HDuck

D-line guys that entered the portal: Xadavien Sims, Ashton Porter, Jericho Johnson, Tionne Gray (Notre Dame), and Terrance Green A bunch of portal Ducks have found new homes. The D-line guys seem to be taking longer which seems counter-intuitive to conventional wisdom?

There was a sports column in the Wall St. Journal in early December that focused on Indiana's practice regimen. Cignetti apparently does not believe in a lot of hitting in practice, especially late in the season. This season he has the luxury of a roster occupied with a lot of redshirt juniors, seniors, and redshirt seniors which may not need as much "coaching" as they avoid injury and wear and tear in practice. We'll see how that works against the "hitters" from Miami. A younger roster of linemen likely needs the practice repetition on technique and physicality. Indiana has been "lucky" on injury avoidance this season. Really lucky. Or, perhaps Cig created the "luck." All that being said, I too worry about the Ducks losing so many backups on the D-line. We hear repeatedly relative to recruiting how difficult it is to find D-linemen....especially west of the Mississippi River.

One last note, that 1968 game was the next to last on real grass at Autzen. The final grass game was one week later, a W vs WSU. Both those November 1968 games were played on miserable field conditions. Before the 1969 season, Oregon had installed AstroTurf. Likewise, so did Beavis. OJ played in Eugene in 1968, and in Corvallis in 1967. Both Trojan visits were a muddy mess. Though OJ had 188 yds in Corvallis, and 67 yds in Eugene. Washington was a year earlier installing AstroTurf in 1968. I bet John McKay hated those away games during rainy season. UW likes to claim it was the first, but Indiana State had the first college turf field in 1967. Washington State vs Houston in the Dome in Sept. 1966 was the first college game played on AstroTurf. The last home game at Hayward Field was the same season - a 14-13 loss to WSU. Monsanto developed ChemGrass which was renamed AstroTurf as the result of partnering with the Houston Astrodome for the first installation.

1968 - more here: https://www.helmethistory.com/oregon.html

Gui...the game you remember... 1968 USC entered Autzen No. 1. Ducks were 3-3 including losses at Colorado and at Ohio State. It was USC’s first ever trip to Eugene. All prior games had been in Portland. Autzen had opened in 1967. There were 33,500 in Autzen for the game. OJ had rushed for 980 yds in his first 5 games, but Ducks held him to 67 yds on 25 carries. He won the Heisman at the end of the season. He averaged 171 yds in 10-regular-season games, then rushed for 171 in the Rose Bowl. The game was 13-13 when Trojan Steve Sogge fired a 3 yd pass for the TD: 20-13 The play you remember that set up USC for the winning TD drive was a 61-yd completion to Duck Greg Lindsey that started with Olson fading back into his own end zone after a USC punt was downed on the Duck 1-yd line. Lindsey was chased down from behind by Trojan Ron Ayala who forced Lindsey’s fumble – which the Trojans recovered on their own 38. With little more than 2 minutes left, USC went on a 62 yd drive for the winning TD helped by a 4th down conversion and later a Duck pass interference. There was 1:12 left when USC scored. Oregon responded with Olson passing the Ducks to the USC 8 yd line, but Duck Eric Olson had 3 incomplete passes in the last 28 seconds to end the game. QB John Harrington had been injured earlier during the game. The Ducks outgained USC 359 to 196. Coach Frei indicated in the post-game that if the Ducks had scored they would have gone for a 2-pt conversion to attempt the win. The Trojans went 9-1-1 with some incredibly close winning scores: 3, 7, 7, 4, the 21-21 tie with Notre Dame, and 11-pt loss to Ohio St in the Rose Bowl.

My amateur observation is that it is a roster construction problem. I have no idea what NIL opportunities that Altman has to offer. But, I think it is time to take a hard look at the recruiting capabilities of his long-time assistants. This is a new era for roster construction, and my impression is they have not adapted very well. I've always felt that being competitive in Big Ten basketball would be a struggle. But, landing between 16th and 18th in the standings will drain the program of energy and fan interest/attendance. Especially if the Ducks consistently end up in the bottom half going forward and get bounced early in the B1G Tournament. Attendance, even in the best of times, has been soft for a variety of reasons. But, attendance for a team with a bunch of L's will be abysmal.

