David Marsh

Another line I've picked up on is the opponent... Every day and every week Oregon is playing Oregon. It goes to the standard but is definitively bent towards growth and self improvement. Sure everyone knows they are play Stanford today and they watched Stanford film. But they need to play against themselves and meet their standard. Kinda a new take on Chip's faceless opponent. The ducks know who the opponent is every day... it's themselves.

52-0 7 sacks 300 passing yards Yeah... I'm going for a shutout! Probably won't happen but I'm going there!

Colorado going against USC is making me feel good about Oregon v USC right now. Colorado's defense has had some big opportunities against USC's line but lack the athletes to seal the deal. Oregon has those athletes and Williams will be under a lot of pressure against the Ducks in November.

Again? You make it sound like this is an off uniform... If they're home they are either wearing black or these uniforms. That orange hurts the eyes that's for sure.

From a spectical stand point... 2015. Vernon Adams was just on fire! Stanford was gearing up for a playoff run and Oregon just squishes it. It felt very 2012 revenge. Everything on the line for the last play of the game where Stanford needs to convert for 2 points and Oregon gets it done. 2009 and 2010 were also brilliant.

Well... our OC shouldn't be in he hospital this time and we can hope that the refs don't have it in for the Ducks this time. Granted... Oregon needs to get the penalties in line fast. Seen a gradual improvement the last couple weeks it feels like but still too many.

Offenses are compatible to last year and Oregons offense was doing good until Nix got hurt. I feel Washington's defense is about the same as it was last year while Oregon's has made leaps and bounds in the improvement category. As long as the Ducks continue to improve we're in a good place.

It's good... nothing more to say really. Green and white and I like the green helmets.

I feel like Oregons balanced offense is hurting Nix so far... he isn't asked to throw it as much because Oregon has a good run game so he doesn't put up the same stats.

