30Duck

No.2 Iowa loses at home to unranked Purdue. Tomorrow, Iowa drops, No. 9 Oregon could jump up.

A fascinating question, as I feel that a month ago the screaming would be heard for miles if Mario left, now I think, not so loud.

Johm Schmor has something to say about the booing at Autzen.

It's baffling, but I think that's the situation. Mario hasn't observed anything that needed any adjusting,; had the bye, nothing changed. No Thoroughbred has ever had bigger blinders on than the pair Mario has. His team is No.9, 5-1, what's the problem?

No.2 Iowa, 6-0 is trailing unranked, 3-2 Purdue, 17-7 early in the 3rd quarter. Over in the SEC, Georgia 14 Kentucky 7. The 7 Kentucky has already is more than Georgia has averaged giving up for a game this season.

This I think, is the problem. If a game ends with a W, Mario is fine. If it ends with an L, "We just have to work harder" it's very frustrating. But, I don't think that Mario sees that there is any need to look at the team's performance. They just had a bye week, and I didn't notice any changes.

Charles, I want to echo your thoughts. After the game last night I was anxious to see the response at OBD, and it was everything I hoped for. A lot of different topics, with just as many opinions, We all agree with some, disagree with others, and we are all able to express those feelings here. As you mentioned, that isn't available at many other sites, I've never been involved with one, that I feel free to express my thoughts, without having to brace for assault. We're all in this together.

Identity. I don't know what Identity this Oregon team has except maybe Overrated. I don't see a Top 10 team, the Ducks look more like one of those scrappy teams the Top-10's play at the start of the season. Ohio State looked at Oregon that way, Oregon beat them, and were voted No.3. Maybe we were spoiled by Chip and LaMichael and Marcus, being up 42-10 at halftime. But we don't need to see that, but how many of us really think the Ducks are going to end any drive with a touchdown? Mario's plan is to control the game, not necessarily by scoring on every drive, but running the clock and dominating on defense. None of that is happening. I don't see the Ducks getting into a rhythm on offense, each play seems to be independent of the one before it. Verdell is a big loss. Dye had a great game, but it was against Cal,; I don't think he's going to average 145 a game the rest of the season. KT definitely helped the D in the second half, time after time we saw the pressure he put on Garbers, but Cal nearly won. Are the Ducks playing down to the competition or is this just where the Ducks are now?

Yeah, for Mario, that was a win, it's working, keep it going. AB had some nice passes, 20-29, 244, 1 TD, 0 INT's, But, when he really needed to move the ball, and make it happen, he ran, and got a TD, Fortunately, Dye ran more, and better, 19-145 and a touchdown. It shouldn't have taken much homework, but the announcers brought up bringing Ty in as much as we are here, 20-29, 244, TD, 0 INT's is right there with the line he had against Ohio State that got him Quarterback Of The Week honors, but all I could think about is that didn't look like the QB of a top-10 team. Garbers didn't ever literally leave the ball on the field like AB did, and fortunately, he didn't lead the Bears in a final minutes game winning drive. Cal looked like a 1-5 team, that couldn't get it done at the end again, and Oregon was the team that managed to hold them off.

Just like they celebrated scoring 70 on a BAD Ducks team, their puppy minds thinking that, "would show those MEANEY Ducks for beating us 12 years in a row!" The Huskies have difficulty with concepts like context, perception.

This team just doesn't make any sense. We shouldn't have any worries about the team or this game, but we do, about both. Could we see the team play with the emotion Mario showed while he was screaming at the wide receiver on the sidelines or do we get more of Mario's methodical monotony?

Oregon 27 Cal 13 2 turnovers, 2 sacks, 216 passing yards.

That's where we are. The Ducks are No.8 off of one game where Ohio State didn't take Oregon seriously. Not to give our Stanford's undue credit, (We could get them again tonight) perhaps the Ducks were a bit overrated at No.3. On paper a home game against Cal, early in the season should barely register on the intensity meter, but this one is.

This is the problem. As much as I enjoy making fun of Todd McSham and his appraisal of Justin. The quarterback playing for the Chargers is not the one that was playing at Oregon a couple of years ago. Hearing that Mario doesn't feel it's time to make a QB switch doesn't reveal anything other than AB was Mario's choice before the season started, and nothing has happened to change his mind.

And yeah, Ohio State is above Oregon in the Polls, because Ohio States loss is much better than is Oregon's.

And this is made even more problematic with Verdell out. Yes, the short pass/strength of AB worked to perfection against the Buckeyes. But on a Ducks team loaded with receivers, Brown can't make use of them, as we have seen in the other games. INT's are worse than 3 & outs, but barely, and that seems to be what is keeping AB in place. To take the 4th spot the D will need to be dominant, and that is much harder with an anemic offense.

It's time for a quarterback change at Oregon. Anthony Brown's best game was against Ohio State, where he managed the game perfectly, which meant handing the ball to CJ Verdell. But, Verdell is gone, and with him gone, Oregon can't get by with a game manager like Brown. Look no further than Oklahoma. The Sooners were sputtering against Texas. Spencer Rattler entered the season as the Heisman front runner; he wasn't getting it done, so Coach Lincoln Riley made the switch, at halftime, against a big rival, to a Freshman! It worked. Caleb Williams came in, and the Sooners exploded. Riley says Rattler might still get the start this Saturday. But, he, the two quarterbacks, the team, will be fine either way.. Mario doesn't have to make the change at halftime. He's had more than enough time to get Thompson prepared for a home game against probably the weakest team Oregon will face for the rest of the season. What are you going to do, Mario?

That's it, but is Mario capable of seeing it? I'm thinking that a part of why he might stick with Brown is because Mario would be the last coach to do what the fans are asking, or in this case, begging for. "The coach who listens to the fans will soon be sitting with the fans." He hasn't listened to us so far, why would he now? If the Ducks hadn't beat the Buckeyes, this would be the definition of a mediocre season. If the Ducks had beaten Stanford, the Ducks would still be No.3, and Brown would be entrenched as the starter. Two weeks to get the new QB prepared for a game at home against one of the worst teams in the conference. It makes all the sense in the world. It would be the opposite of a knee jerk reaction, not replacing Brown would be made in defiance.

Agreed. ASU certainly has a claim to No.1, but I watched the Beavers win, so that get's something. As far as Oregon and Stanford, Oregon, I feel like Oregon lost it more than Stanford won it.

Raiders tried to come back, like they have all season, but not tonight. Chargers, Raiders, Broncos 3 way tie for first place, Chiefs in last, 2-2

Halftime: Chargers 21 Raiders 0 Opening drive, Justin 6-6 touchdown pass, another touchdown pass, inside 2:00 first half, 3rd TD pass to 3 different receivers. 20-25, 175 yards, 3 TD's, 0 INT's.

This is the case isn't it? For all the success Mario has had at Oregon, his future really comes down to what he does the next two weeks without a game being played.

I saw a note a while ago that he's the youngest active player in the NFL.

112, love the post! In particular about the recruiting. Chip just didn't like it, and we saw that he didn't need a galaxy of stars to make his offense work. Frost didn't think recruiting was possible at Oregon, and he's actually showing that it really isn't possible for him at Nebraska either. But, I think another Coach who was willing to put in the effort, connect with the kids, use social media could keep the recruiting in the same area as Mario has it, and might actually have a plan to use the 4 and 5 stars on the field and not just on the recruiting lists.