Sometimes it takes a bit of luck. Dyer was down? Indiana has older players (including QB) and smart coaches, but recall for a moment these 3 games this season: With the score tied 13-13, Fernando Mendoza’s interception gave the Hawkeyes the ball at Indiana’s 29-yard line with 2:50 left. On third-and-5, Iowa’s perfectly called screen pass inexplicably was thrown short of the wide-open running back, which led to a missed field goal. Given new life, Mendoza moved the Hoosiers to midfield but faced a third-and-10 at Iowa’s 49. In the face of an all-out blitz, Mendoza completed a slant to Elijah Sarratt that went for a 49-yard touchdown with 1:28 left. Final 20-15. Omar Cooper Jr.’s toe-dragging touchdown catch in the back of the Penn State Beaver Stadium end zone to give Indiana the lead with 36 seconds left, and the win 27-24. Offense was largely a slog for the Hoosiers — hardly an indictment given the Buckeyes’ superlative defense — but it was the way Indiana flipped the script and bullied Ryan Day’s Ohio State offense into submission. Neither team scored in the last 22 minutes of the game in Indianapolis. Indiana got a TD with 8:00 left in the third quarter for the final lead/score: 13-10. The first two of these three were true road games, so kudos for that. But, luck meets opportunity were part of the equation.

"...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.

So, if those 3 returned the New Pac media value would go up? Likely, but if I was those 3, I would demand to be paid all of the increase...not share it. If it went from $7 to $15, I'd say we'll take $15 plus split $8 from each of you. But, those 3 are very unlikely to want to affiliate academically with Boise State, Fresno St, etc. The folks believing this could happen hang on to the dream that travel costs and travel time will bring them back. Travel costs are way overestimated, and the additional revenue from Power 4 affiliation simply buries that dream they hang onto.

James Crepea note after Green...this evening Even with 14 defensive transfers, plus 3 outgoing seniors and potentially a starting safety to the NFL, Oregon would return 6 of its top 8 tacklers. Also 8 of top 11 and 10 of top 14.

transfer portal is open Jan. 2 until Jan. 16, with an extra five-day window (Jan. 20-24) for Indiana and Miami because they are playing in the national championship game on Jan. 19.

Nick Duzansky the backup long snapper also leaving. Not sure he was on scholarship.

Saleapaga and Green become No. 24 and No. 25 defensive linemen Xadavien Sims, Ashton Porter, Jericho Johnson, Tionne Gray, and now Green receivers Justius Lowe, Kyler Kasper and Cooper Perry, defensive backs Jahlil Florence, Dakoda Fields, Solomon Davis, Sione Laulea, Kingston Lopa and Daylen Austin, quarterbacks Austin Novosad and Luke Moga, offensive lineman Lipe Moala, running backs Jay Harris, Makhi Hughes and Jayden Limar, outside linebackers Kamar Mothudi, Blake Purchase and Tobi Hasstrup, tight end Vander Ploog and Roger Saleapaga

Raiola was one of the top freshmen quarterbacks in 2024. A semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award, Raiola led all FBS freshmen and ranked 14th nationally in completion percentage. He also led all true freshmen and ranked third among all freshmen in passing yards. I think Nebraska's W-L record 2024-25 had more issues than Raiola. Head coach Matt Rhule was 19-20 at Baylor and is 19-19 at Nebraska. They fired Mike Riley when he went 19-19. In between Baylor and Nebraska, Rhule was 11-27 as head coach of NFL Carolina. O-coordinator Dana Holgersen perhaps should have done more with Railoa. But, the O-guys around Raiola didn't make his life easy. In the 8-year history of the Alexander Award, two QBs have won it: Trevor Lawrence and Drake Maye. Raiola was a semi-finalist.

An interesting piece in The Athletic (pay site) about Ohio State which has seen 29 players enter the portal, so far. short excerpt Why is Ohio State losing so much? Keeping depth players sidelined for multiple years doesn’t work anymore when they can get money and playing time elsewhere. But Ohio State’s commitment to developing high school players, which has been the Buckeyes’ philosophy for years, is being overhauled right now. Losing 29 players to the transfer portal is never good. That’s the equivalent of losing an entire recruiting class. On the one hand, though, there are reasons to be optimistic about next year because Ohio State is returning 9 of its 11 offensive starters, has a talented linebacker corps, and is working to add more defensive pieces in the portal with another week in the window. But there’s also the pessimistic, and possibly more realistic view, that no matter what Ohio State’s transfer portal plan is, it doesn’t matter if it can’t land the players it is recruiting. Waiting for players to enter the portal later is fine, but it puts a higher emphasis on locking them in as recruits than ever before. Ohio State doesn’t live in a “we tried” world. Expectations are too high for the Buckeyes. They need to add some impact players sooner rather than later.

