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...and then stomped on it. I wish people would realize this. Penn State might still be undefeated if they didn't lose that game. They lost. Then they lost their heart. Then they lost some more games. Now people want to totally discount that game (the same game that was called an instant classic) as if Penn State was NEVER any good. If Penn State would have responded like they should have, after the loss to the Ducks, the B!G would have 4 teams in the top 10 instead of 3.

Head-to-head is supposed to count if the ranking between the two teams is close.

Our offensive and defensive lines are full of veteran starters but we have youth spread all across the starting depth chart. Six of the 22 starters are sophomores or younger, including our QB, #1 WR and both corners. That’s not even including the true freshman (Davison) who should be starting and getting the majority of carries at running back. Jeremiah McClellen and other young players are also playing more and contributing. George’s point is that we should expect those young players to be inconsistent (note: he was referring primarily to our passing game). It’s part of their growth and development. And, with the transfer portal, who knows what the composition of our offensive and defensive lines will be next year.

Okay, I’ll play Captain Obvious (because I’m good at it?): Fandom is the finely tuned art of Provincial Tunnel Vision. In other words, what you know about the other guy (unless you have a passionate, focused expertise which I do not) is only because they threaten your guys. Anything past that is purely by accident, top ten envy, or because you put a lot of time into sports media (which I do not). When it comes to M.C., I’m no different than your average Miami fan. I wanted to believe he was as much our savior when he took over from Willie Taggart as they wanted to believe when he took over from Manny Diaz (there were probably people at Alabama who could have told us Cristobal was not head coaching material had we bothered to ask). But, that’s not how fandom works. When a coach or player is failing at another school, it’s schadenfreude; you’re just happy it’s not happening to you. But when that same coach or player transfers to your school, a page or leaf has turned in their career, and fate has brought them to the place where they’ll succeed. So, as an average fan, I’m not surprised at others knowing so little about Oregon because (unless they’ve gotten my attention) I know so little about them, or really care to. It’s my Ducks that I’m tunnel visioned on.

You've got to love George Wrighster. He'd be a great guy to have a beer and watch a game with. Great analysis, and a fun watch. I like his big picture viewpoint and appreciate his sense of humor.

Oregon has been so close but can't get over the hump. Last game with IU is the perfect example. Game Day in town, media ramped up, crowd fired up and Oregon lays an egg. Seen this scenario or similar types play out too many times over the years. Last year they win the B1G then flop in the CFP. How many times have they been so close but failed to follow through? I think thats the team most outside of Eugene know. So close but never finishing. Hard to want to follow them when the hype doesn't fit the end product often enough.

We seem to be the B-2 Bomber of the football world. We aren't under the radar; we are known it is just radar doesn't pick us up (hopefully until it is too late).

I have my doubts about that. I see us "being OK" to the majority if we win, and if we lose? We are punished badly. Yet Iowa would only go up a little... Now if we were in the SEC...it would be completely different!

I'm just glad the young kids were paying attention all those years. Always love hearing when recruits say "Oregon's been my dream school since I was a kid. Grew up watching __________ (insert LMJ, DAT, Mariota, KT, etc.)

One thing is for sure; I do not care about the rankings as long as in the final reveal we are in. Although a favorable seeding is nice, you still need to beat every team you play in the playoffs to be the Champs (I know, big duh here) But, if we can't beat tosu or Indy in an early round, then we do not deserve to be the Champs. Just win baby win and DO IT.

Known of, yes. But do they really know us? Have they really followed us over the years? No.

One reason I dislike this system is it does not factor in H2H matchups. Texas has the same record but they dominated OU in their game on a neutral field. Texas has a bad loss, but also a one score loss to OSU.

Dan Lanning 'shocked' Iowa unranked, preparing for 'a real challenge in a great environment' Oregon coach Dan Lanning isn't overlooking the next opponent. The Iowa Hawkeyes are on a roll, and this weekend's game won't be easy.

I disagree about the notion that "we are young." When you look at the starters on ChileDuck's Depth Chart at the top of this page...you see mostly upper-classmen, of which most will be gone in the NFL Draft, IMHO. Next year we will have an entirely new offensive line for example, and I don't think that promises to be better than this year.

