Mike West

I don't think many people picked up on this (it really is a cultural thing however). There is a cultural phenomenon in the Black Community called the dirty dozens. It usually goes by "your Mama is so fat, she has her own zip code". So when Sanders said "he just brough my mama in this" (my interpretation), I started busting up. I've got to hand it to Norvell, he actually did a good job of bringing attention to his program using those dirty dozens, and using coach speak at the same time. The comedy in all this is hysterical to me. So many people are taking it "personal", when it really is hype and marketing at its finest-using those dirty dozens at that. I've always thought the WWE and WWF did a great job of promoting their product. It obviously never gets old. That old adage "any publicity is better than no publicity" is definitely in play.

Not sure about taking the "high road". Sanders is going to say something people will comment on so the game will be a channel switcher until it is decided. I'd say Lanning will keep it "PG" and privately post chalkboard material. In any event, Lanning's coaching chops will definitely be tested. Colorado doesn't have as much talent, so a close game will be scrutinized, because the Ducks have enough physical ability to take it to the Buffs. "You can out your hat on" comes to mind (The Full Monty), because there will be nothing to hide next week.

I actually didn't. I feel the same now, but this year's team isn't as familiar with each other like last year's unit was. I didn't think WSU was as good as"they played". That bore out as correct. I think TTU is as good as they played, and is a dangerous team this year. We'll see. KISS. I believe that applies given the raw ability this team has. It's the mental aspect that matters at this point- for players and coaches. I wish I had time to write analysis articles again. I see so much that requires research to determine just how good this team really is. I see signs that look good. I've seen every conference contender- and I believe UCLA is a spoiler ( and can actually play for the title). It is going to take excellence we've only see from Chip's Natty group, but the components are there. And we have a much better QB at the reins. If the defense steps up to that 2019 or 2010 level of play, we have a Natty contender on our hands. If...

Quick question: how many people had Colorado undefeated today, and at 3-0 after tomorrow? Especially against a "weak" TCU team ( who arguably could lose to Houston tomorrow)? How many people had Colorado ranked AT ANY TIME THIS YEAR? Anybody see Colorado maintain their poise as much as Sanders' team has maintained theirs? After going 1-11 the previous year? In other words, why is everyone criticizing a team that is currently ranked (and should be if they beat a national runner up in their house, and routed a Nebraska team most teams in their own division didn't rout last year?) Yeah, Sanders is brash. He backs it up, and quite frankly will have a chance to beat OBD if they play like they did in Lubbock. Mess around with Colorado now, and we risk losing. And at present, we don't look like we'd smoke any conference team on our schedule outside of Stanford. OBD have work to do. Any talk of crushing a conference opponent is highly premature. I watched the TTU game again carefully. OBD look solid, but they aren't top ten material right now. They are a serious work in progress. Potential, as they say, will get you losses. Everyone in the PAC12 wants to humble OBD. They saw the tape ( the analysts have). They know what to attack. And all but Cal and Stanford have the means to succeed. I hope our boys are out for blood now. I hope they are starving. I hope the play like they face last year's Georgia team, and it's like a battle for their very lives. Because then, and only then, do they have a chance to obliterate Colorado. Win the Day. Fast Hard Finish. That mantra is real. That is what it takes to meet the very standard we want from Our Beloved Ducks. And they are waaaay below that standard. Right now it's "I hope we humble Colorado". We seriously do not look like we can take the Buffaloes down a notch playing like we did last weekend. They are much better than just about everyone is giving them credit for. That is a recipe for an upset. I said it in August, how we play Portland State (pass) and TTU (fail) will show if we have a conference contender. Elite teams take the will out of teams early and often. That is not OBD right now. You don't have to believe Colorado can beat us, they do.. Their QB is better than Shough, and so are their skill players. They minimize their weaknesses on the OL. You have to outcoach them to beat them. They will not go away early in the game. TCU found out the will of Colorado. Do not take them lightly. That is a huge mistake. I could go on, but as usual I've written too much. Yet I see the trap OBD better not fall into. Standard has defeated us several times because we took them for granted.

