Jon Joseph

Liberty vs. Oregon Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for Fiesta Bowl FANSIDED.COM Oregon's pursuit of the College Football Playoff came up just short, but still qualified for a New Year's Six Bowl. The Ducks may have some opt-outs, but Bo Ni

I appreciate the sentiment but if they have been injured they have been injured by the market and their lack of market power and not by 10 partners who stuck to the partnership agreement until it concludes. Why should the Ducks and nine others pay an 'exit fee' when their grant of media rights ends? This was a cheap, disrespectful, use of a loophole to score money that these 2 did very little or nothing to earn. No way in a world of 'real business' would 10 partners who have had their pockets vacuumed by the lowest producers in the firm bend over like this. As Charles does a great job of pointing out, the graft will be 'amortized' but why not another legal filing including a federal court filing where jurisdiction would be granted as the result of plaintiffs from various states filing suit? Roll over because you 'feel sorry' for partners who were left behind as a result of their contribution to terrible conference leadership, lack of investment toward winning CBB and CFB titles, and rejection from CBS, FOX, ESPN, and NBC and a low-ball offer from a streaming company trying to get its foot in the college football sports arena on the cheap. I'm not buying the sob story. Oregon and UW are supposed to take B1G money and share it with OSU and WSU. Oregon and UW are not charitable organizations. Then, after being shaken down, you surrender a home game and give the plaintiff its top revenue game of the season? Justify this by losing a road game against a G5 opponent that never should have been scheduled to begin with. This does not happen in the real world and proves once again how woeful academicians are at running a business. As for Rob, SMH. Feel sorry? These two in the money ball sports have since the start of the BCS era done next to nothing to help the bottom line. Their facilities are sub-par. They are basically off the scope of the nation's sports radar. These two should be thanking larger market teams and teams that invested far more capital than these two in men's CBB and CFB for carrying them. Not playing the role of being left behind by 'traitors.' The marketplace left these two behind and no one else. We still have to live with Rob's illogical scheduling, give a home game vs. a P5 opponent for a road game vs. a little league team in a venue where your fans will be abused (only in the movies and in the world of college sports) but it is such a B1G deal escaping this nonsense, I'm not going to let thievery and stupidity get me down. However, on Christmas day I'm going to save my charity for those who deserve the same. Thanks for the take Charles and this too shall pass but I don't believe that Oregon won anything here.

Puddles will have a chance to do some Badger brushing next November in Madison. Thank you for all of the great posts here. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Extinguish the Flames!

Thanks Krsmqn. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to OBD brothers and sisters. Here's hoping the Ducks will help make a Merry New Year for us all. And thank you Charles for going way beyond the extra mile. Boun Natale.

Oregon Duck - He's a successful coach in the regular season. 1-1 in bowl games at Stanford. 1-6 at Michigan including 0-2 in the PO.

Nolen signed with Ole Miss.

Correction. Bama struggled but it did defeat USF by more than 1 score, 17-3. With QB Milroe on the bench.

Thanks, Ryan. Very good look ahead. To play for let alone win a CFB title requires a Blue Chip Roster, which Oregon has, great coaching, and luck. Bama is the PO 4-seed and the betting favorite among the wise guys to win it all but Bama isn't there except for a miracle walk-off TD pass against old rival Auburn. And Bama defeated USF(!) in a one-score game. Also, with the disparity in CFB scheduling, it helps to have a 'manageable' schedule. Bill Connelly's SP+ ranking of the 15 most difficult schedules in CFB in 2024, includes 7 B1G teams. Florida comes in first. 2. USC/ 3. Northwestern/ 5. Purdue/ 8. Washington/ 12. UCLA/ 13. OREGON/ 15. Michigan State. Florida will not do so but the B1G teams will play 9 conference games. Oregon does not have an easy playoff row to hoe in 2024, including a stretch of 8 games in a row until an idle week before the UW game. And playing an OOC game on the road against your arch-rival in Corvallis instead of an 8th home game does not make the job any easier. If Oregon made the PO field as an at-large team, the champ game would be the Ducks' 16th game of the 2024 season. Oregon makes it and wins the B1G champ game it would no doubt have a 1st round bye but with the champ game, Oregon would still be playing its 16th game in the PO title game. You not only have to be good, you have to be lucky, including on the injury front, and have a deep roster. And the 9 PO champs to date, have all played 8 conference games. And other than for Ohio State (SIGH) in year one, all of the winners have come from the recruiting-rich southeast part of the country. The first 4 PO games in 2024 will be played on the home field of the teams seeded 5 through 8. Road teams will be playing in tough venues and perhaps in bad weather. 2024/25 Quarterfinal Venues - 12/31/24 - Fiesta Bowl. 1/1/25 - Peach, Rose and Sugar Bowls. Semifinals - 1/9/25 - Orange Bowl. 10/10/25 - Cotton Bowl. Final - 1/20/25 - Mercedes Benz Stadium - Atlanta, GA. Most of the games will be played in Dixie. Again, where and when a team plays will matter. A quarterfinal in the Peach Bowl, a semi-final in the Orange or Cotton Bowl, and the champ game again in the 'Peach Bowl' would be very difficult for a West Coast team, even if the team plays a quarterfinal game in the Rose Bowl. None of these games are being played in enclosed midwest venues, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis, something that will need to be addressed come 2026. With its roster and with a QB who has accounted for 125 TDs in his career to date, Oregon IMO is odds on to make the PO field in 2024. Then? Thanks again, Ryan.

