David Marsh

This line stood out to me... "The reason conferences are grasping at every dollar right now is the understanding that, moving forward, there will be fewer dollars available. " Then the article goes on to say that the media companies are losing revenue so they can't payout as much. Which has some truth in it... BUT the bigger culprit here is that those media companies are intentionally paying the B1G and SEC way more than other conferences to speed the collapse. The ACC is left chasing B1G and SEC money and they'll never be paid that much. The pac chased it and died because of it. Those media companies absolutely have the money to pay every conference and every power school a reasonable payout that would keep the sport around. I've mentioned it in several articles recently and I'll do so again ... Out of the pac-12, there are 4 teams that will receive B1G dollars (60-70 mil) and there are 4 teams that will receive Big 12 dollars (30 mil). Cal and Stanford may be getting ACC dollars... Which all means that these schools are getting the money but there was no desire to keep the pac-12 alive. ESPN gave one bid and walked away without even trying to make a deal. Fox never wanted to make a deal. These media companies have set up college sports to fit their model and not the model for the fans or for the schools. The end of the era is coming... But it coming because two media companies want it and no one else. How Fox and ESPN Dismantled the Pac-12 FISHDUCK.COM FOX and Disney/ESPN control virtually all of college sports. The Pac-12 has failed to make a deal with either of... The ACC Is Next on the Chopping Block for Conference Realignment FISHDUCK.COM Last year I wrote an article about the Coming College Football Schism where there will be two conferences...

I don't think the other power conferences will allow a conference composed of two lower tier power conference teams and a slew of G5 teams to exist as a power conference. We also saw that media companies didn't want to pay the pac-10 a competitive price, the PAC 2 certainly won't get anything more than the mountain west. I could see Fox and ESPN ready up a decent deal with the mountain west and withhold anything decent from whatever the PAC is to force Oregon state and Washington State into the mountain west. Fox and ESPN don't want to negotiate with another conference on the west coast anymore, that was their statement loud and clear during this last year. They won't give a new rebranded PAC a cent.... They'll most likely force them to join the mountain west and pay slightly more than they currently pay the mountain west but still much much cheaper than what a power conference demands.

Because the money wasn't the issue. Controlling and consolidating college football was the oy thong at play. Even if Stanford and Cal go to the ACC there will only be a few years before that conference probably falls apart because their biggest teams want B1G and SEC money that they can never get outside of those conferences. I think at this point Stanford and Cal may be discarded again I'd they join the ACC.

Well... If Bo wins it... His trophy will be sitting next to Marcus's at Oregon. So Auburn can claim it if they want but if people ask to see it they'll have to come to Eugene. Where the trophy resides is where it belongs.

I'm still not a fan of an empty set. But if this play keeps the QB clean and healthy I'm for it. I just like having a runningback back there to be a threat to run the ball. The biggest difference between the Ducks and the Roadrunners for this play in particular is that Oregon's offensive line is just going to be bigger and more pysical. I could see Nix running safely for 10 yards against most teams with this play because the offensive line is going to get to the second level and overwhelm the linebackers.

Mostly because the bay area is not a college market. They have pro sports that draw all the attention. You would think that Cal and Stanford would have larger stadiums and be able to fill them over Oregon but they don't get anywhere near it. Does that tendency devalue the bay area market? It could be a factor in it all. I mean Oregon State and Washington State seem to have larger and more die hard fan bases than either of the bay area schools.

Especially when there is talk about having an oline that is 8 deep! Oregon feels it can go eight deep on the offensive line in 2023 SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM Oregon coaches like the depth they have on the offensive line as the season approaches. We have at least 4-5 really good options at running back. We have a boatload of receivers... Quarterback is suspect after Bo... But that's true of most teams.

And all of this pressure may cause a breaking point for most schools. Which could bring on a change in the structure of college sports all over again. A change that reverts to the model of student athletes. The Eventual College Football Renaissance FISHDUCK.COM The Great College Football Schism is Coming, and it will leave College Football divided between the... But to reach this point we need to go through a great divide in college football. The Great College Football Schism is Coming FISHDUCK.COM The great college football schism is coming, and it will fracture college football in a way that will shake the... Where the haves play in one league and everyone else in another. The thing is ... It might be a whole lot more fun to watch those have nots play because it will look more like how college sports has always looked like.

