Mike West

The Ducks allowed three short field TDs to BSU. When the chips were down, BSU went nowhere. The narrative nationally was Boise State nearly pulled off an upset. I don’t even beg to differ. We could easily say it wasn’t the Special Teams that won the game for OBD, but the experimenting and uncanny turnovers that allowed Boise State a shot at an upset. Remember, we got 14 "easy" points and so did they. Take away those 4 TDs and what do you have? Probably another 4 points added to our victory since we shut it down when we hit the Red Zone at the end of the game. Boise State is going to get run out of Idaho come Round One. I was hoping we’d do the honors. Kind of that “it isn’t Boise State’s fault they have to play us" kind of thing. It’s really too bad, I really wanted to serve notice to delusional BSU fans that they will never defeat Oregon again. It is time to bury the hatchet and get the G5 a financial plan by giving them their own playoff system.

I will say two things: Nobody has been more clutch than Dillian Gabriel all damn year. Dillian Gabriel answered every question about whether he is NFL caliber or not. He will further cement that in the playoffs. Dillian Gabriel has outplayed both Travis Hunter and Ashton Jenty all year. He also beat Jenty head to head, and did so with an OL that was totally inconsistent that game. Oregon will not get the respect it's due until we win a Natty. What better way to leave a lasting impression than to go 17-0 and beat the very best (especially if it's Ohio State again, Texas and Georgia). Gabriel won't get the Heisman because the powers that be don't want to legitimize OBD.

And the debate begins instead of Nick Saban saying the SEC could settle this by scheduling more P4 teams in OOC games, he went straight to the SEC has an NFLesque schedule and is getting punished. Alabama roasted Wisconsin. But they were the only SEC team to leave the South. Sure, they played tougher teams back to back, but I am sure playing Grambling State the week before your main rivalry in November skews things. SMU would gladly play Ole Miss to learn how to stack up to the better conferences. Why isn’t Ole Miss playing above average North Carolina to put an end to strength of schedule? That would display the level of talent the lesser conferences actually have. Furthermore, beating ranked teams should be relegated to the top 12 teams. Those are the playoff caliber teams. Indiana, Notre Dame, and Arizona State will be on display against a ‘more talented field’ this year. My thing is the SEC has a talented collection of teams that try to use that group as a weapon when they are totally familiar with each other. Let’s see them play teams of similar caliber they are not familiar with to see if it’s really a talent gap, or just a protection racket ( I happen to believe there is a talent gap, but I want that belief confirmed).

One of the things all the experts and pundits talk about when it comes to big games and championship games: every mistake is magnified, every flaw is exposed. Ohio State and Penn State displayed what OBD will look like against the playoff field. Ironically, some of the mediocre teams presented a blueprint for how to defend OBD, but both elite teams couldn’t pull that off. It is correct to be concerned with the lulls we see from Our Beloved Ducks. I also say it is difficult to be perfect. The lulls we saw last night show it is near impossible to be perfect. Not to mention OBD still faced elite defenses with talent equal to the number one team in the nation. Earlier in the year, I argued OBD need to lose a game in order to reboot. It’s tough for any elite team to win 17 straight over the course of the same season. Well, Dan Lanning’s idea wasn’t "sometimes you have to lose in order to win ", it was "you just need to do everything in order to win". I believe that emerged last night. Penn State wouldn’t fold, and OBD rose to the moment. I believe that stemmed from the will to win instead of succumbing to the moment. Those losses to the Fuskies last year had an impact on the mindset of this year’s team. There were many moments last night where I was totally livid because my pet peeves were violated last night. The things I believe in were ‘ignored’ (lol). I don’t run a program, and I see flaws in teams all the time. I have to give Lanning’s staff credit. They work to make those flaws meaningless. Instead, they focus on performance in the moment. This team is dialed into one play at a time, and executing during that specific play. Win the Day has turned into Win the Play. I am extremely proud of this team. They give it everything they’ve got. That’s all a fan can ask for-or at least all I can ask for.

