Duckster

You guys have me laughing at some of the responses. I have to go along with Dav3 as my musical ears (some singing) don't pick up a heavy connection with Yale's FS. Interesting to me that to a large degree our senses serve to define our perceptions. And DC Feather ... great story, but I have to go full contrarian on the Lame-A .. Stanford FS. Free (English R Band early 70's) wrote and performed that little slice of drivel (Paul Rodgers...meh). The Hoover Tower crowd actually believe it's original. Granted, I've probably attended too many events at the Farm over the years to be objective. For the most part F- Songs are from a bygone era and serve as a bit of tether to a schools history, and of things past. In the proper setting, on fields of play, I think they are great and add a layer to the overall festivities. In that simple context I think Mighty-O stands up well. I defy anyone who was at one of those sardine crammed, sweat hot nights inside Mac Court to deny it. With Joe Romania dancing on high ...

So I think most of us already agree that Puddles is Head and Shoulders (Bill and Feathers?) ahead of the B1G mascots we will see next season. But how about our fight song, "Mighty Oregon?" Both USC and Washington have some pretty recognizable f-songs ( "Fight On", and "Bow Down" ). Really? Bow Down? To a dog? Possibly a little ego driven disconnect there? I digress ... I think "Mighty Oregon" is an under appreciated classic. But you can't deny that the B!G competition isn't going to be stiff. "The Victors" (Michigan) and "On Wisconsin" are certified classics. So what do you think sports fans? How do we stack up in the pantheon?

Good ponder point Charles. I do have some familiarity with Big West Baseball via my son's baseball career. It's a very solid baseball conference, with a number of teams (Irvine, Poly, The UC's, LB State, Fullerton) all capable of fielding CWS playoff teams. Some even have National Championships to show for it. I think OSU would find it a competitive conference. I also think the Beav's will continue to try and build around baseball as their one (and possibly only) signature men's sports. Much like the Gonzaga's, St. Mary's and Creighton's of the world in Basketball. Personally, I don't see them taking a major step backwards ...

I'm late to the dance here but great post Jon. This loophole in the system, exploited expertly by the SEC, has outraged me for years. It's an enormous advantage for that conference. For the top dogs, it amounts to a glorified bye week right before the push to the playoffs. Murray State in week nine? What a joke. Starters don't even need to suit up. But who's to stop them? NCAA is non functional and their existing media contracts have accepted it as part of the cost of doing business with the SEC. So what would ever motivate the SEC to change? More money possibly? More guaranteed teams in the new CFB playoff format? Something else?

Hey Pato ... interesting take, since the overarching theme of the article was about a flawed team coalescing in a matter of days (they got waxed by 20 at Arizona only a few weeks ago) into a gritty DA type of Tournament team. Sure Couisnard hunted a few shots, but his overall game (by his standards especially) was pretty measured. Many of his points came off drives to the basket and many of his three's were taken in rhythm with clean looks and shoulders squared. He also rebounded, played hard nosed defense, had 6 assists, forced his way to the free throw line (7 for 7) and had only 1 turnover. Kid played a great game, involved his teammates and was the tone setter. Hopefully it's a sign of more good things to come. Point being, when you post an opinion before the actual event takes place rather than after, the vision is rarely 20-20. Cheers.

In the biggest game of his life, he played the game of a lifetime. Congratulations JC! ...and let's keep it rolling. Scooo' Ducks!

Agree Mudslide and Dave 23 ... Shelstad could be the wildcard going forward. Love his overall game and his upside is enormous. Duck's shot selection another key. Focus on an inside - out ball rotation, where Dante or others touch the ball around the paint and kick it back out to the shooter, be it Shelstad or anyone. Guys can then step into their three's, feet set, shoulders squared. Couisnard has to be that facilitator... drive and dish. They can hit those shots! Good comments about free throw shooting Hayward. It's all about focus, repetition and confidence. No excuse for a team with as much talent as the Ducks to shoot below 70% from the line. SCOO Ducks! It's there for the taking ...

Thanks to all for the replies. Having Dante relatively healthy for a few games in a row is obviously essential for this team to compete. But in my mind the key to this game will be Couisnard. If he sets the tone defensively, rebounds and brings his intensity/ hustle on every possession the rest of the team will follow his lead. If he reverts to hero ball, hunts shots and tries to be an offensive force the Ducks are doomed. Can a leopard change his spots?

