Jon Joseph

At Purdue is a trap game. How ready will Oregon be traveling to the Eastern time zone the week after playing Ohio State and playing Purdue on a Friday night? Purdue is at Illinois the week prior. Eugene to West Lafayette, Indiana: 2238 miles. Distance from Champagne-Urbana, Ill. to West Lafayette: 91 miles. 8 games without an off week will yield at least two games where the Ducks will not have their 'A game.' And games in the Midwest in late November? 4 games in the back end of the 8 game gauntlet have the Ducks home vs Illinois in Week 9. At Michigan in Week 10. Home vs Maryland in Week 11 and on the road at Wisconsin in Week 12. A travel yo-yo and game day weather concerns in Michigan and Wisconsin. Week prior games: Illinois vs. Michigan; Michigan vs. Michigan State; Maryland - Idle; Wisconsin- Idle Maryland and Wisconsin both have the week off before the Oregon game. Certainly not ideal for the Ducks. Power 4 conferences with 16, 16, 17, and 18 teams, intra-conference scheduling will yield far more favorable schedules for certain conference members. In 2024, Oregon has the 11th most difficult schedule in the nation. Ohio State's SOS is ranked 57. USC's schedule is ranked first or second depending on the source. (Pay no attention to the FPI SOS, calculated by a predictive model and not calculated by the opponents' results in 2023. There is no way Oregon has the 30th most difficult SOS in the nation. There is no perfect way to calculate SOS. Teams can improve and decline rapidly from year to year but for the most part, will stay at the level as in prior seasons.) In 2024 Oregon plays the B1G's two biggest, badest teams. In 2025, Michigan and Ohio State are not on the schedule and I hope that Oregon will not face 8 conference games in a row with a week off. No other P4 team in 2024 plays 8 weeks in a row without any time off. Going undefeated with this schedule would be extraordinary. 10-2 with this schedule will result in an at-large playoff bid. If the 2 losses are competitive, Oregon should be seeded no lower than 8th and host a 1st-round game. Oregon's 2024 Over/Under is 10.5. 11-1 is doable but not without difficulty.

Thank you, Sir Charles. I learn so much from these articles; however, I hope there will not be a quiz. What was the 2nd thing?

I'm backing Payton against all comers in a game of HORSE. Move over LA! It only took the Olde Towne Team 16 years to win its 18th title and move past the Lakers. Somewhere, Red Auerbach is enjoying a fine cigar.

The realignment shuffle. How new-look conferences shake out in college football WWW.YARDBARKER.COM With the Pac-12 essentially dissolved and plenty of big programs on the move, here's an early look at the newcomers in each "Power Four" conference.

Is anybody up for a H+H with Mari(o)? 3 teams the Miami Hurricanes should have a home-and-home series against CANESWARNING.COM Beyond the 2024 season and the ACC, which three FBS teams would make for intriguing and entertaining matchups for Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes? 9 conference games in the B1G. Michigan and Ohio State have a home-and-home series with Texas beginning this season when Texas travels to the Big House. In 2025, Michigan plays Oklahoma in Norman. In 2027, Ohio State plays a home-and-home series with Alabama. Before we know if the Committee will reward SOS with a 12-team PO field, do not play any team out-of-conference with a Blue Chip Roster. This season, Ohio State plays three G5 teams OOC with all three games in Columbus. Ohio State wins the B1G and it will be the 1st or 2nd seed notwithstanding an OOC cupcake factory. Even with 3 unworthy opponents OOC, if Ohio State goes 10-2 it's in the PO. Ohio State does not get a bigger revenue slice for playing Bama and not Marshall OOC. Michigan played 3 G5 donut holes OOC in 2023 and was not dinged for doing so.

Oregon, Linfield, and who else?😍

5 teams to watch out for in 2024. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/oregon-ducks-greatest-college-football-threats-2024

Who will be the B1Ggest QB of them all? Hammerin’ the B1G: Projecting the B1G’s 2024 QB of the Year race SATURDAYTRADITION.COM The Big Ten has some new faces and key questions at quarterback entering 2024. So, how does it all play out in terms of the B1G's QB of the Year race?

I believe Francois McGillicudy owns an Irish pub that serves only the best French wines and Guinness. I'd love to know Francois's compensation for managing a legit, varsity network compared to Larry's salary for running his Lo$er network. Francois flies commercial and does not rent out $7000 a-night hotel suites. 12 Monkeys could have managed the Pac-12 better than 1 Crow and 11 other 'acclaimed academics.' I signed up for Peacock last week and will sign up for Big + when the season kicks off. The day is coming when linear will take a back seat to streaming. I'm happy Oregon is not a beta site for a rotten Apple deal.

College Football News preseason review of Oregon. At 10-2 or better, the Ducks will be in the playoff and host a 1st-round game. https://collegefootballnews.com/news/oregon-college-football-preview-2024-key-players-game-schedule-season-predictions

Great take. I'm not certain Dante Moore agrees with your evaluation of Chip's QB coaching skills. 😍 Your concerns about going undie are spot on.

