Jon Joseph

But friend Vegas, it's what we have until next season. Either way, it's a B1G win. The fight for Power 2 hegemony is on.

Hats off to Whit. After seeing what Schraeder did for Mizzou in 2023 I'm fascinated to see what Harris will do in 2024.

And the D guys play improved D? I think that Lynn coming over from UCLA will get the Troy guys on D playing more in synch. How could he not? And Troy did play better D, although the D gave up a lot of rushing yards, in the Holiday Bowl with Trojans making open field tackles. Who knew?

Miller Moss with 6 TD passes in the Holiday set the Holiday Bowl and USC records for the most TD passes in SC's illustrious bowl history. The SC skill players on O made No. 15 Louisville's D look slow and pedestrian. Riley has cleaned house on the D side of the ball. I think that SC even without Williams is a dark (Traveler) horse candidate to play for a B1G title next season; especially if SC can take down LSU in Las Vegas and win in the Big House vs. a Michigan team that is losing a lot of studs and perhaps, it's HC. No Oregon or Ohio State on the schedule, Penn State in LA, and no Penix playing for UW when SC visits Seattle.

Good for Ty! He will be playing for the new Tulane head coach, John Sumrall. Sumrall went 23-4 at Troy (where he coached Tez Johnson) and was the 2023 Sun Belt COY. With SMU off to the ACC and Liberty's QB in the portal and the MW being deep and competitive, AAC Tulane will be one of the top contenders for the G5 spot in the 2024 Playoff. No. 12. Tulane at No. 5 OREGON in the 1st round with Ty at QB?

Adjusting for the 2024 Rose Bowl and Michgan's victory over Bama, the SEC is now 14-4 in PO games with Bama 'falling' to 8-4, causing Paul Finebaum to reverse course on the Wolverines being PO worthy. Beat Bama and you have to be PO-worthy, right Paul? With the Left Coast Dogs (not Dawgs) takedown of Texas in the Sugar Bowl on 1/1/24, the 2024 SEC falls to 14-5 in the Final 4 games. With Michigan's, Rose Bowl win, and UW's win in New Orleans, the 2024 B1G moves to a Final 4 overall record of 5-5 which will move to 6-6 after Monday night's champ game in Houston. Not great but this is so good to see. The first non-SEC champ game since the inaugural PO season in 2014, when the Ducks (sigh) played Ohio State for the championship. A PO record will be established on Monday night. For the first time, a team that played 9 and not 8 conference games will win a PO title. And if UW wins it will be the first team without a Blue Chip Roster (50% or more 4* and 5* recruits on the Roster) to win a BCS/PO championship. Michigan's roster is BCR, barely, with 54% of the roster made up of Blue Chip recruits. Should be a very interesting game with UW's fantastic O going against Michigan's excellent D.

I briefly made mention of Kansas State QB Will Howard committing to Ohio State in another post. !n 2022, Howard led K State to a B12 title. Howard is a fifth year senior with one year of eligibility left and choose Ryan Day and the Buckeyes over our buddies Lincoln Riley and Mari(o) Cristobal. He is a very accurate passer and also a very good runner. During the Cotton Bowl telecast the broadcasters both said that they did not believe Ryan Day would take a QB out of the portal. Wrong. Devin Brown who started for tOSU vs Mizzou went down with an injury for the 3rd time in eight months. 5* QB Air Noland, is joining the Buckeyes and will gain experience backing up Howard. Ohio State's visit to Eugene on October 12th, falls between the October 5th visit from J. Smith and Michigan State and the game on October 19th that will be played at Purdue. The B1G QB question now is whether Michigan QB JJ McCarthy will go pro. The other perhaps B1Gger question is whether Jim Harbaugh returns to coach Michigan in 2024 or is coaching Justin Herbert in LA.

K State QB Will Howard opted for Ohio State over USC. See you in Eugene in 2024 Will.

Bo to Tez followed by Gabriel to Tez. What's not to like? B1G and Great News!

candyduck, who doesn't like a double dose of candy?

B1G?

Well, all Dogs are bastards are they not? Maybe not the Dawgs in Athens but most definitely the Dogs in Seattle.

