HappyToBeADuck

IMHO, nothing will change until we win 1 maybe 2 Nattys and put the trophy on the mantle over the fireplace! The moniker of a blue bood is subjective and somewhat fluid. Time and distance from glory play a role. One upon a time Nebraska was a powerhouse blue blood. Now? PSU won titles to earn blueblood status. How about now? Fun topic for sure but I dont have a problem with OBD's not being considered a blueblood. Scoreboard talks and we came up short twice. Go Ducks!

Fun read Darren. Thank you and all the writers for your time and effort in preparIng and presenting your articles. This weekends matchup with the Hoosiers reminds me of our title game with the Buckeyes. Lots of talent on both side of the ball. However the Buckeyes were bigger, stronger and deeper in the trenches on both lines of scrimmage. The Buckeyes took a few punchrs to the face early but eventially pounded the Ducks, then took control of the game. The 2025 Ducks are bigger, stronger and deeper on both sides of the ball than the boys,from Indiana. Add in future NFL talent in the secondary and the uber talented skill position players on offense and we should see the Ducks take control of this game in the 3rd quarter. This game, as long as the Ducks play clean, mistake free ball should expose the Hoosiers weaknesses and lack of depth. It will be a good, hard fought game with the Ducks covering the spread! Throw in the Autzen crowd and Ducks win by 17 plus. This is a big stage for the Hoosiers and I am hoping the Ducks take them to the woodshed! We shall see...... Darren, Texas is a mess and Manning is just not playing well against equal or greater talent. PSU lost either its heart or soul or both to the Ducks and the Bruins then picked apart the carcass. PSU has a remaining schedule, if they win out, that can put them in CFP! I have my doubts..... Go Ducks.....

OBDF this is a great opportunity for Dillion to grow thru his rookie contract and prove himself. Hopefully, the Browns will put a few more pieces together for him to thrive. Like skill position players and continue to strengthen the O Line. Not many have thrived or survived as a Brown QB for a number of years. Dillion just needs to stay healthy and get to a 5th year deal($25 million) or the 2nd contract. (Generational money) Go Dillion........

Without a doubt, Cignetti is playing games with DL. He is smart to not add bulletin board material or pour fuel on the fire. I just doubt his true sincerity! In one article he said that Oregon is a great team and that his Hoosiers are a very good team. I doubt DL, staff and players are buying that! Last season the Hoosiers struggled against elite opponents. Especially in the trenches. Cignetti worked to fix that during the off season. Those fixes will be put to the test against the Ducks. The Hoosiers are well coached and will bring their best effort this Saturday. However, no sugar coated talk will help them in the rain on Saturday. This Duck squad is bigger, stronger, faster and deeper. Extremely talented players working together to become elite. Cinderella's fantasy ball should land with a thud in Autzen. While i think PSU will rebound and return to the rankings by seasons end, the Hoosiers may be the last top ranked team the Ducks face until the title game. That fact is not lost on DL and this team. As UCLA proved that upsets can happen in any game, I just dont see that happening this Saturday Go Ducks!

Alex, great article and so much to unpack out of it. Looking forward to reading the FORUM posts that should come in today. The elephant in the room, in your article, is whether Dante Moore heads to the NFL after this season. A great deal will unfold between now and the Natty. Other QB's will find their stride(Manning, Lagway, others?). Will Dante continue to improve? Leaving as a #1 overall pick can be alluring, however getting picked by the right bottom feeder team is just as important. Dante has a O line that protects and affords him the opportunity to make good decisions. That O line allows the time for the skill position players to run routes, etc. IMHO, the bottom 5 NFL teams have weaker O Lines and very few playmakers. My guess only but Bo Nix will enjoy his rookie contract much more than Dillion Gabriel. Is Moore experienced enough, at this point, to call audibles? Nix and Gabriel entered the NFL with 60 plus starts. At seasons end, if all goes well, Dante will be in the low twenty's. Big diffetence! This season many Ducks have stepped up their game to new levels resulting in 5 wins. Long ways to go for sure! I cant validate this but i read an article in the BIG 10 News that stated 6 true freshmen Ducks started against PSU. 3 on offense and 3 on defense! WOW! That's difficult, as an ancient gray beard, to wrap my head around. Sure is exciting! We have the best coach who is never satisfied with where the team is at. We have size, speed and skillsets on both sides of the ball. OBDF we have future NFL talent at every position! How is that possible? This Duck squad has a manageable but challenging schedule ahead to be in the BIG title game, again. The talent is on the field, they just have to continue their hard work and focus to make it happen! This fan is up for a tOSU vs Duck title game and a rematch somewhere in the playoffs. Are you? Go Ducks......

