David Marsh

Oregon linebacker Justin Flowe enters transfer portal - On3 WWW.ON3.COM Oregon redshirt freshman Justin Flowe, a former 5-star recruit and the No. 1 linebacker in the class of 202, has entered the transfer... I feel this one should hurt more than it does. Flowe is a tremendous athlete but he never really seemed to understand the scheme this year. He was always out of position or hitting someone too late. I wish him the best and I also wish he was more impactful in his time at Oregon.

Watch the transfer portal for the defensive side of things. The vast majority of defensive players leaving are making way for players that Lanning needs in his scheme to make his defense work. He's not kicking them off the team but he is telling certain players that they aren't meeting the standard to see the field and players are opting to leave.

More than two years I would hope... we really need to hold onto a coordinator for like 3 years it feels like at this point. I know the age of most coaches being institutions at their schools are long gone... but longer than 2 years would be nice.

With Thornton leaving we could use another tall wide receiver I feel...

I like what he said about tempo... Setting the pace of the offense and using Tempo as a weapon. Uptempo all the time isn't really a thing anymore but controlling the tempo is a big deal. I feel the Dillingham offense could at times be a bit too slow and get the offense out of rhythm by being slower.

Oregon's defense better be improved next year. I think it will be as it looks like the roster is starting to open up a bit with some players transferring out now.

Depends on the recruit. I think Moore is someone who could manage it and I could certainly see Lanning telling him in confidence.. Other recruits... Probably not.

There is a 10 day waiting period after officially posting a public sector job in Oregon. So I think Lanning probably has his guy, whoever it is, and has let some key recruits know. But no official announcement can be released until today (Sunday) or on Monday whichever is the actual official posting date. Leaks are possible but Lanning isn't the one to let anything leak himself. So we'll just have to wait.

I wouldn't put one in personally. But I just feel like we are going to see the "two losses and out" rule may be tested this year because there really isn't a clear fourth right now. Yes, TCU has only one loss but they have danced with defeat frequently this year and I could see them getting bumped for an SEC team because of SEC bias. Again... I won't put a second SEC team in but I don't have a vote.

Furthermore, don't do it in an empty set!!!! There are only two things that could happen... QB pass or QB run. Way too easy to defend a running quarterback who wants to run this way. At least put a runningback back there to fake a handoff or do a zone read or something!

By the same logic of playing hurt... Umm Nix beat Utah with one leg. I do feel that the new bar for the Heisman to be ridiculous now. It's not about the best player but being the best player in the best team.... Or one of the best teams. Sure wins should be one metric but let's get real... Quarterback, and this award always goes to quarterbacks or offensive players, don't play defense and that's 45% of the game (offense being 45% and 10% being special teams ).

USC should be out... They played a total of 4 teams that are now ranked and are 2-2 against them... They failed to beat Utah twice! Ohio State probably getd the nod. They don't have to play another game so their record won't be at risk. As for TCU... The big-12 kinda sucked this year on the whole. They might get in but I would be surprised if that's the case. However, the biggest thing TCU had going for them at this point is that there don't feel like enough viable other candidates with only 1 loss. I see there being an argument to get another SEC team in at this point.

Congrats Utes... Always good to see USC go down. I'd be happier if it was Oregon... But I'm just happy USC was denied!

Not a surprise... He had some nice moments but couldn't be consistent. I think a lot of our defensive roster will be getting an overhaul for one reason or another. Need some edge rushers who can put some serious heat on the quarterback and at times make their own plays.

My family would say the exact same thing during the past few games as well. An empty set is one thing in a must-pass situation. But if you have a runningback back there then there are three options to the play... handoff to run, pass, or QB run (and all the variations that come with all those). But with an empty set... you have pass or QB run. The defense doesn't have to work as hard.

For now I feel he is probably going to honor the commitment... but the nice thing is that the early signing period is during the transfer portal window so Lanning and Co can react if something falls apart.

Good news is that he will sign in the early signing period so he will be officially locked in with the Ducks while the transfer portal is open.

