Jon Joseph

But rumor has it that Mom was a track star at Oregon?

Grey beard alert! Perfect example = Jim Plunkett. Drafted by the woeful Pats but when he finally escaped he won Super Bowls.

DazeNfused. Great take but I think you are overlooking a key fact: Nix will be playing against Pac-12 and not SEC Ds. If the OL guys Mario recruited can play up to or near their recruiting rankings in this system, I think Nix and his receivers, including TEs and RBs have a chance to light up the majority of Ds they will see in the Pac-12. This includes a Utah pass D that was lost in space versus Ohio State. BTW, I'd rather run fewer than 80 plays as the result of 'sudden strike' scores. I see '80 plays' as being far more euphemistic than literal.

I appreciate your take and thoughts. I entirely disagree about Mario winning the ACC 'soon' or ever. Mario is 62-60, His Rose Bowl win was by 1 point playing with the NFL rookie of the year at QB against a 3L team. His team won a COVID title and was then flat out embarrassed by Iowa State. He was badly out-coached by Coach Campbell who was playing with an inferior roster. The 'culture' he produced in the Ducks locker room was a culture of playing down to the opponent. The culture he created was killing the Oregon brand. As evidenced by player's comments in 2022, football is 'fun' again. Not the drudgery it was under Mario. The fact he stuck around to say so long? Sorry to be cynical but perhaps this was at least in part an effort to have some of 'his guys' move to Miami with him? I could not be happier to see this guy MIA.

Is that the A or the B gap?

MY THOUGHTS: 4. Notre Dame - At Ohio State out of the box and home versus Clemson in November, but other than that? Maybe USC? For an independent a loss in Columbus will be very difficult to overcome and I think the Irish lose in Columbus. 5. Utah - This team usually improves as the season progresses. Will it be ready to play at Wilner's No. 8 Florida in game 1? If not., Utah will have to then go 12-0 to make the final 4. 6. A+M - Prove It. All new DL and a new starting QB. 7. Oklahoma - Dillon Gabriel is coming off injury and is not Caleb Williams. OK does get both Baylor and OK ST at home but I think one of these 2 and not OK will win the B12. 8. Florida - I'm not sure Florida isn't the 3rd or 4th best team in its division? 10. Clemson - 3Ls last season. Played great D all season long including vs Georgia. With improved QB play and playing in the ACC, this is a final 4 team. 11. Cincinnati - 3rd highest number of guys drafted with 9 players moving on to the NFL. I don't see a instant reload that would make Cincy Wilner's NY6 G5 representative. 13. USC - I agree with Charles, I do not like the Trojans ranked ahead of the Ducks but a doable 9-3 record could land Troy at 13 or higher. 18. BYU - What a schedule in 2022. At Oregon, Notre Dame in Las Vegas and vs Arkansas. But this is a veteran team that could finish better than 18. In 2022 BYU returns 88% of its production on O and lots of 'grey beards' on the OL and DL. 20. Oregon - too low IMO and I echo Charles take in regards to being ranked behind USC. But the schedule is daunting. 'At' No. 3, versus No. 18, versus No. 5 plus 5 conference road games. Whew ! 24. NC State - This is by far the lowest I have seen the Wolfpack ranked. Wilner does have the 'mandatory' 7 SEC teams preseason ranked.

Alabama, OSU top our early top-25 college football rankings for 2022 WWW.MERCURYNEWS.COM Three Pac-12 teams made the cut (Utah, USC and Oregon), while two more received serious consideration. No one covers the Pac-12 more in depth than does Jon Wilner.

Man, pretty broad statement here my friend. The majority of scholarship sports sponsored by Oregon lose money for the school. The Starbucks CEO is governed by myriad federal and local rules regarding minimum wage, satisfactory and healthy working conditions, the requirement to contribute to FICA and FUTA, etc. Is it wrong for the big business of CFB to seek some uniform guidelines as to how, under federal and not myriad state laws, their business should be operated in accordance with law? With all due respect, I see no nexus between Starbuck employees and guys and gals receiving a full or partial scholarship to attend school and receive an education. Except, that some Starbuck employees make big bank and others make minimum wage. Just like student-athletes in sports that do not bring in revenues as do CFB and CBB and receive partial scholarships. Sankey and GK are not in DC with a goal of punishing student athletes or unreasonably restricting their "right's," they are there to foment operational guidelines that are fair to the athletes and to the universities. Why? Because the NCAA has completely failed in this regard. I do not believe that either man has a beef with student-athletes capitalizing or her or his athletic achievement. Rather, I believe the concern is that people paying high school kids to attend their school will further alter the competitive nature of CFB? BTW, in addition to the rules and regulations noted above, Starbucks is also governed by anti-trust legislation. Respect your opinion. But I do not believe that CFB that has been in existence for over 100 years, has ever looked at the Players as indentured servants?

Makes sense for ALL involved. The plaintiff in this case had far from everything going for him.