Week Four is over, so now I will dip my toe into Pac-12 Power Rankings. Until week 4 they are really irrelevant and too difficult to try get any sort of grasp on. My goal with these rankings is to try and take into consideration how good the teams stack up against each other where they are right now. Things will change and it will be interesting to see how this season develops. Tier 1 1. Oregon (4-0) - Dare I put Oregon at No. 1? I feel the Ducks have the potential to be the most complete team in the Pac-12 with a strong offense and defense both of which currently rank within the top 20! But who have the Ducks played? PSU and Hawaii are not that good and Colorado was held to fewer points than both of those teams, though I do feel Colorado is Oregon’s most complete game to date and Colorado was at least ranked as a top 25 team deservedly or not. And then Oregon escaped Lubbock Texas with a win but only just. Tyler Shough at Texas Tech is out for the season with a broken leg but before this happened I had Texas Tech pinned as a Top 25 team by the end of the season, I feel that is probably a long shot now. In the three blow out wins it is clear that Oregon's back-ups are strong and give Oregon by far the most depth in this conference. 2. Washington (4-0) - Does Washington deserve No.1 over Oregon? I'm not sure, I originally placed them there but I'll be honest I don't think they have played any quality opponents in Boise State, Tulsa, Michigan State and Cal. And of that lot Boise State is by far the best team of them all as they did give Washington a bit of a scare in the first half. The Huskies are dangerous that’s for sure but I also feel they are over-hyped and have some glaring weaknesses like their offensive line has yet to be truly tested and their defense may be a bit suspect. I’m not really buying the hype but I do think Washington is probably the biggest threat to the Ducks right now but they certainly don't have the depth Oregon has and any injuries may derail them entirely. 3.USC (4-0) - Trojan fans would think this is disrespectful but let’s get real, USC’s defense let ASU score 28 points on them and also let San Jose State score 28 points on them. Their defense will be a liability. It’s not a matter of if but when. Tier 2 4. Washington State (4-0) - The Cougars are doing what they typically do at the start of the year, start out strong. This team is doing exactly what you’d expect them to do with a pass heavy offense that is making life more difficult for opposing defenses and they have taken care of business. They narrowly survived an Oregon State comeback this last weekend and get to enjoy a bye week before playing UCLA. 5.Oregon State (3-1) - Oregon State lost a close one of the Cougars in Pullman. But they are still a very good team. They get Utah next and will probably be looking for revenge. Right now I give the Beavers the edge to knock Utah out of this one. 6.Utah (4-0) - Am I disrespecting Utah by putting them at No. 6? Probably. The Utes have managed to go undefeated so far this season and doing it without starting quarterback Cam Rising. But they are mortal and their defense is carrying this team so far and that has allowed their offense to stay in it but unless they get Rising back soon they may see a few significant losses come their way and one may be coming at them this weekend as Utah travels to Corvallis to take on the Beavers. 7. UCLA (3-1) - Is No.7 too high? Probably not, UCLA has shown a strong defense so far this year but they haven’t played any explosive offenses. Then on the offensive side of the ball they were stopped by Utah this last weekend as the offense only managed to score 7 points and also gave up 7 in a pick six. Dante Moore will be a future star but right now UCLA has some quarterback problems. Tier 3 8. Colorado (3-1) - I don’t think Colorado could beat anyone above them on this list right now. Maybe in a few weeks that would change. Colorado is a good team but not in the top tiers of the Pac-12 that’s for sure. Do they belong in Tier 3? We’ll have to wait and find out but their wins are looking less impressive after that Oregon beat down. For Colorado to truly move up they need to prove themselves by at least being competitive against a tier 1 team and potentially even beat a tier 2. 9. Arizona (3-1) - Arizona is a team that I have loved their progression through the past three years. Jedd Fisch has done an amazing job with that program so far as it was really in a place worse than Colorado. At this time I’m not sure who is better, Colorado or Arizona but I think Colorado has the better quarterback so that gives Colorado the edge. 10. Cal (2-2) - Lost to Auburn and Washington and looked rather unimpressive. Justin Wilcox may be leaving Cal at the end of the year and in truth that might be a blessing for him. Cal is not a program that has a lot of upside to it especially next year when they get to travel to the east coast for half their games. 11. Arizona State (1-3) - Kenny Dillingham has his team improving that’s for sure. They were shut out a week ago against Fresno State and turned around and put up 28 on USC, is that an indictment on USC? But let’s get real this ASU team is at least a year or two behind Arizona in the rebuild process and though Dillingham is making the best of what he has they aren’t going to win many more games. They might steal one from someone along the way. 12. Stanford (1-3) - Stanford is bad. How bad? Bad enough that they dragged Oregon, a top 10 team, onto the Pac-12 network to play them, bad. Stanford has major problems and Troy Taylor has been putting new life into the program but the fact remains that Stanford will only ever lose to the transfer portal and never gain from it. The rebuild for Stanford is going to take years if it ever truly happens. These are institutional problems that will probably never be fixed and Stanford has always recruited with one hand tied behind their backs and now they might as well tie a second as well.

With Shough I had TT pegged to be a top 25 team which would elevate our win over them. Without Shough... I doubt it. But I wish him the best he is an incredible competitor and I wish he was given a real chance at Oregon with a real offense.

Not sure I'm willing to say 40... but I think at least 28. Colorado is a better team and San Jose and ASU and both managed to get 28.

Oregon should have scored another touchdown. Kasper dropped a pass and then the offensive play calling got a bit cute and Oregon went 4 and out when they should have gotten 7 more.

I feel it is worse this year for the Pac-12 network than in the past. In the past I have been pleased enough with the football broadcasting. It may not have been better than a game at prime time but it was certainly better than a game on FS1 or ESPN starting at 7pm. Those games looked awful and had crews who didn't seem to know a thing about the teams. But this year it feels more bare-bones... like maybe no one invested in the things needed to up the production value as this network is effectively dead at the end of the season. Let's get real OSU+WSU+MWC aren't going to be able to afford to elevate this network.

We've been without Jacobs since the start of the year and Strother has been sidelined as well... both were slated as starters. Crazy how we've weathered that.

