Jon Joseph

Congrats! (Kind of.)

It would have been the Ducks carrying a big bushel of apples instead of going to the B1G. The correct and only sensible business decision was made by Oregon. Need further evidence. Watch the Big 10 Network. Outstanding coverage including of Oregon football and other sports before Oregon comes on board in 2024. Pregame and post-game coaches' pressers are terrific as is the wrap-up show, the Big 10 Final. Oregon is going to get pub it never received on Larry's Lost Network.

The Keystone Poster, PA Duck, has a post up that projects 2023 bowl games for the Pac-12. As always, thank you, PA. Here is a projection from Stewart Mandel of The Athletic. ROSE BOWL - 1. Michigan vs. 4. FSU - Michigan will not play a ranked team before it faces Penn State in Happy Valley on 11/11. This speaks for itself regarding the quality of 2023 B1G teams. As well as for Michigan's crummy OOC schedule. SUGAR BOWL - 2. Georgia vs. 3. Washington - All-World TE Brock Bowers is out for 4 to 6 weeks after undergoing 'tightrope surgery' on his ankle. The remaining slate for UGA is not as easy as predicted in the preseason. BYE, Florida, (QB Mertz had his best game of the season last week in UF's victory over South Carolina,) 20. MIZZOU, 13. Ole Miss, at 17. Tennessee, and at Georgia Tech. Without CFB's best non-QB player, this could be a tough stretch for the Dawgs. Cotton Bowl - OREGON vs. Oklahoma - I believe there is still a very good shot for the Ducks making the final Final 4. But this would be a nice consolation prize. Although it would be a game in a hostile environment. Independence Bowl - WAZZU vs. Oklahoma State - Even from Pullman, is playing a bowl in Shreveport, LA. a reward? LA Bowl - UCLA vs. Fresno State (Air Force Academy predicted to go to the Fiesta Bowl and play Texas.) Las Vegas Bowl - Arizona vs. Wisconsin Holiday Bowl - Oregon State vs. Miami Alamo Bowl - USC vs. Kansas State - USC's 6 wins to date have come against opponents with a combined record of 13-26. USC is no longer in Jon Wilner's AP Top 25. Sun Bowl - Utah vs. VA Tech - I'd flip Utah and SC. I don't see the SC D stopping the Utes run game on Saturday. This projection has 8 Pac-12 teams going bowling. If correct, this would be one heck of a swan song. ............................................................................................................................................................................... Ranking the Undefeated P5 Teams - Bill Connolly - ESPN+ 1. Michigan 2. Ohio State 3. Washington 4. Georgia 5. Penn State 6. Oklahoma 7. FSU 8. North Carolina Tom Fornelli - CBS Sports 1. Penn State 2. Ohio State 3. Washington 4. Michigan 5. FSU 6. North Carolina 7. Georgia 8. Oklahoma Connelly and Fornelli are not using the same crystal ball. .................................................................................................................................................... Week 8 Game of the Week - 7. Penn State at 3. Ohio State -5.5 Penn State coach James Franklin is 1-8 vs. Ohio State and 0-9 vs. Top 10 teams on the road. Penn State QB Drew Allar has thrown but 8 passes of 20+ yards this season. Allar is 1 of his last 6 'deep ball' attempts. Lee Corso picked against mascot favorite Puddles last Saturday. Will he also stiff the beloved Brutus? Pac-12 Game of the Week. 14. Utah at 18. USC -3.5. It's all good within the dome of Lincoln Riley. Lincoln tells us that the game at Notre Dame was an anomaly and that USC has the talent to win the rest of its games. Right? Last week against Cal, Utah safety Sione Vaki played both ways. In 15 carries from the RB position, Vaki put a shellacking on the Golden Bears with 158 yards and 2 TDs. Is USC's defense going to stop the Runnin' Utes run game? I don't think so. The O best come back to life or Troy is in for a long Saturday evening. ................................................................................................................................................................................ Vegas Insider - Current Odds to Win the 2023 Pac-12 Title (Vegas Insider shows odds from 7 sites. Below are the best odds (lowest payout) for Pac-12 teams in the hunt. Washington +125 OREGON +240 USC +320 Oregon State +750 Utah +1000 OREGON and UW are odds on to rematch in the conference champ game. Make It So! .......................................................................................................................................................................... College Basketball (CBB) Fans please help a former hockey player out. The CBB preseason Top 25 has only 3 B1G teams ranked: 3. Purdue, 4. Michigan State, and 25. Illinois. USC at 21. is the only Pac-12 to the B1G team ranked. No UCLA. No OREGON. Is this a poll-era all-time low for the B1G? For a CBB outlier, this seems to be very low for a conference that always sends 6+ teams to the Tournament. And is OREGON going to have another year of missing the Tourney? .......................................................................................................................................................................... GO DUCKS - TCB vs. WAZZU! I like the Ducks to win but -20 seems like a big spread.

