Haywarduck

As far as your question, we will never know, but Dante may have lost a game or more, won them all, and maybe have led us to a national title. I would agree he probably wouldn't do as well if he was on the bench for a year, watching and building relationships. He is further along with that process now, so he may be ready, we will see. The largest part of the equation is the whole team, and as many have argued the most important part of that is the culture. I would argue a large part of culture is the guys already on the team. They know what Lanning expects, and how he does things. This is what we were missing early in the season, and fortunately it grew as the season went along. My bet is if we have more starters who have been with the program, especially at qb, we don't see that learning curve. That would give the transfer on the bench or the recruit an advantage. This is another reason the Oregon recruit will undoubtedly lead the way in the future!

One should state 'always', with great caution. You asked who has done better than Oregon in the portal and the answer was the dawgs. I don't like that answer, but they beat us repeatedly with their portal qb. They then went on to the title game and we didn't. For the whole season Georgia and Michigan won the National titles most recently with high school recruited qb's they had move up the roster as recruits, not portal guys. Georgia's qb was a local kid walk-on, the Michigan guy an elite recruit who the program stuck with. So while we should be happy with our portal guys, we shouldn't be blind to just how successful we were, nor naïve to how other programs have won what we are trying to win. We won't always do anything, and we shouldn't look at the portal like many did with the internet. The internet will destroy all businesses and it is time to shut all brick and mortar businesses. The internet has become a nice part of our economy, but we still need and use the local businesses that provide exactly what we need sometimes. I say recruiting qb's is much like this, we will still find what we need, sometimes sitting on our bench close to home. For now we can agree to disagree, and watch as the future plays out.

I will add Dilly came in with a weak qb room and knew Nix. Without a strong qb you have to go after a transfer. Dilly did the same thing at ASU. Stein came in with Nix and recruited Novosad, Moore and Moga. All of these guys were either not ready, or not here yet. The question going forward is do we have an OC who can pick and develop qb's again? I think you either have an OC who can pick and develop qb's or you don't. If we don't then the portal will continue to be the direction we go. I tend to think we have picked some pretty capable guys, and they will be able to take over after two years of grooming. The problem will be if we have two guys ready, one will transfer, not a bad problem. We may even have an NFL type qb transfer, no problem, as long as we play an elite qb too. I see going forward we have guys internally being brought up and occasionally a guy coming in from the outside wanting to take a chance on beating out the guys working their way up. I actually think it is going to get harder for the transfers to win the job, they may still come. Why not with the success Nix and DG had? I just don't think the question of always transferring in a qb is valid coming out of the Mariø era. He didn't pick them, didn't develop them, actually destroyed them, and the qb dynamic at Oregon was dysfunctional, at best. I see the QB room at Oregon back where it use to be, if not better, Moga might even be our guy! I look forward to seeing how it plays out, but I just don't think transfers are the longterm answer, at least not in a healthy program, IMHO.

I would say the key discussion was about the backup qb's and having somebody ready to take over midseason. One of the reasons we lost to tosu in the past was they had a guy ready to take over. The BIG blue blood programs also have had guys on the bench who probably could have led the team better if they had stuck with them, or realized what they had. This may have been to their detriment. If Joe Burrows, or Tom Brady were on the bench would we, should we look to pick up a portal guy, just because we have had success with it recently. I think we need to develop and allow guys to play if they come to Oregon. I think we can embrace the future while respecting our past as a place that creates great qb's, even if there is a little rough going. It is almost like we are becoming a program that hires proven coaches instead of realizing we develop and hire guys with passion, talent, and the spark needed to win. That works, but we have to remember our roots and the fact that a stable, strong program is built from the bottom up. We have proven we can take a transfer qb and make him better than he was, that is great. We can't lose the reputation we are also a program that can pick guys, develop guys and give them chances. I think the only way we stay elite is if we are a program of meritocracy from within. That can include bringing in transfers, but we can't forget we can pick them, develop them and make a qb Heisman caliber. I trust the coaches see the talent better than we do. I also believe maybe some of those 4th downs don't happen if another qb is behind the center, with plays only that new qb can make. It would create a completely different dynamic, one that can be just as successful in bringing in transfers throughout the positions, making plays, and maybe even winning it all. You raise some great points and make a strong argument for the future. I just think we need to respect our past, while embracing the future in order to win it the Oregon way!

I get it but if Oregon wins the conference outright, there is no reason for Oregon to play another game. The next two teams should play to try to win the chance to get in to the playoff. If the goal is to get into the playoffs, then conference championship games are irrelevant, unless needed. Really just a play in game. We need a whole new system for this larger playoff format to work based on a meritocracy, which is the only way it should work. I also think the playoffs are going to generate all the money needed to justify any changes. The real change is waking up and realizing this is a whole different ball game when you have a large format playoff. You need to make big changes. The Pac-12 is dead, this is only going to work if the SEC and the BIG die too! Time for a true system based on merit not made up conferences from long ago going forward. The real risk is the playoffs become a joke. OK I said it, that the beginning of what needs to happen, and I think what we will see soon enough. We are in the second inning of this new format.

Small Change, Reduce the season to 11 games and expand the playoffs. Let the lower ranked teams play in bowl games. Playoff system is all played on neutral sites, no one has an advantage. Only one game against an FCS team or you're not eligible for the playoffs. Everyone plays the same number of conference games. Big Change, I would actually put the whole college football conference system into leveled system. If you finish the system in the top 20 you earn more $, and then play against that level the next season. If you finish out of the top 15 you drop into the next level. Those who finish at the top of the next level move up.

