Jon Joseph

Just Do It! The world does not like NIKE 'upstarts.' (Except for Michael Jordan - See 'Air.') Even though they have been upstarting since BCS days. Flash and Dash need the ultimate Natty splash. As Charles pointed out in preseason, this could be the team to Just Do It!

Exactly, David Marsh, spot-on observation. (No surprise.) You play on Larry's Lost Network and you get lost from a national perspective. Fortunately, come 2024, Oregon will be covered by B1G Boy BTN. THIS is why Puddles had to find a way out of here. At UW #7, Wazzu #13, at Utah #18, [Cal,] USC #9 (come on Troy + win in South Bend,) + #15 Oregon State will have the Ducks front and center playing in the back end of a brutal schedule. Exactly what you want for national recognition and more importantly, for Playoff Committee recognition. SOS help is on the way. We've already seen SC at CU giving up 41 points and Oregon giving up 6 to the Prime Times, making a ranking difference with Oregon jumping SC in this week's AP Poll. Meanwhile, UGA does have a game vs. ranked Kentucky at home this Saturday but other than that UGA's next ranked opponent comes 11/4 vs. a currently ranked Mizzou team that may not be ranked when it trips to Athens. Ohio State may have a test against Maryland this weekend but the B1G is a 3-some of the Buckeyes, Wolverines, and the Nittany Lions. These 3 could easily end up 11-1 at the end of the regular season. I LOVE the way the schedule is set up and I also love Texas Tech, without Tyler Shough (sigh) defeating Houston, helping the Ducks SOS, and with a real chance to disrupt things in a B12 that has only 2 teams that are both leaving in 2024, ranked. Yes, the Pac-12 will possibly go cannibal on one another but this is more likely to happen this season in the ACC. IMO, as of now, Oregon has the best-balanced team in a deep Pac-12. Just win Puddles (easy to say) and the Ducks will be front and center on the nation's CFB radar. BTW, Oregon at UW will be the first game ever with both ranked in the top 10.

The Grinch that stole Defense has to have photos.

In the most recent AP Poll, Georgia remains ranked #1. And the Dawgs could still easily win its 3rd title in a row in 2023. Especially, with All-World Brock Bowers playing TE. But based on SOS to date (as ranked by teamrankings.com) what would the rankings of the Top 25 P5 teams look like considering records and quality of opponents to date? The following would be the rankings using SOS to date with a team's SOS ranking followed by its AP ranking. Also shown is the ranked teams' next game. Undefeated P5 teams to date would be ranked as follows using SOS. 1. Florida State - 1/5 - vs. Va Tech 2. Texas - 5/3 - vs. Oklahoma 3. Ohio State - 7/4 - vs. Maryland 4. Oklahoma - 20/13 - vs. Texas 5. Penn State - 22/6 - BYE 6. Georgia - 24/1 - vs. Kentucky 7. Miami - 25/17 - vs. Georgia Tech 8. Washington State 26/13 - at UCLA 9. OREGON - 30/8 - BYE 10. Washington - 35/7 - BYE 11. Michigan - 46/2 - at Minnesota 12. Missouri - 53/21 - vs. LSU 13. USC - 66/9 - vs. Arizona 14. Louisville - 71/25 - vs. Notre Dame 15. Kentucky - 92/20 - at Georgia. 1 loss teams ranked by record and SOS 16. Alabama 17. Mississippi 18. Notre Dame 19. Texas A+M 20. Utah 21. West Virginia 22. Duke 23. Wisconsin 24. Kansas State 25. Oregon State And what based on the latest AP Poll and 2024 conference realignment and a 5/7 format would the 2024 Playoff field be? 1. Georgia - SEC vs. 9. OREGON at 8. UW 2. Michigan - B1G vs. 10. Notre Dame at 7. Penn State 3. FSU - ACC vs. 11. Alabama at 6. Ohio State 4. Washington State - MW vs. 12. Kansas State B12 at 5. Texas 5 B1G (Puddles has found an excellent new nesting spot.) 3 SEC 1 ACC, B12, Independent, Mountain West

Caleb Williams went off against CU with 6 TD throws. But Shedeur Sanders who was throttled in Eugene threw for more yards than Williams and accounted for 5 TDs. The CU run game that went nowhere vs. Oregon put up significant yardage against Troy. Oregon - CU 199 total yards on O. USC - CU 564 total yards on O. Last night, Arizona put up 24 points against an overhyped Huskies D. Comparing scores is dangerous, but today, the Oregon D is at or close to the best D in the conference. Thank you, Ryan, and welcome back!

