Jon Joseph

I like Wilner's overall coverage of the Pac-12. but I cannot possibly disagree more regarding this take and also Wilner's support of the Pac-12 not expanding. (I have expressed my POV on these 2 key issues directly to Jon and have 'discussed' these points, via email, with Jon.) Losing @ $15 to $20M in additional post-expansion playoff dollars in 2023, 2024 and 2025 makes sense? UCLA's athletic department is $60M in the red! How does not expanding the playoff before 2026 make any sense at all for the Pac-12? The B1G is not going to drop to 8 regular season games to help with OOC scheduling. The ACC? How will a game every season vs an ACC team drop dough to the Pac-12's bottom line? In 2021, ACC football drew the fewest eyeballs of any Pac-5 conference. I get GK balking at expansion beyond 2025 without knowing all of the financial details; this makes perfect business sense. But go to a 12 team field and table post-2025 revenue distribution? Table it to a time when a unanimous vote is not required to make any playoff changes. As GK has expressed, the Rose Bowl issue is a 'minor item' that could have been resolved. The ACC cratered expansion because it is stuck with a crummy media deal through 2036, if Notre Dame doesn't join the ACC as a full time football member. With a 12 team playoff there is no reason for ND to join any conference. No P5 conference needs an expanded playoff field more than the Pac-12. IMO, this is another instance where GK says 1 thing in public and then the conference goes in the other direction. Who are the people running the conference today? I thought Oregon president Schill moving up to a key conference management position would result in a change in the conference's direction? I haven't seen it. And what has GK actually accomplished or changed since he took over from Scott? CFB? You can't stand still and not go backward.

Great observation. I see the BYU game as a big time swing game for the entire 2022 season. Lose at home vs the BYU Cougars and drop to 1-2, will the attitude be there to ball out the rest of the season? The week after the BYU game the Ducks have to trip to Washington State. WAZZU, with transfer Cam Ward at QB and Ward's Immaculate Word U head coach as OC is going to put up a lot of points. Ward threw for close to 5000 yards last season. 2 Ducks CBs have transferred out. What will Oregon's pass D look like in 2022? Interesting, 2 back to back games vs Cougars; IMO, both will be important games in 2022.

Great take. Take a 9-0 L vs the Supremes? That is some kind of stare decisis.

Thanks for the take. BTW, when I tee off later today in theory I will have a chance to break the course record. RIGHT? This is directed at ESPN and most certainly not you Tandaian, but this is the kind of 'stuff' that proves up CFB having the longest off-season of any big time sport. How about Miami for the Final 4 and Mario for COY? OOOPS! The U has to play at Clemson and OOC, at A+M.

Holy Toledo. I was born in Toledo, in the same hospital where Urban Meyer and Jim Harbough were born. I arrived quite a bit sooner than these two gentlemen. One of the great sports names, the AAA ball Toledo Mud Hens. Mom was a Toledo University Rocket-Woman before earning a Masters Degree in Social Work from Ohio State. She watched the Rockets play in the Glass Bowl. Nick Saban's initial head coaching gig was at Toledo. However, Nick played at Kent State, along with Steelers LB Jack Lambright and another future CFB coach, Gary Pinkle. The team coached by Don James. In his football journey. Nick served as an assistant coach for James at Kent State and then at (BOO!) UW. Lou Holtz also played his CFB ball at Kent State. That Shlabotnik makes one mean Polish sausage. The secret? Tabasco sauce and fried rutabaga. I've been told that the Fighting Harriet's get a lot of clipping penalties?

And I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! I've seen the Icky Shuffle but never before have I seen the Duck Shuffle.

May the best man win but no one in the QB room has anywhere close to the experience Nix brings from starting for 3 years in the best conference in CFB. If he wins the job this will be Nix 4th start versus Georgia.

Thanks for the post. Players in the portal have until May 1 to sign with a new team and be eligible in 2022. Hopefully, Lanning and his staff can do some positive portal picking between now and May 1? Hate to see guys leave but it does open up a scholarship for a player transferring in. There are lots of good players still available in the portal.

