David Marsh

The truth of the matter is that USC and Oklahoma, both instigators in the college football conference realignment, weren't ready for their new conferences. If Riley had stayed at Oklahoma the Sooners would still be floundering in SEC play, though they'd be scoring more points but probably not playing defense. Oklahoma and USC were better in their smaller fishbowls of the Big 12 and Pac-12 respectively. I think USC would be a solid No.2 team this year in the Old Pac-12. Oklahoma would probably be bowl eligible at least in the Old Big 12.

Pete Carroll maybe ... it feels like he is almost positioning himself for a return. But I don't think that would be a good hire. The recruiting requirements today are far more strenuous than they used to be. It's a younger man's game in that regard. Also USC doesn't have as much of a recruiting advantage when everyone is allowed to pay players.

Every year there is talk about a Heisman candidate needing a Heisman moment. A moment where they lift their team over their opponent and lead their team to victory. Gabriel had one of those games and moments... I think Gabriel's Heisman moment was pulling the ball and running for a 20-something yard touchdown against Ohio State and giving Oregon the lead back. Ashton Jeanty and Boise State are playing in a league that doesn't have any real competition for them. He's putting up incredible stats but in the one game against what is considered to be a good team, Oregon, Jeanty was bottled up for long portions of the game and they came up short. I guess his Heisman moment came with his long touchdown run against Oregon... but Boise didn't close that game out. And if Oregon and Boise State were to meet again today... I think the game gets lopsided real fast. This Oregon team is just growing at an exponential rate right now. The Heisman has been dominated by SEC athletes lately as well. That southern voting block for Heisman voters want to protect the SEC Heisman candidates and they vote very well together. They aren't giving it to a Mountain West kid.

Lincoln Riley is a Perfect Fit for USC and That’s Their Problem |... FISHDUCK.COM It has been absolutely delightful as Duck fans to watch USC’s problems, not only this year but over more than a decade at this... I love USC tears... they just make me so happy. Especially when you think they would have LOST THEIR MINDS if the AD hired Dan Lanning. I wonder who they hire next for the LA job... and who'll be dumb enough to take it.

If you want to play college football forever... just be named "Cam" at this point.

Only because Ohio State lost is this even being considered an issue. If Ohio State won and did what Lanning did it would just be called brilliant coaching and then maybe MAYBE discussed in the off season. Let the rule stand for this season... it may only come up a once or twice more this season and change it in the off season. Lanning played in the rules and used the rules to benefit him. It's call brilliant gamesmanship. Applaud him for it this season and change the rule for next season.

Which is also why we didn't see Ohio State do.all that much against us well.

Oregon had two penalties for 20 yards. One was the bad Holden penalty the other was intentional. I don't have so much of a problem with the 4th and goal attempt that failed.... It was well designed and Tez was wide open. Gabriel just didn't see him. But the 40isn yard field goal miss should have been a hit. This team has so much growth still. And if Lanning continues to push this team and we see them take on the near perfect execution we had last year with that killer instinct. Then Ohio State may be in for a rematch they don't want to have. Neutral field or not. I think our secondary locked down those wide receivers with the magic hands as good as they could have... Just needed to get more pressure on the QB and with Burch and additional growth I think we get that. Ohio State will get a bit better. But I think they executed and fulfilled their game plan almost as good as could have been expected. Looking at how they moved the ball on offense they were very consistent. More consistent than Oregon was... But Oregon was explosive and schemed up a better game. Ohio State's defense is very very good... With their athlete advantage they want to play that way because it has and will dominate games. Until they play someone with similar skill and can pick on some of the one-on-one match ups.

Everyone in the media and Ohio State seemed to forget 2021 ever happened. I mean I have seriously been questioning whether that ever happened because the last match up ever referenced is 2015 which Oregon lost. It already feels like everyone is forgetting that Ohio State lost this one as there are so many declarations that Ohio State is the better team.

This has a misleading title. How Oregon's win changes the the CFP picture? Their answer is that it doesn't... Oregon is still worse than Ohio State. I'm going to be blunt... One of my biggest takeaways from this game was that Oregon still has a lot more growing room. Ohio State looked like I expected them to and I don't know they have much more of a ceiling. They are very good but I'm not sure they left more points on the field than Oregon did. Ohio state left 3 points and were gifted 7. Oregon left at least 10 on the field and weren't gifted any. The narrative I keep coming around to is that Oregon was lucky. Pate is really the only one that seems to actutgive us credit. And actually spent time talking about us and not just Ohio State.

I agree this would certainly have been more meaningful and impact... though I don't think doing it during the press conference that night would have been appropriate for two reasons. 1. I don't think Holden had the mental head-space to do it that night. I don't think most adults would be able to emotionally regulate and get themselves into the correct mindset to own up to their actions that quickly. 2. Those media interactions and interviews were about the team and the team's win. Giving airtime to an apology that focused on the actions of one player kinda goes against focus. I am sure Lanning is going to have him stand up on the stage during a team meeting and apologize to the entire team that way. We may get a taste of it in a Ducks vs Them video but I kinda doubt it. That apology is far more important and meaningful than anything that goes out to the media and fan base. We love this team and we may all appreciate an apology but the reality is that we don't work or train nearly as hard as these players.

