David Marsh

Couple other things of note... I wrote this article a couple weeks ago so things have changed slightly or just proven my point the more. Brandon Arrington jr (a highly sought after CB in the 2026 cycle) is considered a TAMU lean because their offer on the table is so much larger than what Oregon is willing to pay. Some school's NIL program is still using blunt force (aka just outbid everyone) to recruit. Oregon hasn't and isn't playing that game. But as we saw with Dante Moore ... That doesn't mean we can't catch some of these players on the rebound. What if they don't have the season they dreamed of at their chosen school? They might be coming to Oregon after all.

This one is a weird one... Because frankly it doesn't matter if NCAA basketball moves to quarters. Everyone else uses quarters and they create natural breaks in the games. It is also a guaranteed commercial break for broadcasting companies which is what they want. It is the same reason why the NCAA adopted the 2 minute timeout in football. So going to quarters really wouldn't change the game. But it just feels kinda wrong.

Lyons is the QB you're probably thinking of there and if Oregon lands him he'll really be more a part of next year's class than this year's. This isn't to say that Oregon should pursue and land him. However, unless Oregon goes after two QBs this cycle, they probably will effectively be without a new QB for the 2025 cycle.

I think it was a given this was going to happen at some point. But I think they needed to wait a (minimum?) of 10 years before they could do it. I want to say LaMachael James was about 10 years removed from his time at Oregon before he was inDUCKted into the Oregon all of fame as well. Regardless, this is a big honor and well deserved for Mariota. I still love going back and watching those games, he ran that offense so beautifully.

Fantasy football is an interesting one... because I agree without it the NFL would definitely take a hit. However, fantasy football has some other things going for it other than a strictly betting perspective. There is often a social component where leagues are built around friends and there may or may not be any money on the line at all. Some people do bet on it aggressively but that isn't always the case. It can be a game within the game. For many the joy comes from just playing the fantasy football game as it combines with their love of football by default. I would get into fantasy football if I cared about the NFL but I rarely watch any NFL games. Fantasy football isn't unlike people filling out march madness brackets. Sure, there could be money on the line but often time it is for fun and I guess bragging rights. Betting can be a thing without money, people do it all the time, but to me sports betting IS about money and sports betting culture IS about money. Though I will say there is an element of sports betting that has always been a part of sports culture (or mostly about sports culture) and that is the pre-game lines. We all love looking at who is favored and by how much. What we do with that information varies wildly from person to person.

I don't like betting... especially when I don't have any say in the outcome. But I am an obsessive Ducks fan. This is the case where big moneyed interests are pushing a narrative that makes them more money. You can't really blame a lot of sports casting and content creators that take their money for advertising as that keeps their businesses and passion projects alive. But we can absolutely push back on the notion that gambling is a must to be a sports fan. Being a sports fan is fun onto itself. People were still sports fans before sports betting became largely legal throughout the country.

Hey... Alabama put numbers ON the helmets and names on the BACKS! That's just downright crazy by traditionalist standards. PSU stopped with the stripe down the middle and I think even when they did that the designers were like "I think this is a little much, better not put player names on the back."

Patience... Crazy enough Oregon probably doesn't need a prep QB this recruiting cycle. Moore will be around for one or two seasons. If Moore leaves after this year Novosad is probably next up. Moga and Smith are both promising and we'll have a fuller picture as to whether they stick around or not after the season. But I'd bet that one is guaranteed to stick around as they'll likely be in play for a backup spot. And then Oregon can always get someone from the portal if needed.

No. 9??? Well that's a minority opinion for sure. They are welcome to it... But as we all know they're wrong. For many in the B1G, tradition outweighs everything else. Maryland is pretty low on their list and they are similar to Oregon on their more recent approach to uniforms... Though less successful. I love how Oregon isn't anti tradition but so much of the Oregon tradition now is innovation and ever changing.

Going to throw out a crazy thing here... In 2014 Bralon Addison suffered an injury in the spring that knocked him out for the season and he was our most experienced returning receiver that year. But a couple redshirt freshman came in and made a massive impact along with a freshman. Devon Allen and Charles Nelson both had pretty good years, though Allen would be injured in the Rose Bowl, Darrin Carrington did pretty darn good too, though he sat out the national championship game due to failing a drug test. The Ducks moved Byron Marshall to receiver and he had the best year of all. And to top it all off Mariota won the Heisman. So inexperience is not everything but I think we'd all rather have Stewart in the lineup but I'm confident this staff will a solution.

Looking at some of the softball and baseball rules complaints I've seen from Ducks fans in both of those tournaments we as a fanbase would have absolutely been pissed off if the tables were turned. Though this is one of the mose instances with fringe rule in a fringe context that was so brilliant that every single coach int eh country studied what Lanning did to either use it or counter it after the game. I don't think it would have been a problem in the future. However, I guess I was more bent out of shape how the rule was initially changed mid season because a blue blood complained enough. It should have waited for the off season for a rule change. But I also love how Lanning has had an impact on the game already.