Great article to ponder David, thanks? If we played PSU evety year then it would be a rivalry, for certain. Playing them 4 or 5 times in 10 years doesnt work for this fan. They are a very good program and Franklin is a proven coach. However the BIG titles are going to Michigan, tOSU and OBD's! With Natties going to tOSU, Michigan and hopefully ODD's this year. As long as the 5☆ players go to tOSU, Michigan and the Ducks then PSU will put up a great battle but ultimately lose. Michigan is 7-3 in their last 10 games, tOSU since 2006 is 15-3 over the Nittany Lions. The Ducks are 2-0 since joining the BIG. Most of those games were close and hard fought. But scoreboard counts. PSU will get a chance soon to change the narrative when they play the Buckeyes. If they lose then no title game and their fan base will be upset. Time will tell. Go Ducks!

Shamefully, this old Duck fan picked PSU to win in a close game. Mostly because i am a bad picker and OBD's do the opposite of my pick. They did not fail me.! Last nights dominant defensive performance gives me hope to dream of a Natty victory this year. Can they stay focused and continue to improve? I am confident they will. PSU's DC took the long pass play away from Oregon. They kept everything in front of them, however the Duck running game kept the chains moving. Eventually a very composed Moore found the short and intermediate passing routes for 3 TD passes. The in game adjustments that were sometimes missing in previous seasons were not missing in this game. The Duck O performed and excelled on the big stage! As a fan, i am confident they will improve even more. Especially with Moore, Moore and the baby freshmen. Go Ducks! Some of the Duck running backs may be at the redshirt threshhold and decisions will be made. However, as others have posted, Hill and Davison have earned their playing time. But we have 11 or 12 games to go before we can raise the trophy we all dream of, so I think DL will spread those carries around to keep players fresh. I hope that the Ducks take care of business in the first half so our backup QB's get meaningful game snaps. Go Ducks! Another top 10 team is coming to town in 2 weeks.

Even my lifelong (from the 1950's) husky fans raved about what a great game this was. They were disappointed at how PSU let thrm down! In my 45 plus years as a Duck fan the first 3 quarters may have been the most dominant any Duck defense has ever been. So many players on both sides of the ball stepped it up. Great game that took 10 years off of my life. Ducks should be ranked #2 behind the dreaded Buckeyes.... .

You certainly laid out what the Ducks need to do for a victory in Happy Valley. Composure and mistake free execution in all 3 phases are a must. To me it boils down to how the uber talented freshmen and RS Fresham handle the big stage. And this is a big stage....... Go Ducks, prove me wrong and bring home the win.

