David Marsh

The way I am interpreting this is if the team is well coached and experienced the crowd noise shouldn't be a major factor. After all it is the players who actually play the game. A well disciplined team can shut out the crowd noise and get the job done when needed.

Colorado's interim head coach Mike Sanford I think should be a top candidate for their head coaching job. I watched enough of their game against Cal to say that their team was playing with a lot of energy. They revamped the defense that did wonders, granted the past couple of years the defense wasn't entirely Colorado's problem but rather their lack of offense, that is still a problem. Then recruiting to Colorado hasn't been easy because it is difficult to find a lot of quality players who want to join a problem with really one winning season since they joined the Pac-12. Ok, more than one but not much more.

That is a problem... at least most of our kickoffs are touchbacks or we'd we in real trouble.

I think the bigger problem was that Helfrich didn't personally continue to coach quarterbacks. Frost I would say is good at teaching QBing 301 for established quarterbacks who need some fine tuning... Mariota and Adams being two key examples. But Frost can't seem to ensure the development of a raw product that needs QBing 101. Helfrich brought in David Yost in 2016 and I think that was probaly a major factor in Herbert's early development as from the sound of it Taggart and Arroyo and Cristobal really didn't do anything to encourage his development afterwards. But he did at least have a strong foundation that he could build on. Hard to say right now what is going on with the development of the backups under Dillingham. As it has been beaten to death at this point that Thompson hasn't looked good in games but maybe he is looking good in practice? Maybe Thompson is amazing in practice and just can't convert that to something in front of a crowd as that is something that could happen.

I feel the error free Nix is able to come out because he has a well rounded team around him that do their jobs and that enables him to do his. Desperate hero ball is not his strength. And thankfully Lanning and Dillingham are not putting him in a position where he needs to do that.

On the flip side... How often does UCLA play in rain and some chilly temperatures? They probably have to use an indoor practice field to get the temp cool enough and then turn on the fire sprinklers to simulate weather.

It feels more like the continuation of the Kelly-Helfrich era. The energy is there in the fan base with points going on the board. I think we all want to see the next level defense at this point but it feels like 2009-2014 all over again right now. We are not in the top 5 at this time but it darn well feels like we should be. We may get a chance at it come Saturday.

Lincoln Riley did complain about the reffing but he also conceded they didn't lose because of the ref's calls. USC didn't play much defense that game. Utah was caught flat footed at the start of the game but as the game went on they clawed back into it and eventually won it. I think it would be hard to determine who would win a rematch because both teams would make adjustments. With that said... USC was probably the better over all team but they didn't play as the better team for the full game. Additionally... the refs had a baffling call that a time out occurred in the middle of a play that benefited USC. So there were some bad calls on both sides. It was a very close game and Utah as the slight edge only because they won that game.

