David Marsh

I can guarantee one or two plays that will be completely bonkers out of Lanning.

Looks like it will be a team from the ACC officiating the Rose Bowl. 2024-25 bowl officiating assignments WWW.FOOTBALLZEBRAS.COM Officiating crew conference assignments for the 2024-25 bowl games. That kinda makes me feel better. Not dealing with B1G refs who might be more interested in protecring the Blue Bloods than being objective. Then again... The ACC let Miami get away with murder this year. So I don't know... And I don't know these particular refs either.

Lanning is recruiting his own roster. This is an outstanding piece of recruiting. And don't be surprised to see him make an appearance in the playoff where redshirts are preserved already. In this era it's rare to hear about a player willing to redshirt, after having seen the field the previous year, and then return to the same school.

Well that graphic is certainly prettier than mine... Which was just made in excel.

Fun fact I JUST realized about the Heisman candidates. All the non-Duck Heisman candidates have lost to Oregon at some point in their careers. But wait... Travis Hunter was injured in 23 and didn't play against the Ducks. Ok... Sure, but he was on that Colorado team and let's be real, if he played was the outcome of that game going to change? NO! Turns out not playing the Ducks can help your Heisman ambitions. Gabriel is a class act and I'm hoping he achieves his end goal.

None of our tightends were a big factor in the passing game... Or at least the scoring aspect of the passing game until recently. They have evolved as a team and are doing stuff now at the end of the season they weren't doing in the first half. Ohio State has reached their height a few times but they have also blundered greatly against Michigan. But Ohio States ceiling still feels lower than Oregon's and I feel that had more to do about coaching then players.

Since 2010 Oregon has been to the most Rose Bowls and won the most Rose Bowls. This will be their 5th appearance since 2010 and we have gone 3-1 since then. Our last Rose Bowl loss was to Ohio State on the conclusion of the 2009 season. The Ducks have come a LONG way since then. It's weird this year because I think this may be the first time that the B1G is guaranteed to win the Rose Bowl.

I guess you can say their season's aspirations crumbled.

Hmm... This Alamo Bowl seemed to come down to something as simple as the scrimmage. BYU owned it and Colorado made a few spectacular athletic plays but those don't sustain a game, season or championship. If the Buffs played the Ducks this year Shedeur would have been sacked ten times.

Gotta hand it to the Pop Tart Bowl... They went all out on bowl branding and this was an incredible showing by Pop Tarts. I mean the trophy was also a toaster. They had sprinkle decorations on the field. They had a Pop Tart mascot be incinerated and turned into a cooked pop tart that was then consumed by the winning players. It was the least Mario Cristobal Bowl Game ever! But it featured Mario Cristobal! Freaking amazing!

Competitive tag has more defense than this.

I've gone after Whittington before and he immediately proved me wrong. But last year's running back tandum of Irving and James I think was much stronger. Whittington just isn't as consistent as either of them and gets stopped a lot easier. I'm looking forward to seeing what Riggs can do next year.

I love Mariota but I'm not sure he would fit this offense like Gabriel does. However... Justin Herbert in this offense would be a nightmare for any team.

Lanning has no issue bringing in a player who may end up sitting on the bench. Jay Harris is the case and point. He has had some flashes when he's had a chance to touch the ball but there is a reason he isn't in rotation.

I have for years! They have been just like the B1G. A very strong top but a significant drop off afterwards. But this year is debate how strong the top is.

Keep in mind lines are established to separate fans from their money and take a bet. Ohio State is favored in part because their fanbase is bigger and this is anyway to hedge their bets to get buckeyes to put money down while also ensuring Vegas can still win. In a way I'm reading this line as an Oregon line because the bets will come in for Ohio State but if you're the house trying to make money on this one who do you actually want to cover? Oregon. Which means there is some faith Oregon creates problems for Ohio State and can cover the spread and potentially win outright. Betting lines aren't always predictions but are always about separating people from their money.

If they want to keep the farse of making the playoffs means a shot at the NC. Most aren't that level of quality. Including conference champions is fine with this format to me. It did create a level of excitement down the stretch. But getting an automatic bid doesn't not mean they should get an automatic bye. The rankings are the rankings and they determine the seeding. So ASU would have gotten the 11 seed, as that is where No. 12 but jumped Bama because of the CC. Then Clemson is No. 12 because they get in because of the CC, just like it happened. But Boise would be no. 9 they earned their way in without the CC but they don't get to jump up to no. 3 and get an auto bye. Personally... If like to see de-facto conference champions not have to play a CCG. And there being a play in game or two in its place. But that would mean less money potentially... But maybe not. There was no background drama in Oregon v Penn State as they were both locks for the playoff.

We have Mad Man Dan! What Is Mad Man Dan Cooking Up Next? | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM Dan Lanning has put together an undefeated season so far at 11-0 and the Ducks are effectively a lock for... I can guarantee he's cooking up something to frustrate Ryan Day. We'll have Jordan Burch this time. We'll have better offensive execution. Our offensive line is gelling and has more depth than it has all season with Harper ans Iuli both healthy. So what's cookin' Dan?

They can fix the format but the blowouts will continue... Just later. I made a post about what the.playoff would look like if the teams were the same but the seeding was just 1-12 based on ranking. In that scenario Oregon would play the winner of Boise State and Indiana. That game would probably be exciting and fun to watch. The other first round games would be interesting as well. But the second round would have become the meat grinder for most teams outside of maybe Ohio State and Notre Dame. The second round would be a slaughter instead of the first round. There just aren't many teams of the caliber to belong in the playoff and NC hunt.

Which is why this year we really only need Oregon v Georgia.

Semi-Final would be as good as it gets. They're on the same side of the bracket. Would be fun to see Dilly beat Sark and Texas though.

Oddly enough the closest game in the first round was between Clemson and Texas and that was probably a coaching factor. But at the end of the day Texas did just have the better players.

Asking for a friend, that friend is me. Is Duck gear appropriate festive wear? It's green after all.

I like Dillingham but I'm not sure he's the 8th best coach. He's done an incredible job and I hate to say but he's in the Big 12 which means his competition this year was actually easier than last year in the Pac-12. The turnaround is still fantastic and a credit to him. I think we get a better sense of his coaching ability and where his program is when they play Texas and I don't think that game looks pretty. As for the Boise State head coach... Same sort of thing. He's in the Mountain West. As for Day... He's good but has some major flaws. We'll see Day v Lanning part 2 soon enough.... We all know Mad Man Dan will have something cooked up for the Buckeyes. Probably a deeper dive into the playbook but also probably a strange play or two just to make things spicy. I don't see Day having much like that in store. He's a pretty straightforward coach who will rely on his players to just be better than his opponent's. It works 90% of the time..

Getting the tight ends involved in the touchdown scoring has been relatively late this season on the whole. I think the first TE touchdown was against Maryland. Not sure why that was to be honest. I've liked the way they are getting Sadiq the ball over the last few games. A bit more conventional than some of the weirder stuff they tried earlier in the season and it's been working. Like you, Charles, I'm curious to see how this offense evolved in the playoff. At times it has really felt like Lanning has held a lot back and sprinkled in some Mad Man Dan crazy stuff but just the good solid deep end of the playbook has remained a bit of a mystery.