1Funduck

I truly hope that the stress of this site and all that it entails eases. I am reminded of a true story of a conversation with me and my dad. When, as a teenager, a few decades ago, I was complaining to my father about all the constant barrage of complaining from my work environment and no complements of anything I did right, he turned to me and said, 'you get a check don't ya?'. I hated that answer. It did not validate my feelings. It actually hardened me for a while. While he was right, I hadn't been fired and I was still getting paid, it was tough to hear. Many years later I found the principle and learned valuable life lessons. 1) Rarely will anyone come up to me and say I did a 'good job'. I would have had to of done an outstanding job to be verbally noticed. 2) Most of the time I am going to hear about what I did wrong 10 times more than what I did right. I still get my check (AttaBoy). 3) It's much easier to get offended and spout off than to allow someone else to have an opinion and do it their way. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and my way isn't the only way. The reason I bring this up is because I have come to appreciate people and their individuality. They all have a right to their opinion, and I should respect that. I have given much more leniency to emotional response than I have in the past. But, this doesn't excuse disrespectful dialogue. You are not alone Fish. Maturity, by and large, teaches us these lessons. Others struggle not knowing where their boundaries are. My hat is off to you and I applaud everything you do here. You don't get enough kudos compared to the hassle of disrespectfulness you have to endure. This site is NOT A PUBLIC FORUM. Technically, this is your home. You have invited us into your living room, with the betting site still on in the back ground, and offered us a measure of 'Honored Guest' bestowed upon us. A guest rarely pays when invited to ones home. The hospitality, and cost, is endured by the homeowner and bestowed upon the 'Invited' and Honored guest, at the home owners expense. As a guest, we would never swear in your home, leave our shoes on in your home, stay too long and wear out our welcome in your home. And its a boorish SIN to show ingratitude and display a demanding spirit in 'YOUR HOME'. Fish, you have every right to feel the way you do and every right to put up a 'Decorum' expectation for all YOUR guests. I have yet to find another forum that shares so much, with little to no negative garbage spewed on the digital page. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! 36 rule breakers is sad. But, the THOUSANDS that stop by are coming for a reason. You may not hear it enough, but you are deeply appreciated. We can come to your home and share our thoughts and we are grateful you dignify us by protecting us, your 'Guests'. Well done, FishDuck, well done!! P.S. Take a break once in a while. Your moderators can take up the slack and will understand, and its for your health as well.

Right.......there..... Are we a, win at all cost, school? Going down this road just further cements that we have no intestinal fortitude and dignity left. Win at all costs and when we lose then it all crumbles underneath us. I love the beholden to accountability mantra.

I must say I have always been uncomfortable with coaches leaving for a bigger paycheck and these kids have their dreams altered with absolutely no say. Sure, they can transfer if coaching changes, but thats a big pile of do-do. The options that kid had before signing day most likely aren't there today. And, sure, these kid's options aren't limited, Technically they never were. However, I'm glad the playing field has leveled. We fans are the ones to be partially blamed. Who of us is happy that Onterio Smith came to play? Transfer. How about Bo Nix? Transfer. We love a Winner! We Love winning and playing for the Natty. Who of us would rather have Ty Thompson playing QB this year over Bo? ... crickets.. We love the goings on of team building when it benefits us, the fans, but hate it when these kids make decisions to seemingly benefit themselves. Why? Because it might hurt 'My' chances of a PAC-12 championship next year with an opportunity to play for the Natty. We are selfish, and we should own it. I'm mildly frustrated with the bad fans. Mildly, because they have the right to their own opinion, I just wish they were more dignified and respectful. Most fans are excellent examples of good community behavior. We are aghast at a bad call and jump up and down with a roar for the 45 yard bomb for a TD. It goes both ways right? Conzano mentions the former player will never go back to the stadium. Thats sad. He could choose to be a part of the solution and root for His team, Root for the kids even if they struggle. Show how to be disappointed without belittling. Instead, he has chosen to leave 'that seat' to the possibility of another boorish fan. The day of mass movement every year is now officially here. The sooner we accept the off season will be a mass migration, the sooner we will accept that these kids have no more loyalty to us the fans than we do to them. They owe us nothing. They paid in full by showing up and answering the call when the coach says get on the field. I applaud every single player for doing whats perceived as best in his own eyes. It's called freedom. I can choose to change jobs at will. They should be able to as well. Bring on the 5*'s from the Portal!!!