The Ducks had a bye but it was still a very very interesting week. I will be honest and say the top portion of these rankings are far easier than the bottom, and to date the opposite has been true. 12. Colorado (1-5) - Colorado won on Saturday against Cal, so why isn't Cal down here? Well Cal did a lot to lose that game. Cal had more offense and was on the whole the better team on the field except they couldn't finish. Colorado is playing with some energy with their new interim head coach Mike Sanford. Could Sanford be the next head coach at Colorado? Possibly he had Colorado playing with passion but even with all that it is clear that Colorado does not have the talent on the field just yet. 11. Cal (3-3) - Cal showed why Oregon fans were happy that Wilcox is not at Oregon. Their defense was pretty good against Colorado but their offense and special teams couldn't score to save their lives. They left at least nine points on the field during regulation. If they scored any of those points they would have won. Instead, they have the most embarrassing defeat on their record. 10.5. Notre Dame (3-3) - Wait Notre Dame isn't in the conference... and that's absolutely true. But for Funsies they would rank here. They beat Cal but lost to Stanford. My point being... Notre Dame is bad this year and isn't that just delightful! 10. Arizona State (2-4) - Arizona State beat Washington in their last game and that win is looking solid but Washington's defense is looking bad, more on that later. Arizona State will have a few chances to try and win a few games and it will all come down to how good this interim staff is. 9. Stanford (2-4) - It feels odd to put Stanford here as they are the only team now that doesn't have a single conference win. Both Cal and Colorado have conference wins! But I do think Stanford will get at least two conference wins this year. They will probably beat Arizona State and Cal. Or the way things are going... they may not. 8. Arizona (3-4) - Arizona lost to Cal but beat Colorado, so why is Arizona so far ahead of Cal? Well Arizona is improving from week to week whereas Cal is stuck in neutral, or getting worse. Arizona has a deadly offense but their defense is letting them down but they are improving. 7. Washington (5-2) - Isn't if funny that Washington's problem this year is the complete opposite from their problems the last two years... they are all offense and no defense where last year they couldn't score if the other team was on the sideline. But this year their defense is so bad it's like the defense is just sitting on the sideline. Washington will win games where they are a shootout but lose if they actually need to play defense. Also... Washington has continued to prove that they can't travel. It will be interesting to see how they do at Cal, Oregon and Washington State. 6. Washington State (4-3) - What happened to Washington State they seemed unstoppable, and then they had road games. Washington State plays better at home, like pretty much everyone in this conference. Washington State hasn't proven they can win on the road, or at least win on the road in the Pac-12 and that is something they will need to do if they want to move up these rankings. 5. Oregon State (5-2) - Oregon State has figured out their quarterback problem for now. I wouldn't say it is permanently fixed but they have a working solution for the moment. Oregon State might finally be putting together a mid season win streak. Their next game is an early November showdown at Washington. If Oregon State's defense can keep this one close then their run game will have a chance to take out the Huskies. 4. USC (6-1) - Down go the Trojans! But they are still much better than everyone below them here but they lost to Utah so that has to count against them even if it was just by one point. In short this team has a ton of skill position power but when it comes to defense they live and die by turnovers. 3. Utah (5-2) - Utah took down USC but lost to UCLA so this is one of those times where they fit perfectly in the rankings based on their record. This Utah team, however, is not the dominant team we saw last year. Their pass rush is not as good and their defensive backs were just too fast for USC but they did do just enough to beat USC. 2. UCLA (6-0) - Why isn't UCLA at No. 1? Simply because they haven't had to play away from home besides one game against Colorado which shouldn't be considered much of an achievement. 1. Oregon (5-1) - Crazy enough Oregon is one of two teams undefeated in conference play. They have their hardest games left this year at home which is a major advantage. Also Oregon has one of the best quarterbacks in the conference and certainly the best offensive line. They just need to beat out UCLA this week to hold onto this top spot and at that point they become in undisputed No.1 in the conference. What are your thoughts on these rankings?

Couple keys on defense... We saw against Arizona that Oregon did a fantastic job of keeping the quarterback in the pocket and collapsing the pocket from there. If Oregon can do the same against UCLA that will take away a huge threat that DTR just runs for big yards on a play with no passing options. This will be more difficult against UCLA than Arizona but that's a major key to this game. Oregon has also had a pretty solid run defense... Oregon needs to do what they have been doing all year. Take away the run and challenge them to beat us in the air. Now our secondary needs work but has improved. But the other side of it as well... Even teams that are comfortable passing the ball start to panic when they HAVE to pass the ball and make plays. UCLA is a run first offense... Take away the run and they will get uncomfortable. Oregon doesn't need to shut UCLA down... Just get enough stops for the offense to build a lead. I don't know how well UCLAs defense will hold up against our offensive line.

I love the picture... But that was also not a great moment for him as he was looking at the sideline for the play call and Arizona snaps the ball with him out of position. However... He has a great effort play and just charges into the backfield and chases de Laura to the sideline... But de Laura found a recievers for a 3 yard pass to convert the third down. But considering he was out of position entirely at the start of the play... 3 yards is pretty good.