Great points. But whereas the Alston decision has handcuffed the NCAA regarding 'pay for play' it has not erased the NCAA's ability to establish eligibility standards. Having to be in the portal before May 1, extended for paper-work purposes, in order to be eligible in 2022 is IMO, a perfectly reasonable restriction that I believe is sustainable in a court of law. Players may enter the portal whenever they so desire but putting a time limit on when such a player will be eligible for the next season is IMO, completely reasonable. Otherwise, why not poach guys in season who are having good seasons on lesser teams. Poach guys who are balling out on a losing team? You have a stud LB who goes down to injury? Then go the lesser teams in the P5 or after players in the G5 and the FCS for immediately eligible in-season replacements. Of course, via contract and negotiation with the players' union, the NFL has myriad restrictions on transfers. And while rigidly reviewed by courts of law, certain non-compete clauses in 'regular' business are sustainable as are a departing employee taking 'trade secrets' and a firm's existing client along with him/her. In the NFL if a player could decide to be a free agent at any time this would lead to competitive chaos and destroy the NFL's desire to maintain parity.

THIS is logical and I believe can be sustained in the face of litigation contesting any such new rule. This involves eligibility and not payment to the athletes. Also, IMO, CFB should get rid of the early signing date that has coaches recruiting 24/7 through early bowl practices. And simply hoses over a school like Stanford. Another idea that has been suggested that I would like to see adopted. Keep the scholarship limit at 85 but do not have any limit (today it is 25) on an incoming class. With all the transfer activity and the 25 newbie restriction, many schools are far short of scholarship players.

Recall that Caleb Williams took his time when Caleb to SC early on was a done deal. As I recall, a number of 'experts' believed that Caleb might sign at Pitt? With spring ball over why close the auction too early?

So did Gene Chizek, no?

I think this reasonable take other than for Dye going to SC and possibly, losing a good punter?

I get the feeling: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Ah, our good buddy McShade. Like the CBS too early 2023 draft take, Todd has Sewell going to the Pats at 16. Unlike CBS, he actually has two (2 !!!!) Pac-12 players going in the 1st round.

But he makes far less than Mario. One wonders how Dan and his family can survive? KIDDING! Thanks. Great post. But is this permanent or temporary housing for DL?

And lost a lot of players. Including Dye who was not a national award winner but was one of the better RBs in the conference. It's Dye's life but he evidenced ZERO loyalty to Oregon.

Great to see Sankey and GK on the same page! IMO, GK's decision not to expand the playoff without knowing the financial terms and conditions as the result of expansion had to resonate with Sankey; a guy who was publicly disappointed with the nay votes of the Pac-12, ACC and B1G. Sankey is a business person first and foremost. He like GK is well aware that the NCAA cannot control 'the issues of the day' and a uniform federal law is the only way in which to rein in conflicting state laws. I see this as very good news for CFB and for the Pac-12 going forward,

Breaking down Jordan Addison's decision to enter the portal and how it could reshape college football WWW.ESPN.COM What does Jordan Addison's seismic move to the transfer portal say about college football in 2022? The Addison decision to transfer has been roundly discussed on the Forum. This article includes a brief opinion of George Kliavkoff on the Addison situation. Basically, GK believes that if the NCAA can't regulate the improper use of NIL and the transfer portal, than a smaller group will have to do so. This follows GK's line of thinking when it comes to the playoff. Does the playoff really need an 11 person committee? Pitt is the defending ACC Champion. Pitt nurtured Addison to the point where the young man won the 2021 Biletnikoff Award. Yet, Addison is in the portal. He is there to make money playing football in 2022 and to find a place to play that, with his Pitt QB Pickett drafted by the Steelers, improve his chances of being among the top draft picks in 2023. A resolution to all of these issues will come in one form or another. But GK for one is not optimistic that any relief will be coming from the NCAA. Personally, I think Addison in the portal says one heck of a lot about the administration of the game and the loyalty of players and head coaches. However, Addison leaving Pitt significantly hurts Pitt, but I don't believe his transfer is likely to decide the teams that make this season's final 4.

Bill Connelly is one of the best and the brightest when it comes to analyzing CFB stats. His SP+ is usually far better at predicting game results than is ESPN's FPI. The human being doing the ESPN preseason rankings, Mark Schlabach, projects Oregon in the top 20. Sorry to say that Connelly's SP+ preseason 2022 rankings have the Ducks at 32. Puddles will just have to prove this the SP+ ranking is simply wrong.

Another gem Joshua, thank you.

THIS is why the SEC leads CFB in recruiting and sending players to the NFL.

No comprende? Except for last season he won all the B12 titles when HC at OK and took OK to 3 PO games. % wise he left OK with better W/L record than Bob Stoops. Strange circumstances indeed but 'his team' did pound Oregon in the Alamo Bowl. He has 'been there' as an HC far more than has Dan Lanning.