David Marsh

Good news for us is that Cal has a similar style of play as Utah... But doesn't have the offensive linemen but probably a better quarterback. 24 points is a lot! But I think the Ducks can get it done. WSU beat the line because Oregon really took their foot off the gas in the last few minutes.

I would say this is most likely the case. There are some instances of some serious personal life things that come up but more often than not these days it's about preserving a red shirt and transferring.

I should have added... It's beginning to look a lot like 2014 but without the massive crippingling long term injuries. This Oregon team has depth and loads of it. I think Lanning is improving his game management a bit along with his coordinators. With so much youth it's bound to create some learning curves. At this point the plan is simple for the Ducks... Just WIN!

Great read. This reminds me a bit of what I wrote last year modern physicality. 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. It all about beating an opponent with brute strength but also forcing them to do the worst thing they can do during a play... Think. Thinking slows them down especially when they are locked in a physical battle with one of Oregon's massive linemen.

Utah and Oregon have played almost every year since 2012... This is a rivalry game now. We have played Utah more in the last decade than USC and UCLA. We have ruined each other's seasons and played some amazing games. Thr Utes didn't come to the Pac-12 with an established rival. They were given Colorado by the conference due to geography alone but rivalries aren't one sided but a back and forth. There is a whole generation of Oregon and Washington fans who have only discovered our rivalry recently after the 12 years of Duck Domination. Oregon and Utah have had a wonderful back and forth ... I think they hate us more than we do them but it's a rivalry. I think as far as they're concerned we've been their biggest rival since joining the conference... Or one of the biggest for sure.

Not only have we had more man coverage but far more aggressive coverage at the line of scrimmage. There were no red flags when Jackson was lined up on the line of scrimmage before his blitz because he's always there to jam the receiver. The athletisim and speed in the secondary this year is massive.

Nix doesn't need to run for a lot and doesn't need to do it a ton. But making defenses respect it pays dividends and takes defenders out of the play. Nix isn't Mariota and isn't a home run threat from anywhere in the field. But where he excels is on short yardage. And a couple yard touchdown rush is dangerous and is just as dangerous as a ten yard rush for a first down and defenses need to respect that. Bo needs to run more but they need to be smart runs. Runs where he has some protection whether it is through blocking scheme or a bit of trickery.

Mr FishDuck did an article on simulated pressures which is what we are seeing in action. From Georgia: Watch Dan Lanning's 'Simulated Pressures' FISHDUCK.COM Coach Dan Lanning brought some Georgia blitzes with him to Oregon, and Duck fans are going to see... Pressure coming off the corners or secondary is part of these pressures. Are they blitzing more? No really.... They are just being pressured from somewhere else on the field. Kyree Jackson's sack was him lined up across from a receiver so it looked normal. But when the ball was snapped he dove into the backfield and went almost completely unobstructed into the quarterback. Now you might think... The QB has an easy pass to that receiver that was supposed to be Jackson's but it was part of the plan and that receiver was picked up by someone else but Jackson's pressure was so fast that it didn't really matter.

They'll probably still be ranked. Washington keeps finding a way to win... so we should have a shot at them. Oregon State gets Washington in a few weeks... knowing how this conference loves cannibalism it wouldn't surprise me to see Washington drop one to Oregon State in Corvallis.

Also... Jedd Fisch just looks like Fred Armisen... It's all I see when I see Fisch.

I would still consider them a threat... this Arizona team is playing better than their record shows. They are going to be good next year I think. Wouldn't that be the funniest thing is the four former Pac-12 teams own the the new Big 12? Utah, Arizona, and Colorado are going to be better this year... and ASU is going to be better. But the Beavers are built a lot like Utah... but with much better quarterback play. I think Oregon can handle them as what we saw today but don't underestimate them. Unless.. they go for another fake field goal while the clock expires.

Ok... so Jonathan Smith also needs to have the end of half talk... 3 seconds left on the clock and in field goal range and they... fake punt but give it to the kicker to run it in for 20+ yards? He gets maybe 10. Take the points! Or at least don't make your kicker run it... he's not going to make it.