Lots of starts and expienctcan help... But are they physically gifted enough to be dominant. So far not the case. I mean... I could have perfect technique as an offensive lineman and loads of expirence... but at the end of the day I'm no where near big enough to compete with those players and they'll knock me ony butt every time. Colorado has bigger linemen than me that's for sure... but are they going to be physically big enough and fast enough to keep up with the better pass rushers in the conference? We have yet to see that. You can get a lot of good talent from the transfer portal. But there is also a lot of talent in the portal because they weren't that good where they used to play as well.

The Buffs are playing like a big 12 team right now. They'll happily play a shootout and so far that's really what they've gotten... minus 3 quarters of Colorado State. They have been very lucky with the turnovers going their way as well. They'll be a solid team in the Big 12 next year. We'll see if their defense can step up if they offense struggles this weekend... assuming Oregon's defense causes them some problems.

Insanely busy day for me today so sadly this is the first time I've had a chance to check the forum. I'd also like to note that Oregon is a mature program. We have our traditions... in that we love to not have a traditional uniform but change them all the time. But we have a brand that is recognizable and everyone knows it. That Oregon O means something. So we aren't dependent anymore on being the hotness... And we'll steal some of that hotness again soon when he crush Colorado and then Washington... and the rest of the conference.

Is TCU good this year? Nebraska isn't good that's for sure. Colorado State... they're mountain west so competing with a P5 team is plenty good for a G5 team.

Schooler should have been a great Duck.. he was a fantastic defensive player his first year at Oregon. Then we "needed" him at receiver more so he was moved to receiver where he just never found his talent. He wasn't the worst receiver but his calling was on defense. He was a good blocker though...

It feels like the guard spots are struggling with run blocking. Pass blocking has been solid. But it's those inside runs that we just don't seem to be getting the correct gaps right now. This is something that can be fixed but it needs to happen soon. I feel the coaches are being cautious with Irving right now and not giving him too many touches to save him for the later season...but I also feel like they never really give him enough snaps as it is. Whittington and James played fairly well last night... but I don't feel either are as transformative play makers as Irving.

Against Hawaii the front seven looked like they took another step forward. The Ducks recorded two sacks which doesn't seem like much but Hawaii was getting the ball out super fast, as in 2 seconds or less fast, and as Charles said in his article from a couple weeks ago, it's really hard to get a sack that fast. Granted... Popo manged to get his sack that way as he just ran right through the offensive line and got a sack... but that's rare even against G5 or FCS schools. Also.. I don't know how many hurried passes the Ducks forced this game but it has to be a lot. I saw the Hawaii QB basically get the ball and throw it as soon as he had it in his hands and the vast majority of those passes were incomplete whether they were too far in front or behind the receiver or just off completely. There were a lot of passes that went no where because the QB had a simple choice.. throw it out of rhythm and early or take a sack. He threw it early. Against Colorado Oregon should rack up some sacks. Sanders holds onto the ball a lot longer as a part of the offense and after watching two and a half Colorado games at this point I can say he has a propensity for hero ball, of which he can do if the defense lets him. But if this Oregon pass rush continues to take another step this week, he'll be on the ground a lot. That Colorado O-line hasn't been able to stop anyone and Oregon will have the most talented D-line they will have faced to date. If Colorado avoids taking sacks it will be because they game plan around getting the ball out fast.

This is fine... polls this time of year are pretty pointless for the reality of the games being played. I am by no means saying there shouldn't be polls this time of year, they are great fun for fans, but they don't tell us much. Oregon continues to surge in silence which is just the way we like it. We dominated the two games we should have and survived a road trip to Texas against a Texas Tech team that is truthfully much better than their record, I do expect them to be ranked at some point this season. The Ducks are doing what they need to do... we have reached Top 10 status and I suspect with a solid win against top 20 team Colorado this next weekend we silently surge higher up the rankings. This weekend is going to have a whole lot of flash around it with Colorado in town.

uggh... why did Colorado State touch the ball after the punt.. they could have let it sit there until the clock was gone. Giving one play to the opponent with a tied game is not smart football.

Sanders is also big on playing hero ball... he just doesn't seem to want to throw the ball away but is looking to make the big play and gets sacked.