Preach, Brother Darren, preach. UW wins and the perception of Left Coast ball, all finesse, glitz not guts, does not disappear but it will have an impact on the eve of the Pac-4 headed to the B1G. And it will be a small bow but UW win will tie a small bow on Oregon's season; 2 Ls to the 2023/24 champion by 6 points. Whether or not UW wins Monday night, the Ducks will be a 2024 preseason top 10 team and UW will not. I have seen two expert predictions that have Michigan winning by 10 plus points and holding UW to 16 points in one prediction and 17 in the other. Huh? Bama put up 20 points on Michigan with a QB and an offense no where close to the abilty of UW. In all of football, particularly in CFB, the team with the better QB and O most often wins the game. The best QB Michigan played against OCC and in the B1G was Maryland's Taulia Tag. UM defeated Mayland by 7 points. UM won the game because of its D. Behind McCarthy UM's O was stagnant against Maryland just as it was for but for 1 drive in the 2nd half vs. Bama. And Bama while it gets props for the usual Saint Nick win over UGA and Kirby, was fortunate to beat an Auburn team, a team that lost to NM State, a team with a dysfunctional QB, that was able to consistently run the ball against Bama's D. Michigan has not faced a QB as talented as Penix. Played against no O close to level of UW's O. And while the Right Coast media can not stop talking about how great Michigan's D is, the level of competition UM played against in the B1G this season was not close to the level of talent UW played against in the Pac-12. UW won road games at Arizona, Oregon State and USC and a neutral site game against OBD where it was a 9.5 dog. UM defeated Penn State on the road but PSU's O was MIA for most of the season. The Michigan O struggled against an Iowa team that 8-4 Tennessee with a true frosh making his first start at QB destroyed in the Citrus Bowl. Michigan averaged less than 3 yards a carry against Iowa. Post game x-rays on Johnson revealed no major damage. Johnson reaggravated a foot injury he has been dealing with for the 2nd half of the season. And as Charles recently pointed out, Penix was a run threat vs. Texas. The UM DL mauled Milroe but Milroe despite the lost yardage on 6 sacks and having to play shortstop on many snaps ran for 63 yards. Bama ran for 172 yards notwithstanding the yardage lost by the UM DL overwhelming the Bama OL on many passing downs. Will UW fans be insufferable if UW wins the title? Yes. But what's new with that. I want the Pac-12 to go out with perhaps the most ironic championship in the history of CFB. How did 'these guys' screw 'this' up?

Friend Mud, thanks for the post and all of your posts and comments on OBD. I am just PO'd that this is the second time, the first being the McCaffery snub, that East and Southern voters have screwed over a Left Coast player who should have won the Heisman. Talking heads on ESPN and the SEC Network were wondering how Penix could even be in the same discussion with Daniels. FOX guy Joel Klatt called out the Heisman voters before the Sugar Bowl game. Now, many have seen the light. Michael Penix Jr. robbed of the Heisman: Fans, media sound off after all-time performance in CFP semifinal win SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM Michael Penix Jr. put on a dazzling passing display to lead Washington to the national championship. That left fans questioning the Heisman winner.

I don't think Jimbo wants to stick around and deal with the NCAA. If he stays at Michigan he has a big rebuild coming in 2024. Especially if McCarthy goes to the NFL. And Michigan also plays a real opponent OOC, Texas and draws Oregon, USC, UW and of course, Ohio State. Win Monday and he'll accomplish what he set out to do at his alma mater. I think the Super Bowl loss to his brother still bothers Jim. Next up in Ann Arbor? Brian Kelly? Big buyout but the word is Brian wants to return to the midwest.

Friend The Grateful, UW and Michigan both played Michigan State this season. Both games were played in E. Lansing. UW 41 - MSU 7 - UW's 3rd win of the season. Michigan 49 - MSU 0 - Michigan's 8th win of the season. Not much to choose from here and best of luck J. Smith.

DeBoer is about to win another CFB title. But down the B1G road he best Duck. Book it Danno!

Why not play on the 2024 B1G Champ team! Welcome back Bassa-Nova!

Daniels better than Penix? Daniels better than Caleb? But Daniels did go 2-3 vs. teams with winning records. The ESPM SEC machine carries on.