PSU wins 35-31 1 - TO 0 - Sacks 315 passing yards I think its the first time i have picked against the Ducks! Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. GO DUCKS! Prove me wrong, please

Darren, thank you for the article! This Duck fan agrees that the Duck D needs to play much better (as a unit) than they did in the BIG Title Game and the Rose Bowl. Of course that was last years unit! This White Out game affords this years D unit their opportunity to make a big statement! This may be an unfair statement and OBDF members please don't take this wrong because I think DL is great and we are fortunate to have him. However, I am still waiting for that real statement game by a DL defense on the biggest stage! This could be the game? PSU does not have a vaunted passing attack and the secondary has the pieces to force PSU offense to be one dimensional. Put 8 in the box, mix up your sets and schemes and get PSU in 3rd and long. The Ducks have 2 fire eating EDGE rushers that should be sack happy by games end. If the D does not dominate then the game may very well be a shootout. Thus it falls to the O Line and Dante Moore. Give Dante protection and I expect the Ducks highly talented skill players to overwhelm the PSU Defense. Dante has spent his football life preparing for big games on the biggest stage! This is a big game....... Special teams may help decide this game. No mistakes are a must. However, the Ducks must play clean, crisp and aggressive in all 3 phases to stamp out the white out. I feel confident the Ducks can win this game. Go Ducks......

Great game plan Alex! More of Moore to Moore definitely needs to be in the recipe for the stew that leads OBD's to victory. In tbe BIG Title game the PSU linebackers could not contain the Ducks tight ends. If i remember correctly Sadiq had 2 touchdowns as PSU tried to double up or zone the fast wide outs and paod the price. DL and Stein will relentlessly attack the weakness they discover on the PSU defense. And the 2025 Duck O has the weapons and depth to exploit it...... But for this old Duck fan the Duck D has to rise up to be the star of the game! Stop the run, force Allar into 3rd and long. PSU's QB is their weakness..... Forcing PSU to punt on the first 3 PSU pissessions coupled with 17-21 points by the Duck O will take PSU out of their game plan. This will create the opportunities for sacks and interceptions. Or at least I can dream! Go Ducks! You are on the big stage again. This is one of those games that Bryce B. came bsck for this season....

David good article, thank you! Many components will go into and towards a victory against PSU and patience on offense is one of them. Deep throws are a must to stretch the defense so as to open up the playbook for the offense. However, Dante could make it easier by completing those wide open potential TD passes. A little air under a couple of those passes and a number of Duck receivers are dancing in the end zone. Consider this as an uneducated thoight from an ancient gray beard: All of the Ducks skilled position 1's and 2's have Sunday football potential. Does PSU have enough talent to defend against that? We will find out..... Composure will be important! Minimize mistakes, execute the game plan and take the crowd out of it. tOSU and Michigan have gone into the Nittany Lions den and been victorious. This may be the most talented and deep Duck team ever. This Saturday they will get there chance! Go Ducks........

Thanks Jordan for a fun read! As a long time, grey beard Duck fan I am not sure this is a different Team than past aquads. Then I ask myself as a fan why do I feel diffetently about this 2025 team? Even during the great seasons since and during the Joey Harrington era, i have had concerns, worries and anxiety before, during and after every game. Case in point, the 2024 games with Idaho, BSU and all the remaining games up and thru the Rose Bowl. A constant roller coaster ride season after season. It took Dante Moore and the offense just a few plays and the defense a few series and the rollet coaster ride stopped. This team is different! Seeing is believing. Seeing this squad execute and perform has eased my anxiety. Of course it is way to early for Natty talk! The path to the title game will and has some nasty, NFL talented teams face off with our OBD's. Cannot wait for this group to prove that the current hype is real. We will have a better picture after the white out game. Is this not fun? GO DUCKS.......

The 10,000 foot view of the 2025 Ducks football team has certainly changed in 2 plus weeks. On the field from their performance, many of the questions or preseason doubts are being answered. The sample size is pretty small, for sure! The on field execution and performance have been large. Scoreboard speaks volumes. Let's hope this continues against Northwestern and Oregon State. And then the perception is cemented after the PSU Whiteout game! GO DUCKS!