One of the things I really give our defense credit for is they don’t cave to momentum. In both the Ohio State and Penn State games, the defense did enough. What I mean by that is Penn State nor Ohio State were not able to make enough plays to outscore OBD offense. That’s huge because the offense didn’t have to be absolutely perfect. The offense had margin for error. I believe that is the difference between this year and last year ( outside the fact fact the offense is pretty consistent - it is completely difficult to stop the offense or kill the kind of momentum the offense maintains). The defense may have difficulty with talented teams, but they find ways to handle lead changes, holding the lead, or give the offense the opportunity to take the lead when the situation calls for it.

I thought the 4Q was indicative of what BSU will face no matter who they play. And no, I was stressed 😟😟😟

Do you really think Boise State has an elite offense?

I don’t remember who said this, but basically his point was ‘the pick’ as our brand has seen its day. Well ironically, that interception started the run that lead to the Rose Bowl that revealed we still had a way to go if we were going to catch the blue bloods. Fast forward to this year, OBD beat every single blue blood we faced this year. We are the B1G Champions year 1. I’d say we have a new identity. KINGS OF THE NORTH. ’KINGS OF THE NORTH’ ’KINGS OD THE NORTH’ ‘KINGS OF THE NORTH’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Oh I think Arizona State would boat race the Broncos. Boise State does not have the kind of defense to handle the playoff field. And I believe Arizona State’s defense is underrated.

Now I’m going to nit pick. As a safety, when you have two deep, both safeties are responsible for the post, fade, corner or post corner routes. There is absolutely no reason to look at the QB. On the interception, Safety Johnson is looking right at the QB. When WB Allan throws the ball, Johnson is ten yards behind the play. If CB Reed doesn’t cover properly, that is either a deep completion or a TD. THAT IS HOW YOU LOSE FOOTBALL GAMES. For t’hose of you new to this forum, you have no idea how ticked off I get when I see this repeatedly. If I coached, you wouldn’t play performing like that. Furthermore, I would su=ingle it out in film study. I would alson[robe you can’t cover like that in practice every damn day. This is COVID, the Spanish Flu, WWI and WWII combined as far as I’m concerned. I will blow up an imagined universe if we lose again because of deliberate coverage policies like that ( see my comments about a safety I will not name that ran past a game sealing interception because he looked at the damn QB instead of taking away his option to throw that ball). I absolutely hate the way safeties, corners and linebackers cover receivers.

I thought Whittington ran to the wrong hole on that first play, then delayed when PSU sealed the edge. Game of inches! Im impressed with Penn State, but I’m disappointed with some of the play from OBD. We reduce the mistakes, we sail to a simple victory. Now it’s up to having to make plays under pressure.

Why are we running a 2-5? Worse, Lupoi is leaving a B gap wide open ( for those grey beards out there that played offense-a natural 24 run is there for the taking). For those of you not familiar with running plays-the area between the right guard and the right tackle is complete uncovered on this drive. Explains the gashing explosive runs. I’m a put five guys in the LOS on defense. Always,

No, They are not fast enough. LB Jackson is the only one with the kind of speed to cover the field laterally. You can go throughout the season and see Boetcher can’t cover backs -and it happened this half. Jeffrey Bassa got beat on a simple RB seam route for a TD-this game ( looked at the QB to start his coverage on top of it). FS Savage can’t cover TE Warren. Tysheem Johnson gets out of position with this scheme-and he was as responsible for PSU’s first TD (didn’t have anyone to worry about in his side of the field, so Post Pattern Support is required in that situation-and it showed-Niko Reed expected safety support on that pattern). Devon Jackson is the only player in that group capable of executing in this scheme. Film does not lie. It showed up last year, it’s apparent now. Ohio State was the other offense that exploited this personnel. One brilliant coaching move-that resulted in changing a rule-gave OBD their undefeated regular season. I didn’t think PSU was capable of exploiting this weakness. I was wrong.

Man, Holden dropped what looked like a catch and run for a TD earlier in the drive. That's the kind of thing I talk about in games that play out like this…you can’t beat yourself. You can’t blink. Especially when it’s unforced. To me, this game comes down to putting the linebackers and safeties in situations they can win. I stated earlier in the week that zone coverage suits this personnel better. I’m hoping Lupoi and Lanning recognize the limitations that Penn State is exposing (and obviously OCs much more adept than I am surely recognize). The offense seems fine. Too cute with the swing passes. I’m not sure Penn State can pressure the duration of the game ( what’s left of it ).

