DUCKED

Agreed

No, they haven’t. And the win in Ann Arbor was the second in a row after wining the previous year in Eugene when Terrence Whitehead ran through the Wolverine’s defense at will.

I thought we lost you there for awhile Jon. Glad you have recovered. The sky has not fallen. Without you contributing where would we get all that excellent information that you regularly provide? Ducks vs Michigan in the Rose Bowl would be a great way to end the season

Perfectly stated……..

I don’t see Mullens showing him the exit. I think 9-2 or 10-3 isn’t grounds for termination, not even close. Is the season a flop if the Ducks don’t make the playoff? Is that the bar now? Cristobal has done an amazing job in wooing top level talent to Eugene, and by all accounts he appears to be a class individual, someone the university feels proud to have as its football coach. But his coaching needs to improve, as does his game management. He is responsible for bringing the talent to Eugene, but may also be responsible for their less than impressive on field performance. That has to change.

We got a glimpse of what the ceiling is in Eugene when we spanked Ohio State. The Ducks were one position away from having a “legitimate” shot at the Final Four, and that was quarterback. And that’s on Cristobal. And I take exception with Wilner…..the most devastating loss this season was against Stanford, not Utah. And I’m tired of hearing about the call at the end of that game. It should have never been close. It was inexcusable and the blame for that rests with Cristobal as well. And what about all the ridiculously close games against mediocre teams that came down to the fourth quarter? This team played far below its potential pretty much the entire season, except for one game. The Ducks have the players, including backups when someone goes down, so who’s to blame?

I don’t think anyone here wants to see Cristobal fired. That’s crazy. But we’d like to see him improve, evolve and bring some of the excitement back to Oregon football that made it a national brand and a destination school during the Chip Kelly years. He can do better, must do better, or the sniping will continue. We’ll find out next year, with Thompson or whomever at QB, if Moorhead (if he’s still here) is all he’s cracked up to be. Brown at QB was so limited that it was hard to gauge what impact Moorhead might have had.

And the Ducks would win….and we would actually enjoy watching them again, instead of being frustrated every week with an all too often inept one dimensional offense.

Me, too. Fortunately NFL scouts recognized Herbert’s ability even if Cristobal didn’t.

You may be right. Most coaches chase the money. He’ll be no different. And I don’t blame him.

Sewell won’t be gone unless he transfers.

Well 9-2 has a lot to do with playing in the Pac-12, the weakest power 5 conference.

You’re right Charles. No one is calling for Cristobal’s head. But we’d like to see him evolve from playing smash mouth football into something more dynamic and entertaining, and successful, primarily on offense. He’s got his 5-star QB for next season….. hopefully he’ll take the shackles off.

Excellent. Loyalty is a nice attribute, but it can go too far which I think we’re seeing in Cristobal’s handling of Brown. I think the team feels the same way. Williams throwing up his hands when Brown short hopped an easy pass to him was the result of built up frustration. I didn’t notice the post game dustup between them, but that’s not a good look. Team morale seems to be an issue right now.

Good take….you made a lot of valid points. But I’m pretty sure that the Ducks would be interested in Rattler should he enter the portal, which is expected. The question is, would Rattler be interested in the Ducks? Probably not.

I think most of us loyal Duck fans knew something like last night’s debacle was bound to happen. Oregon continued to skate by each week, struggling to beat mediocre teams, and in no way resembled a team that deserved to be in the playoff mix. They were living off the win against Ohio State, which as the season progressed looked more and more like the fluke that it turned out to be. From all appearances Anthony Brown appears to be a classy guy. But as a quarterback he is really a liability. When the Ducks fell behind early last night I anticipated trouble. When it was 21-0 it looked bleak, and when Utah closed the half with the punt return it was clearly over. No chance to come back unless you can throw the ball….and the Ducks can’t do that. And they couldn’t run the ball, either. There are questions about Cristobal’s coaching, too. Sure, he’s a great recruiter, but what is he doing with all that talent? Is he developing it? It seems like he’s turning 4-star players into 3-stars, many of whom rarely see meaningful playing time. When players are disgruntled, it spreads and effects morale. