David Marsh

This has become the new on going joke in the social studies office... granted my office space is only at most three people...

We did get run over by Zeke Elliot and those massive offensive and defensive lines. Oregon's smaller lines were beaten down and then Elliot ran over our leaky run defense. That was also the year that Pellum was the DC and basically refused to blitz and only ever rushed 3... Our lines now are able to go toe-to-toe with Ohio State and we all saw how the outcome was different.

That is the next level that I would say this Oregon team does not have... or maybe they do but if Brown is good they don't want to put in Thompson at this point in the year to ensure he can be a back-up in case of an injury. I think he can play in one more game before his red-shirt is burned. At this point in the year might as well preserve that red-shirt. Granted... if Thompson comes out next year and blows away the competition and looks like the next big quarterback at Oregon he may not use up all his eligibility anyways... but always best to preserve it when possible.

Well.. it is your answer.. the talent could be developing. Not every player is ready to play as a true freshman, many of the true freshman pressed into service this year weren't ready to play but they played because they were needed. I think Keith Brown would have red-shirted based on his overall production if Flowe and Mathis weren't both injured in game one. We will get our answer next year as to how well the talent has developed. Remember... Marcus Mariota was a red-shirt and by all accounts he needed that red-shirt year to grasp the college football game. He turned out pretty good for Oregon.

Well it tanked because USC was obviously not making him the next HC and I don't know when the ranking was compiled but with Riley coming in and Williams on the way out the door recruits were not going to stick around for him. Not surprising but doesn't mean he isn't a good recruiter still. No one would recruit well with that uncertainty.

Part of me still thinks that 2020 threw off a lot of the progression of this team. Shough performed fairly well in 2020 but the end of the season he just collapsed and burned out, he was trying to play hero ball and it resulted in him turning the ball over and being ineffective on offense. Brown actually has the SAME problem this year when he tries to put the team on his shoulders. This year I get the feeling the coaches really want to protect the freshman quaterbacks and ensure they have time to develop and not have a repeat of last year. Remember in 2020 there was a partial Spring camp, no summer training, and a very short and very hastily put together fall camp into a short season. Moorhead's full scheme didn't get installed until this year, and last year they were really using the Arroyo scheme for the first 3-4 games because that is what Shough knew, due to a lack of prep. This next OC hire is going to be huge as it will show where the program is going. Do we get a vertical passing attack or do we stick with short passes? I am hoping for an OC who can develop a QB and get a passing attack on track. We have the receivers now, we didn't when Herbert was with the team, for a quarterback to feed if they can get the ball to them as a reliable passer. I do think Akron is an escape job for Moorhead... though I think a large portion of that escape isn't about his offense and the play calling but instead about the recruiting. Cristobal demands a lot out of his coaches in terms of recruiting. Oregon is NOT an easy place to recruit to no matter what anyone says, however, it is not impossible to recruit to Oregon either. It just takes works... a lot of work. Moorhead may not want to work that hard, which is absolutely fine because I don't think the vast majority of us want to work that hard (maybe Charles already does). The offense right now looks a lot like a Moorhead offense seen at other places at this point. The vertical passing attack isn't there but Brown really can't produce a passing attack like that anyways. Also... Thompson has played in 3-4 games (I am counting 3 but I may be forgetting one appearance) and is in place to preserve his red-shirt at this point which, barring an injury to Brown, is something I think the coaches want to keep at this point for Thompson. So the coaches are sticking with Brown an his limitations.

Or is he not coveted because those schools reach out to his agent and his agent just says "not interested" and that whole process dies nice and quick so there is no reason to pursue? I know Cristobal has some things to work out... Namely getting that offense to average over 40 points per game for starters and making sure that defense is consistent... The defense I am not worried about at the moment... But the next OC hire is going to be important. There is too much talent on the roster to let go to waste. Need a to get one of those qbs ready to go and have a strong vertical passing attack. Also notice how no one is yelling at Mastro this year since we got rid of the pistol?

I did hear a rumor that MC was planning on moving his mom to Eugene after the season was over... just a rumor but if it is true then MC may have side stepped this already if he is intending on staying. Personally... I think MC is staying... but right now I am feeling a bit more nervous than I have in recent weeks.

I think they look good when clean... Once there is any grass stain on them they look muddy and dirty... Even though they aren't that dirty.

Need to get that button on the front page here Charles. The easier to find the better!

Cristobal is not easy to work for... he has a lot of demands in terms of recruiting and recruiting at a high level takes a whole lot more work than recruiting lower level talent. I also get a sense that Moorhead is really an east coast guy and though Ohio isn't exactly east coast it is a whole lot more east than Oregon.

He was banged up going into the season. Cardwell I think has just shown some incredible vision as a runner which has moved him forward. Also... they really don't update the depth chart all that often for the public anyways. So Cardwell is firmly the No.2 RB but is still listed as a "or" on the chart.

