HDuck

Speaking of cold water and miserable playing conditions...

Didn't realize it until I looked at the game log, but Dante went out VERY early in the third period. It was 7-0 when Moore went out. First mention of Thomas in the game log is a pass play at 12:45 left in third quarter. That means he was in for almost all the third quarter and all the fourth quarter opportunities. Apparently the coaches had a lot of faith in the guy. Both Moore and Thomas were in on the final play of 5 possessions each.

An interesting stat to ponder. Against Indiana....the Ducks allowed 8 tackles for loss (inclusive of 6 sacks) and Oregon scored 20 points. Against Wisconsin....the Ducks allowed 7 tackles for loss (inclusive of 4 sacks) and Oregon scored 21 points. No other game has Oregon allowed close to that many tackles for loss, and no other game has Oregon come close to being held to 20 pts. There is now a bye week before facing another opponent, Iowa, that had 9 tackles for loss with 4 sacks today vs Minnesota. Hope the O-line and staff use the bye wisely.

This was a typical Big Ten slog. It is not high flying offense which we often disparaged when we were members of the Pac12 looking at the B1G. These teams emphasize line play, move at a very measured pace on offense. Keep the game close. Hope their opponents make a mistake. Prepare for November weather. If you don't have the linemen...ie. Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa...you don't "succeed." Weather obviously impacted things. Not sure if weather impacted 29-22 Alabama vs S. Carolina, 17-10 Vandy vs Missouri, 34-26 Ole Miss vs OU, 28-21 Nebraska vs Northwestern, 27-24 Rutgers vs Purdue. As noted in a post I made under a different topic, the margin of victory between Power 4 opponents so far this year is closer than any year since 2009. Normally, the Ducks next opponent Iowa would have been in a slog game today, but they won comfortably today with a pick-six and punt return TD to add to their offense. That is the opponent making mistakes.

At 9:30 mark..... 13:00 - possession Wisconsin 7:30 - Oregon

1st quarter stat 46 yds - Wisconsin 21 yds - Oregon

TrueMedia There are other stats that back up this newfound parity, according to research from the data analytics platform TrueMedia. Entering this weekend, games between power league programs have been decided by an average of 14.2 points — on pace to be the lowest figure in any season since 2009. A whopping 43% of power conference football games have been decided by one score, which is on pace to be the highest percentage in any season in the last 20 years. “Our margins are smaller. Margins are tight everywhere,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said.

Iowa is up 31-0 with 2:00 left in half. They have scored with a FG, a pick-six, a rushing TD, a passing TD, and a punt return. What's left? Safety? Kickoff return?

A good game right now between two 6-1 teams: USF at Memphis. Likely neither coach will be with the same team when they play next year. Winner today will likely have the G6 slot in the CFP.

49-6 after 3 Q's. One of the interesting things is how many vacant seats there are in the stadium, capacity 52,600. Not just now, but earlier.

Indiana 35-3 at half-time. Indiana vs UCLA. The Bruins are attempting to contact John Wooden.

elsewhere yesterday North Carolina 76-78 at BYU Kansas 90-82 at Louisville Villanova 72-75 at Virginia DePaul 69-62 at Notre Dame Purdue 65-78 at Kentucky (Purdue is pre-season No. 1, Kentucky No. 9) Kansas State 91-100 at Missouri

Well, some say they came close to getting Saban from Alabama in 2012. The Longhorn boosters do not think small. The Crimson WhiteSaban to Texas? Why it never happenedWhen Alabama and Texas met at the Rose Bowl for the 2010 BCS National Championship game, it was a matchup of programs heading in different directions. Two historic programs, two historic coaches and

mid second quarter... UCLA trails Indiana 28-0.....Bruins have 41 total yds....just 2 rushing....Indiana has sacked UCLA 3 times already In 7 prior games, the 20 pts scored by Oregon is the most against the Indiana defense....next best was 15 by Iowa

There are currently 9 teams in the Big Ten with a 3-1, or better, conference record. Each has 5 games remaining. Below are the overall, and current B1G record, of each of the next 5 opponents combined. 14-21, 4-16 - Indiana - face UCLA, Maryland, Penn St, Wisconsin, Purdue 16-19, 6-14 – Ohio St 21-14, 8-12 – Michigan 21-14, 9-11 - Minnesota 22-13, 11-9 – Oregon 24-11, 14-6 – USC 24-11, 11-9 - Iowa 25-10, 13-7 – Northwestern 29-6, 15-5 – UCLA - face Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio St, Washington, USC The spread in remaining schedule difficulty is pretty amazing. Indiana faced Illinois, Iowa, Oregon - with a bye before Oregon. Their other 6 B1G opponents are bottom half of B1G.