So, serious question. What does the QB field look like next year for the NFL draft? I don't know enough to even make a guess. Thoughts

We are forced to think very differently than we did just last year. The Portal has thoroughly changed recruiting and we see glaring evidence of this with 11 guys currently in from our roster. If we lose 25 kids under normal circumstances each year, graduation and transfers, what happens when the Portal gets added to the mix? This could be 30-35 kids moving every year! Mind numbing to say the least. This brings me to the RB situation. We have 2 in the Portal. They haven't graduated, they simply are looking for other opportunities. That begs the question: Will we 'Lose' 2 RB's to the Portal every year? I'm guessing this is the new normal. One thing I've noticed is that O-lineman seem to be intact. I'm guessing that is the nature of the position. You don't see O-Lineman having stats to a game that the general fan pays attention to. Just a thought. Back to RB's, of all the positions that I'm NOT scared of massive movement, it's RB's. One can find a 'Proven' RB in the Portal every year. A 5* sitting behind 2-3 other 5* RB's. He wants to play AND get paid. I believe the PAC is going to get real good in the coming years with the Portal. Kids usually don't move from Alabama to Oregon for just playing time. But, add some NIL and playing time? Same goes for the other schools. Portal transferring in and out....... I'm not scared. We are about to get real good.

That has already been done for 4 years. He has done that a ton this year. One game, a Bowl game, wont change the Scouts look. The scouts have a ton of film to process and will already know his grade before entering combine. This is all about how healed up his ankle is. The combine will prove that. We fans are Jones'ing for an elite QB playing in a bowl game against an elite QB. We want the 'WIN' baby! But, this game is absolutely meaningless for Bo's NFL future. For the record, I'm ecstatic he's playing! Go Ducks!!

Bo doesn't need to play in the Bowl game to prove anything to the Scouts. That all gets done at Combines.

Flowe is going to get Paid......alot! U$C??!!

Sad that a #1 LB fizzled so greatly. Injury really messed with his development, but he should have been a plug and play player. Sadly, he seemed to have me scratching my head and I don't recall ever being 'WoW'd by his game play. I'm really starting to see the benefit of the Portal. There are a ton of NFL players with no stars or at least completely under the radar coming out of HS. Give these kids 2-3 years in College and they, out of nowhere, turn into world beaters. Let someone else develop these kids the first year or two then swoop in with NIL and have a top tier player.

Coach Sanders knows Football. One shouldn't question whether he knows how to scheme and win at ANY level. Its all about the recruitment of players and the attitude from the school room to the locker room to the weight room. If you aren't in it to Win It then you should hit the portal because you are only in it for yourself. Thats what Prime is saying. Portals are for those that are individually driven for selfish reasons. Not in an absolute sense, but by and large its 'I'm going to get mine'. If you are into that then there is the door. Colorado is about to get real competitive. I think what gets missed sometimes, is that nobody wants their "TEAM' to lose. Its common to hear that they are just kids and students first. However, a losing 'TEAM' puts no cheaks in the seats. The Game is played to...WIN. It's not intramural, just for funzies. I'm not buying tickets to see your GPA, I'm buying tickets to see a competitive team in a competitive game and I'm rooting for? Mediocraty? To perpetually lose? Nope. Colorado isn't missing D1 athletes, they are missing Heart. Coach Prime is bringing that in spades! Bowl eligible in 2023, you heard it here first.

Not one game should the PAC be scared of. Every game we all should be favored. We should win them all and soundly.

Their only loss is in a Championship game AFTER playing the Full season. They Lost in overtime by 3 points to a top 10 team. Everyone else has two losses. Nuf said!

U$C best win is against the Beavs. That team is ranked 15th. Oregon plays a top 10 team and Bo beats them on one leg. Does Bo deserve to be the Heisman winner? With 3 losses? NO! CW with 2 losses? NO! The PAC cannibalized itself again. Thats them apples.

I hated Coach Riley's response. Utah was the better team 'tonight'. 'Tonight', that just smacks of someone who feels they are better but just had a glitch. How many times did you lose to Utah this year? LR and U$C wasnt the better team. Serious lack of respect. I want every team in the PAC to win their bowl game except U$C

I know, I know. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda, simply put, we lost too many and never got there. Oregon state played USC within a score and they have a garbage QB. Utah beat USC by a score earlier in the year. Oregon beat Utah by 1 score. Washington beat Oregon by 1 score...etc. etc. I'm seeing parody in the PAC. There are no clear runaways this year. If your team is healthy, top to bottom, you can win. But, most likely your win will be by only one score. Oregon was playing as a clear favorite till Bo got hurt. Then they went middling of the top tier. U$C was exposed as what I have felt they were from October on. A pretender of a team on defense. To be fair, Oregon measures up pretty comparable as well. The difference? Oregon lost to OSU by a score and U$C beat OSU by a score and Oregon beat Utah by a score but U$C lost to them by a score. U$C avoided most of the top shelf of the PAC. This brings me to next year. The team that brings back the best QB will most likely win the conference. I don't see a defensive world beater in the PAC. Although, I really like the...(cough cough) Beavs defense. The PAC has some good defenses, but a great QB will have his day in this conference. Now, ON to the Bowl Season!!! I haven't been this interested in the Bowl season in....ever! We have 6 teams in the top 17. Whaaaaaat??!!!! Yeah 6! Do you see any team that shouldn't win their bowl by a sound margin? The PAC's QB play is excellent except the Beavs. Every dinged up squad should be 100% in the next 3 weeks. Because of U$C's loss, tOSU will back door into the playoffs. This leaves mediocre offenses from the B1G left to play. The ACC? Big 12? Even the SEC looks mediocre after the top 3. I'm not scared of one single team that the PAC is in Bowl contract with. The PAC should have an excellent Bowl Season! DUCK ON!!!!

