kirklandduck

The moral high ground went out the window when USC/UCLA backstabbed the rest of the conference and caused its downfall. Right now it's just a matter of survival for OSU/WSU. I don't like that they pilfered all that money from the departing schools in court but I do understand their efforts to survive. I think they know that even if they're able to pull 2-4 other G5 teams (probably from the AAC) they understand that they're still a G5 conference. It's really a matter of stability at this point. But I also think that they are playing a longer game with plans to re-invite Stanford and Cal when/if the situation becomes right. The ACC is on shaky ground right now and if it implodes in the next off-season it would be a no-brainer for those two to go back to a place that makes more geographical sense. ***Plus if they get teams like UTSA and Tulane, that might provide an argument to pull another ACC team in that same approximate area. If that happens then you have 4 former P5 teams in the mix and that puts the Pac-12 in this weird grey area in between the G5 and P4 where they're sort of stronger than those mid-tier conferences but definitely weaker than a P4. I have no idea what happens at that point. ***EDIT: Additional thought

Offensive line showed good consistency and stability, they picked up their blocking assignments and had no(!) penalties. This lineup might be the one that stays for the rest of the season. Will they keep up that level of performance? Let's see as they open up B10 play with the hapless Bruins. Defense was pretty inconsistent in the 1st half, some lackadaisical tackling effort allowed the Beavos a higher number of 3rd down conversions than I was comfortable with. Halftime adjustments alleviated most of that concern as they shut them down in the 2nd half. Special teams didn't wow like last game but it was pretty mistake free and there's just a delicious irony having Atticus Sappington hitting two FGs against his former team. For it all comes down to incremental improvement. Today's improvement was more than incremental and I don't expect such big steps every week but as long as there's *some* kind of improvement in an important area that bodes well for the rest of the season.

If they score another TD then I’d like to see Dante Moore and Austin Novasad get some game time snaps.

Yeah it is. But maybe not shocking given that Nishad was an experienced starter at East Carolina playing LG while Pickard is a lifetime walk on (probably for good reason).

That’s not roughing the passer or targeting. Garbage call.

Feels like the Beavos OC is throwing out a bunch of different looks to eat up clock and grind for 1st downs.

This is the offense that’s been bubbling under the surface waiting for the OL to catch up.

I’ll still take it. Good teams take advantage and make it count!

Better effort by the defense this time.

Love that DG finally called his own number!

That’s the cleanest offensive drive I’ve seen so far! 🫡

Boettcher’s awesome effort on those two PBU’s were completely wasted on that first series. Hope some adjustments will be made on the next Beavo possession, they got lucky OSU got in their own way.

I think their chances for an upset left with TVD.

Ok yikes, Wisconsin fumbles the ball on the kick return.

35-20 Ducks 2 TOs 3 sacks 275 passing yards

I don't know, in terms of TV markets Portland, SF, SD, LV, and Denver aren't bad. I think it's rather a question of whether those respective teams pull enough eyeballs in those markets.

I agree about the first fumble, the BSU player just flat out made a great defensive play. The second fumble was primarily on Charlie Pickard snapping the ball when he wasn't supposed to. DG was exposed because the other linemen were waiting to hear the playcall change and the defense smacked him.

Love the analysis Charles! This gives me precise things to look for in tomorrow's game!

At the very least this will be interesting conversation fodder for the next year. One also has to wonder, given the instability of the ACC if Stanford and Cal would want back into the PAC if that conference crumbles after the season. I'd wager no but crazier things have happened.

Nice article David and pretty much exactly what I remember of that year. I speculate that had Bedford and Iuli not been injured the OL still would have struggled but not anywhere near as bad as it is right now. It would have been adequate but suffering from growing pains at the center position...hopefully we see some growth this weekend.

Memphis and UTSA could be expansion targets. MSN WWW.MSN.COM

If I recall correctly, they lost to Arizona because the OL was decimated by injuries which impacted the offense heavily. By the time the Pac12 championship came a couple of the starters were back and Oregon destroyed Arizona in that rematch.

I'll be watching 3rd down conversions very closely. Seeing a 50+ percent conversion rate will tell me that the run and pass protection efforts are better and with fewer penalties. I don't expect perfection just incremental progress from the OL and that'll be enough to win in Corvallis.

That makes sense since Nishad primarily played LG at East Carolina. Even if Marcus Harper's productivity is diminished at RG, increased productivity from both Nishad and Pancho at their respective positions is a net positive.

I think the article points out pretty much everything we're aware of already. The real question is what is DL and company doing this week about it? Latest practice report seems to hint at what we might be looking at this weekend: Centers split reps, receiver still absent: What we saw at Oregon football practice on Wednesday WWW.OREGONLIVE.COM Iapani Laloulu and Charlie Pickard each took snaps at center and guard Wednesday morning at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, same as Tuesday. So it sounds like Nishad at LG, Pancho at C, and Harper at RG which makes sense as we saw hints of stability with that lineup against BSU. My guess is that's the interior lineup we'll see start against the Beavos and afterward until Bedford is healthy, then he goes back in at RG and Harper slides back to LG. Pickard should have as many practice reps as possible since he's the only other center.