Well I did say that our nailbiter was at least against a better team.

Jahlil Florence is making an impression. But the big thing is that we don't need the youth this year. Let them learn and be ready for next year!

Multiple years in a system pays off. Oregon's defense has come a long way so far. Looking for them to take the next step on Saturday against UCLA. However.... I'd say the Beavers still play much better at home than they do away. Same goes for Oregon but the big difference is that Oregon has traveled and won in conference play. The beavers have lost on the road though they also beat Stanford but that was a nailbiter. I'd say our nailbiter against WSU was a better win than their nailbiter against Stanford.

They keep playing up to their standard and I would agree with that. This year in the PAC is also all about the home town heroes.... And thankfully Oregon has UCLA, Utah and Washington at home. Not sure if teams are just playing better at home or just playing so much worse away. But away teams seem to be losing at a higher rate than usual.

I haven't had USC at 1 anyways ...

I'm not sure that is going to happen though. As it is not north v South this year I can see Utah getting boxed out of the championship game. Utah holds the tie breaker on USC but UCLA holds the tie breaker on them. So as it stands right now for it to be Oregon v Utah, Oregon needs to go undefeated in conference play so they hold all the tie breakers. So for Utah to get to the championship game... Utah has to win out, but Oregon needs to beat them too. USC needs to beat UCLA but lose another game along the way, which is possible but not feeling likely. The chaotic mess is difficult to figure out here. Right now I feel the likely scinario will be Oregon v UCLA as a rematch for the conference championship... But there is still a lot a LOT of football to play until then.

Just makes you appreciate Lanning even more... The guy is just having an incredible first season as a head coach. The Irish will be good again at some point. But a bad first season under a new head coach, especially a brand new HC, is always the risk.

Gotta love how the refs missed that wide receiver hold on that touchdown play. He was just dragging the Utah DB backwards.

I believe he transfered because it is closer to home for him and to be honest he was looking at a new coaching staff anyways. Also we all suspect there is a decent financial package for him as well. That was never confirmed but we all feel that is probably the case. I don't have any I'll will towards Travis but I just want to see the Trojans lose every chance they get.

Utah is getting behind the line of scrimmage and getting pressure on Williams. Let's see how that continues to be a factor. Early game USC's online has lots of energy and that can be a reason why as the game goes on more penetration happens.

I think Oregon has their match. Oregon has one of the best offensive lines in the country and I honestly believe that. They held their own against Georgia... And Nix probably would have done better if he didn't roll out of the pocket so much that game in truth. I watched a bunch of other teams have their lines get gashed by opponents defensive lines and these teams were higher ranked than Oregon. Penn State was destroyed by Michigan. Tenn and Bama both look mortal on the offensive line side of things and we will get a better comparison when Tennessee plays Georgia. USC's line is just good enough to give Williams time to find some incredible recievers. But I don't think USC's defense can touch Nix. Keep in mind Oregon's line has given up one sack this year and it was for -1 yard. If it comes down to Oregon v USC in the championship game, it is going to be exciting. Keep in mind too that Oregon's defense is improving at a spectacular pace as well.

Ughh... I really hate seeing USC winning.

I doesnt change the equation for the Ducks playoff hopes at the moment. They only have control over one thing and that is winning. Bama still plays ole miss and Georgia still plays Tennessee. Need those games to shake out too. But could this be the beginning of the end of the reign of Saban. Not just this loss but last year Saban did lose to former coordinators for the first time in his career. First to Jimbo then to Smart. Saban is still a very good coach but he isn't invincible anymore it feels.

The knights already have a plan in place to keep supporting Oregon financially for some time after Phil's eventually passing. A lot of money is tied up in investments to continue paying out to Oregon for years to come. It may be less or certainly less over time but it won't just dry up overnight.