Stein and Louisville? I believe Louisville's QB this season is a senior. His backup, a junior, has appeared in 3 games and attempted 9 passes total. I imagine if Stein went to Louisville at least one guy on the Oregon roster would follow him. Brohm has also been an assistant and a head coach in the Big Ten. Penn State likely also has him on their possibilities list.

the most recent AP No. 1 at end of season: 2024: Ohio St 2023: Michigan 2022: Georgia 2020: Alabama 2019: LSU 2018: Clemson 2013: Florida St 2010: Auburn 2008: Florida 2005: Texas 2004: USC 2001: Miami 2000: Oklahoma 1998: Tennessee 1995: Nebraska 1990: Colorado 1988: Notre Dame 1986: Penn St 1984: BYU 1976: Pitt For list below, the final AP poll was before bowl games; 1960: Minnesota - then, lost the Rose Bowl, for example 1959: Syracuse 1953: Maryland 1952: Michigan St 1945: Army 1939: Tex A&M Ole Miss was a "power" in 1959 and 1960, and No. 1 in some non-AP rankings. For example, 1960 would have been No. 1 if ranking after bowl game. Would Nebraska and Notre Dame fans have believed back then, they would enter No-Title Land? Texas? USC? Oregon at No. 2 final AP poll: 2014 2012 2001 Oregon at No. 3 2024 2010

Fire the coach? Some of it is circumstantial. Getting 10 wins, but two losses were to teams in games where your program was favored. Or, where your team lost because it played with little inspiration rather than an ill-timed referee's call. A losing streak to your rival. DeBoer would feel the heat with 3 straight losses to Auburn, regardless of W-L. Controversy over players who transfer out rather than retained. And, so on. I think the fan expectations are more circumstantial than just W-L.

It’s the visibility. It’s ability to attract and retain players and coaches. As they say at In-N-Out, "double-double." My guess...if Texas, Oklahoma, USC, UCLA...were in the Pac, it would not have prevented a raid by the SEC/B1G. And, in that event, UO/UW would not have been on the list headed East.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/dan-lanning-provides-context-on-oregon-ducks-qb2-position-with-austin-novosad-luke-moga/ar-AA1OQYqN

As Happy said earlier, being in the B1G probably means 4 CFP slots most years. Being in the Old Pac would likely mean 2 at the most. Some years 1 based on the image of the conference nationally the last year prior to USC/UCLA escape. The Ducks have a better chance being 4 of 18, than 1 of 12. Likewise, Beavis undoubtedly has a better chance in the New Pac of the one G6 CFP slot (just compete with Boise State) than they would ever have had in the Old Pac.

"could go back in time..." How about knowing what you know now about what the future will probably look like 5 years from now, what would you change? Which programs, aside from OSU/WSU, would be in a better position 5 years from now if the Pac had stayed together? Money? Visibility? National consciousness? For Canzano, it seems beyond nostalgia. That he believes OSU/WSU became victims and every other Old Pac program should have sacrificed their future to keep them whole. Colorado will be better in the old Big12. USC/UCLA/UW/UO will be better off by a multitude in the B1G. UA/ASU will be more competitive in the Big12. Utah is probably a wash especially since it is now paired with BYU in the same conference. Maybe Cal & Stanford, would be better off 5 years from now in the Old Pac than the ACC? So, four out of the 12, including OSU/WSU?

Franklin was in the SEC at Vandy. If I were him I would be calling Florida to tell them I can be there for cocktails this evening and let's make a deal. His payments from Penn State could give Florida some flexibility for Napier's severance payment and other cost factors. Will be interesting to see where d-coordinator Jim Knowles ends up. FSU's Norvell can't be feeling too comfortable today.

The NewPac gets a second new head coach: Jay Norvell fired by Colorado State joins the termination at Oregon State. As time passes, the New Pac will resemble Fast Eddy's Used Car Lot. There will be a lot of browsers looking to upgrade their head coach with a low mileage used model. Along with the terminations like Bray and Norvell, there could be a lot of annual turnover. Boise State will likely take advantage of that with a coaching staff that has less turnover and program turmoil. That should be Oregon State's aim too. Run that low mileage son-of-a-gun hard, and hope you can get 3 or 4 good years before you have to buy a new model.

Novosad has been listed as "questionable" on the pre-game injury reports for several weeks. Some type of muscular issue in his back. Moga, I have no clue. As I suggested yesterday, there may be some type of "agreement" with the coaching staff to preserve as much of their eligibility as possible in the event they want to portal. While they agree to stay on the roster in the event of an emergency. On the other hand, some game film would help their chances to be picked from the portal? While they aren't playing future opponents don't have much film to scout. If Moore returns the absence of in-game experience for the two is less of an issue. But, if he doesn't return, you would think Stein would want to see them under-fire before 2026?