As Steven A said, and then there was Bo. Bo was a decathlete in high school and college, scored over 8,000 points. Played baseball in high school, was drafted out of high school. In football it was said he could punt the ball 80 yds, but what he did on the football field was legendary. He had legit 4.1 speed, and power to run over, jump over or cut around you, but would mostly run through or by you. History shows he was an all-star in professional Baseball and Football. Nobody was better than Bo, nobody as far as an overall athlete. In track and field he almost high jumped 7', long jumped 25' could throw and sprint like a Olympic Gold Medal winner. If Travis Hunter was the last guy between the goal and Bo it would be no contest. Travis seems like a nice young man, but he is a long way from measuring up to many past Heisman winners.

I want to play Colorado after last nights little show. Loved how Gabriel showed his dislike for the buffs little jab at his stats with daddy deon and son whining about Gabriel being there. Not sure if others sensed DG's dislike, but it was palpable from where I was viewing it. If we played the buffs in the Rose Bowl there wouldn't be enough stretchers to help the players off the field! I would love to see the volunteers, and us march through the sec like we already did with the BIG. If we want to end this season in an epic way we need to do to the SEC what we already did to the BIG.

Fantastic analysis and gives me more depth of understanding as I watch the matchup between these two teams. I do think it will be an advantage to have the week off before we play them, especially if they are banged up at all. Both teams will be fighting to win like there is no tomorrow, I can imagine by the 4th quarter either team will be at a disadvantage physically in their next matchup against the Ducks. There is a reason the SEC plays a pansy late in the season and this season playoff format will be a new twist. Teams will have to both be prepared, recovered and in some games have the depth to play very tough games consecutively. One good indicator about Day playing a revenge game is the 0-4 record against Michigan. Most recently at home, the nuts seem to crack in revenge games.

Boom, enough said! If we are just looking at stats, Jordan Burch had 8.5 sacks, and averaged 36 yds per carry, neither Jeanty or Hunter can match those.

What should voters look at, stats or wins, leadership or showmanship? I think you have to have weight competitive stats, wins and leadership. Too bad showmanship seems to be coming into play, while the other three, especially real wins in the heat of battle and leadership fade. Deion seems to be trying to lead the way in weighting the showmanship and hollow stats brigade. We should be valuing those who can truly lead, and show our youth what made this country great with this most hallowed award. I am glad Gabriel was invited, and I truly respect those who see the value he has as a leader of our team. When you look at the traits of diligence, hard work and perseverance this awards states it values, no one better exemplifies those traits like Dillon Gabriel does. The stated attributes this award stands for are many. While excellence is one of them, how you evaluate that should be along with the other characteristics. If that was truly done, I think Gabriels qualities would rise to the top, as they probably will in the coming games. Thank you Dillon Gabriel, our Heisman winner, at least!

So I went with AI and it said the conference gets the money and it is distributed equally to all schools. Googles info is limited and doesn't portray the whole story. I am not sure what the whole story is but this is what AI ended with. 'The primary benefit for the winning team is indirect: increased national prestige, recruiting advantages, higher ticket sales, and increased donations from alumni and boosters.' This is basically the same thing the NFL does with the team money, but the players make more from each game they play. The teams share the playoff, Super Bowl money league wide. I imagine the players might also have a stronger NIL draw so more money too?

Never finished out of the top ten at the end of the season, and won't again. He might finish the season without a job, makes complete sense. It does show just how intense the job of head coach at the top level is. We got rid of Helfich after starting out in the top ten the first two seasons, but the writing was on the wall. With Day he is again a top program, but the fanbase is nuts!

From what I read a school that reaches the championship game would accrue upwards of $20 million. The rules on where this money goes are fuzzy at best. Every conference has differing rules, but it has to be a nice little reward to the winning programs. In the NFL the player get over $150,000 for winning the Super Bowl. Do the players have NIL agreements where they get some of the $20 million? Each school also gets $300,000 for expenses for the games. Must be some perks for the players, right? I suppose we are headed into uncharted waters, but does anyone have a clear picture on the finances of a championship run?

I actually disagree, Oregon understands failure leads to success better than most programs. We don't expect success right away and this can be seen in how we hire, and foster coaches. Oregon never has hired a coach and expected him to answer all our problems like most programs do. Most programs repeat this pattern, like North Carolina is doing right now. They look for their Messiah, and don't understand one person almost every time won't solve a program's issues. They suffer PTSD as they, deep down, know this is the same process which lead to the same outcome, and you can insert just about any program into this scenario. It takes a program which will except failure, inexperience and just keeps supporting and fostering the successes. Oregon is that program, and while many of us were raised as looking at us as the long shot, Lanning is even exorcising that mentality. I see letting go of 'The Pick' as another move toward redefining this program. Lanning is building a program we can see becoming the dominant program. While there may be some PTSD from failure within the fanbase it doesn't transmit into the team of players, coaches and support staff Lanning is creating. I feel that energy, and whether that works this season or the next I don't perceive that sense of trauma coming on. I feel the Lanning spirit which is guiding this program to a sustained ascendency that hopefully doesn't develop into entitlement. My senses are aware of what Lanning is building. I am proud, but reserved, excited yet patient and all the potential PTSD is muted at best. Lanning's leadership to where we all want to go is overpowering and will lead us to the top in due time! GO DUCKS!