I just finished the fast forward replays of The Fiesta Bowl, Rose and Sugar Bowls. Oregon will not be ranked in the final AP Poll top 4 but should be, And Bo? Take a well deserved bow Son. I watched an entire season of CFB. The conference with the best OOC record? And the conference with the best bowl record? The Pac-12. The best team in CFB that eviscerated FSU in its bowl game? Probably Georgia. But Nick except for one time always beats Kirby. Michigan plays bully ball. But Michigan as well as Bama did not play their best ball in the Rose Bowl. Michigan's B1G wins came against 2 teams that failed in the post-season. Michigan will play gutty ball versus Washington, But UW has the better QB and the far better offense in the game Monday night. And Michigan is about to play against the best O it has faced this season by far, including playing Bama and its let's go bowling center in the champ game. This upcoming game reminds me of the game when heavily favored Michigan played under-Dawg UW and QB Warren Moon in the Rose Bowl way back in 1978. Moon, a guy who paved the way for African-American QBs, helped UW win the game by 7 points. I see another for UW, close game in the champ game. But the Pac-12 (RIP) was the deepest and best conference this season. And UW accomplished something I never thought that I would see. Going 13-0 in the Pac-12 for the first time since Utah and CU signed up. And the UW coach, all-be-it at much lower level of CFB, has won titles. Jim Harbaugh? Can Michigan maul UW? Perhaps? But I think that for Left Coast reasons the UW OL is not as respected (ask Sark) as it should be. And UW just defeated a team that also, earlier in the season, defeated Bama. The QB play and O play improved for Bama over the course of the season after the loss to Texas, but the same D was there against Texas. Six sacks for Michigan vs. Bama, I don't see this against quick release Penix. IMO, Texas is a better team than this Michigan team and Michigan swallowed 3 cup cakes OOC and played B1G dog meat for the most part in the regular season It's Michigan that everyone calls the grittier team. I think the team with equal grit and far more power on O and with the better QB, which matters on all levels of football, will win the game come Monday night. Stats are decieving in CFB. Michigan's D stats? Against what kind of opposition? And the Wolverines O hit the brakes when it played, finally, better opponents. UW had a more difficult SOS and it will win the champ game by 7 or less points and put an exclaimation point on how badly the Pac-12 powers that be screwed up. And next season? If Gabriel stays upright the Ducks win the B1G title and have a great shot at being the 2024/25 champion. Go Purple! Beat Blue! And pave the way for the Pac-4 not having to adjust to the B1G but for the B1G having to adjust to modern CFB.

And the O's Michigan faced? The Pac-12 was deeper and better than the B1G this season. Michigan played O-neutered teams Iowa, Penn State and Ohio State in its toughest games. Taulia Tag with some help from his run game would have taken Michigan down. To be plain: The Pac opposition this season was far better than UM played against in the B1G. Far better. And but for Saint Nick mostly owning Kirby Smart, UGA would have defeated Michigan in a 1st round game. Texas is a better team than Michigan with more weapons on O. Why Sark gave up on the ground game? HOWEVER, Sean McDonough had one of the great comments ever in the Sugar Bowl when another Irish guy, Greg McElroy, noted that Quinn Ewerts would have had a first down if he hadn't tripped over his own feet. "Kind of like our crew on Bourbon Street last night." Washington IMO will win the champ game by 10 or more points. McCarthy is a good CFB. UW QB, Penix is a great CFB QB. With far better receivers and playing behind a better OL, by far, than the Bama OL. This is another 'Rose Bowl' matchup with the B1G team coming in overrated. Ask Warren Moon.

Great take. I humbly and respectfully disagree. Marcus won the Heisman. Bo was perfectly positioned to win the Heisman and came up short in the Pac-12 Championship game. He battled but he was outplayed by a guy who should have won this year's Heisman, Michael Penix, Jr. I think there is one glaring omission in your contenders for Oregon's best player ever. Dan Fouts. He didn't light it up in college but had the best NFL career of any Ducks player. He represented UO with class on the field and later in the broadcast booth. And in the NFL, Dan and Coach Don Coryell revolutionized how The League plays offense. But based simply on college play, Heisman winner Marcus Mariota was the best all time Duck and will be the one Duck, to date, showing up in NYC for the Hesiman Award ceremony year after year. Bo deserves a whole lot of love but a Heisman winner will be remembered far longer than a guy who balled out and finished 3rd. Thanks again, Alex. Fun to ponder.

Stars matter. Transfers matter. But coaching the game still matters. 247 Team Composite Roster Rankings (recruits and transfers) before the start of the 2023 season. No. 1. Alabama / No. 6. Texas/ No. 14. Michigan/ No. 26 Washington - OREGON No.10 Washington's Joe Moore Award winning OL is made up of 5 recruits from high school and no transfers. None of these recruits was ranked higher than No. 170 coming out of high school. UW twice defeated No. 10 ranked OREGON (sigh) and also defeated No. 8 ranked USC before defeating No. 6 Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Win the champ game and UW will be the first team without a Blue Chip Roster and without a Blue Chip Composite Roster to win a BCS or Playoff champioship. Win the champ game and Michigan will be the first team without a Super Roster, in the top 10 Composite ranking to win a championship. That's coaching.

