David Marsh

So Oregon has developed a strange trend in our bowl game wins in recent history. Our last three bowl game victories have all been by one point. 2018 Foster Farms Bowl: Oregon 7 - Michigan State 6 2019- 2020 Rose Bowl: Oregon 28 - Wisconsin 27 2022 Holiday Bowl: Oregon 28 - UNC 27 Also... All wins have been in California so there's that as well. In this same time period our bowl losses have been outside of California and by a lot of points and basically uncompetitive. Just a strange observation, I'm happy for the win as we head into the off season.

He's a target... So we'll have to wait and see if it goes anywhere. Also remember that Prowledge was at Baylor last year. So this wouldn't be an entirely surprising move for him. I do feel like our defense is finally figuring itself out. So we will just have to see how this all plays out.

Well even with Dilly we have seen a runningback rotation that has at times been frustrating to watch. I found it so frustrating on the last offensive series where it was 3rd and 6 and Irving wasn't even in the game. In truth I've been shouting about this for well over a month now or variations of this... The ducks need to have their hot runningback in the game next to Nix even if they have no intention of running the ball because that player's presence says that Oregon might run the ball and forces the defense to defend against it. Then the winning play of the game if you watch the offense you will see Irving is on the field and just blocks a rusher, giving Nix the extra half a second to make the pass to Cota. I'm hoping Stein has a bit of a different philosophy for runningbacks. I love putting fresh legs on the field but not at the cost of keeping the hot hand on the sideline. Even with all these restrictions put on Irving he still ran for more than 1k yards this year... An absolute beast.

They played well in the fourth... But darn they looked lifeless at times. I'm just glad as fans and for the team that we all enter the off season with an Oregon win. Haven't been able to say that since 2019.

Finally... for the first time since 2019 Oregon ends the season on a win! A much much needed win!

The play calling has been pretty bad too... no Dillingham is really showing right now. I do feel Lanning did the right thing going for an outside hire. Nix is also not running which is hurting us as well but no need to risk him re-injuring an ankle for a bowl game.

Anyone else getting annoyed how the commentators harp on how UNC doesn't have their OC but they don't say a word about Oregon being without our OC????

Problem is the defense still has the same problems it has had all year long. I doubt there is much they can really do to actually fix these problems right now. Well there probably are some ways of doing it but are you going to do it without three starters?

Bucky Irving with the TD... The guy really should have had more TDs this year but usually he was subbed out at the goal line. He deserves that score and he is a beast!

Clemson... The ACC was awful when the Clemson was making their National Championship runs and in a lot of ways that helped them. Go undefeated and if injuries do happen the backups can make up for it against lesser competition. Able to have a healthy team for the playoffs themselves. And with a 12 team playoff you're going to want to get out of the regular season with an intact team. And thanks for playing devil's advocate.

If we didn't have the southern California void I would say Utah State and Colorado State would be fine additions as it adds more into that rocky mountain region and would alleviate some of the travel stress from both Utah and Colorado right now because they would have additional games that were close to them. But from a media market perspective it doesn't help us.

I would say teams like Oregon, Washington and Utah are going to get a lot of the network games or games on ESPN or FS1 as well. Good teams in the PAC will get plenty of visitibliy. This last year USC was relegated a lot to Pac-12 Network when Oregon was on a major network. Granted the B1G Network has way better distribution right now than the Pac-12 Network but I can see a bit of that changing in time. If the LA schools are on the B1G Network too frequently that doesn't help their recruiting. Granted, I think FOX will be happy to help the B1G out and make sure they aren't on the conference network too often. However, as ESPN has been left by the wayside in B1G media rights I can see them broadcasting more PAC games at that point too. I guess in the end we haven't got a clue what this is going to really look like... but it is fun to guess. But I do feel a presence in Souther California would be nice as long as it doesn't come at too great of a cost. With the new conference championship format why not just the Pac-11? Just add SDSU to keep us in Southern California and playing the waiting game on anyone else. No rule that says a conference must have an even amount of teams... well scheduling might get a bit annoying potentially.

The interesting thing will be how much of a recruiting pitch would USC and UCLA have when they are in the B1G? Come to USC/UCLA you will get to stay at home for half your games (same as right now) and then travel 5+ hours per away game and play in some COLD environments. You will also have to contend with Ohio State and Michigan to try and get to the playoff! I think that will become the narrative by 2027, they will need to be in the B1G for about three years for the missery to really set in. Meanwhile, Oregon and other PAC schools can say... stay close-ish to home for all your games and you don't have to travel as much. Also if you win the conference you get to go to the playoff... Done. Not saying this will be the case but it is certainly a scenario.