College Football News previews the 2024 OBD football team. https://collegefootballnews.com/news/oregon-college-football-preview-2024-key-players-game-schedule-season-predictions

An update on Congress possibly taking action to help out college sports. Bill seeking to exempt college athletes from employee status advances to House of Representatives WWW.NYTIMES.COM H.R. 8534 — dubbed the “Protecting Student Athlete’s Economic Freedom Act" — was approved by the House committee with a 23-16 vote.

Correct, no bye available for ND. For the next 2 seasons, ND can be seeded only as high as No. 5. ND has no risk of losing a 13th data point champ game. The PO 5th seed will host a 1st round game vs the G5 representative. ND opens at TX A+M, finishes at USC, and plays FSU and Louisville in South Bend. How's this for Brutal? No. (we are not that) Illinois, Purdue, a close-by cupcake chomping, Miami (not mari(o), but Ohio,) Stanford, Georgia Tech, Virginia, and Army, Navy but no Air Force, so no Commander in Chief Trophy for the Domers. An impressive SEC-like 4 G5 opponents. Come 2026, ND should be required to play 13 games with at least 10 against P4 competition.

Are you tellin' me JC can't hit a curve ball?

The Big 12 needs cash, and fast. So should it take private equity money? WWW.NYTIMES.COM Private equity? A sponsor-titled conference? It may be squeamish to purists, but that doesn't mean the Big 12 shouldn't do it.

You never know. Coming into the final round of the US Open, Rory McElroy was 496 for 496 on the season for putts 3 feet or less. McElroy birdied 4 of 5 holes to take a two-shot lead before bogeying 3 of the last 4 holes in a crushing defeat. The only 'good news?' Rory earned $2.3M for his second-place finish.

Bowls, Polls, and Tattered (old) souls.

Every Game Matters? Don't ask an FSU fan. Spot on, no 13-0 P4 conference champion will be left behind. But will a 4-loss conference champion be in and seeded in the top 4? The Ducks are -1, vs. Ohio State. Would Oregon be better off going 10-2 and playing in the conference champ game with the Committee possibly looking at a 10-3 finish, or finishing 10-2 with an excellent SOS without traveling to Indianapolis to play for the B1G title? With the new Playoff format, playing in the conference champ game could be a curse as much as a blessing. Will the Committee decide that 10-3 Texas lost twice to Georgia so there is no reason to allow a 3-loss SEC conference runner-up to be in the field? The final Committee vote and the seeding with the ACC and B12 champs in the top 4 and earning a 1st-round bye will cause a run on Pepto Bismal.

The books like Oregon to finish 11-1. The Ducks are the dogs only vs Ohio State with the Buckeyes currently -1. With the 3-point home bump for the home team, and Autzen is likely worth more than 3 points, Ohio State is closer to -4. Oregon Football Opening Lines for Four "Games of the Year" WWW.YARDBARKER.COM Sports wagering has taken over much of the American landscape over the past few years, and college football is no different. Circa Sports has released their College Football Games of the Year... Which B12 QB will have the better season? Dillon Gabriel or Will Howard? What will the game weather conditions be in Ann Arbor and Madison in November? Will the football gods be kind when it comes to injuries? Will the Ohio State D be as dominant as it looks on paper? Will Michigan's D be able to carry the Wolverines? No matter how good a team looks on paper in the preseason, over 12 games how will the ball bounce? FanDuel has the Oregon Over/Under at 10.5. The Ducks have to go 11-1 to collect. As much as I love OBD, this is a B1G preseason ask.

Maize and Blue's take on six games that will impact the 2024 season. One-third of the listed games involve the Ducks. Undefeated? With the 11th most difficult SOS in the nation and 8 games in a row without a break including playing in the Big House and Madison, Wisconsin in November. That's a B1G ask. Six games on the Big Ten schedule that could shape the conference and playoff races WWW.MAIZENBREW.COM There will be major implications all year long in the Big Ten.

The 2 Os showed Portal Picking Prowess. Evaluating each Big Ten program’s transfer portal additions and subtractions: Part 1 WWW.MAIZENBREW.COM There has been a lot of movement in the Big Ten this offseason, and we’re here to recap it all!

How about Grand Dad and my Son who thanks to my Son's lady delivered a new Grand Daughter on a special Father's Day for this Olde Man! HUZZAH!

Not only the seeding but also the locations of the games. 4 game sites are in Dixie. The title game is in Atlanta and many of the Playoff predictions would have SEC teams hosting 3 of the 4 1st-round games. Other than assuring that an undefeated P4 champ will not be left out, the Playoff format for 2024-25 and 2025-26 will foment many unhappy campers.

Red Hill, Australia. It's closing in on winter Down Under. When do the ski lifts in Red Hill open? 😊 Interesting bit of horse racing history I ran across yesterday. 1923, a jockey riding his horse in a race with parimutuel betting, suffered a fatal heart attack halfway through the race. He stayed mounted and won the race! I'd say that was a heart-stopping win.😍