I was writing an article as I was thinking about this exact same thing.... I still might finish it ... but I do think Oregon is ahead of everyone. I also think there is a very real factor that some of the other college football powers are playing massive catch-up. What USC is doing right now is not current NIL practices or even future NIL practices, USC is seriously doing exactly the same thing that Texas A&M was doing in 2022. Throwing money at all the five stars and thinking that is how you build a roster with NIL money. USC is going to land a great class at this rate but is the locker room going adjust to this influx of money in a positive way or is it going to be a TAMU repeat where it implodes? Oregon is built around sustainability and Oregon doesn't have recruiting geography on their side. I'll probably still write that article ... I have more thoughts on this as well.

Absolutely. And Lanning and Co have pulled the best out of the portal repeatedly. There aren't many quality linemen who enter the portal but Oregon has taken the lion's share of them since the portal era started. Getting high schoolers to Oregon is always going to be difficult. We lose to distance, mom, and the girlfriend far more often than we win. So we gotta use the portal. Lanning has shown that he can take a transfer player and elevate their draft stock. Nix is case and point. He went from undrafted to a first round pick. Gabriel went from probably undrafted to a 3rd round pick. With his height disadvantage! Come to Oregon and get elevated and further developed.

I am sure we'll probably get one Peacock game... but I think realistically the only game that might get the Peacock treatment is Rutgers. We could dodge it but I don't think that is going to happen. I suppose the Oregon State game might be put on Peacock but as that one is a rivalry game it will probably avoid it.

The Stemming penalty was just super frustrating these past few years. I get that it's not fair for a defense to be yelling out directions that sound like the quarterback to throw off the other team and cause a false start... but the defense gets to communicate. Nothing in the rule book says that the defense must operate in complete silence. Giving the defense clear words that are theirs also means the offense can't yell weird stuff to try and throw them off. Clarity makes the best rules.

Yes... but only if some crazy shenanigans like this past year doesn't happen. I think at least one three-loss team is probably getting in in any given year. If Clemson (3-losses) did not win the ACC last year it would have been one of the 3-loss SEC teams that gets in that did not win their conference. Clemson jumped on in and SMU held onto their spot because they only had 2-losses (one being the Conference Championship game). So I think it is completely possible for a 3-loss team without a conference championship to get into the playoff... but being that team is going to come down to some unique circumstances and some quality wins.

Hate to say it but strength of schedule hasn't mattered for awhile... Or has been a myth. The SEC was exposed last year and they just pounded their chest and said the SEC is better by default so all their teams are better... Therefore better strength of schedule. It's all about media hype and number of wins.

Its interesting because the strategy of the two for decades has been to cohabitate but don't compete. The reality is that everyone just assumes that the NFL will destroy CFBs ratings. They do draw bigger ratings, sure, but it's not a one-sided fight. CFB will also hurt the NFL's ratings if the two are forced to compete. They are going to have to interact to find a way to cohabitate at this point. The NFL cannot just dictate the rules.

I saw that Oregon leads the B1G conference championships race for the academic year. 8 of 28 Ohio State comes in at No. 2 with ... 4 I think there are some B1G regrets out there for sure.

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We are flying blind when it comes to NIL deals. Though from everything I've seen this is basically the pecking order for portal NIL. 1. Tippy top tier quarterbacks. Rare but there. 2. Offensive lineman. 3. Defensive lineman. Exclude the rare quarterbacks and linemen are at a premium in the portal. Getting good high end linemen is been more expensive. Lanning and co have done an incredible job getting the little top end linemen talent there is in the portal. In the prep recruiting world... There is a lot more talent available in linemen that just needs time to develop. And as stated... Even that 5 star talent requires some development.

I could also see a compromise that sees a re ranking occur after the first round of play, doubt they're that clever though. But just think that Oregon would have played BSU or Indiana in the Rose Bowl last year if they just ranked it straight up.

We'd have to. That's too many games to put players through at that point. I'd also add that each round gets re-ranked.

The reality is that it's nice to have some big games at Noon. But not all big game at noon. Oregon settled into a prime-time slot last year around 6pm because of the way games are effectively drafted by the broadcast companies. The biggest team in the B1G in the east coast time slot was Ohio State and they basically got pure Big Noon kickoffs. I can see why their fan base grew weary of that because that was the only time they seemed to have games.

Just think if this were to happen during a football game? The College Football world would be losing their freaking minds. Let alone the team's fan base that took the L for this happening. It wouldn't happen in College Football, the game would be postponed and finished later. It shouldn't happen in any sport.