Good article Mike and appreciate the perspective. All's I will add is that the concept of "Legality" in the world in which we now live is governed more by perspective than in any era I can remember. You can throw the concept of "Fair and Balanced" in there as well ... There was little or no chance Oregon would stay and latch its' star to the two bottom feeders once the Pac 12 started to implode. You can't just throw 25+ years, and countless millions in Brand Building down the drain (nor 7 years of college for that matter ). Dan Lanning would assuredly be at Alabama now if we hadn't jumped ... I posted earlier in another response that Mullin's made a huge mistake scheduling the Beavers this year. The rivalry as we know it is now dead. Take a year off and find creative ways to re-establish how the contest should move forward. Meanwhile, the environment of this years game will be toxic and some good young dudes, who had absolutely nothing to do with the demise of the Pac-12 will bear the brunt of the vitriol. So ... cancel the game and replace it by gathering all the knuckleheads who actually WERE responsible for the demise of the conference and put them in a ring. Gather a representative from each member school... like say Bill Walton for UCLA ... then fill a bunch of socks full of Horse S and let the fun begin. I actually would buy a ticket for that ...

Meteoric rise for young Wyndom ... a year ago he wasn't even in the top 100 of World's best golfers, today he's ranked #5. No shame in losing to a generational player like Scheffler. Clark's game is rock solid. He's got every shot in the bag and at age 30 his temperament now equals his shotmaking. Saturday's recovery on 17 after his embarrassing chili dip told you everything you need to know about his confidence. Baring injury he'll challenge for every major in the near term ... and likely win another sooner than later (Masters??). There's a sort of Hoganesque quality to his game ... very impressive.

Nice analysis Jon. Would love to see Kansas sneak into the Playoffs. Always fun to watch a long dormant program on the rise. Leipold has done a real nice job there. I'm also in that camp however that has doubts about USC. I agree that the defense should be much improved but there is a fundamental culture flaw that runs deep within that program. Lots of So Cal kids from the powerhouse HS Football teams in the area ... Mater Dei, Bosco, Servite, Centennial et.al. ...filter to SC. These are kids who are very familiar with one another (starting with youth football) that are used to winning and winning big. By the time they hit SC the expectations of continued greatness and ego's are huge. Far as I can tell there is no "De-Recruitment" process in place at SC, or anything close to what has made Georgia under Kirby or Bama under St. Nick so formidable . As a result, you can pretty much count on the SC kids, especially at the skill positions, to fold up like cheap tents if they get behind early or get punched in the mouth by more physical teams. SC is typically a collection of classic front runners, lots of flash and dash but short on grit. Not sure I see that changing much under Riley and Company. Cheers!

Great intel Jon. Didn't realize Ducks miss both OSU and Michigan in 25'. Maybe that's our year, with Donte Moore leading the Ducks into immortality. A week three bye, along with the unbelievable, head scratching scheduling by Rob Mullins, with his late shoe-horned "away" in Corvallis, are both annoying. I think Mullins bowed to the external political pressures surrounding the Duck's departure from the Pac-12, and ultimately felt Oregon would be best served by throwing the Beavers a bone. Otherwise, that game makes no sense. Personally, I think they the two schools should have taken a year off and let things cool down before re-establishing a workable resumption of the rivalry. Many will cry "Tradition!" ... but tradition died with the demise of the conference. I expect a lot of bad blood and cheap shots in this years edition, above and beyond what constitutes a vintage rivalry game.

Jon and Mike ... good to be back in the fold fella's. Big Charles ... (dare I channel my inner Andy Bernard and go full on "Big Tuna?") ... he'll likely ban me. But while boarding his flight to Estonia, Charles reached out with a generous offer of his time and skills and got me writing again. Much has changed since I last wrote for the site, but the people here are the best, and I missed being part of the FishDuck community. I like your confidence Jon and am hopeful our first year in the B1G mirrors what you have predicted. I'm always more the doubting Thomas type by nature so am concerned with the degree of travel next year and the overall schedule. You outlined a few weeks back that 8 game gauntlet of games the Ducks must navigate without a bye. Daunting task! I fear that they may not have the roster depth this year (because you know injuries will spike with all that travel) to weather that storm. They could possibly be a better team with a worse record? And Mike ... you're spot on brother. I was making some notes to feature in my next post around this topic and the D-line was high on my list. Tosh and Dan still have some major work to do on the D side of the ball. Time for those guys to shine. And lastly, those Stanford losses ... they STILL STING!! I live about 20 minutes from the farm, and brutally had to attend a seminar at Stanford the Monday after one of those debacles, forced to listen to all the high minded conversations ( aka' Gasbags) about the "Greatness of The Cardinal." Still haunted by the memory ...

Hey Kirkland. Yes, our boy Mario will once again win the offseason and get his fan base all fired up for next season. Problem is, this is the very same rinse/ repeat Mario that will have that very same fan base at Miami tearing their hair out by week 4 with all his boneheaded coaching blunders, questionable schemes (the Pistol Plunge!!), and overall undisciplined yet never addressed level of play by his entire team. So, so glad that chapter of Oregon football is over.

