Solar

Aaaaand a photo finish coming down to the last 10 seconds for BYU to seal the victory with GT in scoring range.

BYU barely beats GT in their bowl game. TTU beating them twice was a feather in their cap. TTU is very similar in style to Iowa in the sense that they have a strong defense and special teams, and are 1st in turnover margin and takeaways that give the offense a short field. TTU is better than Iowa, but we have seen this type of team before playing against the bad weather and the refs and won by avoiding turnovers and 3rd and longs (outside the penalties). I think this similarly could be a low scoring game in the high teens low 20s. The line is starting to shift in Oregon's favor a bit too, up to 2.5 now. I think it will continue to drift higher as the game gets closer.

I love how they really lean into the Pop Tarts band with no apology. They have colored sprinkles on the white boundary like it's a frosted pop tart. They get some of the best matchups too, and the games are always entertaining. This year it's BYU and Georgia Tech. I just saw a defender punch out a ball with his heel while he was face planting. There have been 3 turnovers in the red zone. It's fun entertainment that I think epitomizes what makes bowl games special. I know they are becoming the NIT tournament of football, but that doesn't mean it has to be boring if the teams are competitive and the pomp is fun.

The issue of race is probably the predominant factor for the shift followed by money. The distribution of African descendent americans is uneven and obviously most concentrated in the South where they were initially brought. Statistically speaking those same individuals are on average more athletically talented, resulting in a concentration of talent in the southeast that was not allowed to thrive there until desegregation. The wasn't too much of a time gap between the end of segregation and the beginning of under the table pay for play ( a decade or two) which muddied the cause and effect.

The score was WAY closer than the game. If Penn State wasn't slip sliding and dropping balls on crucial downs and explosive plays this wouldn't have been close. Clemson couldn't do anything on offense nearly the entire game. They were swarmed and smothered.

He understood the assignment. He also was noticeably worn out in the JMU post game press conference per some reports. Dan Lanning and the new DC may have to do some heavier lifting on the defensive side from here on out if Tosh is too compromised from his Cal duties.

Apparently Sagapotule is staying with Cal next year, which seems like insanity since any top flight team without a returning QB would pay a pretty penny for. I have to think Tosh has been using his recruiting magic to retain the best pieces of this Cal team, and can improve it through recruiting going forward.

My biggest concerns are: Ducks flying south for the winter Dante Moore against an elite pass rush. The refs.. Flying to warm weather on the opposite side of the country and playing at 9am isn't the stuff fast starts are made of, but I'll be thrilled if we come out playing 110 percent. Dante Moore has played better against pressure since Indiana, but we still can't say for sure he won't regress against the #1 pass rush defense in the country. With a game this close and where yardage on offense will come at a premium I think the Refs hold our season in their hands. If they are flag happy we are doomed. TTU 1st downs on PIs and drive killing 3rd down penalties against our offense would probably prove too much. Glass half full thoughts: I think DL and the OL are absolutely sick of hearing how good TTU's DL and LBs are. That they can pressure the QB just rushing 4 and that they have the best run defense in the country. The OL demoing the jerseys was a statement of intentions. Hopefully with another week and a half Kory Moore is back to full form and Evan Stewart is available at least as a decoy. We really need our WR to be blocking lights out this week. Getting explosive plays on the edge, including bubble screens will be critical.

I agree with your comments. We have to remember JMU was ranked higher than UW even with consideration of opponents. It shouldn't be shocking that they could do some damage when we took our foot off the gas mentally and by having backups in the game randomly from pretty early on. We got a glimpse early in the game of what our ceiling is and what our floor is late. Our ceiling is the highest in the playoffs, but our floor is more in the Alabama and Miami floor range than the Indiana, Ohio State, and Georgia floor range. There were a few unlucky plays that had a big impact as you mentioned too. I'm more worried about us traveling across 3 time zones to play in warm South Florida. At least the players will have about a week to adjust, but still...will we ball out to our ceiling? I sure hope they replace the turf at Autzen for next year. It's pretty clear that it has excellent traction when you plant your cleats solidly, but if your foot angle is bad and you are relying on friction with the plastic blades of grass you might as well be playing on a hockey rink.