I figured something out. The defense formation that makes me uncomfortable…The safeties and the linebackers aren’t fleet enough to run the style of defense Lupoi likes to run against elite offenses. I’m seeing the same types of issues we saw against Georgia and Washington. The linebackers aren’t sideline to sideline capable. This type of defense requires that very skill. The safeties aren’t fast enough to cover one on one. That puts massive pressure on them in open field coverage. Furthermore, the defense doesn’t naturally set an edge. It’s a natural weakness in my opinion. I don’t like it. It’s always been something that bothered me. If you don’t set the edge, your inside linebackers have to be sprinter speed caliber. Same with the safeties. That leads to issues when an OC recognizes how to isolate both positions. Lupoi doesn’t have the personnel to handle the offenses he’s about to face in the playoffs. A change of scheme is required.

What have I beefed about the past three years? Texas pulls off a 50 yard pass completion because the safety was eye balling QB Ewers instead of immediately covering his half of the field. I’ll take my million dollars now (lol-for every observation, I’m getting paid like a consultant. Ha ha ha). If OBD want to win today, cover your damn assignment. Don’t look at the QB.

Singleton also does a really good job catching passes for nice gains. That's so I was going to add to FishDuck's analysis. Keep Singleton from catching passes and you shut down half of their passing game.

Although I really appreciate the impact DG has had this year, it is hard to argue against a two way Star. Travis Hunter is killing it, on both sides of the ball. Like his coach did at FSU. Having a major impact on both offense and defense in modern football is deserving of Heisman of the Quarter Century.

28-17 OBD 2 TOs 2 Sacks 275 Passing yards

Now there's a diplomatic way to communicate all I've said here. The best I've seen is how Lanning actually laid the Seattle loss in the players by saying things like " I'm sure Bo would like to get some of those okays back". And he was correct. Bo Nix uncharacteristically missed two open receivers in two critical situations. A safety ran past a game ending INT, and the kicker missed a layup FG. That is not coaching snafus& the coaches put them in successful situations for the players to execute. The players did not. Rather than throw them under the bus, you say your peace diplomatically, love them up, and keep putting in situations they can win. That's what happened this year. In spades. That's what I saw that disappointing day in Seattle and later in the stadium in Las Vegas. It's why I never wavered when things felt horrible.

In my opinion, that's on the players. Will Howard has only one glaring weakness - he can't consistently hit fade routes. They still need to throw them because it really opens up their mid range pass attack. The players need to buck up and work on executing to the best of their abilities. They can work with the coaching staff- request specific types of plays. Simply tuning out is not acceptable. They choked. Against OBD and Michigan. They had plenty of opportunities to win both games. Coaching issues notwithstanding. If they had a player (and Ryan Day) meeting as reported, they damn better have been talking about solutions instead of simply rehashing mistakes made and opportunities lost They are too talented to waste time on why they lost instead of saying let's work.kn this, we have three weeks to get things right. That's why I'm pissed at their fan base. Abuse is not acceptable at this point. Grinding is. I see an abusive fan base. It better not trickle down to the players.