The irony continues. In its last season (sorry, Pac-2) the Pac-12 at 5-3 comes in at the top of the P5 conferences with the best bowl record. 41 bowl games in the books with one left to play Monday night in Houston when two 2024 B1G teams play for the title. I appreciate the righteous comments OBD members have made about the importance or lack thereof, of bowl games; especially, in this age of opt outs. However, with few impactful out-of-conference (OOC) games played every year, bowl results will be pumped by conferences with the better records and dinged by the losing conferences as being meaningless. In this day and age of the ESPN/FOX, SEC/B1G fight for CFB Power 2 hegemony (the SEC is admittedly ahead, by quite a bit) It Just Means More to come ahead of the SEC. Especially to the ESPN and FOX marketing reps. Below are the P4 2023/24 bowl results. And the adjusted results for 2024 conference realignment. ACC - 5-6/ 5-8 with Cal and No. 24 SMU losses. A bitter end to the regular season carried on into the post-season with 3 of the ACC's ranked teams going down. No. 22 Clemson did defeat NR Kentucky in a great bowl game with 42 points scored in the 4th quarter! Clemson rebounded from 4-4 to finish 9-4 and will likely be favored to win the ACC in 2024/25. But that opener vs. Georgia in Atlanta? B12- 5-4/ 6-5 - Arizona made the B12 Commish and B12 fans happy with its defeat of off to the SEC Oklahoma. And after being blown out by Texas in the B12 champ game it was nice for the B12 to see Oklahoma State take down Texas A+M. The 'New B12' results diminished only by underdog Northwestern defeating Utah in Las Vegas. SEC - 5-4/5-6 - Two B1G wins by No. 9 Missouri and No. 11 Ole Miss, were offset by both of the Alabama schools going down and newbies Oklahoma and Texas going 0-2. By SEC standards this was not a good post-season; especially, with no SEC team playing for the 2023/24 Championship. Pawalll! But with its recruiting prowess, it's history, it's administrative and fan support and yes, with continuing to play 8 conference games, I expect the SS SEC will be back at full steam as early as next season. In many respects for SEC fans it's a shame that Nick again took down Kirby. Georgia could quite easily have been 2023/24's best and most complete team. B1G - 5-4 - 9-4 - How sweet it is when the four new friends bring bowl victories along with? SWEET! 41 bowl games in the books and the final Final 4 game will have the 'New B1G' finishing 10-5 in the post-season with a championship in tow. The 1st playoff title to be won by a team that played 9 conference games. And if UW wins, the first BCS/Playoff title to be won by a team without a Blue Chip Roster. A new B1G adventure awaits OREGON, UCLA, USC and UW. I can't wait and I think it is going to be great! To whet your 2024/25 appetitie, how about these OOC games? Clemson vs. Georgia in Atlanta/ Texas at Michigan/ Notre Dame at Texas A+M/ FSU at Notre Dame/ Florida at FSU/ Miami at Florida/ UCF at Florida/ Alabama at Wisconsin/ Houston at Oklahoma/ USC vs. LSU in Las Vegas/ UCLA at LSU (the Saturday before playing Oregon in the 1st B1G game for both) and, how about OREGON at Oregon State! (Hmmm?) In 2024/25, I expect we will see a number of B1G/SEC match-ups in the first season a Real Playoff. What took so long?

Would any Joe Moore trophy winning OL be underrated if it played anywhere but on the Left Coast? Would Penix have lost the Heisman to a guy who went 2-3 against teams with a winning record if he played anywhere other than the Left Coast? BTW, before the Heisman winner arrived in the SEC he wasn't all that on the Left Coast. He was surrounded by better players at LSU. The 'experts' for some reason believed Texas was going to crush the UW guys because Texas defeated Bama, before Saint Nick kind of righted the ship, and was bigger than UW. The bias beat lives on. Let's see how Left Coast teams are viewed playing in the B1G that was much weaker than the Pac-12 in 2023. In 2023, especially with having to play 9 conference games, the imploding Pac-12 was the toughest of the P5 conferences. I note there is criticism above for UW playing a tight game against ASU. With an 8 game conference schedule, UW could have boarded the Chattanooga Choo-Choo instead.