Haywarduck

I think McGuire spelled out one of the secret ingredients to immediate success, a senior leader who is a top ten draft pick. Having an on-field leader is critical to turning around a program. We have Bo on offense, and we now need a top defender to step up and lead. Neither program has a Tyree Wilson, but each program will need to fill a void in leadership on defense. This may be the difference maker with both programs this season. Whether it is on the court, the many point guards who carried Ernie, or on the field, strong leadership makes a huge difference. We didn't have it last year on defense and it showed. They had it and it carried their defense, and empowered their program. If we have a guy step up, or a few, who knows how high this team can go!

I heard a piece about what it takes to be a formula one driver. The amount of information a driver has to process, and the intensity of the action is second to none. Many can drive, but few can drive a formula one car. The sport often had multiple deaths every year well into the 70's. While I don't think being a D-1 quarterback is exactly like being a formula one driver it does take a lot of processing and an ability to handle some intense moments. I wonder if a formula-1 simulator would be a good indicator about a qb's capability, much better than camps, and high school football. The measurables of a qb, like a china doll, are pretty easy to see from a distance. The intensity and complexity of the situations a college qb has to deal with are a whole different variable that often gets rated. How many times has a sure thing qb not panned out, too many times. Maybe Ty should train on a formula-1 simulator, or Oregon should install one for the athletes, and maybe Oregon should test their qb recruits on the simulator?

There is definitely talent which meets it's level of incompetence, but there is also incompetent development of talent. I think Ty suffered from early incompetent talent development which may have affected his ability up to this point. I personally always scratched my head when I saw the play calling for Ty last year, and before. I hope to see better play calling for him this year. I also realize that can't explain everything. I also hope to see better development of his in game ability. I think it was interesting to see him stay in and the coaches give him the whole spring game. They are definitely going to give Ty a real shot. The question is will Ty make anything of this shot, or will Novasad become something early? I do think the coaches know they have a back-up plan on the bench. We have a senior who has lots of experience, and is the second most experienced senior at qb, Matt Rush. If plan B, developing a qb, doesn't work, expect to see Rush manage the games until Nix can get back on the field. Rush seems like he has the experience to at least manage a game with some extremely talented skill players. I doubt we have a coach who has no clue about what he is going to do if plan A or B fails. Those days are thankfully behind us.

Great article Alex, but I would say the shift to speed within the quality of players Lanning is bringing in is the big story. The previous coaches have proven Oregon is a destination for talented players. What Lanning is doing is bringing speed to both the offense and defense, and highlighting that talent. I do agree an upgrade of talent on the both the lines is going to be the quiet big story. The noise we will hear going forward is going to be from speed returning to the program. From LB's closing on RB's trying to round the corner, to WR's breaking down defenses the Oregon Program will again be the most exciting show in college football. I look forward to a continued talent upgrade throughout the program within the vision Lanning has for Oregon. We finally have a coach who gets the Oregon Program and knows how to bring it back to life. Many didn't realize it but the Oregon Football Program was on life support, but it is coming back!

I would add the difference with this Lanning team is the depth. Lanning is building depth and competition for playing time at every position like we have never seen before. Great article and I look forward to seeing both of these guys light up the opponents. The difference from years past is if they go down we don't. I think the defensive line might be one of the most interesting areas to watch. There could be some fierce battles for playing time, and the old guard is going to get pushed at all positions.

You're a better man than I am. I was hoping the dawgs would lose by 20!

Lubbock is warm and dry, can be windy correct? Heat and humidity aren't as big a factor as the wind, at times. I would love to see Tyler have a solid game, which may indicate Ty has a chance to recover into a decent qb after his experience with the qb destroyer. It will be a battle between two qb's who left their previous programs for a second chance. This game is an awesome opportunity to win on the road, and to get rid of some of the road demons going forward. I do like our early schedule and hope we can use it to excel into the second half where some more challenges occur.

Thinking about you, but also the speed which is coming back to the program. May you have a speedy recovery, going forward, and here is some good old Duck speed.

The SEC plays less games away from home and less conference games. Both of these features help their cause toward winning a national title The SEC plays New Mexico State, sometimes twice in a year as fodder to their schedules. There are plenty of Nevada's, New Mexico States to fill our schedule if winning a title is our goal. You aren't going to win the playoffs after a tough schedule and lots of travel. A team needs to recover, and be fresh when the bowl season starts. Maybe if making more money is our goal then a 10 game schedule makes sense, but what is our goal? If we want to win the national title then playing a 10 game schedule makes no sense. Pretty sure Larry Scott would be pounding his fist on the table in support of this idea.

Cry me a river is right. The Man in Black and I sympathize with their plight!

The difference between this guy and the Pac, at least this guy is putting up a fight.

If we win it will all take care of it self. Get to the title game and the Auburns, Floridas, Michigan States, Texas's will want a shot at Oregon. Without winning we have to travel to Georgia, and play at a supposed neutral site against Georgia. I don't think we need to play against the Georgia, Alabama and LSU programs during the regular season. We just need to beat the next tier teams, that will play a home and home. We need to schedule more home and home, with bigger buyouts. We need to keep building to become elite, not just meat for the elite. Georgia plays 4 games away from home this season. They play an 8 game conference schedule. That is the way you get to the playoffs. We played 6 games away last season, 5 this year, and a 9 game conference schedule. That is what needs to change, get on equal footing.

I think what is also telling about sc's recruiting is they can't beat out Riley's old team, Oklahoma, in recruiting. He left Oklahoma for what I presume was an ability to recruit, and compete at a higher level at the prestigious sc, right? Riley left Oklahoma to play in the Pac-12, and miss the switch to the SEC Oklahoma is headed too. Instead he is headed to the Big 10, and again having to play some big time programs, with more travel. The important thing about Riley is he tends to be very competitive in conference and then can't win the big games. As a conference you don't want coaches like this. You want coaches who can compete in conference and win the big games. Important fact is Riley won 4 straight conference championships at Oklahoma in the Big 12. Last year in the Pac-12 he came in third, and added added another loss to his bowl record, 1-4. I think sc bought fake gold with Riley, and are chasing the BIG dollars to their detriment. Another huge win by the Ducks at Autzen against the spoiled children is all I want to see as they leave the Pac. Actually I would love to see a couple other programs hang on L on sc this season. I would like to see sc get to a bowl game so Riley can add another loss, and make his bowl record 1-5. I love the cover picture for the story, Oregon rounding the corner against sc. I would say we are pulling away!

How are you today, hope you are still improving!

Week #2, third best coach against the fifth best rated coach according to MA, bring it! Week #8, third best against fourth best. It is kind of cool to see coaches ranked, and will be fantabulous to see more data, can't wait!