Wow. Two good games at 12:30. All of a sudden, the conference is featured against the rest of college football. What gives (other than we finally have several really good football teams in the conference for the first time in 20 years)?

Man, What a set of excellence comments!!! I had to calm myself down last night, hence the humor of watching Jim Mora and Dennis Green meltdown. I felt like that because I expected an elite performance. I did come to the conclusion DL is on a learning curve. Not with just the players, but also the coaches. There are so many details and nuances involved in managing a game, and I believe DL is struggling a bit there. It takes knowing exactly what you want, then effectively expressing that not only in the moment, but the heat of the moment to both staff and players. I think DL will get there, but I think he hasn't figured out how to change momentum quickly. He did get the win though, which is telling. If Stein isn't giving Nix some autonomy, that is a huge mistake. Nix knows the system, his boys, and he does an excellent job of reading defense and defensive strategies. I thought it took way too long to involve Nix in the run game. By mid third quarter, I was wondering why we stuck with pistol formations exclusively- TTU was all over the plays from that formation. I was impressed that Stein did adjust late in the third, put his thinking cap on, and designed a drive that segued out of his game plan. Nix looked serious all game. He played well for what looked like a guy that didn't feel relaxed. I'm not sure why the players came out so disoriented. I wish I had time to review the film. Might explain some of the roller coaster ride we experienced. Overall, I think the defense is trying to do too much, and the offense is too simple ( if you've got 247 plays in your playbook, use more than 30 please- analysts pour all over film- and I'm talking former head coach and coordinator talent- make them work their rear-ends off trying to figure out what type of play caller you are). Last night proved how many moving parts there are to putting together an elite team. Elite players are only part of it. After all, Coach Willingham has an B+ level of talent taking it to A+ talent all the time. I think Lanning gets there, but he is still learning how to be the chief executive (not just upper management). Lastly, if there ever was a fan base to listen to, this forum is it. Far more analysis than just an outpour of emotion.

One of my thoughts through all my frustration was intuitively, it seemed the team didn't know each other yet ( on defense). I get frustrated with safety play because the main rule for safeties is no one EVER gets behind you on your side of the field. That happened too much. Safeties tend to lock onto one receiver, much like a QB does. His focus must be cover outside in. It's a little complicated, but if we go back to the Spring Game, the first play of the game was a misread by the safety ( that's really an analysis article in the making). It makes sense, therefore, that the defense was out of sync because they looked out of position last week ( in my eyes) as well. It may be time for the coaching staff to dial back the whole set, and utilize what the players have mastered first, then introduce the concepts in practice until the players master the entire defense ( difficult to do given the conference has like ten thousand offenses lol). Texas Tech probably played into the scene as well, as it was difficult to determine what their strategy really was ( unlike several plays we continued to run all game despite Tech adjusting well to what Stein was trying to do). Again, I hate defensive sets that only place four men at the line of scrimmage against Spread Formations. Makes it nearly impossible to seal the edges. Also makes it somewhat easier to identify who is blitzing in my opinion. But that is too much detail. In general, the defense made plays more often than not. They also were pretty clutch on a consistent basis. If the gel as a unit, maybe they'll start imposing their will like we saw Miami do to A&M (gasp- Cristobal's team actually looked pretty good).

Very good assessment. Though I don't believe Colorado is better than Texas Tech, they just make fewer mistakes.

Glass half full... Nobody was saying"They are who we thought they were, and we let em off the hook!!!!" I can still say Playoffs without saying " Playoffs, don't talk about Playoffs. I just hope we win a damn game". These guys can be real good...if they want to be. We'll just have to wait and see.

He he he... Don't you want USC undefeated so we can stomp them... twice?

First order of being elite: never yield twenty points or more to a mid range team. Second order of being elite: drop 24 in the first half. Every damn game. Plenty of work to do. Plenty of time to demonstrate progress towards those goals.

