Solar

I didn't realize how bad this year's portal has gone. I knew we lost critical 2 deep contributors, but only 2 of the top 25 incoming players are in the top 25 of what DL portalled in his time here and one of them is not even going to play next year. I really hope we've worked some better magic on our HS recruiting, because that is where the attrition backfill is going to have to come from. I REALLY hope we aren't rhyming with Clemson's fall: new coordinators not as good as old coordinators and insufficient amount of portal contributors. That would be a glass completely empty take, but still, it's a fine line between success and failure. Glass half full, maybe the lack of quality portal additions left us with enough cash to snag Seaton.

This is important. What if Texas Tech gets better too as they shore up the weaknesses on offense? What if Indiana reloads well enough from the portal? Who is next year's new money team like IU 2 years ago and TTU this last year? I don't care how good your team is set at the beginning of the year. It's not realistic to say that it's a deep run in the playoffs or bust. Every win should be enjoyed, and the summation of that joy for the entirety of the season should be the measure of success.

I wish football coaches used timeouts like they do in volleyball and basketball to stop the momentum when it's really swung against you. I think Cignetti is going to make it a thing. What is better, to have 3 timeouts left to give you a chance to get the ball back to score if the opponent gets one more first down, or is it better to have stopped the other team's momentum on the previous drive so you didn't end up playing from behind in the first place?

Our players will be better next year talent wise and experience wise. Our DC will be better next year. I'm not sure about our OC, he's a wild card. So we are a playoff team. As one commenter quipped during our blowout loss to Indiana, I'm really looking forward to us getting blown out in the Natty next year.

I swore they were talking about Becker when I heard them say he was the fastest WR in football. If he runs 11+ 100 they must have been talking about someone else.

Becker became a major impact player through the season for Indiana. Some say he is the fastest WR in college and he's 6'3 and has no issue making contested catches. I was feeling pretty jealous until I realized we have Bair on our roster next year. Same speed, same height, same aggressiveness going after the ball on film. I really hope he blossoms through the season like Becker next year and becomes a key contributor on a run to the national championship.

Michigan at home. Man if there is one thing Whittingham might regret most about taking this new job is having to play in Autzen again.

This is the same place we finished in 2023 IIRC.

Haha. Live by the Beck, die by the Beck.

Can't fault LSU for trying, but there is no way he wasn't going to Eugene. Even if he didn't care about the Ducks anymore, his agent would move heaven and earth to make sure he got on the plane to Eugene. No reason to throw away negotiating leverage prematurely. I hope he is here to sign on the dotted line though.

I swear I remember we were trending to land Seaton out of HS, until Deon bedazzled him at the last minute.

This is the first year we've lost any players to the portal that will actually affect us negatively next year in the 2 deep, and it's quite a few: Purchase, Porter, Lopa, Austin, Harris, Gray, Green, Jericho Johnson (he was going to pass Gray and Green with another year). About half can be replaced in the portal, but the rest will be loss of quality depth.

The biggest tell that people making the rankings severe cognitive bias issues is Penn State and Indiana. 3rd vs. 20th. Really? Indiana had as good of a regular season record as Penn State and returned every bit as much production outside of QB. And Penn State had the QB that had the most to prove on a production basis not Mendoza. Narratives and cognitive biases are no way to set a baseline for how good your wins are in the next season. At least in the future 16-24 team playoff it will be nearly impossible to leave out an actual contender due to this issue.

It also means injuries are going to be more impactful, conditioning is going to matter more and wearing down the defense running the ball in the 4th quarter is going to be a thing again.

Tosh Lupoi leaving is a contributor as is a bunch of "were expected to go to the NFL but didn't" guys. The 2nd stringers don't want to wait another year to be 1st string that they weren't planning on. Here's the thing about NIL. It's just like the job market. That one company out there that really needs to hire someone is always willing to pay more than the current employer. These 2nd stringers leaving the Oregon and Ohio States of the world will be much better compensated as the main person of need on a team in the top 10-20. We are witnessing in real time the dilution of talent from the top couple of teams redistributing to the remainder of playoff contenders. The greater the playoff field size the more spread out the talent will be as more NIL Boosters see they ROI of being able to make the playoff field with a chance to win it all. No more NFL caliber talent sitting 3rd string on the bench at Bama. Those days are over and it's for the better of the sport.