David Marsh

It feels a little silly for me to be writing about all the things that went down offensively this season, when the Ducks still went 12-0 in the regular season and 13-0 if you include the conference championship. But it's that one loss in the Rose Bowl that made all of Oregon's faults come to light and highlight Oregon's on going weaknesses that they could cover up somewhat because the B1G only has a few exceptional teams. Gotta stop those sleepy third quarters which are effectively the difference in the stats between 2023 and 2024! Probably should have put that in the article but in truth it only hit me a little while later because the stat difference between the two seasons isn't that massive if you were to add touchdown in the third quarter. Over the course of a season that would increase the scoring average to about the same as 2024 to around 41ish points per game. It would also up the rushing yards and make up that 372 yard difference and the passing yards would get closer to making up that nearly 700 yard difference. It really comes down to that third quarter.... and having a couple more absolute blow out games. That Portland State beat down did pad the stats a lot in 2023.

Especially because he really seemed to WANT to come to Oregon. His social media was all about going to Oregon but the offer never came.

I'd put that lack of preparedness on Lanning more than any of the assistant coaches. That was a coaching oversight and a failure to prepare. By the sound of it too they took the foot off the gas a bit when it came to practice to help players rest. They probably let players rest too much. This is the next learning curve.

I think so many of Oregon's problems are personnel related. Even in game one against Ohio State the Ducks struggled to cover Ohio State's receivers who were tall and have incredible hands. Nikko Reed put up a hell of a fight against Smith in game one but he's shorter and not as fast. The secondary has continued to be the biggest problem for the Ducks defense. The front seven have been good but still need to improve as well but the back end has been more vulnerable. Getting those linebackers sorted out will be critical going forward. Bassa has been a leader and a solid contributor but he's also a bit undersized for the position.

The reality is that DeBoer got a few incredibly good key pieces from the portal, in particular Penix. But he also made massive use of the 5th and 6th year players on his roster. The 2020 Covid shirt played a big role in Washington's success under DeBoer. It also played a major role in Michigan getting their National Championship. Washington was riding high on talent brought in by CHRIS PETERSEN! That seems crazy because it feels like he has been gone for forever but the reality is that DeBoer's success was built on a backbone of Petersen recruits.

Who designed that schedule? That feels like a really really bad design for everyone.

Big haul in offensive linemen this portal cycle. I think we will see a few of the traditional recruits step up as well and take a spot but Lanning is NOT messing around with the offensive line next year. He wants depth and he wants these players to compete for the job. The offensive line this year was shaky... then stabilized... got a bit wobbly again. And overall wasn't as good a unit as it should have been this last year.

Too bad that the NFL MVP is a player on a winning team.

Effectively the same colors so he gets to keep all his Colorado colored "Prime" swag that doesn't say Colorado anywhere on it. So that's nice from his personal brand perspective.

He's not... Ward took a lot of risks with the ball but always seemed to find a way to make something happen. He was an improv machine, it was also often his undoing. From what I've seen of Beck this year is that he is good... but not someone who is going to go off and make their own play. In the Cristobal offense the only way to be a good quarterback is to have the talent to transcend the system. Does Beck have that talent? We'll find out.

Even pre-injury in the Dillingham version of the offense Whittington would get fly sweeps but often get tackled for negative yardage. To make those sweep type plays really work it requires a player of next level speed. Speed that Whittington frankly doesn't have.

That return kinda reminds me of DAT's vs Colorado.

He's the ONLY good offensive line player USC had this last year. He'd be a good get.

I'm hoping to see some jumps in offensive line depth and play next year. Center and at least one guard position should be solid. Hoping to see some significant development and gelling take place before the season.

Kinda surprised it's a move to tightend over just a wide receiver. He has some good speed and height and receiver would require less of a body change than tightend. But wish him the best and I hope it works out for him.

Mariota also had a day by the look of it. I'll admit I haven't watched much NFL this year, it's usually not my thing, but whenever I see Mariota get playtime this year he seems to make the most of it.

I'm 24 hours past the vomiting stage. But the notion of walking, not running, two blocks sounds horrendous. I couldn't imagine having to play a football game in this state. And it's the Rose bowl, no player would want to miss playing in that game. I'm sure many were "over" this bug by game day but that doesn't mean they were anywhere near full health.

In one of the other forum threads I said I wouldn't be surprised if the team was sick with the norovirus that is highly contagious and incredibly awful. They just lacked the fight and nothing kicks the fight out of anyone like like this virus. I'm currently fighting it myself and I find myself exhausted in doing the easiest tasks. It would make sense if the team was sick with this. I personally have no information on this about how it concerns the team.

Not in any of the top power two programs that's for sure. He'll probably start at Cal against ACC competition. Assuming he goes to Cal. I'm absolutely sure that Lanning only offered him the chance to compete. Lanning isn't the kind of coach who guarantees anything.

I have absolutely zero information on this and it is pure conjecture. But it wouldn't surprise me to find out that this team had that horrid norovirus rip through the team. It's that really bad stomach bug. It's going through my family right now and though it is gone in 24-48 hours it still creates some lingering discomfort. This team just didn't play with the usual fire. And a stomach bug that knocks you in your butt would absolutely take the fight out of them. Again... I have no information about this.

Where is Evan Stewart? I scanned another board and saw no mention there. Is he sick? I find it hard to believe he'd opt out.

Giving up 34...

They look more overmatched. When small plays big the small player can win but they need to be perfect every time. Big takes advantage of any little mistakes. ASU has a good offensive line and good players... For the Big 12 but the Big 12 isn't he SEC and Texas has been one of the best recruiters in the SEC. They're in another league.

It's another roster game.

Ohio State's defense has only played an offense of Oregon's caliber once. They have put up very good defensive stats against teams with meh offenses. L We all know full well that Lanning and Stein are looking at how Ohio State has changed and are going to exploit it at every turn. Then they probably have a counter to the counter ready as well. Remember the first Ducks vs Them when Lanning said "your jabs are good enough but when we go for the haymaker rise to the moment" or something to that effectively.