Charles Fischer

My friends....I am a muttering mass of protoplasm. I am still stunned at seeing Oregon at No. 4, and even more at our biggest critic, Herbie admitting that if we win out.....we're in! I have added more quotes to the original post and the official press release from Oregon who had it up long before the show was over. I will most likely be placing more quotes in the top post in the next two hours. Enjoy!

My friends, I cannot remember how long it has been since Our Beloved Ducks were talked about so much on the College Playoff Rankings show! I was blown away to see the Ducks at No. 4, and let's look at their logic and some quotes from the telecast. Let's start with the most important quote that summarizes it all; after it was revealed that Oregon was No. 4, Kirk Herbstreit stated that, "ultimately, if Oregon wins the rest of their games and wins the Pac-12--they're going to the Playoffs." He added how the Ducks went through a three week stretch of NOT looking impressive, but in the wins over UCLA and Colorado "they turned their fortunes around the last two weeks." The telecast torqued me off in the beginning with how many were making the case for the "Eyeball Test" and "full resume" over a head-to-head matchup. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy asserted that, "we shouldn't base things off the eye test," in referring to how people want to put the Buckeyes ahead of Oregon, even though the Ducks won their game earlier in the season. He went on to say that, "we have to value the head-to-head", and Oregon "has to be ahead of the Buckeyes." Then Kirk Herbstreit began his campaign of diminishing the Ducks, as he began to kick dirt on Oregon's season and stated, that yes, "Oregon has the win, (over Ohio State) but Oregon also has the most embarrassing loss to a 3-5 Stanford." He kicked some more with, "It's not just about beating teams, (like Ohio State that he was a QB at) head-to-head, but the entire body of work." ESPN analyst Joey Galloway chimed in more to support Herbstreit when he referred to Cincinnati barely beating Navy, and Michigan State barely beating Indiana...."one stumble is OK, more than that is a pattern." In other words--you are losing the eyeball test. It was an oblique reference to the Ducks looking poorly a number of weeks in a row, IMHO. A Pattern of Honoring Head-to-Head Games in the Rankings It was clear from the beginning that the committee was going to respect the head-to-head games, as they placed Wisconsin at No. 21 ahead of No. 22 Iowa because of the Badger victory in their game earlier this season. The committee continued this trend by putting Mississippi State at No. 17 ahead of No. 18 Kentucky who they beat. (I did not realize the Pirate was doing so well!) With this respect to the head-to-head matchups...the Dye for Oregon was cast. (Pun intended) It was also helpful to Oregon that Fresno State was No. 23, helping our resume' for the committee. From CFB Playoff Chairman Gary Barta, AD at Iowa: "Oregon has some nice wins, they've played some very good football and they've been through a lot of challenges, losing their running back (Verdell) and Thibodeaux, their best player early on. They beat Ohio State at Ohio State and that was really important to the committee." ESPN Reporter Heather Dinich explained that the committee had an "emphasis on strength-of-schedule, and while there has been change on that committee--that hasn't changed." (Official Press Release from Oregon Athletics below) EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon football earned the No. 4 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2021 season, which were unveiled Tuesday evening on ESPN. Off to a 7-1 start overall and 4-1 in conference play, the Ducks are the lone Pac-12 team in the initial CFP top-25 rankings. One of four schools to play in the inaugural College Football Playoff in 2014, Oregon has now appeared in the CFP poll 21 times. This is the Ducks’ seventh CFP top-five ranking – and first since closing 2014 at No. 2 – and their 12th time in the top 10. Oregon is in the top four of the initial CFP rankings for the first time. The Ducks scored a season-high 52 points last weekend in a win over Colorado while racking up a season-high 568 yards of total offense. Oregon won its 17th straight game at Autzen Stadium – the third-longest active home win streak in the nation – and its 13th consecutive Pac-12 home game. Oregon will travel to Seattle this Saturday to take on Washington at 4:44 p.m. PT on ABC. Oregon’s Resumé at a Glance » 7-1 overall, 4-1 in Pac-12 play – first place in the Pac-12 North. » Defeated No. 5 Ohio State on Sept. 11 – first road team to win at Ohio Stadium since 2017. » Opened the season with a win over No. 23 Fresno State at Autzen Stadium. » 5-0 at home this season, averaging 39.2 points per game while allowing just 19.2 points per game. » First in the Pac-12 and No. 23 in the nation with 36.1 points per game. » Scored 31-plus points in six of eight games. » Four games of 200-plus rushing yards – 15-1 under Mario Cristobal when rushing for 200 or more. » No. 11 in the nation in third-down conversion percentage (49.0%). » Tied for second in the nation with touchdowns on 77.78 percent of red zone opportunities. » No. 1 in the Pac-12 and tied for ninth in the FBS with a plus-8 turnover margin.