Side note ... I picked some of the best photos from the FishDuck photo library of ACC players made to look silly by Oregon players. One of the things I didn't mention that could be a real wild card in all of this is Notre Dame. They are only a partial member of the ACC for football but have their own media deal. If Notre Dame were to become a full member that could change the media payout equation... But that basically requires Notre Dame to be willing to share the wealth which feels incredibly unlikely. Both from a financial perspective but also from pride perspective.

In short... Fox got their way and landed the death blow on the Pac-12. They took the two biggest remaining brands for their own conference, the B1G. And then followed up by taking the remaining good but not major brands and stuffing them into their tier two conference than they share with ESPN. Utah, ASU, Arizona and Colorado. Colorado has potential but they were also by far the weakest link in all of this to get the dominos to fall. Then Fox and ESPN discarded the properties not worth as much to them by leaving them behind, Cal, Oregon State, Washington State and Stanford. If they actually wanted any of those programs the Big 12 would have had room. It's not up the commissioners, but the media executives.

Quarterback aside... Every team will be breaking in new starters at some position. Oregon has been stacking some good recruiting classes and will continue to stack them. That's what matters. Need to have high quality players at every position. I feel the Ducks will be in a good place in that regard.

The reality is that modern football rosters can only support about 3 quarterbacks on scholarship. Beyond that it is difficult to relegate scholarship quarterbacks to scout team (which is really important) but it's a recipe for them to bolt to the portal. How Many Quarterbacks Can One Team Sustain? FISHDUCK.COM Just how many scholarship quarterbacks can a college football roster sustain? This is the big... So walk ons have a pretty important role to play. Which also means a team needs lots of them.

I completely forgot about Benson. He probably would have been unimpressive with the Cristobal scheme in truth.

Pac-12 News: USC to hire athletic director Jen Cohen from Washington DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Former Washington Huskies athletic director Jen Cohen will reportedly be taking over as the new AD for the... An interesting development...

I'm not sure Cristobal recruited what he needed for his own designs in honesty. He needed some big bruising backs for his old school power run game. I think Byron Cardwell may have looked like one on paper but he didn't really play like one. I mean they shoved CJ Verdell into this role and just got him repeatedly injured. I think the linebackers from this 2021 class were failures for what was needed on the field. Sewell was a big linebacker but he probably should have been converted to an edge where he was a pass rusher. Then Flowe was injured and when he did see he field he just didn't seem to understand the scheme. Even in his limited au during the Cristobal era he was just flying around the field but not with much direction. This failure at linebacker created a soft underbelly in Oregon's defense that may only now be fixed. Has Lanning Fixed the Duck Defense's Soft Underbelly? FISHDUCK.COM The Oregon Ducks' defense has maintained one major problem for the last three years. Simply put, it has a... It will also be interesting to see how Cristobal continues to do in Miami. Will he recruit with a mindset of putting together a cohesive team or will he look for good players who are highly rated and force them to fit his scheme.... Which will make them worse in the process.

Personally I'd prefer an out of conference game with Oregon State. It's traditional and potentially an easier game. But if I have to replace one tradition then replacing it with the fame against Washington will work. We've never seen to have a set week for this rivalry game. But there is true hatred between the two teams.

I think there is certainly the talent available for them all to help each other. KT ran into problems after his first season because there wasn't another rushers on the team that demanded enough attention other than him. To truly have excellent it takes a team effort.

I think the ACC gets gutted next. And there are the big 2 with the B1G and SEC. And then the little 1-2 with the Big 12 and ACC with what remains. The little two will have some access to the playoff (which is the driving force in all of this) but they would certainly be a second rate group of teams. Especially if paying players directly comes to pass which of probably will. The little two won't have the money to compete with the big 2.