GULP! No wonder Jim advocates for directly paying the players. Entertain NFL offers? What NFL team would be willing to match this offer? Huge game coming up vs. Saint Nick. Jim is PO 0-2. Nick is 16-6 including BCS games. Jim loses the corps of his 3-year B1G champ team. What will the rebuild look like? He is being out-recruited by Day and DL. At $12.5M a year, I'm reasonably certain that Jim would be making more money than the governor of Michigan and everyone on the governor's staff.

Thanks, Steven. 7 picks. Wow!

My friend Mr. FishDuck, I agree with you not being sold. Based on the man's record post-OREGON, why would anyone be sold on Chip? When he was hired at Oregon as HC he landed on an assistant coaching 3rd base and thought he hit a triple on his own. Make no mistake, in many ways, he revolutionized CFB offenses but the CFB world caught up to him. Going 8-5 in 2023 with the schedule he played was suspect, Yes, he defeated SC but was then trucked by Cal and also lost to ASU in LA. Hats off for beating Boise but he started the wrong guy at QB in the game. Garbers coming in as the replacement QB led to a win in the LA Bowl. Hats off to him for his success in Eugene and making CFB FUN, including ticking off Saint Nick, but for an NFL team to take a third dip in the Chipper pond, no comprende. The last thing our buddy Justin Herbert needs is Chip as the Chargers' new HC. I'd open the wallet for Harbaugh before hiring Chip.

And DG comes in with 125 TDs paving the way for stud QB newbies, 😍 - I've just gotta wear shades.

And Christmas came early for new B1G brother Northwestern. The Power 2, How Do You Do? B1G Winners UCLA and NW, and more to come. Cal is an ACC and not a B1G loss.

Hats Off to our new Northwestern brothers. Taking down Utah and winning by far the LOS in the process. Against a team that usually wins the LOS 8-5 in a season where NW was left for dead and a win over a team ticketed to do significant things in the B12 in 2024, Not on Oregon's 2024 schedule which is a good thing, NW is a team that lifts its weight well above recruiting rankings. Bowl guru Coach Whit is now 0-5 in his last 5 bowl games. GO B1G!

And, DL will be bakk!

Pete was .500 in New England and made an NFL PO appearance or two, including playing in Super Bowls. Chip made it to the PO before he became the Philly GM and then he completely failed with the 49ers. Pete in CFB had it going at a level that brought ESPN to an auxiliary office in Heritage Hall. Chip at UCLA is 1 game over .500. Career-wise, Chip is nowhere close to Pete.

We Need the B1G dues even if they come from Flounder!

My friend, Chip has 2 NFL strikes against him and no NFL owner will give Chip a 3rd trip to the NFL plate to complete a strike-out. He is one game over .500 in 6 seasons in Westwood. His 2024 recruiting class is a joke. Why would any Billionaire + want to hire this guy and try to sell him to the fan base? IMO. looking at the record and the recruiting numbers, UCLA never should have fired Jim Mora. And perhaps, even Neu? When you coach a P4 team in LA and cannot recruit, why would any AD, except an athletic department that is broke keep a guy on board who cannot recruit in LA? Dorrel did better recruiting than Chip. He is picking up a check, pontificating regarding the PO format, and finishing, based on the 2023 record that was a piece of cake, 8-5, including a bowl win against a Boise team with its starting QB who had bailed for the Hogs. Without the support group of assistant coaches he had in Eugene, what has Chip done but score millions+ in an incredibly flawed system where $ repeatedly trumps common sense?

