WTD25

There’s a reason Oregon pops in the graphic below (and on the field), and it’s not because of white and gray. Let’s stick with yellow and green.

These ratings/viewership numbers makes sense. There's no way the only thing keeping the Oregon/Ole Miss games from ~14M viewers was TNT and an NFL game. Had to look at Oregon's biggest games during the year (I was rather surprised): Oregon v. PSU - 8.5M Oregon v. Indiana - 5.6M (this one is surprising; tosu v. Illinois almost matched this) Oregon v. Iowa - 5.4M Oregon v. USC - 5.4M Oregon v. Washington - 4.3M (this one also blows my mind; see below) Mississippi total population = ~3M ------ Combined Oregon and Washington population = ~12M And the Ole Miss v. Mississippi game got 1M more viewers . . . that's crazy to me. As I've always said, "Fans in the south don't love football more than fans on the west coast. They just have more people that love football in the South than the west coast."

Awesome news!!

I'm both a Duck fan and a BYU fan. If you're looking for silver linings based on how the TTU vs. BYU games went, well I've got some soothing balm for you . . . maybe, since it depends on how good you think BYU is. Game 1: BYU hung with TTU through most of 3 quarters. They held TTU to mostly field goals. BYU has been starting a true freshman QB that is half RB and half QB (i.e., he can't pick you apart from the pocket with his arm at all). BYU depends on their QB and stud RB to establish the run to set up their passing game. BYU's RB (LJ Martin) is one of the top in the nation at YAC (yards after contact), but he was playing hurt in that game and was not effective; neither was their offense. Game 2: Again, BYU hung with TTU through most of 3 quarters . . . and even had an early lead with opportunities to extend. However, their running-reliant QB injured his ankle/leg in the first few possessions and was limping the rest of the game. Then the self-inflicted wounds came . . . 4 turnovers (2 INTs and 2 FUMB) between late 3rd Q and end of game, all of which set up TTU deep in BYU territory, basically near or in the red zone. Even with all that fortune and field position, TTU scored the following: 1TD, 2FG, 1 missed FG. Promise I'm not trying to make it seem like Oregon will win easy against TTU, but I also happen to think BYU was better than most give them credit for; worthy of consideration to be in the playoff (they certainly would have performed better than Tulane/JMU). As such, I consider TTU to be formidable, but beatable. If you think BYU (and the B12) is not that good, then I hope this gives you peace, comfort, and joy in time for the holidays :)

A rare injury update from Dan Lanning . . . and a good one at that:

Bit of a random idea, but thought I'd get it out there before I forget. With NIL / Transfer portal, I believe that college football will start to look more like the NFL. It will be a challenge for 4-5 teams to hoard all the talent like in years past. I believe parity in college football will continue to rise among the stronger brands/conferences/schools. Increased parity in talent will necessitate an emphasis on premium coaching. Programs with the elite X's/O's coaches will make all the difference in the world. We see this play out in the NFL where a highly-touted QB coming out of college gets drafted by one of the worst organizations, and by association the worst coaches, etc., struggle to start . . . THEN, if they get a 2nd chance and end up with a quality HC/OC, they have a resurgence. I think Oregon is in a great spot. DL seems to be good enough at Xs/Os himself, but even better at finding elite Xs/Os coordinators. What do you think of my theory? How well is Oregon positioned relative to other programs?

I know it will all work out and DL has a plan. That said, I can't help but cringe a little when seeing all that size (even if it's depth and not sure-fire starters) leaving. I'm sure there's size coming in, but basically two 6'5" defensive backs leaving gives me a slight pause. All will be well.

McClellan has two of THE best “almost” catches I’ve ever seen. The “one handed pin against the helmet” catch in a prior game, and the over the back of the defender in this game.

I mostly agree with your take. The ball that deflected off Benson’s hands/arm can’t be Moore’s fault. I don’t even think it should count as an INT on Moore’s stat sheet. I agree that the receiver slipped on the 2nd interception; however, that’s because it was such a garbage desperation throw due to the pass rush. All things considered, Moore played an excellent game. I can’t stop watching the two dimes to Benson over and over again.

