Charles Fischer

It is like every 4-5 games...the Ducks need a wake-up call to remind them that progress is not automatic. This is the biggest alert since the UW game, and it came at a good time. We won the game, but are better prepared for our final three contests. And we have to remember that human behavior, like the stock market, do not go up as a steady graph. You will have some dips downward, while the overall trend is upward. (It makes sense to call USC the dip...)

The LA schools meet next week, and they are a combined 8-7 in conference play? Really? The B1G wanted that? The PAC-12 is being dissolved over that? Yes, audience size, but aren’t most of them bandwagon fans in LA? Are there that many eyes on two .500 teams? But they are going to do a lot better in the B1G…right?

My Duck-Brother, I think your reasoning is quite sound. It is such a shame, and the crazy part is… I do think the Oregon State game will get more eyeballs than James Madison, which makes it even more crazy. It goes to show how going to the Big Ten is going to prevent those kinds of episodes from happening to OBD.

I really think that USC played like the team that we, and everyone else thought they would be at the beginning of the season. They played like a ranked team, and showed great improvement on defense as they had hoped for. We did not catch them in a “show-up” mode, as they are for many games. The Trojans played inspired against us, and is an example of how we will get everyone’s best shot. You know, the way it used to be for them!

He might be the only man in history to be paid 100 million (between Florida State and TAMU) to go away! I wish I could be paid to go away, but instead with me....

Losing both starting corners in a game would normally have been a killer in the past--especially against a Caleb Williams. But we have depth that survived it, and kept USC well below their 45 point average per game. The problem was the Trojan defense playing inspired to hold Oregon 11 points below their average.

It is bad enough to have the worst brand in the conference, where NOBODY among any of the Power-5 conferences want you. (Even at a massive Stanford/Cal discount) But your huge highly ranked matchup with Washington...(which should be a shoe-in for ESPN GameDay coming to Corvallis) is ignored? To go to James Madison instead? Whew!

The final score was 36-27, and Autzen Magic predicted 43-31, of which is only 11 total off. Most all of us were pretty high in our point expectations, but Autzen Magic zagged when the rest of us zigged. Congrats to him, and thanks to all who played!

"Frequently wrong, but never in doubt!"

In Eugene, it is on the regular Fox channel, for those on Comcast.

They just announced that west coast fans will be switched to the Oregon-USC game at 7:45 PM PST.

Here we are my Duck-Buddies, the thread for pondering the actual game as it happens. Let's discuss before, and during the game! The vast majority of you are GREAT in this thread, but you must remember that this forum is different, as we require civilized discourse. Discussion of negative is fine, but don't vent on us! Rule No. 31d covers GameDay Thread Conduct, and it is not hard for the vast majority of us--just a tiny few who need to reign it in when things don't go well for Our Beloved Ducks. Let's Have Fun Posting During the Game!

And....the difference in home fields makes the comparative scores even wider...

Or...take the good-or-good approach. If Utah wins good; if Washington wins, it helps Oregon, so good.

There were some interesting quotes from the video below--some that dropped my jaw...that I'd thought I'd never hear from USC faithful. They feel the best way to win is ball control and shorten the number of possessions, and stay close to Oregon until the fourth quarter. Then win it with their passing precision. They view the Washington game different than we do, as they think they should have won it. "A fumble, and one sustained drive by SC that did not result in points. That was the difference, is all, against Washington. If those two drives end differently, then the game end differently." Going into this game: "Getting to the Pac-12 Championship is conceivable." They do get realistic about their chances in the video, but feel the new DCs at USC can, "make Oregon earn it. They will try to not give up the wide open stuff on the LOS. The new DCs can make it so Oregon will have to block us." My head just about twisted off hearing that. They acknowledge how defenders are not even there at the LOS at times, and their goal is to make Oregon have to block them? Whew! "Lanning is going for the jugular; he is going to try to score 100 points to make a recruiting statement." Yeah...it is gonna suck to be you. I enjoyed this way-too-much!

The only negative about seeing you and your family....is that it had to end. So fantastic and enjoyable. Thanks so much for all you do for the forum!

Thank YOU, and it was fun chatting with you as well. We will do it again! (But at a lower-cost venue)

Kamikaze...I cannot express how much fun that was, and thank YOU. We yakked for five hours, and then NJDuck and I yakked for another hour and a half...I left at 11:30! For those in Eugene--we will need to meet for a pizza or beer on a regular basis, as I really enjoyed the opinions and analysis by others that attended. This was also instructive for me in that....I have regretted how many people have left this site in a huff because they could not get their way. But I've said often that I'd rather have much fewer member of NICE people, and last night was a group of such superb people, and great fans. I'd rather have fewer people like them on the forum than twice as many with tons of trolls. We really have a lot of great people on this forum... This (below) is the only picture I took, and it was before the event with my tech guy--to see the banner made for me 12 years ago. Of course once we got engaged in conversation--everyone forgot to take a picture!

FishDuck Fact: "It can be honorable to cheer for Washington....but only when it will help Our Beloved Ducks."

On the site, WeAreSC, they speak of how they want to run the ball on Oregon, limit the possessions, and remain close going into the 4th quarter so they can use their quick-strike capabilities to pull off the upset.

What is the crucial flag that USC players will need the most?

There are few Oregon fans as fanatical as I, when I set my mind on something positive about Our Beloved Ducks. If we can put 63 on Cal? And we will run the ball easier on USC? And the Trojans have not faced a top-ten defense yet? I want 70!