Thanks for the great replies fellas. Happy, Hayward and J-Duck, agree that Lanning is (at three years in) starting to build the roster in his image as opposed to trying to mix and match the pieces left to him by previous regimes. The "speed kills" emphasis is apparent and will be one of the good sub-plots to follow in the spring game. Also, 100% agree on the need for some grinders to give the lineup some salt. Can Lanning find that next Nick Reed? Lion hearts like that are sometimes harder to acquire than 5 star's ... the rarest of breeds.

Love him or hate him, CK still has one helluva football mind. I for one wasn't at all pleased to see him land with his old college QB and long time New Hampshire buddy Ryan Day at OSU. The road for Oregon just got a lot tougher.

Great stuff Mike. Some random thoughts: I agree that the most recent BIG/SEC playoff proposal was fair and generous given the dominance of those two conferences over the past 15 years, and the growing position of power they will hold going forward. ACC and Big 12 need only to look at the demise of the Pac 12 to see where ego and hubris gets you. Take the deal fella's, it's the best you could hope for. We're only at the beginning stages of the total restructure of CFB. The NIL and subsequent demise of the NCAA has changed everything. Until there are some agreed upon guidelines and overall governance installed its every man/school/conference for themselves. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Some form off a future Super Conference, top 30 or top 40 is virtually inevitable. I like the concept of annual relegation/ promotion per the Premiership in English football, though don't know how it might be implemented. In that type format what happens to the 90 or so other DI programs that can't compete financially with the Supers but are currently supporting football? Multiple tiers? Dramatically scaled back funding? Program elimination? The resulting carnage will be enormous .

Hey Mike ... thanks for all the kind words. I've always enjoyed your writing and comments as well over the years. Lot's of good insight. Agree completely with your take about the OSU game at Autzen this year. Huge opportunity for the Ducks to announce themselves to the B1G and make a national statement. Also the take on Lanning and coaches being able to elevate their in game processes . "The game they are in vs. what they game planned for." Brilliant ...

Good opinions all around guys and thanks for taking the time to respond. Dr. J, great stats as always! Very illuminating and to be honest, come as something of a surprise to me. Granted, I probably need to expand my criteria as to the definition of elite ... I'm more micro than macro in that regard. In the eyeball test, my glasses are somewhat shaded ... having closely watched the team evolve over the decades. Too often the Ducks have come up short in big match-ups to ever ascend to my vision of what constitutes Elite (again, the CK years excepted). I conjure up recent visions of DL's first game, playing against the current gold standard of Elite ... Georgia on the road. Granted it was a classic trap game and all the cards were stacked against the Ducks. But to be dominated the way they were (49-3) came as equal surprise. Unfortunately they were once again"Weighed, measured and found wanting "

For those who have not yet seen it, check out "The Climb-2024 Oregon Football" video (posted earlier on this site, or Google it). Do you get the same feeling that I do, that something just feels different with what's happening foundationally with Oregon Football? Because I think Lanning is pushing our Ducks upwards towards what might be unprecedented heights ... from the mere Good, to Elite. Before we dive deeper into this topic, let us take pause and once again give thanks as fans to all that has recently transpired to the benefit of Oregon Football. First, we dodged a HUGE bullet and retained DL, easily one of the top 10 coaches in CFB and someone who Fits the program better than anyone since probably Bellotti. Secondly, we have the forever genius of Uncle Phil, once again using his considerable influence to steer Oregon's path through extremely choppy waters and into the B1G. And while none of us was pleased to see the demise of the Pac-12, the inability to adapt to change equates to failure in virtually any enterprise. Given these blessings, the program's future is beyond bright, it's incandescent. Awhile back I posted a comment that I didn't believe Oregon was an Elite program, and it stimulated some good dialogue (here's your cue JJ!). Everyone has their opinion and set of criteria to define Elite and categorize which teams are deserving of that definition. For me, OBD's have failed on a number of levels in recent times. Unimpressive conference record since 2015, head scratching and all too frequent losses to unranked opponents, zero appearances in the CFB playoffs, spotty Bowl record, etc.,etc. Further, I would say that from 2010-2014 Oregon was indeed Elite, and it was glorious to behold. Aside from a couple of still heart wrenching Stanford losses, Oregon dominated the conference, won numerous Pac-12 Titles, won the first CFB Playoff Game (FSU/ Rose Bowl) in conference history, and appeared in two National Title Games. It was a helluva run, but ultimately proved to be unsustainable. Why unsustainable? Here's a little factoid that puts that particular rat on the table: 2023 was the first time since the end of the 2012-2013 Football Season Oregon was able to retain the entirety of its' primary coaching staff (meaning OC, DC and Head Coach). I know, pretty stunning isn't it. It's been an impossible stretch of Coaching turnover and program upheaval ... to the point where it's somewhat impressive that Oregon has done as well as it has over this period. But as to building something ... establishing program identity, culture, alignment, recruiting, player development, etc. ... I repeat, impossible. This is the first thread in a couple that I have planned for this topic. Hopefully it will engage those of us in need of something to get us through these dog days of the tepid March sports landscape. Maybe sustain us until April, and the sunshine that represents Spring Football for our OBD's. To be continued ...