SDSU and UNLV are probably the best two to be honest. They will be bottom feeders in the conference for some time but they have the most growth potential. Boise State doesn't get the PAC a good media market and Fresno State also has a limited media market, even though both are better football programs than SDSU and UNLV. Remember... Utah had like three 5-7 seasons after joining the PAC because of growing pains and now they are a strong team. Colorado is still bad and they came from a P5 conference. SDSU and UNLV will take years after joining the PAC to become something good on the field but an injection of money by joining the conference will help them alinn the way. But in truth I don't think the conference needs to expand for expansion sake. The pie must grow over time to make expansion worth while or else we are just feeding more mouths with a smaller pie.

I heard that both McGee and Cardwrll didn't like the new coaching staff and coupled with getting fewer snaps led them out the door.

This is a significant get. I think Oregon fields a solid offensive line next year. Three or four from Oregon's roster... Conerly, Jones, Powers-Johnson and Harper (who started in Jones'absence this year and let's face it that was most of the year and the offensive line still looked good) Then throw in a couple transfers in Cornelius and Angilau and the Ducks have the makings for a solid line. And I haven't even mentioned the other linemen who have spent time developing who may seen the field at some point as well.

I would like to say this is an abnormal year but the truth is I haven't got a clue and no one really does. From what I can make of it, it seems like Lanning is doing a mix of things. One thing is having honest conversations with players who probably won't see the field for any number of reasons and those players are pushed into the portal to make room for new recruits. Two, rebalancing the roster. Defenses during the Cristobal era used 4 linebackers. Lanning only uses two on a regular basis. He has too many linebackers on the roster and many don't fit the mold. Building Lanning's Defense: The Linebackers FISHDUCK.COM Dan Lanning's defense this season did not live up to his standard, and it wasn't even close. Oregon's defense... And this goes beyond just linebackers but to edge players as well. Three, the culture change. Players have had a chance now to get a feel for the culture Lanning is instilling in the team. Some players don't want to buy into the culture and have left as a result. Seven McGee and Byron Cardwrll left for this reason and I suspect it is also at least part of the reason why Justin Flowe and Dont'e Thornton have entered the portal as well. I see players leaving every year for reasons one and three but probably not so much for two moving forward. Lanning's defense will persist after his DCs eventually leave. And I think Stein is here for a good few years as OC so I don't see factor two coming into play for the offense either... Granted I feel Lanning would just look for an OC who fits his offensive roster. I would think these are growing pains for a team and roster but I don't feel fully confident on that hypothesis.

The all whites still have green on them. They are a pretty clean looking uniform so I can live with it.

I'd give Lanning a B+ as well. If they beat the Beavers an A but that collapse was bad. I guess Lincoln Riley is an A. He fixed a few things about USC but the biggest benefit in his favor was his relatively easy schedule.

I saw now in the headline and was like... Yes I want to learn about it right NOW... But now you're telling me I have to wait??? I guess that's what I get for not reading the question mark. Or more importantly... Not wanting there to be a question mark and having both articles right now.

Saban might deplore the portal... But he still knows how to use it and he will take full advantage of it. I think 10 years ago coaches, including Saban, would be appalled by how coaches are pushing players out of their respective programs today. But this isn't 2012 ... It's 2022 and the game has changed so much that pushing players into the portal to enable new talent is common place.

I think that's the big deal here ... Building a roster that is reliably two or three deep is becoming harder to do. That talent that knows they'd be starting for other schools isn't waiting their turn on the bench anymore ... They're leaving to go start at another school. We just grabbed two of these players from Bama this cycle a reciever and DB.

Transfer Portal Will Be a Disaster For Student-Athletes FISHDUCK.COM College football is more complicated than ever, especially when it comes to recruiting and the transfer portal... And most will never find a new home and just lose their scholarships. Which does feel like it goes against the whole premise of college sports.

I have committed the gravest of Duck fan sins... I scheduled something else that over laps with the Duck game. However... It is virtual and I am just putting people on zoom in the correct breakout rooms. So I'll still be watching the game. But still...

It was discussed earlier this year to have unlimited official visits but 70 is still a TON. About ten years ago the official visit number was around 35 which was basically a recruiting class plus ten. Times are changing fast... but I suppose to compensate for the transfer portal the number of official visits needed to go up. Unlimited Official Visits Will Only Make College Football Worse FISHDUCK.COM College Football has always been composed of the "haves" and "have-nots" and that isn't going to change, but there is a desire to...