and it seems that your team is in the same boat as mine; however our QBs go...so do we.

Great fun, and great observations David. So many surprises contained in what you noted, especially the rotation of the running backs. Thanks!

Oregon Ducks 5-star TE Kendre Harrison dazzles with one-handed TD catch https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2025/08/30/oregon-ducks-kendre-harrison-one-handed-touchdown/85910558007/ Yes, please…

NICE Oregon Ducks Pay Special Tribute To Lee Corso Tribute in Autzen Stadium

Congratulations on the National Championship and huge win on Saturday! I can’t stand ESPN or the other cable TV sports networks, and no longer watch them except during the games. The commentators are all over the top and to get paid you need to be outrageous/controversial (see Steven A. and the dude on College GameDay). ESPN/ABC has always drooled over the SEC (it’s a large $$$ investment for them), even though the B1G has been the dominant football conference the past few years (they can’t and won’t ever admit it). I said on another thread that although the Buckeyes appear to have an awesome defense (maybe the best in college football), I was underwhelmed by Arch Manning, after all the hype (certainly not his fault, as it’s a product of his last name). You would expect an elite QB to have a few drives and make some key plays (Texas’s defense certainly played good enough to win the game or at least give them a chance). Perhaps he’ll end up as the best QB in college football but he has some work to do and there is probably a reason that he didn’t play much last season. Good luck this season. I hope that the Ducks and Bucks both go undefeated and meet up in the conference championship game.

Another reason to have wished ND to have rolled Miami. Oregon Ducks 5-star on visit to Miami Hurricanes for Notre Dame game

"How wonderful to see Bama go down. I’m still flummoxed as to why DeBoer is struggling there." Could it be as simple as Penix? The right guy in the right system at the right time? Some success with Haener in 2021 and McMaryon in 2018 but not quite like Penix. I was a bit surprised to see DeBoer go with Simpson (an Alabama recruit) rather than Mack (from UW) or Keelon Russell (five star and national Gatorade player of the year and DeBoer recruit). If he is gonna go down, he might as well do so with one of his guys running his system. I guess Simpson was not terrible but a bit of a "mixed bag" in the FSU game.

One thing that really bothered me during the Texas vs. Ohio State game is the officiating. It was an SEC crew since the game was a non-conference road game and I believe that they were favoring Texas (at least early). Anyone else think a conference officials would subconsciously favor their highly ranked team, especially the #1 team in the country given they are employed by that conference (and not college football)? Why can’t they use another conference’s officials for the big games, like they do for the bowls/playoffs? I understand letting the players play physical but there was a PI penalty not called where Jeremiah Smith was hit before the ball arrived and I believe that the CB also had a hold of his jersey. I don’t mind allowing hand checking/physical play but you cannot hit a receiver BEFORE the ball arrives and that should be allowed to be challenged. Although Ohio State has a really good defense, Arch Manning was overhyped. There is probably a reason he didn’t play much last year. I’m not saying that he can’t become an elite QB but with all the hype, I expected more.

I’m with you guys. It seems similar to the cable news networks and their ridiculousness between Fox and ESPN. Not a big fan of the Portnoy addition to Fox (Buckeye fandom) but at least he’ll say some outrageous things to counter the ESPN shenanigans.

After a quiet off season I’m back as an OSU fan in Columbus. Nice opening win for the Ducks btw. I attended tOSU vs Texas game Saturday and I have cautious optimism for the season. Bucks D played well and should be fine this year (barring injuries) but I think Arch Manning was VERY confused/uncomfortable. I wonder what would have happened if Texas had better QB play. What are your thoughts on ESPN shilling for the SEC on a level that seems more and more ridiculous every year? I mean, how does the narrative go from Texas will win and Arch is the Heisman front runner to LSU’s win is WAY MORE IMPRESSIVE than OSU beating the #1 team? IMO, the top 3 in the B1G (OSU, UO, PSU) are better than the top 3 in the SEC. Very happy there is a 12 team playoff because if LSU is the best the SEC has, Brian Kelly has proven he’s not up for the big game when it matters.

Matayo had a great game, but I am so impressed by lineman A'Mauri Washington. That first play on defense when A'Mauri quickly tackled the Montana runner in the backfield was astounding! Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Ducks Defender Raises NFL Draft Stock In Season Op...The No. 7 Oregon Ducks defeated the Montana State Bobcats with a massive, 59-13 win. It was a big game on all sides of the field, and a couple of players who we

The Ducks brought the JOY in playing the game. Autzen ZooOregon's big win shows what the game is supposed to beOregon started the 2025 season with a big win and a lot of passion and tenacity.

It’s finally here, a new season with new faces and new surprises. In 2023 it was a surprise to see Bryce Boettcher, a walk on, get the start at linebacker. Since then he has become a household name among Duck fans. This season we had even more new faces making an impact in Game 1. Some of these new impact ... Three Opening Season Offensive Surprises for the Ducks