I could see some flips happen closer to December. Oregon's NIL doesn't get into a bidding war until December because it just raises the price needlessly early. I think Oregon could probably flip Rushing for two reasons... The Big 12 and the B1G are going to be two completely beasts next year and the B1G is going to be the better league with far more visibility. Guess who goes on Fox and who goes on FS1? It's a no brainer. Also for Rushing I think Oregon opens up the purse strings a little and might get closer to the Arizona offer. Those two things might encourage a flip. Baker has enjoyed the recruiting game and Nebraska is really feeling like TAMU of this cycle. They got themselves a coach they like and now their NIL is throwing as much money as possible at recruits to get him players. I do believe Oregon has one of the best handles on how to work NIL. But they are also working with a longer term plan than some of these other teams. Oregon's NIL will not over pay for high school recruits but will have the resources to pay for transfer portal players. Remember Oregon got some big offensive linemen that were highly coveted in the transfer portal last cycle and don't forget Burch who was also covered. Sure... Other teams "beat" Oregon in transfer portal rankings but I don't think anyone really beat Oregon in getting high quality trench players. And Oregon got the pieces needed on the roster. Whatever we can't fill via recruiting high schooler, I am confident in this staff's ability to fill via the transfer portal. Going to also need Lanning to prove himself for another year as a head coach to convince some parents and athletes.

Very easy to say when you're the team that is looking into the abyss. Oregon State and Washington State are victims in this whole mess... But it's not Oregon or Washington's fault. They are merely the first two victims of many. The ACC is on the chopping block next but their buyout is so large they are protected for now. Maybe... But the media companies are calling the shots and they have determined that Oregon State and Washington State aren't worth the money or they would be in the B1G or Big 12. In this year old article I did make a prediction that the new overlords of college football will start grooming their chosen schools. They've done that so far. The New Overlords of College Football FISHDUCK.COM This will come as no surprise to any of you, but the NCAA is dead. It ceded away its power to the major conferences through its reluctance to complete… Cal and Stanford are in limbo right now but they have maybe one or two more options than OSU and WSU.

The thing is that Oregon has the talent and hopefully the coaching takes a significant jump this year that undefeated is completely possible. Now will everything fall in place and it happens? Different story.

Washington is almost out of all that talent they built up during the Petersen era, especially on defense. They are going to have a good offense, unless they have some serious injuries, but are they going to have a good defense? Or at least an adequate defense. Oregon is in a similar boat in that Oregon is going to have a fantastic offense but their defense needs to improve. However, Oregon has the talent and the depth tos ee a major improvement and weather some injuries. The AP poll and polls in general have found it trendy to pick against the Ducks for the last ten years and usually the Ducks prove them wrong.

When I learned more details about it became more interesting. 25 mil as a base and then a proportion of a growing revenue. The sub was roughly $100 a year so that works out to be just slightly more than 8 dollars a month. I know I have things that cost me more per month that I don't fully use. I don't find that number too ridiculous in honesty. The problem was certainly exposure. If Apple would have a "featured" game or two every week to bring in the viewers I could see that helping to bring in subs. The Pac-12 network as it stands today is roughly 13 mil subs and that's it. That's pretty pathetic. If the Pac-12 on Apple had that many subs the payout per school would probably be fairly reasonable. The biggest difficulty would be to get non-Pac-12 fans to sign up, they probably wouldn't. Which goes back to the exposure problem. As this sub would probably just be Pac-12 sports that is a pretty hard sell to non-Pac fans. If it was part of a larger sports package then different story because we start getting people watching Pac games because they have the service. I think revenue probably would have been ok with the apple deal after a year. Exposure would have been a pretty big fail though with Apple only having one conference's worth of games. And 8 dollars a month is too steep for a non-conference fan to pay. I wouldn't pay that to watch SEC, B1G, Big-12, or ACC football because my main team wouldn't be on that platform. The whole Apple deal felt half baked to be honest. It had some interesting bits in it but the missing pieces were massive glaring wholes that needed to be addressed, namely non-conference exposure.

And disciplined teams don't fight. They support each other and keep their hot headed teammates in line and stop a fight from developing. Discipline will win fat more games than a bunch of talented individuals.

Oh boy... Yeah that's not a lesson to teach. Not trying and stop it... Or get out of the way to help it get broken up. But yelling at players for not joining in? That feels like some penalties waiting to happen. Especially this year when the whole league is going to be in edge.