HappyToBeADuck

Thanks Annie for posting the rankings. Once the Ducks and Trojans fill our their class they should move into the top 20 Besides its not how many you recruit but who you recruit that matters. Any needs can and should be filled via the portal Next few weeks will bring a big shuffling of those rankings.

Denver Duck, welcome. Look forward to your comments and posts. I love this forum and the Ducks. My concern is my recurring dream where the Ducks lose 1 game against a lesser opponent almost every year. This happens to all schools except the top CFP contenders. You cannot lose to the teams you should beat and expect to be in the CFP. Recruiting classes ranked 10-25 will not be making it to the CFP. Couple that with some insane scheduling and the goal gets even tougher. I believe Coach Lanning has the potential to be a great coach. Time will tell.........

I agree with Charles that we should count our blessings if we win 10 games next season. 10-2 is possible but 8-4 is definitely in play. As we all know the right talent coached properly can overcome alot in the weak PAC. As Jon mentioned WSU and Arizona create some problems. Especially on the road. That schedule is demanding and requires A plus energy from coaches and players. With the portal in play predictions and forecasts can change daily. Roster foundations are no longer poured in 3 or 4 year footers. The building blocks may be be quick fixes poured over quicksand. I hope Denver Duck is correct on 10-2. A win against Utah or USC in the P-12 Championships should put 11-2 Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl. Just a side note: Why and I mean why does the f. Fool who makes this schedule have the 2 top teams (Utah and Oregon) playing late season? No chance for the loser to recover. Why does a conference that critically needs CFP appearances set up both teams to fail. WTH......

I could be way off base here so anyone please fact check me or correct my comment. One of the reasons for ESD was to get LOI's in so the players could register and enroll in early January. Thus participation in S and C and spring ball. A fair number of players are completing high school early and jumping right in. This is important to these young men and I would hate to see that get skewered Most of the ESD process accomplishes what the NCAA is all about. CHAOS....... David another well thought out and written article. So many parts moving in multiple directions. No leadership, no rudder, no rules. Just how the SEC likes it.

Toss up between Friday Night Lights and either Longest Yard movie.. Greatest sports movie? Another toss up between Slap Shot and The Sandlot. Hockey bus road trips following the Spokane Jets/Flyers into Cranbrook, Nelson and Trail BC rang true to the movie. Booze, babes, brawls and hockey in the late 60's and early 70's without the movie set.. Played neighborhood baseball, all day long in the summer in vacant fields in the late 50's and early 60's. it was simply the best of times.

Both coaches will have to be at the top of their respective games. And I mean all aspects of the coaching profession. I agree with Duckhart that Rileys bowl record and 2020 conference losses can't be ignored. No matter the level of opponents. Rileys defenses leave alot to be desired. Its one thing to inherit a P-5 Conference championship team.. It's another thing to build one.. He has work to do........ The Ducks lost to Iowa State, Utah twice and Oklahoma. As a fan I was concerned about our former HC 's ability in big games. Coach Lanning brings the bona fides that he can recruit and build a Natty Champion defense. Now can he build a staff and develop the players on both sides of the ball. He also has alot of work to do............ Utah has built a Championship Culture which is good. But the future of national relevance for the PAC lies with Oregon and USC. Here's to both young coaches and their absolute success. And remember the rest of the PAC members are waiting on their share of that future.

Jon, you make an excellent point that Oregon and USC need to be top ranked teams playing for P-12 Championship. Winner to CFP, loser to NY6 Bowl. Stop losing to teams you should beat and win your OOC games. True ROI only happens with a Natty. When Coach Lanning and staff guide these talented players to a CFP appearance then Oregon will be paying in the multi year $100 million figure to keep Coach Lanning. Who knows where that dollar amount goes for a National Championship Trophy. It will be a bidding war for certain. Can't wait.........

Coach Lanning was offered the Oregon HC position because of his proven ability to recruit and build a power house defense. So by all means, within the rules, recruit the players you have your relationships with. Just like the new HC at LSU, USC, Oklahoma, Washington and Miami will do.

