Jon Joseph

Posting maestro, NJ Duck, previously posted CBS Sports, Brandon Marcello's 2026 Top 25 post-Spring College Football (CFB) Poll Rankings. Thank you, NJ. I re-post the article to open things up for comment. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-rankings-2026-top-25-post-spring/ My comments on Marcello's ranking follow. More importantly, what are your thoughts on this ranking from a Big Ten broadcast partner site? I'm using the Massey 2026 College Football Rankings as a comparison to Marcello's rankings and for a team's strength-of-schedule (SOS) ranking for all 138 FBS teams. Massey's ratings are one of the more respected and detailed computer rankings available to the public, with none of the arguably biased rankings associated with broadcast entities' rankings, such as ESPN's FPI and SP +. https://masseyratings.com/cf/fbs/ratings Massey ranks Oregon No. 4, one spot below Marcello. Ohio State is No. 1 per Massey, Marcello's No. 1 Texas is ranked 9th by Massey. Marcello ranks 10 SEC teams and eight Big Ten teams in his top 25. The comparison between Marcello's and Massey's rankings of nine SEC teams and eight Big Ten teams, with my comments, for what little they may be worth, includes the Massey SOS rankings: CBS - No. 1 Texas, 4 Georgia, 8 Texas A&M, 9 LSU, 10 Oklahoma, 13 Ole Miss, 14 Alabama, 16 Tennessee, 20 Missouri, 23 Florida Massey - No. 5 Georgia - SOS 26/ 6 Ole Miss - 18/ 7 Alabama - 24/ 9 Texas - 1/ 17/, Oklahoma - 5/ 18, Texas A&M - 19/ No. 19 Tennessee - 23/ 21, Missouri - 20/ 23, LSU - 13/ 34 - Florida - 8 Both rankings are understandably bullish on the SEC. But Massey has Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Oklahoma, and Florida ranked significantly lower than CBS, with Ole Miss and Alabama ranked significantly higher. CBS - Is this another No. 1 Texas rope-a-dope? Especially with the Longhorns having the most difficult, per Massey, 2026 schedule. I agree with Massey that No. 8 A&M, with 10 players drafted by the NFL, and with a more difficult conference schedule than last season, is overranked by CBS. Both No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 9 LSU have more difficult schedules than last season. LSU QB Sam Leavitt and John Mateer were both injured last season. Will Leavitt be an improvement over QB Garrett Nussmeier? Even when healthy, the Sooners' offense under Mateer was not that productive. And will Lane Kiffin be able to assemble the new parts into a greater whole? Florida ranked by Marcello at No. 23? With the No. 8 SOS and a new coach from the G6 replacing a coach who was hired from the G5? Georgia Tech transfer QB, Aaron Philo, and a new OC, Buster Faulkner, who is also joining the Gators from Georgia Tech, are going to morph Florida into a top 25 team? Hmmmm. I believe Massey's No. 22 Louisville with the 55th SOS should have been ranked by CBS. Both Massey and Marcello have Texas Tech, post QB Sorsby's gaming issues, ranked 11th. Even with questions at QB, with the nation's 69th SOS and a decided B12 roster advantage, I think Texas Tech will finish 11-1 at the worst and with a good chance of going 12-0. Massey has Alabama, a team that could not run the ball last season, and is breaking in a new starting QB, ranked 7th. I think DeBoer's seven-year contract extension was premature. Ole Miss at Massey No. 6? Pete Golding led Ole Miss to a home win over G6 Tulane last season and defeated a Georgia team coming off a lengthy 1st round bye. In the two years of a 12-team playoff, the eight teams coming off a 1st round bye are 1-7; the only win was authored by Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, on the way to a 16-0 season. Superstar QB Trinidad Chambliss, courtesy of some judicial home cooking, is back, but does Golding have the chops to succeed in the SEC? SEC sleeper? South Carolina. But USC(e), with an SOS ranked 17th, has a hard row to hoe. Tomorrow, a look at the Big Ten rankings.

Going to 76 will bring in additional and much-needed revenue. College athletic departments have two Moneyball sports game inventory to market, football and men's basketball. With basketball a distant second to football. This expansion may hurt the NIT, but would the athletes rather dance in the biggest ballroom? I believe so. Consider the gauntlet Oregon men's and women's CBB teams face in the Big Ten, with the difficulty increased by travel demands. On the men's side, an 11th or 12th-place team in the Big Ten would deserve a spot in the tournament. And in CBB, the PO committee focuses on strength-of-schedule. On the football front, Greg Sankey went to the SEC playing nine conference games because he thought Tony Petitti would fold, and 2026 would see a 16-team PO field. On December 26, 2026, let's see where the SEC sits when the PO field is determined. Miami and perhaps another ACC team, if the Canes do not finally win a conference title, will be in the field. The B12 champ is in. The highest-ranked G6 team is in. The B1G and the SEC champs are in. If Miami comes through, that's seven at-large (AL) spots to fill. The Big Ten will take at least two of the AL spots, with a solid shot at a total of four teams in the field, and possibly more, depending on the outcome of the Ohio State at Texas, Oklahoma at Michigan, and Mississippi State at Minnesota games. Three-loss Bama made the field last year because it's Bama. How many 3-loss SEC teams will knock out two-loss teams from other P4 conferences, especially two-loss teams from the Big Ten? I'm happy to see the CBB field expanding, and I hope enough SEC teams suffer three losses and Sankey's constituents, except ESPN, demand a 24-team CFB PO field. Tony Petitti was smart to support CBB expansion, and when it comes to CFB, Tony will soon be the smartest person in the room.