2024 says 'So Long' to a 4-team post-season Invitational and welcomes in a 12-team Playoff (PO.) Naysayers believe this will water down the regular season. Rubbish! Far more fan bases will follow their team right up until the PO field is selected by the PO Committee (CT) in December of 2024. Yes, the 13 enlightened Gurus of Grapevine will still be naming the PO Delightful Dozen but no Power 4 (P4) champ that goes undefeated will be left out even if the entire team comes down with the Creeping Crude before its conference champ game. And no P4 champ notwithstanding its record will be left out. The 2024/25 PO brings us the four top-seeded conference champions being seeded in the top four with a 1st round bye. The PO format currently has the six highest-ranked conference champs in the field. But as recommended by the PO overseers, I expect the format will be revised to have five conference champs with se as automatic qualifiers with seven at-large teams chosen by the CT. This change to the format will happen unless the Pac-2, represented by the Washington State president, Kirk Schulz, votes no, which would be the PO kiss of death for the Pac-2 down the road. For this exercise, I am using Athlon's Way-Too-Early 2024 preseason ranking. The ranking in order of ranked teams - Alabama/ Texas/ Georgia/ Michigan/ OREGON/ Ohio State/ Utah/ Ole Miss/ FSU/ Penn State/ Missouri/ Clemson. G5 - CUSA Liberty is the highest-ranked G5 team at No. 23. Using this ranking, a 5/7 format, and the top four ranked conference champions receiving the top four seeds and a 1st-round bye, the following would be the Delighted Dozen field playing for a real PO title next season. 1. Alabama - SEC vs. 9. Mississippi - SEC at 8. Ohio State - B1G - Kiff, bring your popcorn and long johns. 4. Florida State - ACC vs. 12. Liberty - G5/CUSA at 5. Texas - SEC - In 2024, Liberty again plays no P4 teams. 2. Michigan - B1G vs. 10. Penn State - B1G at 7. OREGON - B1G - Ducks would play PSU in 2024. In Autzen! 3. Utah - B12 vs. 11. Missouri - SEC at 6. Georgia - SEC - No 1st round rematches in the 1st round. Mizzou and UGA are not scheduled to play in 2024. First out would be No. 12 Clemson. Dabo and Tyler from Spartanburg would not be happy. 5, SEC/ 4. B1G/ 1. ACC, B12, and CUSA. Show the P2 the $! Paul Finebaum would be happy. Ditto Joel Klatt. This format would deliver No. 7 Utah and No. 9 FSU drawing 1st round byes. When CFB had a Power 5 and not the current Power 4 (P4) this format made some sense as does rewarding conference champions but it is not logical in the CFB world of P4 and most likely will not be the PO format come 2026. It's a B1G improvement compared to the Invitational but still has flaws. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays, and may 2023's Final 2 have B1G Michigan playing B1G UW for the title. Extinguish the Flames!

Terrific take but IMO, Harsh. What teams today do you view as 'Elite?' Clemson with 2 PO titles but that finished No. 22 in 2023. Ohio State has lost its last 3 games vs. Michigan and has 1 PO title in 2014 but overall is 3-4 in PO games. Michigan is 0-2 in the PO and I think the only position where Michigan will maybe be superior to Bama in the Rose Bowl is at RB. Alabama based on BCS and Playoff titles is Elite. Georgia has closed the gap but is still far behind Bama in titles. IMO, your criteria for Elite is too stringent. OREGON is one of the few teams that competed for a BCS title and a Playoff title. Today, Oregon is consistently in the recruiting Top 10. Oregon is again playing in an NY6 Bowl. UW defeated Oregon twice by a total of 6 points. UW has had an Elite season but it certainly is not an Elite program. In early 2024 projected top 25's, I haven't seen a single ranking that has UW finishing in the Top 10. UW like Oregeron did at LSU with Burrow, caught lightning in a bottle with Penix, a Joe Moore-winning OL, a great group of WRs, and an adequate defense. With DeBoer's recruiting or lack thereof, UW's PO-like play is not sustainable. Elite Programs today with Blue Blood status and Blue Chip Rosters and playing and recruiting up to said status are IMO: Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Clemson, FSU, LSU, Ole Miss, Michigan, Ohio State, and Oregon. I view UW as a very talented team but without the recruiting chops to stay in the top tier. No team without a Blue Chip Roster won a BCS title or has won a CFB PO. Oregon with a BCR that continues to improve is by this standard already Elite and based on DL and friends recruiting will continue to improve its BCR roster and be in the expanded PO season after season. Thanks again for your in-depth thoughts.

Wide open and fortunate to send a team other than the 2024 champ to the playoff.

Athlon Sports way too early 2024 top 25 has 6 B12 teams ranked which I think is 2 more than will be ranked when the Committee speaks in December of 2024: 7. Utah; 13. AZ; 19. K St; 20. W VA; 24. Kansas and 25. CU. I would replace CU with OK St. which is on the Oregon schedule in 2025/26.

1 of fewer than 8 HS signees. CU under Deion will flame out. Seaton will be there for portal picking next season.

Next year 11-2 in the regular season will have Oregon in the Playoff and perhaps in the B1G title game. There is not a whole lot to fix. 10-2 with 2-losses by 6 points. Keep improving on what the Ducks do well and playoff appearances and title opportunities will follow. But as Mike West notes it's going to take depth because the PO if you make it to the title game will be a long slog against a lot of good teams. It took Kirby a few years to win a title. Ryan Day has yet to win a title. Ditto Jim Harbaugh. It's not easy.

Earth. We have met the enemy and they are us. Keep this stuff up and they are going to blow through the purloined money in a hurry while making a bunch of lawyers happy.