AMEN. I simply love the enthusiasm shown by Duck 1972 and others. Of course there is a chance that the Ducks can win this game; especially, if Nix' ankle is 100%. This will be Nix' 4th and not 1st rodeo, versus Georgia. In its first game as defending champ I expect UGA and its fans to be super-geeked. But that does not mean that Georgia could well underestimate Oregon? If Oregon can play its best ball and Stetson plays like he did in the SEC champ game vs Bama and not like he played vs Bama in the playoff title game? Who knows? Clearly in that SEC champ game the Dawgs underestimated Bama. 1 thing Oregon does have going for it, UGA has a bad record playing in Mercedes Benz stadium. Georgia did beat Cincinnati in a close Peach Bowl game but has lost every SEC champ game it has played in Atlanta. Of course, when you are playing Alabama? Nothing could be better for the Pac-12 than if the Ducks could come through with a huge upset win and on the same day Utah takes down the Gators in The Swamp.

Thanks Annie. I think Phil's top 4 will in some order, be the top 4 in almost every preseason poll. UGA is not on Clemson's schedule as it was in 2021, so I do think the Tigers after going 10-3 last season will have a very good shot at returning to the final 4. I don't get the love for A+M and the love for Notre Dame? Notre Dame opens the season with a game at Ohio State. ND's starting QB in 2021 is out of eligibility. The ND defense blew a 21 point lead vs OK ST in the Fiesta Bowl. A+M has never lost fewer than 4 games under Jimbo. Like ND, A+M will have a new starter at QB. A+M reminds me of USC in the early years of the Trojans decline. Overrated based on recruiting that does not translate to the field of play. Oklahoma at 9? With a new starter at QB and a defense-oriented new head coach? I think both Baylor and OK ST, 2 teams that defeated OK last season, are being way underrated. Both Baylor and OK ST return their starting QBs. Derek Mason is a very good replacement for the Cowboys DC who moved on to Ohio State. Ducks at 10? is this Phil Steele or Phil Knight's take? Kidding. One good thing about playing a highly ranked Georgia team, if the Ducks take the L and the game is competitive it should not drop Oregon too far down in the polls. On the other hand, with Florida not likely to be too highly ranked a Utah loss in The Swamp on 9/3, would really hurt the Utes. Phil Steele? One of his 'surprise' teams in 2021 was UW. Phil thought UW would be surprisingly good, not surprisingly bad. I do think that LSU under Kelly, will be a very good team with a good chance at finishing in the top10? GO DUCKS! Rock the SEC and shock the CFB world on 9/3/22!

BUMMER! Thanks for the post Kurt, and thoughts and prayers for Don.

Now I see the light! Wilcox was once a filthy Oregon Duck who was 'cleansed' in Seattle. And having been 'Seattle-Saved,' he will no longer have anything to do with the Devil that is Nike U. Right? Thank you Charles. Are the folks who post on the Husky board(s) trying to get a laugh or merely delusional? BTW Husky fans, Billy Joe says 'Hello.'

Thank You Coach for the great article. And thank you Charles for the very helpful 'inserts' that help Coach's article come to life. Coach, what do you expect we will see this spring? The whole O enchilada on display; or, keeping a lot of the O 'under wraps' before the match-up with UGA?

Michigan is a Blue Blood. Michigan last season defeated Ohio State, won the B1G going away in the B1G champ game. And the Wolverines was destroyed by Georgia in the playoff semi-final. Can a perfect storm happen inside a domed arena? LOVE the optimism. But?

If, more likely when, the Playoff goes to a 12 team field, something will have to be done to shorten the time of today's game. Us greybeards can remember the day, not so long ago, when the clock did not stop on 1st downs. And why not do what golf does and run an advertisement simultaneous with extra point tries? College football games across the board, except for certain B1G schools, continue to decline in game attendance. NFL games for the most part fit into the allotted broadcast windows. CFB? Rarely do games end within the allotted broadcast time. And what was wrong with regular season games ending in a tie? Tie games were the norm for decades before OT play for every game showed up. Start the clock running when the ball is kicked and not when touched or free-catch called, or when the ball goes out of bounds or through the end zone. Also, start the clock when the ball is ready for play after an incompletion and not when the ball is snapped. All of the above have been proposed. If adopted, it would result in the regular season # of plays with contact involved declining from 12 to close to 11 games of play. Duck 1972, my friend, the ACC balked because without Notre Dame as a conference member the ACC is saddled with $17M per team. per annum, from ESPN through 2036. The ACC commissioner will demur but this is the reason behind our Alliance 'buddy' saying 'NO' to playoff expansion. BTW, in 2022, the Pac-12 has no regular season games scheduled against the ACC.