It will be TOUGH sledding in Seattle with Oregon and UW looking like the most complete teams in a deep Pac-12. Arizona fought tooth and nail and pushed UW all the way to the wire in Tucson. No TD throws for Penix. But UW has a history of struggling in the desert and last night was no exception.

I had to send the spouse out on an emergency Mylanta run!

Looking around the CFB Nation on Saturday, I couldn't help but think of old takes regarding the P5 conferences that now, for the most part, ring hollow. ACC - The ACC is a basketball conference. Coming into Week 5, 6 ACC teams were undefeated with FSU ranked in the top 4. B1G - The B1G is slow. After the top 3 B1G teams, this still has more than an element of truth. But watch out this Saturday when an athletic 5-0 Maryland team and Tua's kid brother visit Ohio State. Coming into this game The Terps have the edge at QB. B12 - No team plays defense in the B12. They are both leaving town but to date, both the Texas and Oklahoma Ds have been salty. Should be a great Red River Rivalry Game, with GameDay in town, this Saturday. (Thank you Texas Tech for coming back against Houston and winning the game without Tyler.) Pac-12 - Is soft! OK, USC is soft (Grinch must have photos) but on the whole, the Pac-12 is balling out this season. Arizona held Penix to ZERO TDs Saturday night and the Arizona game at SC this Saturday could be interesting. Oregon - CU 199 total yards of O. USC - CU 564 total yards of O. SEC - Plays a brand of defense like no other in the history of the sport! Ole Miss - 55 LSU - 49. 1,343 total yards of offense. And the game did not go into OT. Ironically, it could be an O-challenged team, Alabama, with a D that could carry it to the 2023 SEC title. The Tide's game at A+M this Saturday should tell us a lot about both teams. Other games of interest while Puddles takes a nap - Notre Dame 4-1 (Mike Elko, you are smash-mouthing ND and you drop 8 on 4th and 16?) at 5-0 Louisville. Kentucky at Georgia - Auburn put up a lot of rush yards vs. UGA and Kentucky comes calling after running roughshod over Florida. But UGA has Superman a/ka/ Brock Bowers on its side. Washington State at UCLA - Can the Little 2 and 3 stars keep it going about as far from the Palouse as you can get? As Stewart Mandel wrote Saturday night: I could not say this without a smirk before but I can honestly say that in 2023 the Playoff race is wide open.

DUCati855 - Hats off, Man! That is some kind of super predicting.

UGA has not looked great through 5 games. The fallacy with the polls especially early on in the season is too much weight is placed on the past. Not enough weight is given to the current season's performance against teams that are not thin air. Based on the record and SOS to date, the top 3 could be: 1. Texas - Win at Bama keeps looking better. Beat down of top 25 Kansas on Saturday. Blow out win at Baylor. Big game next week vs. undefeated Oklahoma. 2. FSU - Helped by Clemson's big win at Syracuse but dinged by LSU's shoot-out loss at Ole Miss. 3. Penn State - With 4-1 W VA's win at TCU on Saturday, the Penn State win over the Mountaineers is looking better. A complete evisceration of Iowa last Saturday. UGA #1? Based on the last 2 seasons' triumphs and nothing on the field, other than all-world Brock Bowers, to date in 2023. Next week's game in Athens vs. what will be a ranked Kentucky team could be very interesting.

Terrific smash mouth win today but many teams would have been 4-0 playing Kentucky's first four opponents. Still a good accomplishment and at least at home, Kentucky will not be easy. A sneaky big game might be the year-ender against undefeated Louisville.