I am sure we'll have Burch for the next go around... Outside of that... this is the START of a rivalry. The hate between the two will only grow if we take the B1G championship.

I read the letter... as a teacher I've read far too many AI generated things. This didn't strike me as AI generated but it could have... in short is was a pretty standard apology. I wouldn't have been surprised if it started as AI generated or was based off a standard apology. It doesn't go into specifics it is just standard. As for Holden... he has been running hot emotionally for quite a few games now. I think he got an unsportsmanlike against Michigan State. He needs to control himself better. Though if anyone was watching when Holden entered the tunnel he sat down and broke down. He was clearly upset and he knew he had let everyone down. That's the lesson learned and to be blunt he didn't need to be yelled at. He probably needs a sports psychologist to be honest because he runs too hot emotionally too much of the time. He needs some strategies to cool down and to focus that emotion into lifting others up on his own team.

Those Ohio State receivers have incredible hands. The ball just seems to fly to it and stick to them. I'm sure they would have found a way to catch the ball if an Oregon receiver blanketed him... but at least we could have contested it. It was a physical game for sure. But like you I'm just fine with the call going the way it did and not against the Ducks. Also... lets let Ohio State have their field goal. We get our interception and take 7 points off the board for Ohio State in the process. I'll take that deal.

Jeanty is good and probably the best runningback in college football right now. But he's stuck at Boise State playing Mountain West competition. He won't be tested (again) until the playoff but by then the Heisman voting all done and it's over. I think he gets an invite but I'd be shocked if he won it. Travis Hunter is doing some incredible things but I think he may be sideline with an injury for a game two. Just like last year. He's doing everything for Colorado right now and that's what is literally hurting him. If he wants the Heisman he needs to be a full time receiver who dabbles at DB in some special sets. Not a full time two way player. That's too many snaps. Gabriel stands a good chance if Oregon wins out. But I think the SEC voting block might be against him and he'll lose. But I can live in hope. It's worked so far this season.

It's like all Oregon talk for the first 20 mins. Definitely worth a listen.

Same thing went in the Pac-12. Lanning has a couple losses that should have been wins in year one that proved you don't underestimate an opponent. I think the Beaver win in 2022 will go down as their last significant win in program history.

I have confidence that that won't happen and here's why. Lanning has done a fantastic job focusing his teams. Last year after losing to Washington the Ducks went out there and disposed of opponents for the rest of the season. Sure that was a loss and not a major win but it was a close game with a ton of emotion. Lanning got his team focused and set on the next game. I feel he will do the same against Purdue next week. Sure it's Purdue but we have to travel a couple time zones to meet them though I do think it's easier for West Coast teams to go east than vice versa. Game starts at 5pm PST and we've had plenty of late starts this year. No biggie. Ohio State started a game at what 7:30 their body time last night and they rarely start anything that late even at home. Now for my second big thought ... Jalen DeBoer I think is one of the best big game planners in the country. He's fantastic at it and the only thing that stopped him last year was getting smacked by a Michigan wall and defense that wouldn't let me do what he wanted. DeBoer put on a master class of a first half against Georgia. He hung on for deer life at the end of that one but won it. His game plan was disrupted by Georgia's second half adjustments and he couldn't do what he wanted and it almost completely fell apart. With that aside... DeBoer failed last year to motivate his team after a big win just like this year. Last year Washington played a bottom of the conference ASU team the week after a huge Oregon win. They should have lost that game if it wasn't for some incredibly generous rules interpretation from the refs. Seriously that was one of the worst officiated games I've ever seen. This year... The hangover was real again against what was supposed to be Vanderbilt and not an intimidating team. They were beaten. DeBoer doesn't really change his name plan for lesser opponents and he lets them sneak up and bite him. Last year they Huskies survived by one score games more often than not. But when it was time to get ready to play Oregon... DeBoer had a solid game plan against the Ducks. I felt Lanning learned more from last year than DeBoer did and I feel Lanning is going to get this team ready to tear Purdue apart in a show of dominance that we own the B1G now.

This is going to be big each year that passes. If Bama drops another game this year I'm not going to say their recruiting class will crumble but the 2026 class might be a whole lot more difficult to put together.

I think the QB contact was due to the whistle blowing and Ohio State players stopping what they were doing.

Oregon STILL has yet to play a complete game!

I think Fisch is doing better than expected... Not by Husky standards but their expectation is 12-0 every year. Washington has a completely depleted roster and are a full rebuild. Fisch also arrived very late in the recruiting cycle so his first actual recruiting year is this year. So we'll have to wait and see on them. But Oregon should destroy them this year.

And it's because of these two losses that we're in the B1G. Neither would be at the bottom of this year's Pac-12. Granted if the Pac-12 was around this year it'd be garbage. Well two of them are around this year and their pretty bad.

We also have a WIN streak against Ohio State! We've won the last two games! Though to be honest... I think I rather play Penn State for the B1G championship game but I think we'll see Ohio State again real soon.

I don't think this type of play is a dead ball foul. I think it's like off sides that let's the play go and let's the offense choose which result they want. The fact that Lanning called a time out before puttinng 12 players on the field is what kinda indicates this may have been intentional. At this point in the game with field position where it was the trade off for time for yards was certainly a good one.