David Marsh

As a writer having a wonderful library of photos to look through and find the right image for an article is incredible. I've spent loads of time looking at video and getting screen shots and those pictures are usually worse and don't fulfill what I was looking for. So thank you Charles for getting the photographers and thank you to everyone who has donated to make these pictures possible.

I feel if there was ever a human who seemed to embody the Pac-12 it was Bill Walton.

I think sign stealing was he driving force behind the headset move. One of the things I love from the Kelly era are the bonkers signs the players held up. Everyone assumed they meant something but the reality was they were just there to divert attention. I think a few teams spent a while trying to decide those signs.

I went back into my very first articles at FishDuck to find these two. I think these were my 3rd and 4th articles. The creation of the Pac-12 from the Pac-10 was just a failure on so many levels. A Failed Fan Experience: Pac-12 Expansion Diminishes Rivalries |... FISHDUCK.COM Take a moment and think of this year’s conference schedule and pick out the top three games you want to see. As Oregon fans... A Failed Fan Experience: the Pac-12 Championship Anticlimax | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM The expansion of the Pac-12 conference has not been to the benefit of fans. In my previous article I argued that the... I'd say the last two years were an improvement in terms of the Pac-12 championship game. But too little too late.

I had 247 Duck Territory for a couple years and found there wasn't that much value in the inside information. Scoop Duck I feel is far better value. However, I do find that a lot of the inside information really comes concerning recruiting. If you're not super into recruiting it doesn't do you much good. The only other time that inside information is potentially nice is during great coaching instability. Sometimes you get nuggets about hirings. However, with Lanning's hiring Mullens kept everything super under wraps and there were no real nuggets coming out about that. And Lanning himself doesn't reveal any real info about a potential hire until it leaks elsewhere. Also... We are hopefully back in an era of stability where there will be relatively few coaching hires. This season there were two. One internal promotion for the new inside lbs coach. And then the RB coach hire if Samples.

I only see 2 ACC teams getting in if Clemson and FSU both have 10 wins at least. Both are big enough brands that they could warrant the inclusion. I don't see the Big 12 having enough brand power to warrant a fringe second team.

The media payouts for the ACC are awful and their contract goes until 2036 I believe so a really long time. Outside of media rights payouts a lot of money comes from different sources. Making bowl games and doing well in tournaments get the whole conference money as it's split among the members. This is usually paid out over several years. This is the money the Pig 2 are really keeping. The ACC has those big brands that are enabling these bigger payouts. Next year I suspect there might be a significant gap between the ACC and Big 12 because the ACC has better teams and brands. In terms of the college football playoff I see the B1G and SEC getting at least 2 teams a piece in easily if not a third. The ACC and Big 12 are guaranteed 1 each but I think the ACC could get 2 inif things go well but I doubt that's possible for the Big 12 without a whole lot of luck. But this still doesn't change how FSU, Clemson, UNC and Miami all feel they are being undervalued and carrying their conference. Well Miami is probably being carried in truth. Their media deal stinks and that is what is creating resentment. The Big 12 is a conference of left overs and definitely the no. 4 conference on the power 4. If the big players leave the ACC for the power 2 then the ACC may restructure to look more like the Big 12... Or they just merge with the Big 12.

I put up with a bunch of things that she likes right now because that's the way life is... but Bluey is an adult cartoon dressed up as a kids show. It's quite good.

Is the Pac-2 even worth mentioning on any of these lists? It's a coin flip as to who wins it's literally a 50-50 shot. WAZU might be slightly better on paper but it's not enough to make it any more than a coin toss. Putting out predictions for every G5 conference is a better use of time than the Pac-2 at this point. Either WSU or OSU will need to go 12-0 in dominant fashion to make the playoff. Then to make any sort of "splash" they'll have to make it to the semi finals which isn't going to happen. Good laugh though.

I'm fine with this... But when fall rolls around I'll have a 2 year old and a 6 month old at home... Let's just say having night games at least means my girls are in bed. My eldest isn't took keen on me watching anything but Bluey... Granted Bluey is pretty good. But it isn't Duck Football. So for me a night game means I get to watch in mostly peace.

And if they make that bowl game how many opt out? You get the sense that it's playoff or bust. Or perhaps that Colorado is entitled to a playoff berth for just who they are.

What should follow is a de-recruitment like what Georgia and by extension Oregon, as he learned it from Smart and Saban. You need to play the hype game in recruiting and evaluate talent and personalities. But once they're on campus they get knocked back and they either conform to a culture of the team and community or they transfer. It feels like Colorado is a group of individuals and not a cohesive team. Getting high level talent to buy into the idea that they aren't special is tough. But what i love about Lanning era Oregon football is that it really does feel unselfish. I mean Nix could have had better stats last year and maybe it could have propelled him to win the Heisman if he wasn't sitting on the bench for the 4th quarter. Bucky Irving had to share touches with Jordan James. Just think how much greater either player's stats would have been if they were the featured back. But they shared and the the team was better for it.

Based on the question as to what has changed my opinion on the program the most... Chip Kelly because it was the blue offense that made me interested in football. Before that I didn't care about football.

I'd love to see the graduation report for athletes in the Lanning years so far. Under Cristobal it took a bit of a dip.