Not what I was looking for. I realize Utah struggled, but they went to their third string guy to pull it out. I see glimpses. But we are not the best team in the conference. Glad we get twelve games. But we only have twelve games. I can see why we get LOTS OF COACH SPEAK. This will be a long term project. We are not Jedi yet.

Take away the turnover points. What do you see? A 13-7 game. At least before the garbage TD to end the game. So you're right. Ironically, Nebraska's first TD was the kind of play calling I expected to see in the first half. Including the type of formations I expected to see from. That tells me not only does Sanders have a better set of coaches, they also showed adjustments before Nebraska ( 235 yards of offense and those 13 points). Yeah, I definitely see Colorado forcing teams to beat them physically, because they aren't going to out coach them. I didn't see an ounce of doubt from Colorado's players. Phil Steele ( the stat geek and great evaluator of talent) projects Colorado will average 25 on offense, 35 on defense in conference play. I agree with that assessment. And they can steal a couple of wins if coaches mistake their lack of talent as a gimme win. I'd be all over that film room if I were Arizona and ASU. They better have damn good analysts that include backup plans for their coordinators, because Colorado adjusts before halftime.

I know it's going to annoy people that Colorado won this week. They are clearly well coached. That really aren't that talented, but they are exploiting Nebraska miscues like a talented team does. That's simply very good coaching. They will get their dose of humble pie though. As some have pointed out, lethal offenses are going to light the Buffs up, and solid defenses are going to shut them down. We are going to see how good USC's defense is when they play the Buffs. We will see if Arizona and ASU actually have potent offenses. We will also see how good Oregon State's offense is. Colorado is truly going to expose coaches this year. They are going to grow-meaning they are going to reduce their mistakes and make teams beat them solely with talent (instead of exploiting Colorado mistakes). Coaches around the country have already commented on how poised Colorado's players are. They demonstrated that again, and took control of this game. Better, mind you, than Minnesota did last week. Nebraska needs to move on from QB Sims ( unfortunately). He can't finish drives, and his OC set him up well enough to do so. If Nebraska's defense maintains and progresses, HC Ruhl will upset a couple of his Big Ten West rivals (as long as they get that offense going). Colorado is capable of winning half their games if the grow each week ( yes AZ and ASU's defenses are that bad).

TCU lost some dudes up front on defense, and they had 7 return on defense. Their QB started the season as #1, but was injured. Notice they were number 17- appropriate for what they lost. They won 9 of 10 close games last year. They made plays, and recovered from costly mistakes against Colorado. Colorado took that game from a seasoned and well coached ranked team. After winning one game last year. One. Colorado should have folded, and lost. They didn't. They deserve massive credit. They aren't talented enough to beat 11 more #17 teams, but Sanders took 81 new guys, that have known each other for FOUR months, with ONE starter returning on defense, and held a team -that scored three more points than they averaged last year as a national runner up -from scoring as the game ended There is no discounting that kind of accomplishment. None. Sanders took a perennial loser on the road and took that game. It wasn't luck. They seized the moment. That doesn't happen by accident. It simply doesn't happen period. You can hate his style,. You can hate the hype, and his response to the doubters. Sanders deserves credit and respect for defying huge odds. Point blank. No ifs, no buts. No excuses.

For me, Jayden Daniels reverted to ASU form. His accuracy had always been suspect to me, and I just don't think he is clutch enough versus elite teams. Brian Kelly said as much without staying it ( though he did mention it walking off the field at halftime). Daniels is the key to their season. Travis Jordan stepped up under major guess in the second quarter, while Daniels missed targets in the red zone. Jordan is growing while Daniels is treading water. Brian Kelly cannot throw on Third and long, cannot hit open WRs, he can only provide Daniels the opportunity- and that opportunity was plenty enough. LSU should have buried FSU early, and they didn't- that was all Daniels.

He has to see the entire field. I also thought he looked much better. Scanned the field, and actually attacked the defense for once. I still think his sense of timing is off, but he looked much better ( but it was against zero pressure- let's see his game when he has to release quick, into tight windows). Let's hope he is learning rapidly now, and is finally grasping the speed of the game, and making it show down so he can read and react appropriately.