It feels silly to want to put my hopes and dreams in backing a 5-star quarterback who hasn't played any college football, but I do feel Dante Moore will probably be the guy. If Nix stays we are fine for this year. If Nix leaves... I feel we may need to consider a transfer quarterback so we could at least have a back-up. This assumes that Moore is everything we think he can be... I am not sure that Thompson is going to stick around. We need an actual back-up. Granted in this new age of NIL and Transfer Portal... I feel every major school's qb room will probably only be 2-3 deep at most.

I would be surprised if he doesn't enter the portal. He announced he was going into the portal last year after Lanning's hiring and then withdrew. I don't see his snap count improving next year if he stays.

Personally... I think Bo needs to go late enough that he is going to a team that as a good foundation. Nix will struggle if he has to play hero ball as that was what happened at Auburn. He needs a team that can support him and not put the entire game on his shoulder. Now... I know what I just said seems a bit ridiculous at the same time because the NFL game is more and more about the quarterback than a run game. So the game will be on his shoulder more often than not but he needs a good supporting cast to be successful.

Worst case for Moore is that Nix stays another year and he gets to redshirt and learn from an experienced quarterback. And he would really be the guy to take over the following year. I think many quarterback recruits can see that path as something that would work for them. Though I think most would rather be the starter out the gate, but who wouldn't?

This is probably my biggest complaint from the Dillingham offensive play calls. He would settle into a pass heavy routine and just seemingly forget about the run game for possessions at a time. I love some explosive pass plays as much as anyone else but when first and second down are both passes that are either incomplete or don't go for many yards that leads to a predictable third and long situation. Running the ball leads to third and manageable which means it leaves the whole playbook open. Especially when our duo are picking up large chunks of yardage. This is a big reason why I feel Lanning needs to hire someone with some more extensive play calling experience on offense where they won't get tunnel visioned the same way.

I would agree in the idea that they failed to meet the standard. But I am tempering my current frustrations with the fact that this rosters has a lot of problems attached to it. Many players didn't buy into Lanning's vision and culture (some are entering the transfer portal because of that) and many players have just failed to be developed by the previous staff. We don't have the right balance on personnel and depth on the roster to really run Lanning's defense right now but hopefully we will next year. Rookie head coaching mistakes were made, new OC play calling mistakes were made and of course the defense was and still is a complete hot mess despite some good individual talent but defense is about the unit not the player. The standard for Oregon football is sky high and we haven't touched that standard of what fans expect since really 2014 when we reached the playoff and played for the National Championship, that's what fans want out of this team. Rose Bowls used to be good enough but those have lost some of their shine due to the playoff and opt outs. It has really become playoff or bust for most fans and we aren't there yet. Maybe in a year or two... but we need growth out of coaches and players alike.

I know I tend to get wrapped up in the Ducks season and I get disappointed when it doesn't pan out the way I want... namely at least winning a Pac-12 Championship. The roster is talented on paper but has struggled to break through and put it all together for years now. I think a good chunk of that lies with the current and past coaching staffs. Should Oregon be in the Pac-12 Championship game? With a healthy Nix yes.. but we fell sort of that. The hangover of losses to Washington and Oregon State is still with me and I know it will eventually fade as we move into the off-season. It is just a game and there is so much more going on in my life than just Oregon Football... and I do find when Oregon is winning life is good but when they lose it effects me far more than it should. We tend to stew on losses more than victories. I think part of my current misery is also the notion that USC could sneak into the Playoff and the fact they Riley was able to gut his roster with a new hire rule and then bring in a ton of transfers (with the help of booster NIL) makes me sick to think that is where the sport is headed. That and USC already stabbed the conference in the back and they are enjoying success also just hurts. But of the biggest joys of sports though is that there is always next year.

It sounded this was the way it was going when he had basically recovered from his injury and didn't want to get back on the field so he could preserve his redshirt. Irving and Whittington are beasts and I can see breaking into that duo's rotation would be pretty hard. That and James is looking like a big time player and with Dante Dowell coming in as well, Oregon's runningback room is LOADED. It will be interesting to see whether Sean Dollars stays or goes.