Great take, Mic. But Oregon did put up 126 more yards than UW. Bo threw for more yards (but not TDs) than Penix. Chip Kelly disdained this stat but Oregon had the ball 9 more minutes than did UW. David makes a great point about the Jumbo formation disappearing. This OL that was a question mark prior to the season has played very well. But going against an 8 man front is tough sledding for any formation. As DL acknowledged, the 3rd down run prior to Oregon trying to seal the win on 4th down was a check down call that was not communicated properly. I won't argue with DL's take, I have neither the knowledge nor football IQ to do so, but against an 8-man box on 3rd down why not stretch the field? In the play that set up the tying FG attempt (SIGH), Ferguson was wide open down the middle. My main critique of the play calling was not doing enough to stretch the field late in the game. Troy Franklin was having a great game. Bryant disappeared but Tez Johnson came through. With the manner in which the Ducks ran the ball, drawing the UW D up to the LOS, I'm disappointed that we did not see more deep shots which seems contrary to the aggressive 4th down decisions. Great game. Oregon is still very much in the hunt for a Pac-12 title and a Final 4 berth. Thanks, David, for another great take.

After ESPN 'stole' OK and TX, there was no way Fox was going to allow ESPN into the LA hen house.

However, if you want to be aggressive how about with 8 UW defenders in the box on 3rd down before the ill-fated 4th down play, you look for Troy downfield in a one-on-one coverage situation? The UW D-backs could not cover Troy the entire game. I think that Stein went far too conservative in the 2nd half. There were pass plays downfield; especially, with how Oregon was running the ball. I agree with other posters, the late game calls reminded me of Mari(o) vs. ironically, Bo Nix in the game in Dallas against Auburn. Fortune favors the bold if the bold embraces fortune. Troy outplayed the UW receivers in this game and in my humble and amateur opinion was not going to be held down later in this game except for Will Stein, had Troy had the ball more often thrown in his direction. Going into a downfield shell while rolling the dice thrice does not, for me at least, compute. The guy who could win the Biletnikoff Trophy was underutilized.

MY BAD! I was referring to OREGON at Utah at 3:30 Eastern. I will stay up for the Beavers at Ducks. I'm never in doubt, but often wrong.

Charles, I checked and it shows a 12:30 Pacific kickoff. Love Ya, but I hope you are (for the 1st time in your life?) in error.

2024, using the Week 8 AP Poll and adjusting for conference realignment. ACC - 4 teams ranked. 4. FSU, 10. UNC, 16. Duke, and 21. Louisville. B12 - 1 team, 14. Utah ranked. Independent - 1 team ranked. 15. The Domers Pac-2 - 1 team ranked. 12. Oregon State. Add OSU and WSU to the Mountain West and with Air Force at 22, 2 MW teams would be ranked. B1G - 8 ranked - 2. Michigan/ 3. Ohio State/ 5. Washington (SIGH)/ 7. Penn State/ 9. OREGON/ 18. USC/ 24. Iowa/ 25. UCLA. SEC - 8 ranked - 1. Georgia/ 6. Oklahoma/ 8. Texas/ 11. Alabama/ 13. Ole Miss/ 17. Tennessee/ 19. LSU/ 20. Missouri. Does CFB (except for the ever-present Dinero) need a Playoff come 2026 (except perhaps for 'political' reasons) other than the best of the B1G vs. the best of the SEC? By 2026, Clemson and FSU could be in the SEC, and UNC and Notre Dame could be in the B1G. In this case, would any team outside of the B1G 20 and the SEC 20 (add 2 plus FSU and Clemson out of Louisville, Georgia Tech, Miami, or NC State to the SEC) have any shot at a title? I don't think so. I see no reason why either of the top 2 conferences would expand beyond 20 teams. Size goes to size and I am so happy that Puddles is landing in a B1Gger nest.