They never changed that part of the depth chart. The entire offensive line depth chart really hasn't changed all year... Considering how much the offensive line has been moved around it probably isn't that surprising.

Utah has also not suffered anywhere near the same amount of injuries as Oregon... the announcers during the Utah game seemed to think Utah playing 5 true freshman was mindblowing.. they didn't seem to realize that Oregon has burned redshirts on a majority of the 2021 class. Also... Utah got to play against a backup QB of Stanford. Also... Utah did not have their play calling OC out with emergency surgery the morning of the game. yes... I'm still very salty about that Stanford game.

This is the biggest thing... Now I am not opposed with coaches trying something and if they are going to try something they need to give it an honest try. However, the pistol was used and used enough to determine how effective it was... the result.. not very. I will say I am super excited by some of these young players. Cardwell is going to be GOOD and I think he probably would have redshirted if Verdell wasn't injured. These receivers are going to be GOOD once we get a quarterback who can get them the ball. We saw them get behind their defenders fairly often this year, so the speed is there, but Brown just can't get them the ball at that point.

Well it could cause some problems... it does look like all these coaches are responding to Cristobal's recruiting prowess. Just another sign of how Cristobal is reshaping the conference.

I know Moorhead was a leading candidate but when did they say he actually got the job. I assume the announcement is yet to come but I feel like I missed something.

Depends on how bad the blood is between the AD and the former coach. Helf has a very personal connection to Oregon and he hasn't pursued another head coaching job since he left Oregon. If the situation was right, I could see him coming back. I don't think he really wants to be a HC at this point, there have been plenty of job openings that he would have been hired for, again he has a WINNING record from his time at Oregon by a significant margin, but he hasn't taken another head coaching job.

I think the coaches NEED to show they can produce a talented quarterback. MC inherited Herbert from Helfrich, played Shough who then flamed out and transferred and grabbed Brown from the transfer portal. Fans lost faith in Helfrich when he dipped into the transfer market and grabbed Dakota Prukop rather than prove he had a starting quarterback he recruited. Adams was necessary because there wans't a quality QB after Mariota left and Prukop continued that narrative, even though Herbert would prove otherwise but it was too late. Also the defense was dreadful... another story for another time.

Ok, so here are my thoughts. So far I have seen it written multiple places that with Riley USC's recruiting is going to improve, which it will, but for some reason it always seems to come at the expense of Oregon. Will Cristobal really be out recruited by Lincoln Riley? Well... probably not. Now if Riley was coming from a lowly P5 or G5 school then maybe I would buy this argument more but Riley is coming from OKLAHOMA. Oklahoma is already a power house program and a top recruiter in the country. Cristobal is already going head-to-head with Riley when he was at Oklahoma and winning his fair share of those recruits. Also, the 2021 recruiting cycle USC with Helton and Donte Williams did a pretty good job with their own top 10 class. Oregon still did better. Will recruiting change in the Pac-12 with Riley? Absolutely it will and what is probably going to happen first is that there will be fewer recruits going east and staying on the west coast. Oregon is still going to have to work the whole country and beating USC in recruiting, even when they have been bad, has never been easy and may be a little harder. But Cristobal has shown he will not be outworked on the recruiting trail. I expect to see things get heated but I don't expect to see Oregon simply eliminated because USC gets a better HC. Also... does Oklahoma maintain their recruiting ranking or do they fall because their new HC can't keep up with the standard Riley set?

Lets see what this Oregon team can do next year with some experience and not having what feels like the entire team injured. I believe Oregon never started the same group of starters twice all season... that is bonkers insane for a team to be 10-2 with that much turnover. I am excited about this team next year with the youth being experienced and a reduction in injuries. Yes... we will be losing some key players as well but so does everyone in College Football... replacing KT is going to be tough but that's just the way it is.

Some are unhappy others I am sure are just looking for opportunities for more playing time. The sad thing is that many will lose their scholarships and not find a new home.

I think everyone knows where Hoke belongs... at a G5 school.

USC's roster is a bit of a mess... it will take some time to straighten out. Also... the article seemed crown USC as "back" and the best team in the Pac-12. Riley was given a well opporating Oklahoma team (much in the way Chip was given a high flying Oregon team before he took over) and was able to run with it. USC is NOT a Championship ready team. They have some good pieces, sure, but they will take some time to rebuild. If they were truly Championship ready then Helton would still be the head coach.

Jackson Dart and Kedon Slovis have both looked good at times at USC. USC has not had a QB problem... offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, runningback, and parts of the secondary... yes. If Williams leaves to go to USC he loses his starting job and would have to compete with some pretty good talent. Better to stay at Oklahoma and get some of the NIL money.