There is no doubt that OBD's have performed at a high level in these first 2 games of the young 2025 season. And i dont want to give the impression that I am not excited about the start. Very, very encouraging! However these performances, stats and results were accompmished against who? How many players on MSU and OK State will be playing on Sundays? I agree with the posters above who feel its to early to come to conclusions and want to wait until after the PSU White Out Game. Can the O defense shut down the powerhouse PSU running game, forcing their QB to make plays? Can the Duck O Line protect DM against a defense littered with future NFL players? Can DM make the adustments at the line of scrimmage or make great throws under pressure? Only time will tell. I think they can...... One thing is for sure, PSU will have their hands full with every aspect of this 2025 Duck team. It should be a great game..... GO DUCKS!

Ducks....... 45-24 3 - TO's 4 - Sacks 274 Passing yards GO DUCKS!

Darren, great article! Just my opinion: On the QB position, many teams will have first time starting QB's. At least Dante Moore has some real time game experience. That experience came with a weak support system around him. That will not be the case this year. Whether its Dante, Austin or Luke under center, the talent is around them. I expect all the QB's to execute at a high level. Now that the rest of the BIG has game film on 14 Duck games, they have a clear view of Steins Offensive game plans. Hopefully, DL and Stein have made some changes/additions so the O can adjust (in game) to an opponent DC with a great game plan. One thing is certain this year. No Duck QB will step on the field with a combined 123 starts that Bo and Dillion brought. It is up to DL and Stein to game plan for the lack of QB experience. As for the Duck D: The D has played a solid role the last three seasons. You dont go something like 35-6 without a solid defense. However, whether it was injuries to key players or lack of game planning by DL and staff, in 5 of those 6 losses our opponents recognized and exploited our D. (We did not have the talent and depth to compete with Georgia) So now we begin the journey with more talent and depth than any Duck team, maybe ever. To me and its just my opinion, anything less than 11-1 in the regular season is on the staff. Go Ducks!

USC is in the top 10 of schools with the most wealthy alumnus. Its a pretty impressive list. Also they are number 8 on the list with the most billionaires as graduates. Those 18 graduates billionaores have a combined wealth just north of $58 billion. The Trojan debt is simply a drop in the bucket, however front runner alumni only donate to champions! I am so suprised that the trojan athletic department has not blamed this debt on the Oregon Ducks and demanded PK pay it off for them. Afterall, somewhere in their fight song is a subliminal message that signals, if we have a problem it's the Ducks fault. GO DUCKS.........

For this old Duck fan, we can only hope the Duck O is firing on all cylinders when we take on PSU. PSU's defense will be one of the best we face in 2025. It may take 45 points to win this game. The Ducks will field the talent necessary to light up the scoreboard. The first true test for the O line and whoever is under center. But it's time that DL's Defense step up and play like a top 5 defense. If they do then the rest of College Football will be on notice. GO DUCKS........

There are many pieces to the puzzle of building an elite roster that can win the National Title. Certainly the high level of recruiting since 2019 has elevated the quality of play on the field. 35-6 backs that up. IMHO, the program is built to dominate a conference and compete for league titles. The 2024 BIG Title supports that. DL couldnt get it done last year, so he brought in some high level talent and got the title. As for CFP games and Nattys, well there is obviously some work to be done. But OBD's are close. Last year we lost 2 games to udub who played in the Natty and 1 game to osu2 who is in tbis years Natty. OBDF members those are the games we must win to put ourselves at the elite level. This years Rose Bowl was eye opening for this fan because the Ducks looked inept and lost. With DL at the helm, i dont think he will sleep much until he gets to the next level. Go Ducks.......

Well this is just way, way to early but alot of fun to ponder and discuss. The top 4 are a safe bet, however nothing is concrete until after the spring games. Transfers out have to factor in. Additional key portal additions? It is just to fluid and only time (games played) will tell how the players on the the #1 undefeated Ducks team will respond to their butt whooping in the Rose Bowl. Go Ducks - 11-1 in 2025!