Inside the college football NIL market: How much players at each position are actually getting paid - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Diving into the truth about college football's name, image and likeness deals for players in the transfer portal Interesting read... Nothing too surprising on the whole. These numbers can't be precise because of the nature of NIL but it's interesting to get an idea as to what the average range for players are. Keep in mind that these ranges are where most players would fit from the portal. Players like Derrick Harmon, big DL or OL players, going going to cost more than their projected numbers. Simply put, there aren't many of them ever in the portal. Just look at Colorado's lines and you'll get a good idea as to the average line players in the portal. Quarterbacks aren't too surprising... Though I think Division Street paid quite a bit for both Gabriel and Moore. Upwards of those average ranges. But it gives you a sense of where a lot of the NIL bidding starts and mostly ends.

I have found it amusing how both Travis Hunter and Shaduer Sanders expect to be two of the main contenders for the Heisman this year. They'll both get some hype but the media votes in the south aren't going to vote for them... And the B1G is going to have some worthy contenders as well. And at the end of the day I'd be shocked if Colorado is in contetniito win the Big 12 the League of Left Overs. It's a lot of talk for a lot of clicks but the Colorado's transfer Portal roster has a ceiling of a bowl game and not a good one.

From what I have read on recruiting sites is that this Oregon class isn't going to be about getting a lot of recruits as the roster is quite full and will continue to be full. So the focus is going to be more on big time players that fit Oregon's needs. Lanning will use the portal to fill some holes and he has done a fantastic job in doing so so if we miss out of any players we want on the prep recruiting side of things there is a chance we get someone from the portal. This is a super exciting time to be a Duck.

Video games are fun. Personally I haven't played a sport video game since middle school but I enjoyed them back then. You get to play as your favorite team with your favorite players and play out a bunch of what ifs. Now I tend to play strategy games when I have the chance to play. I've personally enjoyed playing Europa Universalalis IV as it lets me play out a bunch of historical scenarios and just have a good time. Granted even then I don't have time for a grand strat game so I usually just play StarCraft 2 which is significantly shorter play time. What's incredible is the ever growing esports communities and competitions. It sounds ridiculous that there are professional videos gamers but in truth is it really any different than professional chess players or athletes? They all play the games at a way higher level and faster than any of the common folk. I don't expect older generations to understand but it's growing in popularity. For many having a college football game is super exciting.. Personally, I'm not interested but this will also be a recruiting tool down the road.

Interesting connection. But i don't think a Lanning hired Samples for this particular connection but because of his overall track record as a coach and a recruiter. Oregon is geographically isolated in terms of talent. There are only one or two players that are worth a scholarship offer out of the state in any year. There are two to three walk on candidates. Oregon has historically struggled to break into Washington for recruitment but the tides have turned under Lanning in that regard but still there aren't enough prospects to fill a roster that can compete for a national championship from Oregon and Washington. Not are there enough if you throw in California as well. For the Ducks to be successful they need to grab players out of Texas and the South. Under Lanning he has had a very holistic approach to recruiting where the whole staff works on recruiting players and not just position coaches. I think that is a bigger aspect of Lanning's secret weapon. Leverage his best recruiters while also making players feel they have deep relationships with the whole staff.

Never count Lanning out. Lanning and this Oregon staff are absolute pros in flying under the radar. Oregon appears as a contender for many recruits but disappears... Only to reemeege triumphant. Also Division Street doesn't get into bidding wars this early for NIL. They'll put out a fair offer and wait until December before they decide to jump into any massive bidding wars. We don't have direct proof of this but Oregon will lose out on recruits early only to make a push for them later. Lanning never stops recruiting.

Fun fact. I have a coworker who is from Michigan and B1G country. He was saying that as the University of Chicago was a founding member and left they could return if they wanted to and bump the member school that replaced them from the conference. That member school is Michigan State. It would be funny ... But Michigan State would get a speedy invite "back" to the B1G if that were to happen.

The thing is that there was money available to keep the Pac-12 alive. ESPN and Fox both decided that they didn't want to. How Fox and ESPN Dismantled the Pac-12 | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM FOX and Disney/ESPN control virtually all of college sports. The Pac-12 has failed to make a deal with either of... The Pac-12 made massive mistakes... But they still could have survived if ESPN and Fox wanted to let them.

They'll have a competitive price until their contracts run out with their other platforms and then they'll up the price. They have full control over the majority of sports and can afford to wait. This is a common strategy for most major media companies right now. Only Disney (by extension Hulu) and Netflix are actually turning a profit right now. Maybe Amazon but that's by extension of the Prime service. Paramount+ saw a significant increase in their subs once the star trek licenses expired on other platforms and they gained full control. Star Trek remains one of the most streamed franchises. I would personally love a steaming platform that was relatively cheap that had all Duck content as I don't use the rest of the "cable" package (YouTube and Hulu live are both effectively cable on a streaming platform). But streaming has moved from being a cheaper option to an ala carte option that can add up real quick. Hoping the pricing is good and stays good but I'm skeptical. College football in particular is in the hands of really just two companies and they're calling all the shots.

USC is going to be fine at quarterback... And probably receiver. Is Moss going to be as good as Williams? Highly unlikely but with Riley he'll do pretty good. If Riley is your head coach you should feel good about quarterback. It's all the other positions on the field they should be concerned with. Without Williams last year I think USC would have missed a bowl game.

It's fun though... For the same reasons we all watch what's going on in Colorado and USC and anywhere else. And it's so entertaining because our Ducks are in a good spot. We'd probably still talk about it if Oregon was coming off a 3 win season but most of us would probably be less engaged in the off season. So we are all hungry for football and in trying to fill the void with junk food.