Well I think that MaiTaiDuck really summed it up with these words, "every year with how CF is heading its Championship or bust every year now ". IMHO, Oregon has been in that mode since the turn of the century. For some of us old timers I mean this century (21st) not the turn of the last century (20th). In 2002, the 2nd ranked Ducks earned the right to play #1 ranked Miami. They qualified per the BCS guidelines. The TV Network wanted ratings so a very distant 3rd ranked Nebraska was chosen. Miami destroyed the Cornhuskers, the Ducks got........ The Dennis Dixon injury derailed the next BCS title run. That season that offense was unstoppable with DD at the helm. Of course we played in the BCS Natty in 2010. We were poised and positioned for other Natty's but Inexplicable losses sent us to other New Years bowls. Then the CFP annihilation of FSU and another Natty appearance in 2014. Possibly just one less loss against ASU and we are in the 2020 CFB. This century the Ducks football program has been in Championship or bust mode. Now the rules and landscape have changed. Will the program change within the rules to match the landscape? Every year, every team takes a chance on the character of their coaches and players. Grown men coaches double talk us and 18 year olds make mistakes and suffer the consequences of their actions. Thru all that the teams play to win. Only a handful of teams have any possibility of a CFP and Natty. Oregon has been and I hope will be one of the handful.

So much joy and happiness as the huskies continue their self imposed decline. Even better that others are noticing. No amount of barking, slobbering or butt sniffing will change this. I agree with noDucknewby, "Another 0-12 season would warm my heart"

Mario has 2 of the 3 key ingredients necessary to build a CFP participant. First, He is a outstanding recruiter who wins the kitchen table wars. Oregon's recruiting classes bear that out. He put talent on the field. Second, no one will out work him and his staff. He will put in the hours and make the sacrifices necessary to work toward achieving his goals. But as Miami fans and the drooling talking fools (ESPN) will discover he lacks the third key ingredient. He cannot coach or will not put a coaching staff together who can develop the players to their full potential. As a HC, he and his staff could not make in game adjustments or grasp game management procedures Or Mario simply over ruled those decisions. As a result, of poor coaching decisions, the last 4 seasons the Ducks lost games they should not have lost to. CFP teams don't lose those games. That will not change in Miami. Mario will win alot of games in the ACC. The conference is stacked with teams you should not lose to. However, Mario will find a way to lose one each year. Then the Miami fans can listen to his useless, coach speak pressers. He excels in that area for certain.......

It appeared to me as the cameras scanned both sidelines that many of those players had their man bodies. That was big men football on both lines of scrimmage. Utah had a number of upper classmen players with fully developed man bodies. The end result was what it should have been. And that's okay. Win or lose the young Ducks played 4 games on the big stage. Size, speed and experience matter. When our young ducks took off their helmets there were alot of baby faces on the sidelines. Next year those baby ducks should be bigger, stronger and faster. With big game experience. Sprinkle in a few leaders from the portal and let's get after it. Go Ducks. Big time football awaits in Georgia......

Thanks Charles for this first glimpse into Coach Lannings defensive schemes. Looking forward to many more articles. Exciting times ahead for Duck fans. Ian Miller painted a bleak picture of the talent and ability of the Bulldogs back 4 defensive players. The Ducks appear to have some NFL talent in those positions on the roster now. The Lanning emphasis appears to be driven by the front 7. Barring injury or the portal, the 2-5☆ linebackers you mentioned (Sewell and Flowe) could have All-American years. The returning Duck front 7 has talent and game experience. Another reason for excitement. If the Georgia staff apologized for not playing Bulldog football, it made me wonder. Did Smart over rule Lanning on the game plan? Or did Lanning sell Smart on that disastrous defensive game plan in SEC championship? Probably never know but if the proof is in the pudding, somebody is getting served tonight. Go Georgia D. The best reason for me to be excited is that once the Natty is over, Oregon has a full-time HC.

Structure with time tables for portal use might help. You could even set up basic equal monthly payments to players This is something within the NCAA and schools control. Some action might be possible once the lawyers hash it thru. Remember you could pay every player on your team $1,500 per month.bit the player has their NIL rights. 2 separate issues But no legislation by these forces are in play for NIL. This is between the player, who owns the rights to their NIL and whoever wants to buy those rights. Smart players whose parents lawyer up may have the ability to sell their NIL rights to multiple bidders. It's wide open.......

