David Marsh

Or.. or... Maybe a SEC team should go up to Indi and play a playoff game there.

The answer is not really... but there are a couple of interesting cases we saw this last weekend where schools that were forced to be patient might be getting some playoff for it. Billy Napier at Florida felt like he was going to be out of a job potentially before the season was over. Now he has knocked two SEC teams out of the playoff running entirely. Florida seems to have found their quarterback and the team is rallying around their coach. Florida probably would have fired Napier if it wasn't for the fact that they had an interim president they probably would have fired him. Though that non-decision may pay off because Florida won't have to pay to fire Napier and he may yet turn the program around. Let's be honest for a moment, before Napier Florida was not the powerhouse they desire to be as they had a lot of coaching turnover in the last decade. Taking the time to unravel the culture not just in the locker room but around the entire athletic department takes time. And that doesn't bring into account figuring out the whole NIL game when it comes to recruiting. Florida may have their long term head coach already and the fact they were forced to be patient may playoff. The other school that is forced to be patient is Oklahoma. The Sooners have not been good this year and in the off season they gave Brett Venables a hefty contract extension. The Sooners are locked into Venables whether they like it or not for a few years. The defense is solid but the offense needs improvement, kinda the direct opposite of the Riley years. Though against Bama it looks like they may be headed in the right direction. This coaching hire may yet playoff. It is amusing how the trend has become a coach gets one or two years to turn a program around before being declared a failure. It used to take at least two years before a coach could start showing improvements. But in our win now culture in college football with the transfer portal patience has gone. It's just funny how the schools that are forced to be patient may be seeing some real results.

It could be some special teams stuff they have brewing. The media is only there for the first 15 minutes or so and that coincides with special teams reps. So.... probably something crazy is brewing.

To which Dan Lanning says.... "Hey get this truck off my damn green lawn!"

Aww USC wins... And now they're bowl eligible. Also Lincoln Riley didn't look happy to be informed they were finally bowling eligible. Like maybe that should have happened already.

Ughh ... So the Ducks will win by 3 points or less.. That's what happens in NBC this year for the Ducks.

On this side of it it's a massive benefit. I don't think we were feeling that way at this time last week as the Ducks were struggling against Wisconsin. But hey... We survived and now get a much needed bye.

Don't need to wait till next year... They're a problem now. They might contend for a playoff spot next year.

Would it be a good time to mention that TAMU (who could theoretically get into the SEC championship game with two wins) is LOSING to Auburn right now! I love college football! This week is amazing so far.

Jaxon Dart was just forcing those passes in on those last two drives. What is also clear is that Florida is not a team to be underestimated. They beat Ole Miss and LSU and they did play Georgia very close until the end. So the answer as to the best team is Florida? Right?

Serrious question and one I don't have an answer to. Texas has an Indiana problem... Easy schedule and then lost badly to their first ranked opponet. Georgia has a loss to Alabama and Ole Miss both of who have worse losses. Alabama lost to Vandy, and we can't unsee that and then lost to Tennessee which may or may not have an offense on any given week. Tennessee lost to Georgia badly and Arkansas who are not good. Then Ole Miss lost to Kentucky and now Florida. And I'm not going into LSU and TMAU who also both have embarrassing losses and their best wins seem to be fading. So who is the best in the SEC? If I had to pick... Georgia... But what about your pick?

I think Florida admin is feeling better about their decision to extend Napier for another season. This Florida team is putting it together. Sometimes programs take time to get the culture in place and the players and get everything working in the same direction.

Ole Miss going down is the best thing to happen to Indiana today. They have a bit more wiggle room to make the playoffs now.

Rven though OHio State has momentum they still look vulnerable. They just have an athlete advantage and it's starting to show.

Ohio State's defensive line is getting no pressure on the QB. And where were the flags and the refs paying attention to stuff when we played Ohio State???? Also. No clue who I'm rotting for in this game. If I don't have a direct Oregon stake in the game I go for the underdog but I do have a stake here and I'm not sure which team I want to playing the CCG.

As it concerns to Moore. I think there is a good reason why a lot of high school quarterbacks need to sit a season. The other problem was that last year UCLA took a bit of a nose dive in terms of talent and ability. Needing a freshman to play hero ball is a bad recipe for their long term career. Just ask Bo Nix, who thankfully escaped a burning Auburn. I'm not in the Moore or bust camp as it concerns next year. I am more than happy to let it all play out and see who comes out the other side.

I have a coworker who lives in solid B1G country most of his life. He says we don't get winter in Portland except a couple times of year. I'm fine with that..I like that horrible snowy weather a couple times a year. Especially if I can sit at home and watch it. Not too keen about being out in it.

I actually think that we may have next year's quarterback in house. Unless Moore is a complete dud, I think he'll probably get the job. Novosad won't go down without a fight and if he wins so be it. The transfer was have been essential to getting the program up and running at full speed. Ty Thompson was the backup for two years but was obviously not the heir to the program. Novosad sat and learned for a year under Nix which probably helped him. Now Moore gets a year under Gabriel for development and to learn the system. What is apparent is that the Lanning-Stein offense is deep. Year two of Nix in the system, albeit with changes from the Dillingham offense, to the Stein offense was far more intricate than a lot of what we've seen this year. We're starting to see more depth of the offense as the weeks go on. Now think about what Moore or Novosad might be able to do out the gate as a starter with a solid year in the system and learning. If they have the physical talent they'd probably surpass the experience of a transfer because they'll know the system. However, Lanning won't turn down a player he believes will make the team better. So we'll have to wait and see.

No one talks like that to B1G royalty! Those teams don't ever lose. Oh wait... Didn't they BOTH lose to some new comer this year? I don't remember who...

In some ways the snow is probably easier to play in than the heavy rain. 2013 in Autzen Stadium against Cal was absolutely insane! The rain was just intense and the players sliding on the field created little waves of water. There was also something like 6 fumbles! Throwing the ball was extremely difficult and Cal benched their starting quarterback, Jared Goff.

So... Sticking with a program for multiple years actually pays off??? Who would have thought? I'm shocked!

He stepped up on critical situations when he needed to. But what allowed him to do so was because teams had to sell out to stop the run and which gave him opportunities in the passing game. He made the plays he needed to make. But it was all predicted on the run game being the first option. I mean they beat Penn State by only running the ball for the second half last year. Any quarterback in the world could do that and a big time 5 star would find that frustrating.

I'd say that would be the case except there would be a lot of anger if they did so because the 5 seed is significantly better than the 6 seed in both the first and second rounds.

Have you seen their QB play this year? I'd be feeling desperate too. However, the way that Michigan wants to play, based on the Harbaigh model, they don't need a 5 star QB they need a QB who can manage the game, make the right throws and not mess things up. They need a quarterback who is happy to play in a run first, second and third, offense but is completely capable of stepping up and making the needed plays when called upon. If I was Lincoln Riley at USC, he needs a 10mil dollar 5 star QB to make his whole team work. Michigan needs a solid 4 star.

The ACC will be broken to pieces and sold off to the P2 with a conference of leftovers left for the media scraps. The Big 12 is already the conference of leftovers. The best hope of any Big 12 team right now is to look pretty enough to get an invite in the next realignment. Probably won't happen. They'll be given enough money for the purpose of filler games.