Oh I think Stein will stretch defenses. When the time is right of course. Didn't see any conference (PAC12) defense defend speed well. And we have two F22s and three F16s. One thing though, Nix has to hit them at 45 yards because that's his limit accuracy wise. I'm more concerned about the defense. We need a defense at least as good as Chip's Title team, or the 2019 version. I didn't see that yesterday. I realize we didn't show TTU much on purpose, but I hardly saw DL pressure like we need, and PSU is a D-2 school. I like Stein's offense. He uses clutch routes to convert 3rd and long plays. He uses the TEs very well. He gets the RBs the ball often. It's an offense that can challenge elite defenses. That's more important than burning DBs deep.

Yeah well, The first thing Deion said- on the field (after winning the game) was Good Gosh is great. Outside the Religious/Religion aspect, that means Sanders believes in something bigger than himself. How do you think he put together a team (that hardly knows each other) that maintained their poise against a team that had the most poise all of 2022? His son by the way, threw for 500 yards against a team in a conference that throws it as much as the PAC12. His son deserves plenty of credit. The Buffs traded leads with TCU, and won it on the road. Damn near every D1 coach silently-and some quite vocally- called Sanders out. For his style. For daring to clean out losers on his team. Those coaches deserved a crow dinner. Now they really know they'll have to coach against him instead of rely on talent. Sanders revived a defunct program- in the face of many people that said he was all flash and no substance. And lest you think he's a flash in the pan, he is now in direct competition with one Dan Lanning. Shooting for kids that relate to him pretty well. And don't think Deion isn't going to use that after Lanning dissed Colorado. Lanning just put a bull's eye on our recruiting efforts. We better bury Colorado, or we're going to be ticked at more than his attitude.

Out of left field I'm going to say if Oregon State can hold on to HC Smith, they will get a playoff berth no matter what G5 conference status they have. They are better than any G5 teams, including the fireworks of Tulsa, Memphis and UTSA. I say WSU and Oregon State start pushing this narrative because both of their sets of personnel are perfect for the G5. They would both have to sell this to the players of course, but in reality only a select few players could really make an impact at the P5 level from either team. Playoff status means money. Add in the NFL ALWAYS finds talent, no matter the level means a playoff berth (or conferences championship berth) provides plenty of exposure to NFL scouts. It's starting to hit home that TV scheduling killed a valuable regional conference and people are starting to lament this realignment mess. It is really regrettable the PAC12 exec committee dropped the ball like they did.

That's called black confidence. Willie Taggart was like that too. The difference? Well I think you are seeing the difference. Don't mistake black style for arrogance. Until the 90s, black men were invisible. All that "clowmanship" isn't arrogance. It's regular life in many black neighborhoods. Do not mistake style as character. They are completely different. Sanders is all character. I mentioned I believed Sanders would be successful. Because I know Sanders is a man of character. I ignore the bravado when I talk to black men, I pay attention to what they say and what they do. But I grew up around it (obviously), so I know what to look for. One of the greatest experiences I ever had was moving to Eugene and recognizing people I was told were racist weren't. Because they didn't judge my style. They sought and found out who I was...they vetted my character.