I hope Lanning delivers a DUCKS WIN! habit? If so, I'll have many the coke. Bourbon with will be my choice of dope. Go cocaine in South Carolina? You have no get-out-of-jail-free-card hope. However, in South Cackalaky, you are still allowed to marry your 1st cousin, and that's no joke.

For many years I have tapped into The Saturdays Down South site; a site that covers SEC sports. I recently discovered the Saturdays Out West site, free of charge, that does a very good job of covering Pac-12 sports. Enjoy.

This would be terrific for the conference. But at the end of the 2022 draft, the SEC will again, and by a large margin, have the most guys drafted. The recruiting rankings do tend to follow suit when it comes to the draft. And, how many 'big boys' will the Pac-12 have drafted? Lots of good skill players in the Pac-12 but not much 'beef.'

Great take David, thank you. As you so correctly note, 80 plays a game on O is a terrific goal but one that will be hard to reach against any decent opponent. Let's just hope that the 'walk' will equate to the 'talk' and the Ducks will run a potent and not a prevent offense.

Good comment, thanks. Day knew he had to do something with the Buckeyes D that did not play well in 2020, and this continued into 2021. He is bringing in Campbell who was the DC of an excellent D (sounds crazy, I know) at Oklahoma State. The cowboys finished No. 7 in the country last season and made a great comeback to defeat higher ranked Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Campbell is bringing along lots of 'his guys.' Big turnover of Buckeyes D assistant coaches. In other words Day, who certainly can coach up an offense is making the moves on the D side of the ball you would expect a quality coach to make. Ohio State, down many the quality starting player, outscored a game Utah team in the Rose Bowl; a Utes team that embarrassed the Ducks twice in 3 weeks. Day has recruited to the standard of Urban Meyer. I think Ohio State's L in Ann Arbor last season was an outlier. I expect Day and the Buckeyes to return to the final 4 in 2022. (The hire of Campbell led to the hire of old friend Derek Mason as the OK ST new DC. A job Derek took for less money than he was being paid at Auburn.) As for UGA losing a lot of guys who made the team go in 2021, this is partially correct. But lots of excellent players return and the back ups for the guys who departed are all big time recruits. All part of top 3 or better, recruiting classes. Lanning is a loss no doubt but Lanning was running Kirby Smart's D, a D Kirby brought with him from Alabama. The same system will be in place for the Georgia D as has been played since Kirby returned to coach his alma mater. Most importantly for UGA in its opening game in 2022, the QB who won a Natty, Stetson, is back. Stroud was starting his 2nd game for Ohio State and still lit up, yardage-wise, the Ducks D. There will be no learning curve for the UGA QB and the UGA O. Meanwhile, Oregon will have a new starter at QB playing for a new OC. And unlike last season when Oregon had a game under its belt before playing in Columbus, this will not be the case this season in Atlanta. So possible? Yes. 'A bit unlikely?' I love the enthusiasm but I think it is highly unlikely the Ducks can pull off the win in Atlanta and for what it's worth, the oddsmakers agree with me. If the Ducks can take this game into the 4th quarter I will be most happy. I reiterate, UGA home and home, a chance to play Georgia in Autzen, I'm all in. But a one off game in Atlanta for the money? I do not believe Oregon should be scheduling like this. Many the Pac-12 schools outside of LA have upcoming H+H series with SEC teams, including Utah which plays at Florida on 9/3/22 and has a return game vs the Gators in SLC in 2023. I also note that Georgia once upon a time canceled a H+H with Oregon. Ohio State was scheduled as a home and home series. This game has not been on the schedule for years. Mullens agreed to play this game 3 seasons back. I think the Oregon football program has acquired the bona fides not to have to play one-off games vs SEC teams in SEC territory. Leave these kind of games to The Citadel. Again David, I hope your enthusiasm and that of others on the board is warranted. I am not throwing in the towel prior to kickoff but to win this game would be a big time upset against a team significantly better than the team Oregon defeated in Columbus last season.