It is 7:00 PM Eastern, and 4:00 PM Pacific on ESPN, with more details below. When are the College Football Playoff Rankings Released? Time, Channel for First CFP Selection Show in 2021 by Zac Al-Khateeb of the Sporting News

Great stuff guys...can't wait.

You gotta read this short article about the new Womens Basketball verbal, as her story is not the usual one. She is a champion at scoring, but does not sound like a "Prima-Donna" at all with what she said about playing defense. Don't want to spoil it for you, but this is great reporting. Oregon Women's Basketball Pledge Amari Whiting Breaks Down Decision by Erik Skopil of Duck Territory 247

For the 2022 Recruiting Class according to Rivals, the Ducks are No. 7 and the Huskies are....wait-for-it....No. 67, just barely behind Appalachian State and Arkansas State. For last year's 2021 Recruiting Class: Oregon No. 3 and Washington No. 30! It is pretty routine to see that the majority of players signed by Oregon last year had offers from Washington as well.

I LOVE blow-out games! I love the scoring, I love wondering how we're going to score next and I love watching the reserves. I LOVE winning big... That style took us to TWO "Nattys, and doesn't suck.

From those of us who do not have a subscription--THANKS for bringing to us what Wilner writes.

Respect for its former football coach? Can a University President "throw-shade?"

I always enjoy seeing how they are doing, and there are always some surprises... How Former Oregon Ducks Performed in NFL Week 8 Games by Andy Patton of Ducks Wire Jevon Holland

No sweat. I like to use my pull as a 35 year season ticket holder and Oregon Sports Media Credentialed site for our OBD members when I can. I will call them in the morning--my contacts. I want you in the stadium to be a part of "Shout" that happens at the end of third quarter. Every Oregon fan should experience that before they throw dirt on you...

This is an extraordinary analysis with video to back up the assertions. Looks like a superb match-up for Dana's offense.

Here is the Sports Illustrated Power Pac-12 Rankings. Fun to ponder... I think Washington State beating the Beavs and ASU...is pretty impressive. The Cougs could beat us. Don't you DARE say that!

Great stuff David, but I would politely disagree about No. 3 as I would put the Cougars there for two reasons: 1) they are looking darned impressive right now, and 2) they beat Oregon State two weeks ago.

Email me Tuesday, as I will check for you. charles@fishduck.com

Some of us are old farts who do not like fighting traffic back to Portland and getting home at 1:30-2:00 AM...but you are right in that the atmosphere of a night game is great fun.

Football? Mens and Womens Basketball? So cool!

It is the only fallback they have....I know it well from a tasty article I wrote a few years ago where I relished lampooning Husky fans. So after I skewered everything about them--the "we have superior academics" is trotted out. So then I told him that, "most everyone would admit that the top four academically in this conference would be Stanford, Cal, UCLA and USC. So that puts you in the middle third of the conference....NICE!" The blustering in response was funny and then he resorted to "at least we are better than Oregon in academics." Yep, I replied, "but that is not what is on the football field is it?"

Ha! Great minds, as I went to get the one you posted....but since I am known for Cat GIFs--I had to see if there were some and I had to post that one! Best of both!

Nice write-up about her skills and two "Final-Four" teams were beaten out for the verbal! Kelly Graves Lands 4-star Recruit Amari Whiting for 2023 Class by Don Smalley of Ducks Wire

This looks like GREAT TIMING for the Huskies! Injury Update: Alex Forsyth, Dontae Manning "Full-Go," Steve Stephens "Has a Chance" vs. Washington by Don Smalley of Ducks Wire

I don't like it either, but I believe at Oregon--it will be usual conduct for the future. We will have 4-Star guys who get beat out, are not playing and will leave. Play the best players and recruit like heck to replace all who leave. So many that leave were not going to play anyway, so I don't blame them. As for decommits....in my view we snatch a bunch that have verballed to others, (like Washington) and it goes the other way too. Oh well...

For those that wonder about the "keep it clean" part of the rules? That is what Cristobal said, so this time I am allowing it. The good news is that there was none on this last Saturday!

That is precisely what it is; they have a GREAT passing offense that will be very hard to stop. We gotta outscore them! Its a TRAP!

Brown is adequate at the Zone Read of a defender--usually, but the RPO part is done in milliseconds. The TD called back was a beautiful Inverted Veer that bounced outside and AB made the perfect read of the defender to pull the ball. But I can see how RPOs are tougher. We did pretty good without the RPO this last game, and perhaps the hesitation is why the passes came later as he felt so hurried?