In addition to the Indiana out-bound number being low due to their continuing portal window dates as a result of them still scheduled for a game, another factor is in play. They have a lot of mature guys whose college playing careers will end at that last game. They have no more eligibility to use if they enter the portal. So, they have a bunch of guys who won't be portal eligible. As a result, in Indiana's case, the number to monitor will be in-bound transfers and recruiting. So far, they have a combined 22 recruits and 12 in-transfers. They will likely be seeking more in-bound transfers to offset the losses of guys who won't be back or going anywhere else.

I suppose I shouldn't be cynical, but when I look at that portal list of out-bound announcements I'm reminded of all those guys within that list who when recruited said, "I chose it because it was my dream school." And, that list isn't final yet for 2026. And, 2027 will bring another list of guys who maybe stuck around for one more year before leaving their "dream school." Crazy.

As of early this Sunday, these were "into-portal" numbers for the top conference standings: 7 - Indiana - still have a game Jan. 19 which affects when their portal ends later 29 - Ohio St 15 - Oregon (more now - others may get higher too) 27 - Michigan 20 - USC other teams which lost coaches: 36 Michigan St, 49 Penn St As of Saturday, yesterday, some from the SEC: Auburn – 36 Arkansas – 35 Mississippi State – 34 LSU – 32 Florida – 30 Tennessee – 25 Oklahoma – 25 Missouri – 24 Texas – 22 Those SEC teams already have a good start on replacements over "late players" like Oregon. But still, they had to deal with the disruption. No wonder Saban retired. He was 3-3 in CFP championships. How many of those 6 games might have fallen off the radar if he had been busy replacing players due to the portal?

For perspective, the season team total plays snaps: 988 offense, 932 defense (15 games). So, Purchase would have been on the field for 352/932 = 37.8% of the snaps. All defensive players: 879 snaps out of 10,252 (932x11players) = 8.6%. All offensive players: 621 snaps out of 10,868 (988x11players) = 5.7% But, keep in mind those small percentages are just players who are in the portal. Seniors who played and are graduating would have to be added if you were calculating the total amount of snap experience not returning next season. But, Charles point still applies: the portal guys (not the graduating guys) may have been able to help next year, but they were seeking a guarantee of playing time they didn't have this season.

If you have been part of a program that has the 102nd wins record in NCAA history, your attitude is that you are going to buy as many tickets as you want - Rose, Peach, Miami home game. Because, for 100 years you've been nothing and you can mentally amortize the cost over those 100 years of nothing. The Oregon fans that have the means to have traveled to Fiesta Bowls, Rose Bowls, Holiday Bowls, etc. will have a different attitude about how much to spend to go to CFP games near the Eastern Seaboard.

Blake Purchase to enter transfer portal (joining QB Luke Moga on Sunday) OLB Purchase's 352 defensive snaps were 14th for Oregon, 3rd among edge defenders With 16 scholarship and 2 PWO transfers so far Oregon has lost players that saw a combined 879 defensive snaps and 621 offensive snaps, per PFF. There is definitely some error with jersey number misattribution but it's minimal. Oregon at 79 projected scholarship players in 2026 Zach Grace is a backup tight-end, redshirt sophomore, from Kearney, Missouri

Resigned Kansas State coach Chris Klieman discusses why he "retired." Portal management got to him. https://themercury.com/k_state_sports/id-die-if-i-kept-doing-this-job-former-k-state-fb-coach-talks-about/article_213a7517-5d35-4d71-9658-4f97136a52ce.html Obviously Saban has talked about the current state of affairs. Saban was 3-3 in his 6 CFP championship games. It makes one wonder whether his record would have been impacted if he had the constant churn of roster that coaches face today? Would his teams have made 6 appearances? He always lost guys to the NFL, but what if he was also losing 15-20 more guys voluntarily entering the portal? (As of this morning with Moga, Oregon has 15 guys that entered)

Moga entered the portal on Sunday, joining Novosad. So, Dante is coming back? Or, they are pretty confident someone else is coming in to step in front of them? Akili Jr. is on the roster waiting. Bryson Beaver is coming in as a freshman who would seem unlikely to step in front.

Oregon last 5 defeats are a combined record against 3 teams that have appeared in the national championship game. 2023: UDub x 2 2024: Ohio St 2025: Indiana x 2 That's 5 of Lanning's 8 total losses. The last loss to a non-title-seeking team? Beavers. November 2022 in Corvallis.