oregon123

I'm just going off the top of my head when I say this: Oregon has a better starting roster than any other team left. Also, Indiana does NOT know how to have an off day, off quarter, or anything else other than their best every time out. Oregon could beat all three teams left or lose to them all, depending on what kind of Oregon team that shows up. Miami does not have a great offense. Ole Miss does not have a great defense. Indiana does not have the athletes that Oregon has. Ducks just need to put it together for 4 quarters, both offense and defense vs Indiana. Then figure out the rest later. If Oregon can put out an offense like vs JMU in the first half and a defense like vs Tech, they will be unstoppable. Every year that Oregon is good, the media buys into the hype and then gets egg on their faces. Last year in the playoffs was a prime example. So this year, the media is not buying in. Which is OK. Games are won on the field, not on sports talk shows anyway.

4 teams left, 2 from north and 2 from south. And I think the north is better. Of all the teams in the playoffs from the SEC, only Ole Miss is left. When you factor in that Texas and Oklahoma are now part of the SEC, that is pretty amazing. Just 5 years ago, the final 4 would have been mostly if not all SEC teams (had they been doing the 12 team playoffs)

I am thrilled with this look. You can only do so much with green anyway. For away unis, this is awesome! It says: Oregon is a threat. There have been a lot of Duck uniforms that I hated, especially the all canary yellow. I think this is one of their best.

All I really have to say is that I don't like the extra waiting. My mind is on a schedule of play 7 days after the last one. All I'm thinking about right now is the weather. I'm glad Tech has this long layoff - I think it will be hard for them to be crisp. I hope they all ate a lot of twinkies and played a lot of video games during this long spell.

Looks like Penn St finally got over that hangover from the Oregon loss... they still have some good players. Clemson is circling down the toilet drain. Dabo was a good coach, but he isn't keeping up. Much like Gundy at Ok St.

Here is what I do know: As fans, we cannot tell how good a player is just by watching the Spring game, as much as we like to think we can. When Oregon players are here for 3 years and still don't play, that usually means that they are not going to play. Oregon transfers to other teams mostly don't shine and become stars, although there are a few exceptions. Novosad was already here and Dante leap frogged him, and it wasn't a real competition. This is the right time for Novosad to transfer. I'm sure he wants to play somewhere and have that college experience. Since he barely played at all, he would do better by going someplace where he has a better chance to win the spot.

You made great points! Coach Wit as a 'transition' coach until Michigan figures out what it really wants to do as college football continues to evolve? YES! Yes, indeed. Is he a Dan Lanning caliber of hire? I don't think so. Can coach Wit take down Ohio St? I don't think so. Can he make the playoffs? Yes, if it all falls into place. Can he lose to every top big 10 team on the schedule? Again, yes. Can he go 10 - 2 or 9 - 3 every year? Yes. Low side is probably 8 - 4. Is coach Wit the best Michigan could have done right now given the circumstances? That would also be a yes for me. But... as college football is evolving, money is not everything, traditional blue bloods are not everything. What is everything is being the hot new toy in the toy box. Every team has to stay fresh every year - or end up like Clemson and Florida St. Oregon has the 'it' factor. USC and Washington are trying to rediscover it. Ohio St definitely still has it. Indiana just found it. Will they be able to keep it? Penn St lost it after the game with Oregon this year. If Penn St pulled out the Oregon game, they ride the rest of the season on a sugar high into the playoffs. Can Michigan do enough in the passing game and on pass defense to beat the best offensive teams like Ohio St, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama? I still don't see it. They would need the OC, the QB, the receivers, the O line, and the rest. And then they would need the secondary too. Washington had it on their great runs. Maybe Michigan can do it too, but that is a tall order. I think Michigan will have a tough time playing USC. But we will see how it all plays out. I see Michigan winning the games they are supposed to win. Being competitive against the top teams and being in the playoff conversation for at least a while and maybe in with a win vs Ohio St. on a good year. When they won it all, they were stacked with incredible talent. This year, they didn't really challenge Ohio St. I think that is their upside UNTIL they transition SUCCESSFULLY into a team that can pass and play pass defense as well as Ohio St does every year. The top SEC teams learned how to do it some time ago. Michigan, Iowa and a few other Big 10 teams still seem stuck in the past. I think coach Wit can hold the fort down until the next guy comes in to transition Michigan into a modern team. You changed my thinking on it somewhat.