And in the Rose Bowl! WOW!

H Duck - great take. But I think it is more likely that Penix would have had 80 yards or less to go. Not 90. Keeping a punt inside the opponent's 20-yard line from your own 47-yard line is a big ask. And if it was the 20-yard line where UW started, you are 'gaining' but 33 yards instead of having a chance to ice the game. I'm down with going for it on 4th down but not down with the 3rd and 4th down play calls. Especially when seeing the catch Ferguson made down the middle to give UO the chance to take the game into overtime. The inexperience of 2 young coaches showed up in this game.

And yet, Michigan State is 1 of 3 B1G teams that made the Final 4, thanks to a Ducks loss in East Lansing (overthrow on a pass to Huff by a QB with a dinged finger, SIGH) and a Ducks win in Palo Alto. Then, Sparty said hello and goodbye to Saint Nick and Alabama. Stanford was a far better team than Sparty that season as was proved up in the Rose Bowl beatdown of Iowa. Stanford and Oregon did their utmost to keep one another out of the playoffs. J. Smith is making bank in Corvallis but the Mountain West vs. the B1G?

Those of us who live in No (Viewing) Country For Old Men, yet again say Thank You! I expect Cal and at ASU will be 10:30 Eastern KOs and that's just fine. Puddles has 1 game left to donate to Larry. It's a great way to start Sunday morning once I wake up. Recording? I'm a guy who watched CFB on black and white TV, 1 guy in the booth and no replays, thank you very much. We know the USC game will not kick off later than 7:30 Eastern, and on 11/24 the Beavers at Ducks should be a game the entire nation can watch, and if OR ST upsets UW in Corvallis, will watch coast to coast. Then, so long Larry! Puddles will be nesting where BTN has weekly coaching post-game and pre-game coverage. And. Puddles will be joining Scrooge McDuck in the B1G Bank come 2031.

Thanks, Jordan. I sure wish Somebody and not Oregon lost this terrific football game. And lost in the loss was Troy Franklin outplaying the UW receivers and a goal-line stand that could have been one for the ages.

B1G, some big-time Pac-12 help is on the way. "The lame kids who all just pretend to love horrific offenses and ugly games were all over Iowa at Wisconsin on Saturday." David Hale ESPN+ Iowa won 15 - 6. The player of the game for Iowa was the punter. 10 (!) punts for 506 yards. Iowa QB Deacon Hill was 6 for 14 for a robust 37 yards. Iowa is 5-1 which speaks to how crummy the B1G is top to bottom, and ranked for some reason #24. This Iowa team lost 31-0 at Penn State. Michigan State was up 24-6 heading into the 4th Q at home and lost to Rutgers. (J. Smith - Just Say "NO!") A Maryland team that put up a decent game against Ohio State lost to a putrid Illinois team. [And how about the B12? The 4 newbies are 1-9 with the win coming from Houston Friday night on a walk-off Hail Mary in Morgantown, W VA. With OK, and TX leaving town, the Utes should prosper in the JV Power 2. If, anyone cares?] Are all the B1G Regents happy? The B1G little 11 probably are not ecstatic to have 4 ranked West Coast teams joining the conference. But there are many happy campers at Fox, CBS, and NBC/Peacock. There is a big-time B1G game coming up this Saturday when 7. Penn State +4.5 heads to Columbus to play 3. Ohio State. Michigan continues its visit to the OOC/B1G bakery with a game at Michigan State.

PK's expletive deleted was a lot 'nicer' than what was heard in my Man Cave on Saturday. But I think, especially, with 2 CBs dinged up, that going for it on 4th down with a chance to seal a victory on the road was the right decision with bad play calls, IMO, on both 3rd and 4th down. Based on alignment both plays were easy for the UW D to diagnose and stop. The decision that still troubles me the most is not kicking the FG at the end of the 1st half with Oregon receiving the 2nd half kickoff and UW's field position being meaningless. One guy I cannot excuse is a veteran FG kicker who had 2 KOs go out-of-bounds and missed a very makeable field goal. Ducks may have lost but if so, it should have been a loss in OT. Very frustrating but half the season is left so next case.

Back-to-back very bad outings by Wazzu. The offense fizzled in the Rose Bowl and Arizona simply mugged the Cougars in Pullman. But There Is No Easy Day in this conference in 2023. Do not let UW beat you twice. This will be a motivated Pac-2 team coming into Autzen. Ducks, favored -20 is a healthy spread against a team that was ranked 2 weeks ago.

