cartm25

Having Tez back was nice! His impact may not have been huge quantitatively, but qualitatively? Sure! I think it makes a difference having all the players in their usual roles, and UW’s defense having to honor TJ’s presence; opens the offense up more.

Great win! Nice to end that losing streak. Took care of business and looked the part against a middling team.

Agree on this point. Reminds me of the 49ers right now. Great coach, IMO, but may have lost his voice in the locker room. I would wait until season end before making a move.

A very synergistic program all around.

I missed that prior thread, but thank you for the update/opinion. If they are looking to the portal again for the QB spot then I think your assessment is spot on; potential questions for sure.

I understand the allure of getting a very experienced QB again, but hoping that Oregon can make something happen with their recruits. Maybe I've not been following as closely as before, but is Dante Moore not looking like the "heir apparent"?

I believe Dan Lanning's greatest--and most important--recruiting win was no player or coach. It was: PHIL KNIGHT Over the years, few football programs (I would argue none) have had a more meteoric rise to rest atop college football amongst the blue bloods of the sport. It's been a wonderful journey to follow, but I can imagine for Phil Knight (especially in recent years before DL arrived) that it may have been rather stressful. PK watched as Kelly took the program to heights previously unthinkable, only to then witness the following: - Kelly leaves for NFL for . . . "greener grass" - Helfrich carries the torch for a couple years, but can't keep up with 21st century recruiting - Willie Taggart assembles the #1 Recruiting class in the nation, only to see it crumble when FSU offers him his "dream job" and he moves on to . . . "greener grass" (after 1 year) - Mario Cristobal, despite his offensive offense, brings in a new era of recruiting levels and consistency. But after a few years, Miami (his "dream job") comes calling and he moves on to "greener grass". Despite living and loving the great Northwest, I'll bet PK was sick of looking at "green grass" Imagine PK's relief when finally . . . FINALLY, a coach rebuffed opportunities to coach for the bluest blue blood programs (including Bama) stating: "The grass is d*** green in Eugene" Not that PK would ever stop supporting the Ducks, but I imagine he then felt ZERO hesitancy in writing checks for NIL, facilities, coaches, uniforms, marketing, etc. Finally! A coach that Phil Knight would run through a wall for. Well done Dan Lanning!

I guess I was impressed that tosu suffocated Indiana's offense. Was really rooting for Indiana, so that's what stood out to me.

Great take Darren! I've never tuned in to watch Hunter play . . . I'm also rooting for him not to win.

I think both Dillingham and Cignetti are worthy. I lean toward giving the award to teams/coaches that catch everyone by surprise.

Christmas has come early!! Been waiting all year for this. Haven't watched any yet, but I most certainly will. The thumbnails on YouTube are classic:

Please GT, for the love. Please make this happen. Miami has already deserved a loss twice. I want angry Mari Cristbal in the post game press conference . . . PLEASE!!!

Brock Purdy makes $800K - $900K a year. Approaching silly town with all this money for unproven high schoolers.

Do you know what records DG is on pace to break? Are they Career or Single Season records? Since the Heisman is single-season excellence award, I'm less inclined to consider career achievements. Especially when the records are accomplished by longevity alone. If I recall, I think one is career passing yards currently held by . . . Case Keenum with other members of the top-5 consisting of Timmy Chang, Landry Jones, and Graham Harrell. While Jeanty is chasing Barry Sanders. Look, I feel like in all the back and forth on OBD (not just with you) about why I give a slight edge to Jeanty, that I'm coming across as a Dillon Gabriel hater. Or, that I don't want DG to win it, and that I don't want the Ducks to have a Heisman winner. That could not be further from the truth. I'd be ecstatic if he won, and I'd remind everyone I talk football with that he won it . . . to the point of being annoying, likely. I just look at Jeanty and see a RB that looks next level in his vision, quickness, and breakaway speed, and that's chasing a record set by--IMO--the single greatest running back of all time in Barry Sanders. And he's doing it while every defense he goes up against--including Oregon--knows there's only ONE objective . . . Stop Jeanty.

In the very constrained hypothetical presented: "Poof"! Today DG is now the BSU QB and Jeanty is now the Ducks' RB, and the Ducks now have to deal with backups at QB? Well of course I wouldn't do that. But I don't think a simple "swap test" is the appropriate measuring stick to pick Heisman winners, unless the Heisman is exclusively a QB award. 99 times out of 100, if a team's excellent (or even above average) QB is "swapped" out (now relying on backup QBs) for an excellent skill position player, that team will be worse off. May as well cancel the Heisman Award since the Davey O'Brien Award exists. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, football is challenging due to having very unique positions with very little cross-over in roles and responsibilities. Assuming a more realistic scenario where Oregon has a more than competent QB--but not Dillion Gabriel--AND now have Jeanty . . . I'd be very open to that. In fact, here are some prior Duck non-Heisman QBs (not really considered for Heisman) that I would take today in combination with Jeanty: Clemens, Masoli, D. Thomas, V. Adams, J. Herbert I think the Heisman award should compare players/positions relative to the current year's active players, as well as consider historical context. Dillion Gabriel is an excellent QB. I'm not insulting him by slightly preferring Jeanty for the Heisman. I just don't think he's having a historic, Heisman-worthy year (SO FAR; that could change). However, when I Google Jeanty, nearly every article says "Jeanty Chasing History". I think that's awesome, and Heisman-worthy.

Excellent, excellent point!!

Would Dillon Gabriel get your Heisman vote if he played for Boise State?

So awesome!!

Yes, complimentary football by the Ducks is on point.

Yeah, it's hard to tell with Jeanty. Given the circumstances, the only way to know is to see how well he does in the NFL against the best competition in the world. All I can say is I would trade him for Jordan James today . . . no offense to James. I'm not sure DG screams Heisman to me. Similar to what @David Marsh indicated about not being impressed with the Heisman candidates. I love DG's deep ball, but the offense hasn't really flourished like in years past. I just think the Ducks have a great all-around team with a very good QB. But!! If I could give the Heisman to the Ducks' defense, I would.

Great article that has me indecisive. Picking the "best" player in college football (or NFL), is WAY too hard. There are too many players with very specific and unique responsibilities . . . which is why football is the ultimate TEAM sport. Football has way more variables and circumstances that impact the outcome of games. I'm not convinced that the best teams have "the" best player. IMO, the best teams have the best collection of players, coaches, staff, etc . . . and sometimes the best player as well. Would Dillon Gabriel win the Heisman if Oregon's O-Line continued to play like it did in the first two games? Even DG--arguably the best QB in college football--can't overcome that. I'd leave the Heisman a regular season award and have separate awards for the playoffs. I also lean towards Jeanty for Heisman because he appears to be a generational talent at RB. I realize he doesn't play in a P5 conference, but if he were suddenly on a legitimate P5 school, and roster, I think he would still dominate. He's the only individual player in college football I tune in to watch.

Excellent uniforms!!

I would have never gotten on that long board in the first place . . . and a crash was inevitable