David Marsh

Washington claimed a Pac-12 (at least North) Championship in 2020. They didn't play Oregon so they counted that "no-contest" as a win for them even though they couldn't field a squad.

Especially when Oregon didn't have Evan Stewart as a deep threat to stretch the Ohio State secondary. That really hurt the Duck's offense in the Rose Bowl. Last year I feel the Ducks were shockingly thin at Wide Receiver. The starters were Holden, Stewart and Johnson. Lowe got some run with an injured Johnson but wasn't remotely the same caliber. Big drop off from 2023 where the Ducks had Franklin, Johnson, Holden and Bryant (who is returning in 2025 injury free). And big contributions from Tight Ends in 2023 that just weren't there for a long time in 2024. I went over much of this in these articles. https://fishduck.com/2025/01/rebuilding-oregons-offense-for-2025-the-passing-game/ https://fishduck.com/2025/01/rebuilding-oregons-offense-for-2025-running-back/ Here's hoping for greater depth out of the 2025 team which it already sounds like that may just be the case!

If UCLA was better at football I'd say they still get to go to Pasadena to get their butts kicked. But they don't have to wait till January anymore.

The ability to make long field goals is an absolute game changer. A 60 yarder in a game is rather unlikely as a missed field goal gives your opponent great starting field position. But if the game is close and it's the end of a half of the game itself... Yeah a 60 yarder could make or break the game. Incredible work by Sappington!

Didn't mean for it to sound like it was suddenly fixed vs BSU. But the effectiveness of the offensive line vs BSU in the second half was much improved over the first half.... Improved not good. They figured out who should be in the lineup. It took another week for that line to start to truly gel as they looked decent to good against OSU and then two weeks later against UCLA it looked good. It's a credit to the coaching staff that they could apply a bandaid like they did in the early season (and then later in the season with injuries) to make the line as effective as it was. 13-0 is super difficult and they managed to do it without having the strongest pieces of their offensive line available.

Well Idaho was pre-band aid where they flipped some players around. BSU they figured out the line rotation in the second half... But there were SOOOO many unforced errors that put that game in jeopardy. The Herbert fumble followed by the Gabriel fumble (on the recovery of a bad handoff) was 14 points right there that kept the game close. Neither were offensive line problems.

I would say this group is stronger than last years. I think they did a fantastic job applying bandaids to last year's group. But the reality is that last year's group had some fundamental weaknesses that were exposed against elite defensive lines that could reliably get pressure on Gabriel.

I've read those comments too on another site. A lot of complaints that Oregon's five star recruits have failed to become major NFL stats. But again our list of five stars is quite short. But college ball isn't the NFL and though the five star status denotes potential NFL draft success it is important to note that college ball is not the NFL. I think DAT failed to have much of an NFL impact due to his size. However, at Oregon and in college football he was monster in part because of his size and his incredible speed. The NFL has pretty much optimized football for their roster sizes and limitations. Players who don't fit the mold physically need to find a way to fit the mold if they are going to have a successful career. Some can... Some can't.

Here are the stats for 2024. In short massive drop off after 5 star. So recruiting rankings are still a good rating of potential.

Shame it didn't work out. But from a culture perspective no team can afford to have a player engage in fighting with other players. I wish him luck wherever he ends up next.

Bear seems like a guy who got really wrapped up in the NIL and stardom stuff. USC was not a fit for him and I think he just assumed he'd get a starting role and that didn't happen. Lanning knew the potential of Bear and knew his culture would either mold him into a player or he'd effectively quit on the team and be a non factor. Bear knows he needs to step up and work if he wants to have a shot at the NFL. I think we all know how bad USC's culture is based on the exodus of talent at the end of last season. Bear knows this is his last shot to make the NFL and it sounds like he is taking it. Probably a mix of Lanning culture and guidance and Bear getting his act together. Here's hoping for a monster season from the Bear.

I would love that. I know it makes zero financial sense for the B1G but if Cal and Stanford were added to the B1G and there was a west coast pod I'd be incredibly happy. I won't miss the Arizona schools or CU or Utah as much as I miss playing the old Pac-8. And I am not old enough to have any concept of the Pac-8 but that's where the West coast football tradition lived and it could be felt. As for OSU and WSU... Yeah... They'll need to invest a ton to get P4 recognition. But I'd love to see Oregon v Washington and USC every year.

I didn't put it in the article... I've been writing articles too long lately as it is... But there is also a recruiting rivalry side of things. Oregon recruits the best against the best. So we step on other team's toes all the time. USC thinks they are eating our lunch right now in recruiting with their class of 30+ but we'll see how it shakes out.

I think our old Pac-12 rivalries in particular Washington and USC are our no. 1 and 2 rivals right now. We have the history and the hate. They don't have that new match up feel but rivalries don't have a new feel to them anyways... They are old and full of mutual distain. Right now we are planting the seeds with our new rivals. They will take years to emerge.

I think they start at 0-5. WSU has a much easier schedule than OSU which is saying something.

Nebraska makes my extended list. We split a home and home with them in 2016 and 17. But a big part of a rivalry is the hate and I think Michigan beats out Nebraska right now because Michigan fans are probably annoyed by us. Where there isnt anything between Ducks and Cornhuskers. Michigan State has the Oregon State connection with Johnathan Smith and we've played them the most of any B1G team in the last twenty years.