Hats off to the Pac-12. The conference is going out with a bang and not a whimper. The Road to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 conference champ game is loaded with land mines for all of the contenders. To date, 2 teams, Washington (SIGH) and USC are undefeated in conference play. (Teams ranked using AP Poll Rankings after Week 7.) The rankings will change down the road. As an example, 25 UCLA may not hang in the top 25. Only 1 ranked team, USC on the road left to play, but Arizona in Tucson will be a tough out for the O-challenged Bruins. What a break for the Bruins missing both OREGON and Washington. With many ranked vs. ranked games left, it will be tough for the Pac-12 conference to finish with 6 top-25 teams. This is what happens when you play a 9-game conference slate in a deep conference with parity. By comparison, with an 8-game conference schedule, 4. FSU and 10. North Carolina misses one another in the regular season. And the B1G is a 3-team conference in 2023. Iowa is ranked (with a rank offense) but Penn State defeated Iowa 31 - 0. 5. Washington - 6-0/3-0 ASU Stanford At 18. USC 14. Utah At 12. Oregon State Washington State - This game should be rotten apples for the boys from Pullman. 3 ranked teams - 2 on the road ..................................................................................................................................... 18. USC - 6-1/4-0 - A bad loss in South Bend but a non-conference loss. 14. Utah - Can the SC D hold up against the Utes run game and can the Trojans offense bounce back? At Cal 5. Washington - This could be a shootout. At 9. OREGON - The Ducks with a big edge on D in this game. 25. UCLA 4 ranked teams - 1 on the road ......................................................................................................................... PAC-12 Teams with 1 Conference Loss. 9. OREGON - 5-1/2-1 Washington State At 14. Utah - Tough, tough road game but Utah will be coming off of a trip to LA. And since joining the Pac-12, Utah has not fared well in LA. Cal 18. USC - The Ducks 'should' win this game. At - ASU 12. Oregon State - Do you think the Beavers will be fired up? 3 ranked teams - 1 on the road. Oregon is the last Pac-12 team, led by Justin Herbert, to win in Salt Lake City. ........................................................................................................................ 14. UTAH - 5-1/2-1 At 18. USC 9. OREGON ASU At 5. Washington Arizona - With home games vs. Utah and Oregon State, a good Arizona team has a chance to play spoiler. Colorado - Prime Time in name only. 3 ranked teams - 2 on the road. ......................................................................................................................... 12. Oregon State - 6-1/3-1 BYE At Arizona At CU Stanford 5. Washington At 9. Oregon 2 ranked teams - 1 on the road. ................................................................................................................................... USC has 4 ranked teams left on the schedule but only 1 game, at OREGON, is on the road. Utah and Washington have 3 ranked teams left with 2 on the road. OREGON - has 3 ranked teams left with 1 on the road. Oregon State has 2 ranked games left but as of today, both are against top-10 teams with 1 on the road at OREGON. ............................................................................................................................... Based on the post-Week 7 AP Poll, I have to give the toughest finish to Utah. Yes, USC plays 4 ranked teams but only has to leave LA once for a tough game in Eugene. A close second to Washington. UW defeated Oregon State by 3 points last season and if the Beavers had kicked 2 chip-shot field goals instead of going for 2 TDs on 4th down ...? Salt Lake City is a tough place to win a game. But OREGON with USC and Oregon State coming to Eugene has the Autzen advantage. It should be a whale of a finish. How did this conference become a fish out of water? SIGH. Gazing into the crystal ball, I see a rematch between OREGON and UW on December 1st in Las Vegas. The perfect result would be a Ducks win with both teams finishing 12-1 and 2 Pac-12 teams being in Final 4 consideration with a 12-1 champ a final Final 4 lock.

How about, take the points along with these 2 fans!