Man I think a lot of these scores are too high. Oregon wins 29-8 2 4 265

It really sucks watching two teams with identical colors. White and dark red. Even the head coaches are nearly indistinguishable.

Unbelievable. The kicker missed his first and last field goals for the year and made every other one in between. Oklahoma deserves to lose this game. Too many mistakes. I really hope Indiana wipes the floor with Bama next week.

Alabama's starting running back would be in the transfer portal at Oregon. He's crazy slow and bad vision. And the announcers are talking like he's playing with so much burst now that he's rested. And Oklahoma's passing scheme is doodoo. Half the time there is nobody on side of the field Mateer is trying to throw to.

Psychologically, the previous year is always the baseline for determining success, and we always want to do better the next time. So par for the course is losing in the quarterfinals AGAIN, and I'd be really disappointed. So success to me is winning a quarterfinalists game or better. It won't be enough to stop other fans from calling us the zeros, but I don't really care.

Mateer is finally back to 100%. The OC will adapt the play calling to that reality and Mateer wil be slinging the ball to his NFL wide receivers suddenly giving Oklahoma an offense to match their defense, making them a contender to win it all. This game is going to look like a repeat of the SEC championship with Alabama not looking like they belong on the field.

Moore is not ready to go to the NFL. He hasn't demonstrated the ability to manage the pass rush consistently, and he's playing behind one of the best OLines in the country. If he goes to the Raiders that has one of the worst OLs in the country, he'll be a disaster at best and injured at worst. I'd love for Dante to prove me wrong though, especially in the playoffs against some teams with a great pass rush like TTU, Indiana, OU, etc.

I said WIDE receivers. Agreed, Johnson is a great option as a tight end. It would sure be nice to put 3 WRs out there that are all legitimate threats, rather than have one of the 3 that Moore rarely is comfortable throwing to as a tendency defenses can scheme against. With regards to TTU, they have been phenomenal, but are the least tested team in the playoffs outside the G5 teams and has a 3 week break to get soft before getting hit by an offensive line significantly better than any they've seen to date. I do agree that if they shut down our running game like they did against BYU it's going to be really important that Dante can handle the pressure they bring and get off good passes to our receivers, or else to could be trouble. Washington shut down our run game but was poor at generating pressure on Dante, which has been their weakness. TTU like Indiana can bring solid pressure on the QB, and is probably better at stopping the run. Could be a low scoring game.

Agreed, it feels like we only have 2 wide receivers on the field since Wisconsin.

Thank you. If they are taking punt return reps that's a good sign. Should be really ready to go by TTU. Stewart is probably not going to be available this year even if we make the Natty, given that he's been rehabing for so long and is still not doing drills, let alone contact activities. That's a little disappointing, but getting Moore back on the field will be a significant improvement.

Timing on all these could be an issue if we make a deep run in the playoffs and Moore doesn't decide until later than these guys need to find their next landing spot. I'm sure Lanning will have that discussion with Moore.

Well 10 million at 8% for 40 years is $217 million, so... And like I said, he's from Detroit, he doesn't know how to spend money, and if he goes in the 2nd round he's still making millions a year that he can't figure out how to spend. He's got generational wealth coming without being a first rounder next year, or the year after that.

Benson taking over for Bryant has been the difference for punt return. If Bryant comes back, I think Benson continues to be the guy. And these days kick returners are your speediest running backs not WRs for durability reasons.

"participating" We'll what part of practice? A lot of times the media is only allowed to see warm ups and a drill or two. Still, it's a great sign, and hopefully at least 2 of the 3 will be ready to contribute at a high playoff level once by the Texas Tech game.

He's arguably the most respected coach in all of college football. He'd be a fantastic get for Michigan, if indeed he's open to being a head coach.

Thanks for the statistics on how many games each have played. Again I think Moore is aware that just like a grade schooler held back a year, he essentially did that to himself last year. He will benefit significantly from playing another 12 games next year. I don't think Thomas is a preferred QB1 next year if Dante went in the draft. Either Smith Jr is developed enough to take over or a transfer portal QB is brought in. I certainly don't see Novasad or Moga ever starting.