Great stuff Jon. We all knew the jump to the B1G would present some unique challenges, but seeing it laid in detail really drives home the point. Those games ... #6-7-8 ... may serve to define the Duck's postseason aspirations. The Michigan game (#6) is a monster by any standard, but it also creates potential trap games in weeks seven and eight. Home against Maryland (#7) after an extended travel-week, and an emotional high at Ann Arbor, will be a challenge. And then it's right back on another looong road trip to Madison (#8) to play the Badgers in mid-November. Wisconsin in September is one thing, but a mid November game there is (potentially) a different ballgame altogether. So, in our new B1G universe, When you play a team may be as important as Where you play them. In any case, the Ducks will be one tired football team heading back to Madison after an 8 game stretch of football without a break. It will certainly create some additional interest from me in the Duck's two deep roster coming out of the Spring Game. Team depth will be crucial to navigate the 2024 gauntlet, especially at positions like running back and O- line. Some big bruiser of running back that can pound the rock on a wintery field and complement our current stable of scat-backs sure would be welcome. Cheers!

Just a massive win for the Ducks, can't be overstated. The prettiest girl in the room just came calling and DL said essentially 'no thank you, I'm very comfortable with who I'm already with'. Pokes a huge hole in the narrative that Oregon is a feeder school for top coaching talent. Time for some other program to sweat this one out. We've already paid our dues ...

As news continues to break that our coach has chosen to remain in Eugene, and not chase the dream of Alabama, I'm left with an even deeper appreciation of DL, not just as the leader of a program, but more as a leader of young men ... and as a person of true and lasting character. Sure, I could look like a fool in a few days for posting this if there is a complete 180 degree turnaround in how this plays out, and I'll wear that. But this time ... the THIRD TIME ... feels different. Because of Dan Lanning the person. And because what we have in Eugene is maybe the rarest of creatures in the complex world in which we live; a man of his word. Those of us who have lived or spent significant time in Eugene, know what a unique and special place it truly is. Let the detractors recite their litany: Too small, Too wet, Too Isolated, Too many tie died, Grateful Dead loving, granola eating, Birkenstock wearing (ok I'm just having some fun now), but you know the narrative. Eugene is a jewel. It has everything a person could want and aspire towards achieving. Once again it appears Dan Lanning sees that ... and for that I'm truly grateful. At last, it looks like we found "Our Man of Oregon."

Watching our Bo these past years I became impressed by his ability to keep his eyes downfield while scrambling around and moving outside the pocket. It's a skill he obviously put work into and improved upon as his time at Oregon progressed. Hat's off to both Dillingham and Stein. With Brock Purdy's success at the NFL level (average arm/ elite processor) I could easily see some teams valuing Bo's skills over those of Penix.

By almost any standard, Michael Penix is an elite deliverer of the football. Time and again I watched him thread the needle into almost impossible throwing windows. They were the types of throws that had pro scouts drooling. But after watching last nights game I'm wondering if many of those same scouts are having second thoughts about investing significant draft capital to acquire his services at the next level. Now granted, pressure changes everything ... and Michigan was masterful last night at applying constant pressure. Their ability to dominate with their defensive front was arguably the story of the game. But what surprised me was Penix's response to that pressure. His pocket presence throughout the night was shaky at best. He missed some easy throws early, even without significant pressure, and he rarely proceeded thru his progressions. Replay, on numerous occasions, would show wide open receivers and vast passing lanes downfield that Penix completely missed. As the game progressed, things got worse. Unable to maintain vision downfield he would lock on to his first read and the force the ball into double and triple coverage. The interception to open the third quarter was an egregious example. The question becomes whether this was a one-off and just a bad night, or is Penix not an elite processor who has trouble seeing the field and making the proper reads under pressure. And be assured, the defensive pressure at the next level will be as, or even more intense. I haven't seen enough of Penix's games to make this call, but I do know that the NFL is littered with guys that came into the league with rare arm talent but failed miserably as starters. After last night, I'm wondering if Penix is just another one of those guys?