Ohio State absolutely has a fan base issue. Those players do not look happy. Or at least happy enough. They celebrate out of relief. It’s a pain in the butt to play for that fan base. The situation in Columbus is toxic. The fan base is going to piss the players off so much they won’t be focused properly enough on football. I watched the Indiana v. Ohio State game closely. All the issues that showed up in the Michigan game were on display in the Hoosier game. Worse, the Buckeyes looked scared, and relieved when the game ended. That fan base is poisoning the team’s chemistry. To me, that Daze everyone mocks Day for after the Michigan loss looked to me like not wanting to deal with the fans and the media rather than disbelief they lost. His kicker screwed up. Just like ours did last year. And lo and behold, Duck Nation didn’t even discuss the missed kick. In a game that was brilliantly played AND COACHED ( obviously exclusively my opinion), few people mentioned the kicker missed a FG he had no business botching. The toxic waste Ryan Day faces for losing to Michigan last year absolutely spilled into this year. Again, an offensive lineman blew an assignment in that Michigan loss. The fans and the coaches blamed the QB, then chased him out of town. Had that lineman executed, that QB completes that pass and Ohio State has a damn good shot at getting that monkey off their back. That’s not what the fan base wants to accept. I believe that is exactly why Ohio State will deal with their fan base more than correcting some simple flaws. They are extremely dangerous, and their fan base is heaping garbage on in them instead of expressing hope they’ll work on some pretty damn good strengths that more than make up for their flaws. When Ohio State gets to the quarterfinals, if they don’t sprint out of the gate, I’m blaming the fan base. It’s to the point they are a serious distraction.

And that is exactly why I would make half my practice an OC versus DC sloberknocker. I'd tell them they could use any offense or defense against each other. From any era, heck rugby as far as I'm concerned. I don't want my coordinators hell bent on forcing their game plan on an opponent. If they have to tell the QB to say "send Smith to the corner" so be it. I watched DC Aliotti allow Stanford to run a goal line formation up and down the field for an entire half (Stanford knew they couldn't block future All NFL Pro tackles Armstead and Buckner, so they just out manned the entire DL front line). The Cardinal scored 20 first half points, then Aliotti shut it down in the 2nd half. Final score 26-20 Stanford. That's how you lose games. Sticking to what you do instead of lining up and playing football. That's what Lombardi's "Gentlemen, this is a football" means to me. Take away their game plan because you totally break tendencies.

You know, ‘When Ryan Day talked about revamping the defense, I believe they revamped the offense too. I think they decided to go Power ala Michigan. Bad career move. Here’s the thing: never allow squatters on your property. You can never get rid of them. In other words, Ohio State is a power passing team, not a power running team. Even with a banged up OL. Letting "homeless" Michigan and wanna be Nebraska stay close is a travesty. Bury them early. If you can make a power defense like Oregon look "ordinary " (and vice versa frankly), drop 50 gigaton bombs on average teams. Put them out of their misery in the first quarter. Since October 12th, Ohio State has let every decent team hang around. We haven’t ( I dare say Wisconsin got a scheduling gift from the Gods because we would obliterate them when rested). Our defense got exposed too. You beat OBD by isolating the safeties in one on one coverage. Especially after getting away with a surprise steal from our CBs. OBD have yet to prove to me they can take out strong passing teams. I think they do if they play match up zone. That’s too much detail to explain, but essentially the Safeties don’t chase guys they can’t cover, but instead take areas away that those guys run to. There’s more to that, but so many offenses take away natural advantages that it makes no sense for a safety to be chasing a road runner he can’t keep up with. But I’m a strange dude. I believe practice should be ‘street ball’ half the duration of the period so coordinators stop insisting their game plan is perfect. ‘’Hence, Ohio State SHOULD pass the ball 65% of the time. Nobody can stop them, their run game will open up like gang busters and they’d score at least one explosive running TD a game. My opinion of course. But I saw way too much explosion against OBD. And I think OBD have a pretty damn good defense.

You know, the guy that backed up Carson Palmer never played a full game in college. And got drafted The players don't recognize it yet, but if you transfer and crash and burn, just so you can play, you'll ruin your NFL prospects. Kansas State and Oklahoma made massive mistakes running their QBs out of town for potential. Neither of them even sniffed a shot at a conference title berth. And both will replace said potential stars. And low and behold, the QBs they chased out are both in the playoffs on the two best teams in the field ( though millions of people disagree with me now- I hope Ohio State is seeded sixth, despite feeling OBD are better than they are). Moral of the story: learn the position, because nine out of ten five star QB prospects are not five star performers in college. College Football has really caught up to the NFL. Talent means nothing coming from the level below. Just note how many portal transfers started over those four and five star prospects this year. Kids better get it right. Arch Manning knew exactly what he was doing. He learned how to mater his skills at a superior level before showing his skills at said superior level.