David Marsh

If a qb on Oregon's current roster starts I'm kinda hoping and expecting it would be Novosad. Thompson has had moments of looking comfortable out there ... But against ASU he went back to not looking that good out there. His pick was pretty awful and very avoidable. His touchdown pass was good. But frankly I kinda expected another score out of the second string offense against ASU. The offense stalled out a couple of times when it really shouldn't have but there were errant throws and a pick.

They brought Bo in so fast, because they had to due to the transfer portal window, that I don't think they honestly knew the full picture. This is what they knew for sure... 1. No expirence in the room with Anthony Brown gone. 2. Ty Thompson didn't have that many opportunities in game and he looked not great but he was a true freshman so that isn't wholly surprising. 3. They wouldn't have had a ton of time to look through a lot of practice tape. They did probably talk to coaches a bit but most new coaches really just want to do their own evaluations. I think Nix was a no brainier. Is Thompson made a giant leap in development and beat out Nix so be it but without doing a full evaluation which Lanning frankly didn't have the time to do as he prepped with Georgia for their championship run and hired a staff and recruited both the current team and the recruitment class... He wouldn't have truly had enough time to do a full evaluation of the room. Grabbing a transfer in Nix meant they had something. And unlike Oregon's QB room at the time, Lanning himself had some an evaluation of Nix because he'd studied Nix's film as a DC for Georgia. Then he got Dilly rather quickly in his staff building and Dilly would have input having coaches Nix as to exactly the type of ayer he was and it was an easy get. The easy game footage to evaluate about Thompson would have just said... He has some physical skills but he really was there yet in game three of 2021 the game where he has his most play time because Brown went out with a minor injury. And MC's teams never saw the backups in the field for many garbage time reps because he refused to fully put opponents away and the starters tended to still be in the field against even lesser opponents for the final whistle.

I found Oregon picking up Nix was interesting. More than anything I felt it was because Lanning and Dillingham didn't know anything about their QB room and both knew Nix either personally or knew what he was capable of. The Nix we have today is way better than the Nix who transfered to Oregon. Oregon is in large part what they are today because of Nix's leadership as well. I don't think Williams would bring that type of leadership. However, it's really hard to gage because the Trojans are a team who have obviously given up but who did they give up on? Riley, most probably or Williams or both? It's hard to gage who Williams is as a leader because he has only ever been with Riley in college. I think Williams was a big part of their rally against Oregon where it felt like a comeback was possible before the Ducks shut it down, I don't think that was Riley inspired. But to the overall question... I think Williams would come with such a huge price tag NIL wise he wouldn't be worth it and there is the possibility that he disrupts Lanning's culture. So not worth it.

What has happened under Lanning is what I'm referring to as modern physicality. Cristobal was focused on beating the other team up physically and being more dominant with brute force. Lanning is not only using the greater physical ability to beat up on other teams but he is mentally challenging them too. Get players out of position and then beat them up with physical ability. I mean a great example of this was Herbert's second touchdown that came off a long run. But his blockers were big linemen and the whole play started with Herbert releasing off a block to take a short pass. It was a physical play that used brute force by getting big guys into space but it also had a mental element where the defender let Herbert release and the defense didn't and couldn't react to the convoy of big linemen running down the field. In one of my favorite articles I've written j talked about this whole focusing on the jumbo formation. I've linked it quite a few times this season but I'll do it again. Oregon Football is The Embodiment of Modern Physicality FISHDUCK.COM As Oregon fans, we heard all about physicality from former HC Mario Cristobal over the last four years... It's not enough to be the bigger team anymore but you have to stretch the opponent's mental ability. Making an defender think is absolutely the worst thing you can force them to do because they'll be slower. MC was and is predictable and that allows the other team to play a whole lot faster. Lanning makes the other team think which slows them down and let's the physical advantage dominate the game.

Yeah and Oregon broke the will of at least two teams that once graced the top 25 if not three. No team that has played Oregon has been the same afterwards. Always for the worse as well.

Wouldn't have minded the yellow helmet to add a splash more yellow but I also think the yellow helmet has black wings which doesn't benefit the overall look. Overall it's good! Edit... I didn't notice the white pants at first. The yellow helmet would certainly not work. Also I'm not sure I like the white pants with this look. Yellow pants!

It's crazy to think how the Ducks are cruising right now. Most teams have pulled out the duct tape and are cobbling together some semblance of a team in November and hope it works. ASU was on their 9th offensive line configuration this year last Saturday. Not saying that ASU is a good team suffering from injuries but by November a lot of things about the personnel lineup look rather different than it did at the start of the year. Oregon is running effectively the same personnel. They are changing things up because they want to and less because they need to. Or teams are like Washington and have been insanely lucky to date. But luck doesn't hold out forever.

I never liked the idea of basing SoS based on where teams are at this late I to the season because no team is the same as the year goes on. Colorado and USV both imploded big time when they were met with with teams that could beat them. Both fell apart down the stretch and yeah it's easy to say neither team was all that good. But earlier in the season they were in different places. Utah was a team that hung around in the top 25 for a long time with loads of injuries until they finally fell apart. Does that make them a bad team for the entirety of the season? No, but they fell apart down the stretch. Week 5 Utah was a very different team than week 12 Utah. You can say I'm just bitter that Oregon doesn't have any top 25 wins at this point when Oregon has played and beaten a good few top 25 teams over the course of the year but they aren't anymore. I mean if Oregon thunos the Beavers real good this week and the Beavers lose a bowl game they might not be a top 25 team for the final poll as well. I'd also say that Arizona is a way different team now than they they narrowly lost to Washington. If that game was to be replayed today I'd bet on Zona without a second thought but Washington didn't play the current Zona team, they played the team from the end of September which was worse than they are today. Rankings shift as the year goes on... Oregon is not the same team they were in mid October when they lost to Washington. And if they play in the conference championship game they'll be a different team then. Teams suffer injuries both minor and major and teams lose focus. We'll see which teams are left standing regardless of their records.