Oddly enough in that Washington game I think Oregon would have done better if they didn't have a bye week before it. Bye weeks are important for players' phsycal health and I wouldn't mind seeing the season start a week sooner if that meant each team got another bye. But in terms of mental focus... bye weeks I think are a detriment. The Ducks were getting better with each week before the bye and then the loss to Washington and since that loss the Ducks have improved week on week again. Byes are overrated.

Yeah the tree choked... The receiver was thinking about turning and running for a big play and not catching and securing the ball. Washington is feeling like last year's TCU right now... They are getting super lucky in these close games that shouldn't be close. But it's worth remembering that TCU didn't win their conference last year.

USC can score... But they can't play defense. Cal and Utah are both teams that are run first teams that lean on their defenses to win games.. Utah is much much much better at it than Cal but they plays similar styles. USC's defense is so bad they take average offense and make them look explosive.

Beware the tree... Getting Stanforded is a verb that the Ducks have sadly been in the receiving end of too many times. Colorado got Stanforded this year. Could UW be next???

It was supring to watch this Oregon team just man handle Utah. This Utah team has some injury problems but they have battled some good teams. They lost a relatively close one to OSU at OSU. They beat UCLA in a slugfest. And they beat USC in a shootout. This Utah team is good... But not great but certainly good. This was really the Oregon team we expected to show up against Washington.

So much talent that he flew under the radar. Sometimes it's the silent players who have a massive impact. I'm sure he was covering his guy and securing an edge when needed. The front seven did a fantastic job bottling up the run and boxing in a QB with running ability.

It's a big tell when Lanning, who was around him at Georgia, didn't pursue him in the portal at all. Lanning didn't want him.

The Ute helmet wouldn't be so bad if it was just red in the back... but that white box and text looks silly. I suppose Utah fans probably have a connection to the MUSS thing... so I'm sure they'll love it. But the back panel looks like a wall of text and is pretty ugly.

And for those interested... This is perhaps the Gaslight Anthems most famous song.

So yesterday I was teaching my AP Gov class and a few students were talking about their first concerts. These are seniors in high school so they were born in 2005 by the way. I was telling them about the first concert I went to, Flogging Molly, and that was probably my favorite band my the first half of my Freshman (2007) year at UO. I haven't listened to that band in years but talking about it made me want to listen to their music again so I listened to probably their most popular album Drunken Lullabies. But it was the second quarter in my Freshman year at Oregon that I discovered my favorite band of all time, The Gaslight Anthem. The last album they published as a band was in 2014, the year Marcus Mariota won his Heisman Trophy and the Ducks smacked FSU in the Rose Bowl and appeared in the National Championship Game. It was a good year, and doesn't everyone mentally organize each year of their lives by what the Ducks achieved that year on the football field? Though after that album I wasn't expecting anything else from the Gaslight Anthem because the lead singer has gone off to do his own projects which I enjoy but they aren't the same. But today I was just glancing through new releases and I didn't believe it when I saw they had a new album. And right now I am just listening to this new album and it is just taking me back to my years at Oregon in a good way and between this new album and revisiting my first favorite band I am having all sorts of flashbacks. I absolutely love where I am now in life and wouldn't change it for the world but its nice to go back, even if its just the the sound of my favorite band. So what brings you back to your time at Oregon, assuming you went to UO, or what brings you back to those important Oregon moments? Go DUCKS!

Don't know why a runningback would want to play at USC... That offensive line gives them nothing and they'll be passed over for the pass game... Literally!

I think Cal upsets USC this weekend ... If that happens that's an major program implosion. I did it... I'm saying Cal beats USC and embarrasses them big time.

What's also incredible is how good this offensive line is with so many new starters. I will say this group is very talented on paper and most have played quite a bit of college ball before starting for the Ducks. But... The hardest thing to get the offensive line to do is work as one. They have been doing it since game one. Sure there have been some annoying penalties but that's just the way it is... And oddly enough it doesn't tend to regularly be the same guys. Against TT it was Conerly generating the flags but not so much since. Last game was not a good one for Cornelius but I expect him to be fine next game.