WTD25

Screen shot #1 - The receivers are only just coming open, but there's already a Dlineman in the backfield touching him. There may be differing definitions of pressure, but the ball was snapped at the 9:33 mark, and the picture shows the Dlineman touching him at the 9:31 mark. He blew by the TE and Harkey. IMO, that's pressure. Granted, he could have bought more time by stepping up; doesn't help the OL by camping that far back. Screen shot #2 - Disagree with "no pressure". The OL got blown up in no time; completely collapsing backward. Harkey got schooled by Bailey again, and if DM holds the ball 0.5 seconds more, he's getting crushed. Screen shot #3 - Totally agree with everything here. Big time missed opportunity by DM I'd be curious to see the all-22 view for Screen shots #1 and #2 at the point DM starts to throw the ball. The #1 and #2 screen shots are misleading since the ball is already in the receivers' hands, and the defense has already reacted to that. Watching the game video, those potential receivers were more covered prior to the throw. Ultimately, DM still has some growth, but I give credit to TTU's defensive line blowing up our OL almost all game. It reminds me of the 2020 Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes had already won a SB the previous year, but against the Tampa Bay Bucs, he had zero time to do anything because of the Bucs amazing DLine and LBs; they pressured him all game and made Mahomes look pedestrian.

Uniform has bold green and yellow, therefore = BEAUTIFUL

Saban seems connected to all things as it relates to quality coaches. Though, I think some of those coaches would only count under a very loose definition of "coaching tree". I could be wrong, but my definition to qualify as being part of someone's coaching tree is that you have to be a coordinator/assistant HC that then goes on to be head coach. For example, I'd peg Dan Lanning as part of Kirby Smart's coaching tree, etc. I'm just splitting hairs, but your point is obvious, that all these coaches come from a great coaching lineage.

Great article. A couple thoughts: While watching the pick 6 in the Miami game I thought, “Crap! Stein dials up about 100 of those behind-the-line passes to the side. I’m sick of those, by the way. Our offense is underperforming, and my inclination is to put that on Stein. Hoping things get turned around quickly. OBD has way too many weapons on offense to look so anemic as often as they do against quality defenses.

I know this is off the original topic, but I can't stand the venue and location selection here. Miami and Ole Miss should play in Atlanta, and Oregon and Indiana should play in AZ. Distances: To Phoenix Oregon ~1,000 miles Indiana ~1,500 miles To Atlanta Oregon ~2,100 miles Indiana ~425 miles Just another home game for Oregon's opponent. And both venue selections are a slap in the face to fans (except for Indiana) that have to travel.

It pains me to say it, but I think Miami is the kryptonite to Indiana. I think Miami has the right mix of monster players and scheme to thwart the Hoosiers. Over the years I always marveled at how much bigger tosu players looked compared to their opponents. That changed when they played Miami. The Miami players along the trenches are HUGE. That’s not to say Oregon can’t beat Indiana as well, I just think Miami is a matchup nightmare for Indiana. Here’s hoping Ole Miss keeps their Cinderella run going and knocks off Miami. And that the Ducks can solve the Indiana riddle.

Agreed about Tosh. Now do Stein :)

I share the concern of the original topic post. I’d prefer their full attention, or have them move on and let the new guys give their full attention. I prefer full attention.

I don’t believe TTU is a fraud; perhaps more “unknown”. “Unknown” because all their stats are derived from B12 competition. Without much cross-conference competition, it’s hard to effectively rank teams. I do hope many of @Mike West predictions come true. Go Ducks!!

Great take here. Against BYU in the B12 Championship game, TTU got 4 turnovers that basically put them in the red zone each time. They got 1 TD, 2 FGs, and 1 missed FG. Not all that productive.

My #1 rule for analyzing bowl games: “Never analyze bowl games.” Only place to draw conclusions re: the greatest Conference debate is the CFP. Only those teams are fully staffed with players and coaches that are all motivated to win.

I love tradition, but not with venues. Either make all playoff games (except national championship) home games for the highest seed, or select a venue as equidistant as possible between the two opponents.

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.