Each TD pass to Benson was a thing of beauty.

Was really hoping to see a Mari Cristbal scowl today. To be fair, Cristbal teams have mostly been competitive and up to the task against legitimate competition. It’s the JV teams he struggles against. Perhaps the playoff is just what the Dr. ordered for MC: no sub-par teams to choke against. Cristbal should feel very fortunate they didn’t get matched up with Tulane or JMU.

I agree with this. If he’s healthy now, I still think this JMU game would be great to work Stewart back into game shape; warm the engine and parts back up.

Great comment about context. Totally agree. I understand the view from other posts that say “how can an 11-1 season not be a success?” My reply: A loss to JMU.

My nightmare is tosu, but if Oregon wins the championship, I’d want it beating tosu . . .

What is the minimum Oregon has to do for you to consider the season a success? I ask this question now because I assume most of us would have been disappointed with the season had the Ducks not made the playoffs. Now that they have, I'll bet there's a little more diversity of thought about how to define a successful season. Winning one playoff game isn't enough for me. I view the game against JMU as a "non-conference warm-up game". If this game is anything less than a warm-up game (i.e., close game), I have far bigger concerns. Winning two playoff games is my minimum requirement to consider the year a success. The Ducks can't go out against a BIG 12 team; can't happen. The Ducks need to make it to the Semi-Final game . . . otherwise I'll be a Negative Nancy.

I think the game is a coinflip. I'm rooting for Oklahoma.

Beautiful . . . simply beautiful.

He had the maturity and long-term outlook to realize he needed to sit for a year and learn. My guess is that same approach will be applied here. Moore will recognize that more experience is what is best for him.

We here at the OBD Forum know a non-answer when we hear one. Maybe he's negotiating a better contract with ASU, or maybe he's on the way out . . .

You humbly disagreed with me, but I don't disagree with anything you said . . . which means I think we might actually agree :) Wasn't trying to defend ND over Miami, I understand why the committee did what they did. I just happen to think they should both be out. To steal the line of yours that I "quoted" above: "Your 3 point win to ND shouldn't overcome the two head-scratching losses to unranked teams>" My opinion is kick both ND and Miami out, and pick one of BYU, Vanderbilt, or Texas.

Thanks again for the article! This is in no way a defense of ND--I like that they're excluded--but I'm still a bit burned that Miami got in. My rationale: Head-to-head matchups should matter, but only increasingly as the year goes on and teams develop. For example, the Ducks got blown out by GA in Dan Lanning's first year. However, I'll bet the game is closer if they had played again at the end of the year. My point, when Miami and ND faced off in week one, no one had any idea what to expect. ND lost by 3. In my mind, that game is a wash for both teams. ND then lost the next week to TA&M by 1 point. ND's two losses were at the very beginning of the year, when teams are NOT the teams they'll be by the end, and ND lost to two very good teams by a total of 4 points. In my mind, what happens the remainder of the year is more important. ND continued to win and appear to get better while Miami lost to two unranked teams . . . should be game over for Miami. Your overall point--one I agree with wholeheartedly--is that teams that just missed out on the 12-team playoff need to be quiet, because they are miles from qualifying for a 4-team playoff. My favorite justification for an expanded playoff was that the pool would be large enough to remove any risk of potentially leaving out a national championship caliber team. With 12, all teams capable of winning the Natty are in, and they're likely in the top 5-7 . . . definitely not in the 10-13 rank. But who knows, I guess . . . that's why they play the games.

Nicely done Indiana! Almost nothing better than seeing tosu lose. Cignetti reminds me of Mike Leach. Very entertaining to listen to.

Indiana! Let’s go!!! Take down tOSU

Darn!! - Time for this OBD Forum topic to disappear to the depths.

Seeing these "hostage" tactics are bit disheartening . . . but that's the way it is for the time being. Not sure why every Top 5/10 player doesn't simply "not sign", and say they're "weighing their options". A flood of teams will rush in with their actual highest and best offer.