I agree the Media Companies facilitated this. I do believe, however, that the PAC12 was no longer a viable conference once the Presidents declared war on football and basketball. Two media deals the conference rejected guaranteeing their future. The past few years...NOBODY watching the conference around the country. Would you risk 30 to 50 Million Dollars a year on a conference that can't garner 20 million plus eyeballs a week WITH USC in the Conference? I know I wouldn't. The networks made a move to get eyeballs on teams that people watch. I believe the 4 corner schools are going to get far more viewers in the Big12 than they will get this year-a year when the conference will probably net a CFP berth. The PAC12 Title game is on Friday for crying out loud. That says so much. A Power 5 conference cannot compete for eyeballs with their respective P5 counterparts. The ratings even support that. After getting home for work, PAC12 fans- and we're talking 33 Million Californians, 7 Million Washingtonians, 4 Million Oregonians, 5 Million Coloradans, 7 Million Arizonians, and 3.5 Million Utah residents-in other words 60 Million Residents, AND PAC12 after dark viewers around the rest of the country (who are already at home for the 8pm start) do not watch that game more than the games the following morning, afternoon and evening. USC played Utah for the title game. Florida-Utah garnered as many eyeballs last September. That is not a recipe for requesting 30 million plus a year. That tells me the South watched the game in September, and didn't care in November-despite USC being on the cusp of a playoff berth. In what world does a TV network lose money paying teams that aren't in demand (well, we actually know the answer to that question- North Korea, and Cuba to name a couple). Businesses invest money in money makers. The PAC12 is more valuable separate than together. And as "Crystal Ball John"-my favorite college football analyst on this forum (the one and only Jon Joseph)-stated: expenses are going to rise steeply once the players start getting paid for their services as they have been requesting seriously the past ten years (I believe this trend started when the players sued EA Sports and the NCAA for their NIL rights-it was Pandora's Box opening in my opinion). No one wants to admit this sport is a business. It isn't amateur athletics. Hasn't been since the blue bloods sued for their TV rights. It's been about power and money for a very long time. Thank Good Gosh for Title IX, and it was definitely a pleasure to see all state football players that wouldn't see the national stage get TV exposure for being excellent in their little corner of the world (the G5 athletes). I will miss that once that trend begins. I sure hope softball, women's basketball, volleyball and the Olympic Sports still get exposure, but I have my doubts. That is something to lament in my mind. I sure didn't hear anything about the sad state of the PAC12 and the regionality of sports until the conference died. That says a whole bunch to me. As in, it didn't matter until it mattered. We sure take for granted things we think we deem precious in this country, until it's too late. Cognitive Dissonance is as guilty as those greedy networks if you ask me.

The talent was so subpar I doubt that unit would have performed well even if they did grasp the concept of Lanning's defense. They were slow, out of position on simple routes, didn't tackle well, and had no intensity at all. It by was simply a terrible defense, with terrible talent. The middle linebackers never covered the middle pass routes ( what else are they supposed to cover?). The safeties were on the other side of the field on just about every deep pass completion, it was ridiculous. By any standard, a safety is supposed to prevent any player from running past them. The really good ones can do that AND close to break up passes ( we saw UGA do that and more). Georgia made our defense look like a high school defense. That is unacceptable. Especially when the unit is composed of four star recruits. No, it wasn't confusion, it was poor play. And it was pretty similar to Cristobal's unit his final year. When Utah and Oregon State ran through then like a hot knife through butter. They looked the same. Obviously, I'm pretty disgusted with the players that performed the way they did those two years, because I won't excuse the poor performance. It was that horrible.

Last year's defense was predictable. The secondary was horrible, and had been for to long. Gonzalez was the first step, but show guys, guys that don't understand football, and I mean basic coverage concepts cannot and will not be successful. Look at the spring game... The year the Fuskies best us down 70-14, I saw in the Spring Game that slaughter. I argued with a ground of mine how big the doors would be. I fixed my teeth on that game. Ten thousand dollars. It was that obvious. It is more than clear this defense of going to wreck plans for most teams... They tackle, they close separation well ( catch up to runners that have a lead on them), they takeout well in Killeen space, the leave little room for elite recovers in the middle of the field to get open, they plus running holes quickly. This defense is miles ahead of last year. This team has the chance to go undefeated because of this defense. We saw all of that against a pretty lethal offense. Ours. I'd be surprised if we go 9-3 or 10-3 this year. I see 10-2 minimum.

I was just thinking that. The reporters don't get to report anymore either. We will only see what this team is when the games are played. We did get a glimpse from Spring. And I really liked what I saw. Now it is a matter of how much they improve as the season goes on. I know we were disappointed over the end of the regular season, but frankly, after the Georgia blowout, I expected that much sooner. So I am encouraged because Lanning replaced the chaff and got himself some wheat. Now we will see how much he learned from last year.