David Marsh

There was a similar trend against Penn State. Penn State got a ton of generous ball placements that gave them first downs. Where Oregon got the opposite. I remember Dante running and clearly got the first down before he started his slide but the refs marked him short so the Ducks had it at 4th and 1.... Granted Davison ran it in for a TD next play but still. It does feel like th Ducks are getting the hard mode treatment when it comes to refs this season. I thought a couple of the holding calls on Saturday were a bit dubious. Not that they weren't legit holding but when things are for the most part getting ignored but flags flying at certain times it seems funny.

I think Fisch would be the best choice. And I'm not just saying that for the Husky tears, though that too. But honestly, I think he is a great coach and he has connections and probably understands the environment better than most. He can also adapt to get it done. Kiffin would be fun. Franklin I think needs a year off. The difference in how Penn State played yesterday was starkly different from the games post Oregon loss. Like someone cleared the room of the toxicity. Franklin became toxic at PSU after the Oregon loss I'm sure. He's a good coach and will find a spot but I don't think Florida is going to go for someone who has a reputation of losing the big games. Just my takes. I bet they go for Kiffin or someone flashy don't snub Fisch... If I were to place a bet at this very moment.

Against Indy there was nothing strange or interesting about the Oregon offense... Other than it's ineptitude. We had three strange plays in one series against Rutgers. It really felt like there was a lack of creativity from the offensive scheming side of things against Indiana.

Highly unlikely... Novosad throws a pretty nice ball and Moga has athleticism that Thomas just doesn't have.

Yeah this is fine. I was expecting something way more time dyed. But it's only the number and a badge. I think I might be a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting more. Even if it was more that would have been ugly... I was expecting more crazy. Oh well.

I was banned on scoopduck from talking and linking a FishDuck article. I think I have only ever posted over there 5 times. It's a crazy place over there that's for sure. Go there for the inside information come to FishDuck for the conversation. That's for sure. Thanks for everything that you do Charles.

Yeah I'm not sure about it. Just passing it on for the hell of it. But again I have no evidence. I also don't know quite how official the injury reports are. They need to be filed in know but how definitive do they actually need to be?

I don't think Novosad or Moga have redshirts at this point. Pretty sure Novosad used his in 23 with Nix's last season. Pretty sure Moga has also burned a redshirt sitting behind Gabriel. So I haven't got a clue what is going on but I'm pretty sure there aren't any redshirts here. Now.. i did read a rumor that maybe they are trying to get Novosad a medical redshirt and for that he can't appear in any additional games while being injured. But that's just a rumor and I have zero evidence.

One of the biggest difference between this week and last week was that last week's ref crew was a lot more flag happy in general. Oregon has gotten used to a lot of flags not being thrown for rough and boarderline holding play. Last week's crew was throwing flags... this week's crew really wasn't which has been more of the norm throughout the season to date.

They are fighting like hell out there. But Oregon has a fire in their bellies and is just physically superior. I want to say there are more players on the line of scrimmage than normal on defense..

Ok... I talked about how some of the new rules were good and others bad. The new rule concerning injured players I said was going to result in some dumb penalties. And I'll be honest this is one of them. Sometimes after some hits it takes a second for a hurt player to realized they're hurt.

Yeah... With Oregon's loss last week I knew I didn't want to be Rutgers. And I don't think Rutgers wants to be Rutgers right now..

Running the ball well does that.

Didn't they say this was a sold out game? I'm seeing a lot of empty seats.

Does anyone else suddenly feel better about our loss last week now? Just knowing that Miami is no longer undefeated and lost to an unranked team makes that feel so much better. Still not happy about losing but I feel better.

It's also kinda funny that Adidas US headquarters are also based in Oregon. So there is still a little bit of Oregon in their clothing.

Beat Oregon Today

Veteran teams tend to be the exception not the rule. Michigan two seasons ago and Georgia before them and the many other Alabama and Clemson national championship teams had one big thing going for them... Teams composed of veterans who knew how to stay focused. I'd say that was also in large part why last year's Oregon team was able to stay focused was some supreme leadership by veterans. There are some veterans on this team but Oregon returned very very few starters from last year. That isn't a knock on this year's talent but staying focused for a bye week is tough. Michigan of two years ago had a team full of 5th and 6th year players. That has become an increasing rarity in college football, especially since it was rare then. Losses don't eliminate from the playoff. They suck but to re-establish the standard sometimes it helps in ways a close win doesn't. I would personally rather not suffer any losses. I personally hate it... But to enact change sometimes failure is the only incentive.

It certainly feels better that way. But the lesson often sets in better from a loss than a win. The reality is that at some point the Ducks were going to need a loss for the culture to be reaffirmed. Everyone let's stuff slide when winning. Coaches might not approve of it and the best coaches actively fight against it. But few people can ever keep themselves perfectly disciplined while winning. Losing is a call for back to basics.

This game kinda reminds me of the DeBoer Washington teams Lanning struggled with. The game was close..much closer than the 10 point loss. It's in the details and the minor things and the preparation that would make all the difference.

And absolutely this. Moore was shaken and got antsy pretty quickly as the game progressed because he took so many sacks. Some were the offensive lines fault and some were half or holding onto the ball for too long. Remember Gabriel and Nix both could get the ball out in about 2 seconds. Yes, they were experienced but that kept them from taking a ton of sacks.

The runs up the gut were working. I say this every year, early on at least, we need patience and let the hot hand running back develop over the course of multiple series. Davison was that guy. He was getting chunk yardage on a regular basis. Our tackles were getting destroyed in pass rush and even on the outside runs but the interior was making lanes and a big back like Davison was taking yards.

Even with all that said Jon the path to the playoff is still simple. Just Win! Even if USC and Washington are ranked and potentially in play for a playoff seat by the time they meet the Ducks the Ducks can knock them out of their way. The B1G Championship game is more difficult but I am frankly not as concerned about that at this point as I think conference championship games are more detrimental at this point. Outside of a strange scenario like Clemson last year, it's probably better just to get into the playoff and have a first round game to get your feet wet rather than an extra bye week.

For the record I don't think this offensive line is bad... I think they played badly. Their inside run blocking was quite good but they were getting beat on the edges. It felt like the line was struggling and it didn't help Moore's struggles because he did have open receivers but he didn't have the time and comfort to find them. The reality is that this game was pretty close. The missed field goal was a six point swing for Indiana but if Oregon made that field goal at the end of the half they would have gone into the half up 13-10. There were a few holding calls that killed drives, if those calls don't happen I am sure the Ducks put up some points. Cut back on the interceptions down to one and the Ducks probably win this game by a score or two. Credit to Indiana, they needed the Ducks to play poorly and force them into bad play and they did just that. But if a rematch comes in the playoff... don't expect the same result. I am expecting this offensive line to have a chip on their shoulder for the rest of the season.

Whittington missed several blocks and tried to get a big play instead of taking the first down yards on that first series. The blocking was quite poor and it wasn't just the offensive line for sure.