It's pre-season make fun of rats and cougs time. Oregon State has a truly awful and messed up schedule because OSU and WSU went full scorched earth on the only conference that would help them... the Mountain West. These schedules are absolutely dreadful and the sad fact of the matter is that for the Beavers and Cougs they might not even dominate these schedules they threw together out of desperation. Oregon State BeaversOregon State Football ScheduleView the 2025 Oregon State Football Schedule at on3.com. The Beavers Football schedule includes opponents, date, time, and results. Washington State CougarsWashington State Football ScheduleView the 2025 Washington State Football Schedule at on3.com. The Cougars Football schedule includes opponents, date, time, and results. And perhaps the saddest part of it all is that OSU and WSU play each other TWICE! Anyway... here are my record predictions. Oregon State 7-5 Washington State 9-3 I think both come out with winning records but I think they both take some embarrassing losses. And even if one of them comes out of this with say.... 11-1 these schedules are so bad that they aren't getting a playoff invite no matter what.

I think playing a bunch of ACC teams that have no connection to Stanford (and Cal for that matter) was difficult to get people to the games. Especially since neither team is good. I've said it a million times at this point but one more for good measure. Stanford is perhaps the biggest loser in the transfer portal and NIL era. Their academic standards make it that an athlete must qualify for for masters programs and be accepted for those programs effectively independent of football. So they feed the portal and don't draw from it. Sure they can kinda target some undergrads but there is a reason David Shaw left when he did... He couldn't retain or recruit effectively anymore. Players come and go and Stanford can't compete.

Colt absolutely would be recruited by Lanning. In large part because he was a highly rated Oregon recruit and protecting your backyard, even if small is important. I feel Colt was close to Kelly and didn't have a connection or relationship with Helfrich. I think the coaching change hit him really hard. I feel Lanning's culture could keep Colt in line. The Lanning culture is really focused on wider relationships.. Also Kelly and Helfrich were both coaches you did their things and you either related to them and connected or didn't. Winning covers up a lot of culture problems. The behind the scenes stuff shows a lot of how Lanning's culture works and it gives players a LOT of structure. Something that Colt needed for sure. Also the game has changed a lot and the rules around coaches and players have changed a lot in the last decade and player coach interactions aren't as limited as they used to be to the season.

I had to go back and look at the schedule. The Ducks dropped 77 on Southern Utah out the gate. This was the highest amount of points scored until the Lanning Ducks dropped 81 on PSU. So that 77 is going to inflate numbers a bit. 42 points against a 4 win Nebraska team. 49 against a 7-5 Wyoming team. 35 against 7-5 ASU (this game was a Duck loss) 45 against 5-7 Cal Which makes about 48 points per game. Though I'd say the competition doesn't put up a great measure to what the a healthy Herbert lead team could do. Where the meat of the schedule landed with the best teams in the conference that year, Washington, Stanford and Washington State all came when Herbert was injured. Burmeiser was certainly not up to the task of leading this team as a true freshman. The other big team in the Pac-12 that year was USC and Oregon didn't have them on the schedule. I'm not saying the Taggart offense was bad but looking at who it played against gives me pause. It would have been better with a healthy Herbert against heavy hitters in the schedule but we'll never know how well. Herbert was also just an amazing quarterback who made every coach he played for look good offensively. As always I value your comments and view point Mike.

Totally agree. There are some records that really can't be broken. On the flip side there are some incredible teams of the past that can't even remotely compare to the teams we have today. There is just no way to compare even 2000's football to today's product. They are just so wildly different in terms of rules, schemes, and player training.

I found Taggart was happy to run up the score. Where Kelly, Helfrich and Lanning all slow it down and burn the clock in a blowout and even put in backups... Taggart always seemed to keep his foot on the gas. Think of how many more touchdowns Nix would have had in 2023 if he wasn't sitting on the bench the entire 4th quarter? As for Cristobal... Yeah... I'm planning on looking at some of his offensive philosophy at the time. Has Cristobal finally learned to let hai OC actually do their thing? Maybe, we'll see this season if the Cam Ward production was an anomaly or if MC finally learned something.

Interesting thought.... What if Helfrich hired Wilcox as a SC instead of Hoke? Probably would have had a job a few years longer. Justin Wilcox was a pretty good DC but as a HC he can't seem to get both sides of the ball aligned. He also doesn't have the resources. I have a different view of Helfrich than many. I don't see him and his staff digging a hole for the program but rather being left behind in terms of recruiting. Offensively they were fine.... Defensively they were a mess. Recruiting they were ahead of Bellotti but weren't changing with the times.

I'll add that what if scenario to my off season writing list next spring! That is something interesting to ponder.

In both cases of Taggart and Cristobal when they left they helped Oregon in more ways than one. Leaving so Oregon could move on to a better hire AND giving the Ducks a nice bit of pocket money to invest in the next hire. Had to go dig this one up... https://fishduck.com/2021/12/lets-be-thankful-for-the-coaches-who-have-left-oregon/ I almost forgot I wrote it but it is supplemental to this article.