Cristobal did manage to win a Rose Bowl in year two for Oregon and win back to back conference championships and get our first win over Ohio State. In short ... Oregon fans were frustrated with Cristobal but he did at the very least give us something to satisfy us even if he was never going to take us to the promised land. For Miami... He has them bowl eligible this year. So I guess that's something.

I do think there will be a West Coast conference again someday. But it won't be called the Pac-# but probably something like Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) or something like that because the Pac name will still exist. But at that point I doubt OSU and WSU will be invited to this eventual new West Coast conference.

Josh Pate nailed it when it comes to USC and Lincoln Riley. Basically Riley is going to need to create a culture conducive for a big time DC. He has never shown the willingness to do so. So that means nothing will really happen if those changes aren't made no matter who they hire. Lets face it, as Oregon fans that exactly what we all experienced with Cristobal. Joe Moorhead was a super exciting hire for us as Duck fans because that should "fix" the offense right? WRONG because Cristobal didn't change the culture. Same applies for USC and defense.

Reasonably speaking here ... what could be done is for Oregon State to not have BSU on their "conference" schedule next year and instead Oregon gives OSU the BSU game and Oregon plays OSU. I mean that does mean for Oregon that they give up effectively a free win against BSU (they are a rebuild) for a team that is far more dangerous in OSU. But it also gives OSU 2 OCC games at that point which helps fill their potential schedule needs.

The thing I loved the most was his response to his unsportsmanlike penalty. He was concerned for JPJ and didn't want him to I get hurt without a shoe. He loves his players both current and former. He regrets getting the penalty but the reason for getting it I think is a recruiting point for him for parents.

I think this is the easiest one to answer... Because of Lanning and Stein taking a QB like Nix who was really seen as ok and making him into a Heisman favorite. I'm not sure if I'd take Shough, I love some of his tools and ability and it would be interesting to see how he works in an offense with our oline but not convinced he's our portal answer.

And if Zona holds onto him they get a steal. Fantastic coach who I don't think gets enough recognition because it's Zona and they haven't had a breakthrough season yet. Well... This is probably the break through season. I think the Big 12 is in for a unhappy surpeise the next few years. Utah, Arizona and ASU are all going to terrorize the Big 12. Colorado is a maybe... But the other three are going to be competing for the championship real quick.

Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough enters the transfer portal WWW.ON3.COM . Looks like Shough is back in the portal. Would you want him back with Stein's offense and Lanning as head coach? I'll be honest, I don't hate the idea.

I was for a name change but it has since moved so far into the back burner by both schools that it's been forgotten. So at this point it's still the civil war even if it's the unofficial name and that's fine. There is a chance that the series will be able to continue next year if they can figure out Oregon's game with BSU. I would think BSU and OSU play that as a non MW conference game and slide in a civil war game.

https://twitter.com/duckscrootin/status/1726329947999150526 This is pretty funny. Yeah Oregon gave up more points to ASU than Washington did but Oregon was able to pull its starters very early in the 3rd. Washington needed its starters for all four quarters and didn't score an offensive touchdown. Nix had... 6 TD passes!!!!

Every team is worn down from their past 9 games. But it all depends on the culture in how the team responds. USC and Colorado broke after a series of losses and their on field results show it. Oregon took a loss and responded by crushing opponents. Last week was an emotional win and ASU is better than their record and one of the weirdest offenses we have played all year if not the weirdest offense in the country. But Oregon didn't fall asleep on them but throttled ASU. That's a difference in culture which is the long term part of coaching.

Jess Fisch is going to be a steal for whoever gets him. Seriously, if we didn't have Lanning I'd want Fisch. Smith is good too... But we'll see if he wants to leave OSU. I think OSU does everything they possibly can do to keep him, and that includes basically breaking the bank because they'll need some success in the next few years to leverage the Beaver's position in the next round of realignment.

I can remember some halves where Oregon gutted a team pretty bad. But I'll say this... I can't remember a half that Oregon gutted a power 5 team and make it took effortless. They were so smooth and fast that they didn't seem to be breaking a sweat. Also having a good defense goes a long way to offensive production.

Oregon and Nix will get a shot to beat the Beavers by more next week. Then a shot to beat the Huskies and crush their hopes and dreams.

They were only in for a series. So not that much time. They chewed up a decent amount of clock in the process. I think it would have been a bit weird if they didn't play at least a series in the second half. Lots of twos and threes got to play. Which is when ASU got their 13 points. I would say that the coaches balanced the play time about right. The starters were in the second half for probably more time than snaps because they started milking that clock right away.

Funny bit of commentary there... "Bo Nix has a good day... Though it was against Arizona State" To diminish the win and Nix's stats. They're ignoring the fact that Washington played ASU too ... And it's not Oregon's fault that Penix couldn't score an offensive touchdown against them. It's also not Oregon's fault that it took the refs putting their thumb heavily on the scale to ensure a Husky win against ASU.

USC has had a massive end of season meltdown. Washington and Oregon broke them and UCLA shattered any illusion they should be deserving of a conference championship.