Great take. BTW, Georgia canceled a H+H with Oregon. The only reason to play a one-off in Georgia is so Rob can grab the money. H+H with the Dawgs? Bring it on. But a one-off in Atlanta? I don't see it; especially, when WAZZU has a H+H with Wisconsin and Utah has a H+H with Florida. And tripping to MW schools? How often do B1G teams trip to MAC opponents and SEC teams to Sun Belt opponents?

He came from E Carolina but chose to transfer to WAZZU over Bama. Great move, he would not have started at Bama.

Why? I prefer why not, but this is a 'home' game for Georgia. Being played in a stadium where UGA has played many games; 72 miles from the campus in Athens. And many the UGA grad lives in Atlanta compared to the number of Oregon grads. UGA has played many the game in front of the 'unruly' SEC crowd that will be in Mercedes Benz Stadium. Very few guys on the Ducks team will have played in this kind of atmosphere and in front of this kind of SEC crowd. The crowd will be geeked to watch the defending champions in its opening game. Lanning left but Kirby Smart stayed. Lanning was running Kirby's D. Before Kirby returned to coach at his alma mater he was a terrific DC for Saban at Alabama. Most of Georgia's excellent coaching staff returns. This is Lanning's 1st game as a HC and under him are a whole bunch of new assistant coaches. This group has zero game experience coaching together. UGA returns a starting QB who just won the Natty over Alabama. Nix has beaten Bama but is 0-3 vs the Dawgs. The Dawgs roster will be far more highly rated than will be Oregon's roster. And while UGA has lost a lot of 'beef' to the NFL, there is still a lot of 4 star and 5 star big boys on Georgia's roster. Guys on D who will want to show their former DC that he never should have headed west. And Georgia's incoming group of recruits significantly trumps the Oregon incoming group. What player on Oregon's D will be able to match up with TE Bowers? Likely the best TE in CFB. And while not slow, can Oregon match Georgia's team speed. Oregon has a very good group of LBs but will they be good enough to cover both Bowers and seasoned RBs coming out of the backfield? And Dye, sigh, is a big loss on the O. Not only at RB but as an excellent receiver out of the backfield. While Oregon will have weapons on O, many of these guys have not been in combat of this nature. This is not Oregon versus Auburn under Malzahn with Nix as a new starting QB for the Tigers. That was the 5th best team in the SEC the year Nix brought Auburn back for the win in Dallas. Aided and abetted by horrendous sit on a lead coaching by Mario. Of course, there is the chance for a win. But I for one will be very pleased if Oregon can hang in and cover the spread. If Oregon can take the game into the 4th quarter. Michigan in 2021 was not a bad football team. Georgia smothered that Wolverines team in the playoff semi. Both Oregon and Michigan caught Ohio State in year when the Buckeyes D was historically, at least since the inception of the playoff, bad. This UGA D will be far superior to the D Oregon played against in Columbus in 2021. Oregon's best hope. No matter what Kirby tells them, will the UGA players think that it will be a walk-over against a Pac-12 team that was eviscerated in 3 of its last 4 games? No team in the country has a harder opening game than do the Ducks in 2022. No loss in CFB is a 'good loss.' But if the Ducks come out of this game losing by 10 points or less and I for one, will see this a 'victory.'

Ward threw for close to 5000 yards last season and won the FCS 'Heisman' award. He could be Minshew on steroids?

Great take. In CFB, Georgia with a 3* recruit winning a title being an outlier, you best have a QB with NFL potential. Brady? It took forever for Tom to start at Michigan and win his final game versus Bama. Today? Would Tom have hung in at Michigan or transfer portaled out? Jordan? As has been said many times before, only Dean Smith could hold Jordan down.