Yes, OBD's do have to grow into being a great, elite team. Please dont take this as a criticism of the Ducks. DL and staff are still putting the pieces together thru the high school ranks and portal. Each year the recruiting rankings improve to the point thar talented 4 stars transfer out because they know they will not see the field. The talent gap continues to shrink.......... Now DL and staff must grow as coaches. Nothing helps that more than in game experience. On the job training, learning and growing and taking responsibility for the results. DL took full responsibility for the Rose Boel loss. That is why my belief in DL continues to grow. OBDF members while our coach is learning how to develope into a great head coach, he sports a 35-6 record and a BIG Title. The Duck trajectory is amazing. Osu2 has more than earned their spot in the title game. DL will wake up thinking about the next meeting with the Buckeyes because thats how he thinks. The Ducks earned a seat at the CFP table, now they need to return and sit at the head of the table. The loss still stings but the future is awesome. On a side note my son purchased 4 tickets to the Fiesta Bowl (he was a Longhorn fan growing up), Rose Bowl and Natty, fully expecting the Ducks to reach the title game. Within a few minutes of posting the 4 Natty tickets for sale a bidding war ensued and a true Buckeye fanatic swooped them up. All the cost of travel and the12 tickets were recouped. osu2 has a great, loyal fan base and I have a feeling that the Buckeyes and Ducks will create a great rivalry between elites for years to come. GO DUCKS..........

Darren, thats a great take on the situation. osu2 really is the benchmark standard in the B1G. It took Harbaugh 5 to 6 seasons to build and recruit the talent at Michigan to beat osu2. Harbaugh brought seasons of coaching experience to Michigan and had the advantage over the less experienced Day. It takes time for any head coach to season and also for his assistants. Let's give DL and staff some time to grow and gain experience. They need to grow and accumulate more talent. The future is bright. On a side note for this fan, without Stewart to stretch the buckeye D, Coach Stein had very few options. The Duck O could not take advantage of a glaring weakness in their secondary. Because the Duck D forgot how to play defense this game was going be a high scoring event for the buckeyes. Many on this Forum felt the Ducks would need to score 40 plus points to win. True on that fact

I was reading an article about travel miles for the BIG 2024 schedule. Michigan and Ohio State traveled less than 6,000 miles. osuhated2's round trip to Eugene represented 72% of the miles they traveled. Oregon, counting the BIG CCG against PSU, just over 16,000 miles in 2024. With 4 round trips into the central or eastern time zone. For further perspective ucla travel 22,000 miles plus. They had a 6k round trip to Hawaii...... osu2 looked to have more energy than OBD's.......they contolled the LOS and every aspect the the RB. The BIG needs to not worry about making sure everybody plays each other every few years. This should be addressed now. The 4 west coast additions should play each other annually to reduce travel and subsequent fatique. Does that have a bearing on performance? I have traveled extensively to central and eastern time zones in any given quarter. It is grueling and is a drain on your energy. My job is mental work not physical bit i am exhausted. As for the virus. It was noticed that OBD's defense did in fact have the virus during the PSU game. Rewatching the game, after the Ducks got up 28-10, the defense seemed to slow down their pursuit. They got beat deep for touchdowns and let PSU run all over them. Almost let the game get away. They may have run out of gas. Now some would say that was in early December. Well this virus can be transmitted back to someone who has already had it. On a personal note, i see between 300 and 400 hundred people within the 50 plus businesses i call on, weekly. This virus has been brutal and keeps recirculating. Some of my customers could not staff fully since before Thanksgiving. The ones who were working were struggling with fatigue weeks after recovery. Maybe this was a factor, maybe not. Fact is OBD's got beat by a better team who traveled almost a third less miles and no mention of the flu virus. Will the BIG look at this? It is not the end of the world because DL has shown he will work tirelessly to fix weaknesses. Game plans and schemes are another story. 2024 was a awesome season with a thud for an ending. Love these coaches and players. Thank you for a BIG Title and some great entertainment. 2025 will be another great year. GO DUCKS.......