There is so much more to recruiting these kids than one relationship. To be sure, Football is the primary reason. Developing into a League player is THE Goal. But, if Lanning starts telling these kids they are going to start for fear of losing them, then you have lost the team and just don't know it yet. Thats favoritism without reality. Herbert was a 3*. Herby can be a Hall of Famer. The point is that if the next kid shows up and beats out others in the respective room, then its up to the roster to get better and 'Earn' it. Bringing in Moore is a course correcting move for a program. We've seen what Bonix has done. Without him we might be 7-5. Might. Moore could take a 9-3 team to 11-1 or undefeated within 2 years. But, if the next QB is better than Moore in his 2nd year, do you bench Moore? Go Be Great!! That's to every player on the roster, even your replacement.

They failed miserably? People won't watch? Oregon lost by a total of 7 points. UW game was a game we should have won and played very well by a team putting together a new scheme by a new HC. We had a cheap shot delivered on our QB and that clearly affected the outcome. But, we still lost. I would say the Beavs game was more of a travesty. OSU was one dimensional and we couldn't stop them. We made a couple of poor coaching decisions and that clearly lost the game. This team, after so much turnover, was in the hunt for the Natty in November. In the hunt for the Rose Bowl in the very last game if the season. We lost by less than a TD. We root for our team to win it all, but we shouldn't forget that they play their hearts out. So do other teams. We can finish with a 10 win season. Is that a failure? Apparently, some aren't willing to watch and find out.

The QB roster room will have Juniors in it. No more excuses. We don't need anymore training. They are ready or they aren't.

I actually see the logic. If I was a kid that wasn't a superstar, guaranteed NFL bound, then my chances of cashing in on football are limited. You take every single year you can get paid. You only get 4 of them so you better get yours. Its over when your 22. Might as well get your car and a nice down payment on your house, maybe even a paid for house upon graduation.

There is NO way Bo goes to ASU, if he decides to continue his college career. ASU is a bowl team next year at best. 7-5. Oregon will have a 2nd year HC and an even better roster with more kids getting used to DL and his vision. While a real possibility of regression is possible, the opposite is true as well. Oregon has all the tools to be the PAC champion next year. With Bo of course.

A dead horse? Maybe. And yet this subject won't go away. We can be frustrated all we want and then ignore it. Does that change the fact that someone in position is going to name it and it will take on an official name eventually? Nope. I hate the fact that PC has overstepped its boundaries. I have loved 'The Civil War' moniker. But, if the powers that be refuse to use it, enter Largest Cocktail Party, then its a matter of time before it gets renamed. I will always call it the Largest Cocktail party, but the next generation won't even know what we are talking about. Same with the Civil War. I love calling it the Civil War, but if the official name has been removed then there is a vacuum. The Platypus Bowl feels like something I would scrape off my shoe. Beat a dead horse? Maybe. But someone is going to make that Dead Horse official, and what you dislike now may be what you despise later.

Much ado has been uttered about renaming the rivalry match up of Oregon and Oregon St. It has mustered up much emotion like a rivalry would, but it sure seems the elimination of the name 'Civil War' was done in haste. I'm not here to say we should keep it nor eliminate it. I have no authority nor would anyone listen. But, let's offer suggestions. I have one: 'The War on the Willamette' What suggestions do you propose?

One can't help themselves but be excited for the recruiting class coming in for 2023. We have 2 5* kids and a couple 5* kids on the lead as well. But looking at 2024, I am left wondering what kind of class we will secure. 5* players are important, but a complete roster of 4* is top 10 level and then some. My thoughts are specifically in reference to Ohio State and they only have 1 kid 3* or lower, yet their recruiting rank is 6th. So, what happens if we load the roster with no less than 4* with a sprinkling of 5* as well? There is no school that doesn't have at least 1- 3* that is ranked in the top 10. Getting these high ranked 4* kids is going to develop into a Monster of a Roster that will contend for Championships. Not only PAC but Natty as well.

They already have one around 8th and Willamette. Is there going to be another or is he buying the one already here?

The War that ended slavery is offensive.... to whom?