What will happen is the million dollar question. For the super talented they will get the million dollar answer and maybe much more. No real answers at this point. To early to tell. Some AD'S will lose their jobs if they don't get NILS lined up for next season. The leash just got shorter for coaches. If A & M boosters spent $30 million for a season then Jimbo is on the hot seat to bring a Natty to the trophy case. Right now hot....... Some schools won't do anything. Just ride out their current TV deals and then see where the landscape is at that time. The snapshot will be a full blown album of good and bad shortly. As a fan, I just wonder how many top 10 recruiting classes can Coach Lanning bring in without a solid NIL support system. I guess the term "never in my lifetime " is no longer applicable to paying college athletes.

I always root against Bama. Looking forward to see if Coach Lsnning can make the necessary adjustments to shut down the Bama offense. How does he handle a rematch opportunity? Not to dwell on the past but our previous staff did not make or could not make the necessary adjustments in the critical Utah rematch. With good coaching, returning talent and transfer portal their is a very good chance Utah and Oregon play twice next year. How Coach Lanning handles this high level opportunity is a snapshot for next year's potential rematch games. Even though I despise Bama and it's unrivaled success I admire Coach Sabans coaching performance. Player and Coach development is unrivaled anywhere. My wish and hope is that Coach Lanning can bring this results to Oregon.

Charles well considered posts in just a few words: "Very few teams out of the 120 D-1 programs can do this" Consider these few thoughts and look forward to all POV's. The beauty or ugly of the pay for play NIL is that the schools don't have to do this. All the AD has to do is grant license or invite the boosters, local/regional business or marketing firms to create the NIL opportunities. Granted not all booster bases are created equal. But the opportunities exist for the bold and creative. Look at Sanders at Jackson State, that's FCS level. My son even made this comment to consider. If our business model was big enough it would be worth it to NIL an entire conference. WTH...... Haven't had time to digest all of that statement. I am certain if my son had big tech money coupled with his football passion that he would follow thru with that idea. He would find a way to just do it. To be 35 again. The best thing the NCAA could do at this point is contact the FBS members and see who would want to join a different D-1 division. Create a commonality that would have rules and purpose with NIL included. Create a 32 team playoff with 85 scholarships per team. FCS model works pretty well. Gather and involve common sense boosters in the process. Whatever mistakes were previously made or are now unfolding then fix it. Be positive, creative, forward thinking and put the student athlete first. It sounds bad but in just a few weeks or months their will truly be the haves and have nots in football. Conferences and Presidents are going to have make business decisions. No amount of academic prowess will save this business model. Common sense and a good business plan.

Lots of passion in just a few posts. I wonder what the NIL for Moss will be at Miami? If Deion at Jackson State can sign 2 players who were coveted by the P5 Powers with high paying NIL deals, then Oregon boosters best step it up. MaiTaiDuck is correct but we should all recognize the NCAA governs the schools. NIL is not paid by the schools. Boosters, corporations and marketing firms rule this, not NCAA. It's eat or be eaten. Oregon boosters and smart business marketers time to step up. This is just the beginning of this business model. Shortly, it may take $85 million annually to field a 4☆ team. The Texas schools will see to that. Wonder how much money it will take for Bama and Georgia to hold their rosters together come Tuesday morning? What will the cost be come National Signing Day? The portal is the only way a player can find out their NIL market value. Proven commodities testing free agency. Hopefully PK and other big time boosters already have a plan in place. The Texas Boys sure did. This will not signal the end of big time college football. Just change the landscape. For those too young to know this. Shortly after Curt Flood won in court and opened the door for free agency, the New York Yankees spent crazy money to build their team. Luring Reggie Jackson and others from 3 time World Champion Oakland A's. Yankees got a title from spending money on proven stars. Let's hope we have boosters willing to spend in free agency, right now. The future has arrived.