Winning out will take care of most everything for OBD's. They control their own destiny A hard fought victory on the road against tbe Hawkeyes will enhance the perception for the Ducks. I expext the BIG 12 to get a lot of love inspite an overall lack of quality wins, other than those against themselves. No matter the circus that ESPN has turned Tuesday nights in November into, well OBD's need to win at Iowa. Its step 1 of 4 play in games for DL and his team........no matter what the mouthpieces say. Go Ducks.......

I travel quite a bit and am currently living on the East Coast. Oregon football is known from coast to coast. I’ve had people yell “Go Ducks!” at me DEEP in SEC country. We are known for our flashy uniforms and electric offenses. Coach Lanning is respected nationally. People know that we are a good team but, fair or unfair, question whether we can get over the final hump and beat one of the traditional big boys to win a national championship game. Hopefully Coach Lanning can continue to put us in position and we eventually break through. Our team is certainly built differently than the last few times we played in a national championship game. We just need the pieces to all fall into place.

Why College Football Playoff projections don't amount to a hill of beansThere's little real value in anyone making a subjective guess about something that's going to be revealed in hours, and doesn't have any significance until the actual selection show, Sunday December 7 at 3 p.m. PT on the same network. That's the day that will live in infamy. The others are strictly window dressing. Lastly, the warmup reveals are virtually useless. Whether Oregon, Texas or Louisville are in or out, whether a team is No. 6 or No. 10 or No. 18 at this stage is only mildly interesting. There's a month of the season to be played, and games like Oregon at Iowa and BYU at Texas Tech will determine who makes the cut. Conjectures and make-work assignments won't put any team in the final 12. The Ducks have to go at least 3-1 to gain a spot in the field, and a 4-0 finish would guarantee them a home game in the first round. Until they achieve that, anyone's prediction of the seeding is 200 monkeys trying to type Shakespeare. This monkey would rather focus on the Oregon offense and how they handle the blitz. The Committee's first ranking is likely to follow pretty closely to the Coaches Poll: Autzen ZooWhy College Football Playoff projections don't amount to...Everyone's scrapping for content, but this is the least meaningful content of all.

I haven’t seen George Wrighster’s “midseason” verdict posted. He has a long but good take. Oregon fans, including myself, have gotten a bit spoiled. We have a young and talented team. It’s therefore understandable why the have been inconsistent at times this season but they have positioned themselves for a playoff spot and they should continue to get better as we head into the stretch run and post season. As good as we are this year (top 10 in offense and defense), next year we should be even more dominant with a QB who has a whole year of starting experience under his belt.

SIgh. You're Fanatics, don't wait to be PO'd! SIForde-Yard Dash: Why We’re Already Annoyed About the CFP...The selection committee’s first playoff Top 25 drops Tuesday, and the Dash is preemptively fired up.

While waiting on the Grapevine Gurus to come forth with the 1st ranking of the season, what should CFB fans, with new strength-of-schedule (SOS) and strength-of-record (SOR) metrics in place, expect? In last season's reveal, two B1G teams, Oregon and Ohio State, were the top two-ranked teams. Eight SEC teams were in the Committee's initial top 25. Two B1G teams, AP Poll No. 1 Ohio State, and 2nd-ranked Indiana, could be the top two teams this evening. How much will SOS and SOR matter? We'll have to intuit this because, unlike the CBB Committee, the CFB Committee will not refer to metrics, RPI, and otherwise, as does the CBB Committee. The Athletic ($ Wall) has released a top-25 metrics-driven ranking using ESPN's Austin Mock's SOR rankings, ESPN's Bill Connelly's SP+ Resume Rankings, and ESPN's FPI SOR ranking. Using this ranking, the following teams would be in the PO field. 1. 8-0 Texas A&M 2. 9-0 Indiana 3. 8-0 Ohio State 4. 7-1 Alabama The same as the latest AP Poll in a different order. 5. 8-0 BYU 6. 7-1 Georgia 7. 8-1 Ole Miss 8. 8-1 Texas Tech Will we see this much love for the B12? With GameDay along for the ride, BYU is in Lubbock on Saturday, playing the once Tortilla Tossing Texas Tech, 9 AM ABC. The Cougars, playing behind a Bear, are hoping to leave Lubbock while exclaiming, "Oh Boy!" and "Every Day the PO's Getting Closer!" 😁 9. 7-1 Oregon - Mock No. 5, SP+ No. 4, FPI No. 8. 10. 7-2 Oklahoma 11. 7-1 Louisville No. 12 6-2 Notre Dame would be out of the PO in Favor of No. 24 North Texas. 👍👌😎 Other B1G Teams in the top-25: No. 19 USC, No. 20 Michigan, No. 21 UW, and No. 25 Iowa. I hope the CFB Committee will have seven B1G teams ranked, however ... Some other Forum Friend will likely beat me to it, which is more than fine, of course, but I'll post the Committee's 1st ranking once its released. Then, as ESPN so intends, we can get PO'd over nothing. 🤬

