kirklandduck

We've actually seen this over the course of the season: Penix doesn't do well under pressure. See the ASU and OSU games. When he's well protected he's able to throw some uncannily accurate darts to receivers, with good distance to boot. But he's only done that in a clean pocket and time to read the field. As soon as the pocket collapses he kind of freaks out and goes all wonky with his decision making and accuracy...I'm very sure NFL scouts have noticed this even before Michigan game.

They should give UW some of those pre-printed 2024 Huskies National Champions t-shirts so they can wipe their tears.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Pennx cracked a rib or two. He got pounded hard.

This is what I noticed with them. They get really amped and temporarily over perform against Oregon. But that doesn’t appear in any other game, you can tell by all the close scores they got lucky on. Apparently the prospect of winning a national championship isn’t enough to get that kind of juice flowing. Kudos to Michigan, they played a really tough, disciplined defense.

That rushing TD might have iced the game.

I was literally typing mid sentence that JJ should pull the ball and run then he does it.

Under these scenarios I think it’s safe to say at large CFP teams are likely to have 2 losses. Maybe even 3 once in a blue moon.

Fuskies aren’t going to make it if they give up another 200 rushing yards in the 2nd half.

Huskies rush defense has been mediocre overall during the season, they're going to have problems with Michigan's offense all night.

Based on the video replay it looks like his left ankle. Hopefully he'll be 100%, if he is then he's probably our next 1000 yard rusher. https://www.si.com/college/oregon/football/oregon-ducks-rb-noah-whittington-expected-to-miss-remainder-of-2023-season

Not a shocker, he just needs one solid season then can declare for the NFL. He and Jordan James should be 1 and 1A in the pecking order heading into the B10.

Interesting Michigan vs Washington analysis by Joel Klatt. He mentioned something very specific about why Michigan's defense in particular may cause Washington problems at 7:23. P.S. Go Wolverines *dry heave*

There are certainly worse places he could have landed. Tulane is a top 25 team and he'll likely get playing time right away, great spot he's in now and I'm happy for him.

Michigan matches up better with UW than Texas did. I think their DBs are better (not elite) than what the Longhorns fielded, plus they do extremely well in the trenches. Their DL was able to get to Alabama's QB pretty consistently and finished with 6 sacks, so if they can put pressure on Pennix often and seal the edges while running the ball on their own possessions they will have a good shot at winning.

Omg Justin would've DESTROYED the rest of the Pac12 and run roughshod over Texas in that scenario....what a tantalizing dream!

Of course the finger pointing begins...half of it is George's fault. He should've pushed back hard against the Pac12 presidents and told them that $30+ million offer from ESPN was their best shot at decent money and solid linear tv time. That one's on him and no one else.

He could use that as a training aid..."if you don't hustle those last 2 laps then I'M NOT PUTTING MY SHIRT BACK ON!"

Like Charles mentioned, I like to think that the incoming DB recruits might leapfrog Cole Martin in the near future and that's why he's leaving. That being said, he was a good young player with lots of potential so it does shock for the short term. I'm sure he's going to land at a good program soon.

Love the article David. I think OBD can go 2-1 against those 3 teams. The Huskie game is a must-win, if anything to re-assert dominance over the PNW. tOSU at home seems to be an "easier" win than Michigan on the road.

Looks like the Texas secondary is starting to give. Unless they pick it up soon the Fuskies will pocket this win.

Me too, I dry heave when I try.

That's actually really interesting, I hadn't noticed they made that rule change for bowl games with regards to redshirting. I would imagine had Helfrich went with Hansen, the outcome would've been different. Jeff Lockie wasn't uber talented but I think he had enough to crawl over the finish line if he weren't struggling to grab low/bad snaps.

It's good to disagree, proper debate is essential. For me, the question isn't whether Oregon's No. 2 scoring average isn't good enough or today's results (both are/were excellent) and I certainly wasn't trying to imply I don't appreciate what WS is doing so far (or expect perfection, that's just impossible). But it's absolutely possible to be happy with the seasonal performance in the aggregate but still call out the situational issues (few that they are) that will hold them back (and it has this season). I'm just simply pointing out that the tendency for slow starts can derail a season if they happen at crucial junctures, such as the conference championship or CFP games. Getting in a foot race with teams that employ Kalen DeBoer type of offense and stumbling right out of the gate isn't ideal, I hope WS figures out a way to remedy that next year. WS is doing an excellent job creating and directing the offense overall and I'm excited to see what he'll do against B10 teams next September.

I don't doubt WS's ability to identify the opponent's weaknesses as you have correctly pointed out in the article. But the lack of execution, IMO, lies with insufficient preparation which is still under WS's purview. That is a contributing factor to slow starts. Of course this is only one example. There has been more than one game (including today) where the offense came out slow or just off and it took a while to get the ship righted. Oregon has enough firepower and talent to get past this against most opponents but it spells trouble when facing top 5/top 10 teams.

He was my primary concern for the offense heading into the game. Going from the nation’s best center to a freshman is a big step back but he did pretty well considering the circumstances. Good effort to build on going into next season when he faces much tougher teams.