Jordan thanks again for taking the time to create an article. After reading the article twice I came away with mixed emotions. Sending out a thank you note was a nice gesture. Very classy. Since a few of the rats jumped ship, even before there was a fire, it was nice to see a coach stay to the end. Wish him well. I was never comfortable with the high amount of injuries the players suffered. Not sure if this happened as part of the conditiong training or HC's violent and very physical practices. I wasn't at practice to eye witness that. But multiple players talked about live scrimmages that were just as physical as the games. If I remember correctly there were season ending injuries as a result of hard contact in practice. It might just be me but there were games that the players looked tired. No energy. Their talent and will to win saved the day. Utah looked fresh and energized as the season progressed, the Ducks not so much. Now before this forum gets after me, Sewell and a few others seemed to bring it every play. The mental and emotional side is equally important as strength and conditioning are. Injuries forced young freshmen to play before they had a chance to grow and develop their man body. That's where the S & C coach's program is critical. To me, something just wasn't right. It could be my imagination, too. I appreciate Coach Felds energy and sideline enthusiasm. Without a doubt he was all in. Looking forward to the next S &C coach. Hoping he can prepare the players both mentally and physically every year for 15 or more games. No Natty in the trophy room without it.

Let's hope their are a few more experienced players headed ro Oregon. As injuries took their toll on the 2021 season it is clear you can never have enough talent on the roster. The ability to fill holes and immediate needs is one of the benefits of the portal. Their are downsides to the portal, too.

As much as I feel there needs to be certain controls on NIL by the NCAA or the schools, well it probably won't happen. Anyone or any entity that attempts to cap the amount of money a player receives for their individual endorsement or opportunity, most likely loses in court. This is an individual capitalizing on their name, image and likeness. The school is not paying the player. They have no say in this matter. Does a school or AD really want to discourage boosters, corporations or marketing firms from creating an opportunity to attract top level players? Would Oregon turn down a well organized group bringing $30 million annually to bring top talent to Orrgon? Not hardly........ The courts ruling let the cats out of the bag before anyone knew what cats were in the bag. Now the boosters and schools who cheated don't have to anymore. The subtle and sneaky can be bold and audacious. (Texas AND TA&M) Doesn't matter what it does to college football. Football is a team sport played by individuals. The boosters are individuals who want the best team on the field. As we are beginning to see, money is no object. And the portal opens unlimited options to view for the players once they enter.

Many young recruits have come to regret their decisions. Thankfully, without penalty, they have the portal to correct that. Regardless of losing Moss there will be another 4 star player lining up on the edge against Georgia. Without any facts to substantiate this my instincts tell me the new staff will coach and develop that player. Much better than the last staff did.

Outstanding POV'S from all on this thread. Depends on what matters concern you the most. The NCAA and school presidents were stubborn beyond belief on the topic of paying players. After all they know what's best for the players. So the other side of the argument took it to the courts. Guess the NCAA and school presidents didn't know what was best for the players, after all. Once again academic prowess over ruled common sense. Wasn't there even 1 attorney or consultant who told them that they were going to lose. So the courts ruled and a massive earthquake rocked the NCAA and the schools Now the tsunami of consequences and change is coming ashore. You never turn your back on the waves at the ocean. The wrong side of the ruling did just that. Good or bad, here it comes. Whether the NCAA can rule on any restrictions will be challenged in court. Only time will tell who the winners or losers will be. Unquestionably, college athletics are undergoing a massive change and I hope it's for the better.

I hope that Verdell and Dye return next season. They are an important part of the Ducks future. We should embrace them being on the field. I am not sure what games some of the forum members watched but tOSU (2021) and Utes (2019) defenses did not track down Verdell from behind. Those runs were epic and came on the big stage. We have another big stage game next September and I only hope these experienced players are on the field. Don't have any idea of a whether either player has a shot in the NFL. If it's their dream then I wish it would come true for them. These 2 players are current Oregon Ducks stars. I agree with Coach Boles, they should not be dissected. What are we thinking?

It's Coach Lannings first seat in the Big Chair. That means a learning curve is upon him at Duck Nation. That doesn't mean it's a good or bad curve. Just a curve. Top recruits will and have come to Oregon. It appears that Coach Lanning can recruit. We are about to find out. It is exciting.......