I know we have written about it many times, but the level of knowledge or familiarity of Oregon by the rest of the country still amazes me in how little they knew of us. David Marsh pointed out another example yesterday in the forum concerning the inept actions of the current coach at Miami. He did the same stuff here, and we were shouting about it at the time....but nobody back east were even aware. Even when he was hired there, and Oregon writers were warning 'Cane fans....they did not believe us. It goes to show again that the time-zone-thing is REAL. The majority of the nation had very little interest in Pac-12 football, and with the games on so late--we were rarely watched back east. I know many would want future games set up with old Pac-12 teams at night....but 75% of the nation will NOT watch them. When Oregon went 12-0 last year....they realized they knew nothing about us, and perhaps gave us too much credit? Now we lose a game to the No. 2 team in the nation, and the Ducks are an afterthought? More proof....they don't know us at all. They think they do, but not like teams in the east because the few things they know about Oregon from the past are the uniforms, and that Chip Kelly started the "No-Huddle" here. I especially believe this is true with all the pundits who write, and do broadcasts. So many times the things they report has a tone of "surprise" in their voice. And what do you want to bet that NONE of them know....even now, that Oregon was the No. 1 Athletic program in the Big-10 last year? (EIGHT outright conference championships) in our first year) It makes me wonder....how LONG is it going to take for them to actually be familiar with Our Beloved Ducks?

https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/lsu-head-coach-auburn-brian-kelly-hugh-freeze-6964e5e3?st=Txno7X&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Sharing your feelings from your heart connects with a ton more people than you would think, and David...you hit something here. So many times I say to myself...."I gotta watch that B1G game," and record it, but never get to it. Meanwhile I make sure I watch the USC or Washington games recorded. Just habit I guess, and intense feelings built over many, many years. You are right; we don't have intense feelings about most of the Big-10 teams, but we will--especially when one beats us like the Hoosiers did. I agree with GatOrlando, in that in a decade--we will be familiar with the B1G teams, and will have more interest in the other conference games. With that said, I have watched quite a few "other" B1G games, but usually containing future opponents. The Iowa-Minnesota game is a great example... I miss the Pac-12 a little, but I love so much more the attention Our Beloved Ducks get by being in big games, and being in one of the two Super-Conferences. We have so much more respect in this conference...

And, Iowa's DBs are not going to be shy about close coverage, bordering on interference. Lanning likes to use the phrase "going to the doctor" after games. I'm hoping they've had multiple reviews of the Indiana x-rays because Iowa is going to double-down on them.

To me, the nostalgia for the Old Pac is akin to Friday night football. Well, we're going to stay loyal and attend most of our Friday night high school games, before we spend Saturday watching the SEC, B1G and Big12. The viewership for Pac12 After Dark across the country reflected that. It was only going to become more of an afterthought in the public consciousness. And, Friday night high school games are showing dwindling interest too. Was UCLA in Pullman - 67-63 and 44-41 entertaining? How many people saw those as televised games? Did they get voluminous post-game coverage? Were they worthy of keeping a conference together because those games tickled our fickle bone? Perhaps it's akin to watching some entertaining 4A Oregon high school games, while the real powers are playing 6A? Listen, I'm a nostalgia guy and post here periodically about games and stats from across the history of college football. I'm sympathetic to nostalgia. But, I also like 60's and 70's popular music while understanding the world have moved on and commercialized a much different genre of music while my age group's interests are waning as we die off. USC recognizing the changing landscape was assisted suicide to a conference that was dying. The "doctors" at ESPN, Fox, etc. had told Kliavkoff in the waiting room, that even with USC/UCLA the chances for survival were slim. You can entertain removing life support, or "enjoy" a slow death. Joining the B1G was making oneself eligible for the Mayo Clinic.