6 Pac-12 teams are ranked after Week 7 but WSU, after being embarrassed at home by Arizona, is not among the 6. But Oregon does have playdates scheduled with 12. Oregon State, 14. Utah, and 18. USC. And, if Puddles flies to Las Vegas for a game on the 1st of December, the Pac-12 champ game will be against a ranked foe. I'm hoping for another shot at UW. UW gets Utah at home but plays USC in LA and at Oregon State. Oregon State looked like the 3rd best team in the Pac last night and is a very tough team to beat in Corvallis. In 2022, OR ST lost by 3 in Seattle because J Smith went for TDs on 4th down instead of kicking 2 chip shot FGs. Hmmmmmm? Chip's 'Win the Day in LA Team' is ranked 25. It has been many moons since a ranked UCLA team has defeated another ranked team away from home including last night in Corvallis. Even without WSU being ranked, Saturday's game is on ABC at 3:30 Eastern. Thank goodness for those of us on the Right Coast. It won't be the ABC varsity broadcast team of Chris Fowler and Herbie, but it will be on a network people can watch. With this game on ABC, I expect the game vs. Cal will be a 10:30 Eastern kickoff on Larry's Lost Network. I expect Oregon at ASU to be a 10:30 Eastern kickoff on ESPN or FS1. I think it's great that Oregon will have the chance to bounce back into the win column on ABC. As PA Duck, The Keystone poster, posted under WSU/Oregon articles, Oregon is now -18.5. The WSU O the last 2 weeks at UCLA, and home vs. Arizona, has been ill and nil. (Did the USC O catch the same cold?) USC is but -3.5 at home vs. the Utes. Last Saturday vs. Cal, Utah was indeed the Runnin' Utes. Oregon State is -7.5 on the road in Tucson. AZ arguably should have won in LA and destroyed WSU in Pullman. Hmmmmmmm? Go Ducks. Take the 1st step On The Road to Las Vegas.

Thanks, Steven. We needed this! Darken the day? It turns out that Comcast will be withholding over $70M overpaid to the Pac-12. And Larry Scott has not been cross-claimed against in the Wrongful Termination suit brought by 2 fired Pac-12 network execs.?

Week 7 AP Poll - I am pleasantly surprised that Oregon dropped only one spot. This shows respect for Oregon and this season's Pac-12. Pac-12 - 6/ ACC - 4/ B1G - 4 ('new B1G' - 8), B 12 - 2 and both are leaving town, and the SEC - 6 ('new SEC" - 8.) The B1G and the SEC with 16 of 25 teams putatively ranked in 2024 cement a world with a CFB Power 2. 2024 Playoff accounting for realignment, 5 champs + 7 at-large teams. 1. Georgia - SEC vs. 9. Texas at 8. Penn State 2. Michigan - B1G vs. 10. OREGON at 7. Oklahoma 3. FSU - ACC vs. 11. UNC at 6. Washington 4. Oregon State - MW vs. 12. Utah B12 at 5. Ohio State (Not joining the MW and staying with a Pac-2 could screw up the Beavers PO chances.) 5 B1G/ 3 SEC/ 2 ACC/ 1 B12/ 1 MW

GO DUCKS 15 - Kenny Rogers? I prefer the Beach Boys - Be True to Your School. Can't win a game if you don't tee it up. UW won yesterday by the 3-point home-field advantage.

Week 7 SP+ Rankings - 1. Michigan 2. Ohio State 3. Georgia 4. Washington 5. Texas 6. OREGON 7. Oklahoma 8. Penn State 9. Alabama. 10. Notre Dame SP+ Week 7 Rankings Based on Success Against Schedule 1. Penn State 2. Oklahoma 3. Michigan 4. Ohio State 5. Washington 6. Florida State 7. Georgia 8. UNC 9. OREGON 10. Texas SP+ Week 7 Ranking of Teams Oregon has Defeated to Date - Portland State - NR Hawaii - 109 Texas Tech - 33 Colorado - 78 Stanford - 100 (Does this include Stanford's 2nd half in Boulder?) SP+ Week 7 Rankings of Future Ducks Opponents - Washington State -34 - I am happy that Oregon is playing ASU and not Arizona. AZ 44/ Wazzu 6. 516 yards of O for AZ. 234 yards of O for Wazzu. A wounded Cougar is on its way to Autzen. Utah - 24 Cal - 73 ASU - 90 USC - 14 (?) - No offense, but didn't you once have an offense? Train Wreck in South Bend for the D (no surprise,) Special Teams, and the offense. 3 Caleb Williams interceptions equal so long Heisman. Oregon State - 19 - The Beavers looked great last night against UCLA. Moore will likely be a great CFB QB but as of now, is not ready for the big time. A whole lot of meat is left on this bone.

I see no bad news in getting a rematch against UW at a neutral site.