UW has historically not played well in the desert. I hope de Laura can play. I think this game could be closer than UW -18.5. I'm going with Texas here. FSU has been impressive but Clemson handed FSU the game last week. Texas' win at Baylor was one of the few times in recent seasons that UT has not played down to B12 competition on the road. Next week's Red River Rivalry game will tell us a lot about both UT and Oklahoma.

On paper, the win at home over A+M is an impressive win but The U has not defeated a team currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and the schedule is going to ramp up. I think 2023 will be another season Miami does not win the ACC.

Great take. But this is the 3rd season in a row that the Orange has been 4-0 before playing better competition.

Wazzu won in Mad City in 2022 but defeated the Badgers in Pullman this season.

For both Texas and Miami, the back is so far back how will you know if either team is back? 44 points a game for MariO is impressive. But other than A+M the competition has been rank, not ranked, and A+M has yet to defeat a solid team. GA tech is not a pushover. At UNC will be tough. Clemson could be 4-0 at this point in the season and not 2-2. At NC St will be a tough game as will be playing FSU in Tallahassee. And I expect Louisville after the win at NC State to move into this week's Top 25. I'm giving The U the UVA and BC games. Like the Pac-12, the ACC is a tough conference in 2023 with lots of good QB play.

DUKE. But it likely ends today in Durham. Wazzu is a close 2nd.

Good thoughts, but I don't think not practicing hard can be laid on NIL any more than players being followed since Junior High makes some guys not ready to play. It's vice versa for some of the other guys who have been all-stars since 9th grade, are being NIL paid, but show up and ball out like 2* and 3* wannabees. If pay-for-play was the be-all and end-all, Manning, not Ewing. would be starting for Texas. Yet, from what I have heard, Manning is putting out in the weight room and at practice. Ultimately, it comes down to the individual. Plenty of guys who are being NIL-paid are balling out. Some are not. Thus be it ever. And never ignore a program's whiff on 5* and miss on 3*. See 2023 Wazzu; not a 4* or 5* in sight.

Terrific take! Hopefully, the young man and his advisors will recognize 'this' and not decide to do the portal shuffle.

Saint Nick. Have a Coke (or a Dansani) and smile. Sorry Nick, DL is the real thing. Unlike the QBs on the Bama roster in 2023. BUT, Bama could still win the SEC. How about DL lining up against Saint Nick in the Rose Bowl? Dream, dream, dream, dream, dream.

Thank you, Charles! Love to see your takes on OBD and it's special to find an article like this later in the week. It's not hyperbole when it's the truth. #5. DL plugged holes from the portal. Jon Wilner did not have Jordan Burch, now rounding into form, in his preseason top 25 most impactful transfers but he did have SC's Bear Alexander on his list, a guy who has yet to have a major on-field impact. Cornelius at OT was a great get. Ditto, the DB transfers. #11 - Hayward's great comment. DL's mentor, Kirby Smart, made a number of bonehead decisions before 'getting it.' DL's first job was as a graduate assistant at Bama under Saint Nick. Will anyone ever forget Saban's 'Kick-6' decision versus Auburn? [BTW, Nick liked what DL said before the CU game but did not like the timing of the comments. Saint Nick knows that you should never make comments like this unless you are behind a bottle of Coke or Dansani and getting paid, right? Nick, go back to your rat poison.] Players improve with game experience. Improve when the game 'slows down.' As the Navy Seals say: 'Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.' The game will slow down for DL and the rookie coaching mistakes will disappear. I like the man, no doubt, but thank goodness Wilcox decided to stay in Berkeley. The Ducks roster would be gray and not blue chip. Go Ducks! TCB on The Farm.

Why not! You have no idea? I'm .500 versus Vegas to date. The folks in the desert are good.

Steven A - They gave me DAT's uni to try on and it was far too big. But, I am good with towels and dirty laundry (no, I'm not an ex-con) so maybe I can find a spot in the locker room?

Great take. I'm pretty sure the NCAA no longer tests for grass.

Winner - Ducks Score - 52-10 (What was the 3rd thing?) OK, now I remember - 3 TO - 1 pick 6 4 Sacks 260 Passing yards Bonus - Pac-12 Networks Not in the locker room for Danno's pregame pep talk.