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On 11/14, Whit returns to Eugene, driving a B1G Blue machine https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/04/28/kyle-whittingham-michigan-football-sherrone-moore-scandal/89818622007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=usatbaseline&utm_term=hero&utm

Pro Football Focus Too Early 2027 Mock Draft - Five Ducks Picked in the 1st Round - QUACK! No. 3 Dante Moore, No. 14 Jamari Johnson, No. 24 Matayu Uiaglalei, No. 28 - Pancho Laloulo, No. 29 A'Mauri Washington. Texas also has 5 players picked in the 1st round, but Julian Sayin goes No. 1 - Manning, No. 5. https://www.pff.com/news/draft-way-too-early-2027-nfl-mock-draft?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=insider_scoop&_kx=GVhzUOTwm4KFXGxajXe-_3UQSycVDTUwQ95jZfv6GZOFoavAa8egk

Wait Until Next Year! On32027 NFL Draft: CBS Sports ranks 32 future stars that cou....

Thanks, Steven. Yes, the Oregon Spring game lacked scoring and, in that respect, was boring. Looking at the list of 1st-round draft picks emphasizes all of the talent, especially on defense, that Ohio State lost. There was a lot of scoring in the Buckeyes Spring game, and not only when Heisman candidate Sayin was playing QB. The D had very few stops and few three-and-outs. Will Matt Patricia be able to produce another top D in 2026? Even with all of the talent on D last season, Ohio State went 0-2 in the postseason. Week 2 sees the Buckeyes at Texas. Unlike 2025, both teams have a cupcake to consume in the opening game. I think the game will go over the current line of 46.5. Did Perich play yesterday? If he did play, I'm surprised that he was not returning punts.

Thanks for the compliment, but ... On3Indiana DC ranks defenses Hoosiers faced in 2025, takes d....

I hope no one bet the Red Raiders to go over 10.5. Plus, the young man is being sued by Cincinnati for breach of contract. Sad, very sad. I hope Sorsby's gambling is not the tip of a CFB betting scandal. On3Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby taking immediate leave of ab....

The draft was a Dilly for ASU, but Fickell for Wisconsin. And Billy Belichick needs to spend less time in the Durham Day Care Center and more time on the football field. 1st time since 2016 that a UNC player wasn't drafted. Life of Riley? More like Linc needs to put some life in his players. SIBiggest Winners, Losers Among College Football Coaches Fr...Who could look back on jobs well done Sunday?

Thank you, Jay. (If you are residing in the Olde Towne, whereabouts?) If I counted correctly, there are 11 Big Ten teams in Tournament guru Joe Lunardi's way-too-early field. Michigan and Michigan State are both No. 1 seeds. And, if I counted correctly, there would be 12 SEC teams in the field. 23 Power 2 teams in the field, WOW! If the projection is close, the Big Ten conference will be a grinding coast-to-coast gauntlet. Being on the bubble would mean a decent season against quality competition. 11 teams in with two No. 1 seeds, $how OBD more of that B1G po$t$eason money. 🤑

That's why they call it a sweep, Penn State turned the other cheek The Nittany Lions showed up weak - It's Unhappy Valley, so to speak😁 Thanks again for the great coverage of the Diamond Ducks 🦆 And, have a really nice day 👌👍😍

Gimme 5 Game Takeaways - https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/04/25/oregon-football-spring-game-major-takeaways/89802588007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_cam

Some of these grades are straight out of the Delta House - 😁 https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/04/26/oregon-football-spring-game-report-card/89797125007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=

Thank you, Another OD. A few more takes on the draft. - 18 of the top 100 players taken transferred from the G6 to the P4. - 5 years since Riley took over at SC and since Dan Lanning took over at Oregon. Riley - 17 draft picks, 5 linemen. Dan - 24 draft picks, 12 linemen. - Recency Bias? The SEC sets a record with 87 draft picks, 5.4 per program. The B1G finishes 2nd with 68 draft picks, 3.8 per program. The SEC is top-to-bottom better at recruiting than the B1G, but when it comes to coaching ... - The Power 2 combine for 60.5% of the players drafted. - A Tale of Two Programs - Clemson, 9 players drafted; Miami, 9 players drafted. - Texas Tech also had 9 players taken. The Orange Bowl shutout was the apogee of the Ducks' season. TT beat up OBD. Bama fell to Indiana with a whimper. It showed in the next game. - Remember when these guys were the belles of the QB crop: Cade Klubnik, Drew Allar, LaNorris Sellers, Archie Manning, and Garrett Nussmeier? - The guy who was screwed out of the Heisman by Mendoza, Diego Pavia, was not drafted. In 2026, Fernando heard the beat of the No. 1 drums: National Champ, Heisman winner, No. 1 draft pick. - Seven Oregon players picked. World fell off the draft map. If all Oregon players eligible for the draft had been picked, OBD would have surpassed Ohio State's 11 picks. - Ohio State led all programs with 11 players drafted. 10 - Alabama, Texas A&M - IMO, DeBoer's raise and contract extension were premature. A&M scored in the portal, but unlike 2025, in 2026, the Aggies' first seven SEC opponents will not all finish with six or more losses. 9 - Clemson, Miami, Texas Tech - Easy schedules and excellent portal picking mean the Canes and the Red Raiders will be in the 2026-27 playoff. But Clemson? Open at LSU. October 3rd, when Miami visits Clemson, could be a critical game for Dabo and the program. 8 - Georgia, Indiana, Penn State - Georgia wins the SEC, again. Indiana reloads. Penn State? An easy schedule, but how will Iowa State players perform in the Big Ten? (Last season, State defeated Iowa in Ames.) 7 - Iowa, LSU, Oregon, UW, Florida, Oklahoma - IMO, OBD returns to the playoffs in 2026, and from this group, I think UW has the best chance to join the Ducks. The 2027 NFL draft should be Just Ducky for Oregon. 🤑