Here is my counterargument: Age. He is too old to transition to not just a new team, but a bigger conference and a place where college football matters a lot more than the state of Utah. I don't think he can connect with the kids and bring them to Ann Arbor. You can talk x's and o's all day, but in the end, it is about bringing in the talent. Kalen DeBoer is a good coach, but Alabama's talent level isn't quite the same as with Saban. Brian Kelly couldn't do it at LSU. Mario is surprising me at Miami. I would have thought they would have flamed out by now. But when I saw them play their playoff game, I saw a lot talent on that field. He is bringing in talent even though his offense still sucks. Coach Wit has made a living off of bringing in overlooked 3 star guys and getting them ready to play Mtn West/Pac12/ Big 12 games - not the same as bringing in high 4 star guys from the midwest and playing Big 10 games. Recruiting is always going to be the number one asset of a head coach. The best head coaches would also be the best used car salesmen - think about it. Chip was good here because Nike U. did the selling for him. Not so when he was at UCLA. Chip did well with some good players, but he never got a whole team of them at UCLA. Is coach Wit going to be able to stop kids from going to USC, Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, Penn St, and Ohio St and steer them into Michigan? I don't see it. I think they will play good quality football, but not have the star players to beat the good teams. I predict they go to bowl games every year, and that is their new upside.

I have USC as a southern team for a few reasons. First, the weather in November and December - 70 degrees and sunny. Next to the beach, like the Florida schools. The fans dressed in summer clothing. The party atmosphere at their games. The song girls. Their mascot. The receivers catching balls all over the field. Their athletes. They are more like a team a little west of Texas than a team in the mid west.

Justius Lowe got his chances when Tez got hurt. He looked good out there, very good. But for some reason, he couldn't sustain it. McClellan looks like a star, not a fill in. I think he wins a starting spot next year no matter who else is in there. He impressed me the most of all the Oregon receivers so far. Davison is starting to look like Adrian Peterson, although he isn't quite there yet. He is young and his body is still developing. Give him another year or two and watch what he does.

Who has the advantage? Northern teams: Washington, Oregon, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio St, Penn St Southern teams: USC, Texas, T a&m, Oklahoma, LSU, bama, Georgia, Clemson, Fla St, Miami, Florida, Tennessee I think the south had the advantage except for the last couple of seasons. Now, I think it is very close. NIL has made it more feasible for kids from the south to play for teams that are further away. Not too long ago, only Ohio St had the size, strength and athletes to compete against the best southern teams. Any thoughts?

Tech has the same problem that Oregon had last year - sitting out the first round while their opponent got a warm up game. Now Tech has to play against better players, just like Oregon did vs Ohio St last yr in the playoffs. I see an exact replay of the situation last year. Can't see it any differently. Just hope Lanning doesn't go aggro and get a bunch of players hurt in practice. Only semi-real teams Tech played so far are Utah and BYU. And they lost to Az St. I don't think Tech is ready to play Oregon. Although at this point, I think they could beat the crap out of our backups.

If my memory is right, Lowe looked good last year when he subbed in. I expected him to get more catches this year. That is how it goes sometimes. I think there will be quite a few who enter the portal as soon as the season ends. Combine that with a low numbers signing class, and I think Oregon goes after the portal pretty hard for next season. Also factor in talented players who leave college for the pros after the min of 3 years in college. I predict the Ducks hit the portal hard for edge players and O linemen, maybe linebackers too. And a QB if Dante goes pro. Possibly another TE, maybe a kicker or punter? I think the team is pretty good mostly every where else.

Of the players you mentioned, some were very high 4 stars and Offord was a 5 star - I'm pretty sure all were well above the caliber of players that JMU could sign. Great point about next year. Finding out how the backups play in a playoff game is a good way to plan for the future. It is also a good way to see who is really ready in case of an injury. And, you can't get a star player injured if he is on the bench and done for the day (see Jordon Davison). This also lets Dan know who he needs to go after in the portal. Some of the backup DBs were not very impressive. I would have liked to have seen Rushing, Breland, Wyatt, Haastrup, Sims. Maybe the problem was not putting the backups in there - maybe it was not playing them enough during the regular season in easy games? There were four games this season they could have played only the backups and still won, easily. They rotate in running backs, regularly. Maybe they should rotate in defensive players for a play or two while the game is still competitive? Of course, the downside to that is a blown assignment or a missed tackle that goes for a touchdown to the other team. And the downside of putting in a backup O lineman is a sack to your starting QB that sidelines him for the season. I'd like to see Oregon heavily rotate in backups regularly (all positions) in games that are not competitive so they are ready late in the season if needed. If that means the Ducks beat Montana St by less than 46 points, I'll take it. We are in the era of a 12 team playoff, so style points and large margins are no longer needed, just wins. I think part of the disappointment in the second half was that the regular season has already been played, and some of these backups are STILL not ready?

Dante threw the best balls and the A&M QB threw the worst. I was very surprised at how physical Miami was. The next round of playoffs should be great. Another observation is now that they are down the final 8, there are 3 northern teams and 5 southern teams. Fans in the south do not like it when northern teams win.