Trevor

See the intrigue starts.. who really will emerge??? ... we know so little... but Shough knows a LOT... He left. Tells me there is at least one that Shough was sure would beat him out. Makes me feel better about whomever it is.

Just tells me that Tyler didn't believe he would win out. How can I take that badly? He was the starter who clearly believes someone else in the QB room is better. I'm going with that. Oregon will have a better QB starting next year. This helps Shough have time, to have a chance with a new team. Wish him well. He is a class act. Now the QB room will be scrapping for that spot. Awesome! Oh, the intrigue!

Disagree. I think ASU is hampered by recruiting. What Herm is doing should not be overlooked. I am certainly not wagering money on them., but USC just got lucky (IMHO). See my other post on why I really think USC will take a dip down.

Not scary to me. Oregon "could" do what happened last year... have those What??? Huh?? What just happened games. There is likely always one game (based on a fair amount history) where that could or even will happen, yet again. I just don't think so this year. Oregon is bringing in the consensus best WRs and TEs, and almost best RBs as well as great O-Line additions. They were already loaded on defense, perhaps a little wet on depth. What they added makes them scary good with talent (on paper) with respect to Defensive Combined with Covid, lack of practice, a new O-Line, a sketchy QB, no time to for Moorehead to implement the new offense, and Avalos doing weird changes (like the d-line backing way off)... I just think there are too many reasons why they will actually improve this year. Seeing how Shough just left... I take that as positive news. Clearly, he doubted he would win out. Saw the writing on the wall. Same with Cyrus. He struggled for time with last year's RBs. Oregon just added two top 20 RBs that seem like near perfect additions. On paper, Oregon D is really scary good. Looking at Deruyters' record of first year improvement. I suspect they start looking like their talent level. I will be shocked if there isn't noticable improvement. Especially with QB pressure, sacks and blitzes. He aggressive and the talent matches his schemes very well. Yes, it "could" happen. Washington could win the north and Arizona State the south. I actually think Arizona State, or even UCLA (if they actually step up again like last year) could win the south. Of course Utah is always looming too. I'm not high on USC for this reason: been saying for years that too many players pick USC for the wrong reasons (Wanna do a lot of partying and playing in the area). Covid closed down the social places they go to distract them. That was a big benefit last year. Predicted it would help them. If social activities open up for USC, I expect a significant dip in performance. If it opens right near the start of the season... see yah! Nothing will stop many of them from letting loose. When I look at how many of the games they "won" don't really reflect on game performance (should have lost at least three of those games). I'm going to be surprised if they win the south. In my book, they are more likely to flounder than excel. If I were to pick/guess... it will be Oregon versus the Sun Devils. If USC manages to make it through.. so be it. If Utah or UCLA.. so be it.

Forgot to add: with what Oregon has for talent on defense... they should look just like TB. With a good QB, they should be better than TB on offense.

For me the difference for Tamp Bay was the addition of Brady and the defense. Without Brady, their QBs turned the ball over too much. A pick six is double punishment...lose the points your working for and the points you just gave up. For the Super Bowl, TB got all of its defensive pieces back and this year was definitely improved over previous years. They completely shut down Terek Hill and all deep passes. Kept the running game to a minimum and hammered Mahomes all game. It was simply spectacular play from the entire defensive unit at all levels of play. Having said all that... KC lost its left tackle and a few other pieces. But that left tackle caused three lineman to move to different positions. It didn't work out well. Brady did what Brady does... plays consistently, with reasonable accuracy, excellent game management, and few turnovers.

I take the rating with a grain of salt... IMHO its more about boosting ratings and viewers and less about true ranking. Its certainly not unrealistic, any team not Alabama, Clemson, or Ohio have arguments to move them all over the place. Oregon has the players/talent. We've seen glimpses. We've also seen the head scratchers. I'm really hoping things fall together. On offense Oregon has the WRs, TEs, and RBs. They still have a very young O-Line. They have depth at QB, but who will they pick and long to develop a rhythm? On defense, they are loaded. With what's coming in, they should be the best in the PAC-12. I have faith Deruyter, but its still a new system, new names, and new areas of focus. His history shows repeated first year results and our best players is where he excels... the reason for having faith. Based on last year though (hopefully an outlier) I would expect a ranking between 7 and 12. Toss out last year and include this year's recruits and 5 is about right.

From what I read, its the kicking coach at AZ that caused Jace to flip. (1) Jace already has a relationship with him (helped him develop where he is now). (2) His dad is the one that caused Jace to flip... focused him on the coach's record of developing kickers (its a pretty good record). Look at Oregon and their history with kickers. A lot has to do with recruiting, but there really isn't any evidence of kickers being coached up... not that I can recall. Kicking has been a peeve of mine for some time. Oregon isn't recruiting kickers well, and certainly has not been coaching up well. That why this stinks so much. We need someone like him.

If you wonder about the possibilities... see this:

Oregon had multiple players opt-out and multiple enter the transfer portal, doesn't that free up spots?

This is an interesting read about Zach Arnett: https://www.si.com/college/mississippistate/football/zach-arnett-success-121820 He runs a 3-3-5 defense and his record looks really good; especially considering the talent and circumstances. What's funny (to me) is it would be another grab from Mike Leach. Apparently, Cristobal has a lot in common with Mike... must play in the same communication circles. Mike won't be happy. That article was about Zach Arnett just signing an extension so he wouldn't be pilfered. Based on the multiple other coaches Mario has pulled from Mike, odds increase significantly that this may be the one.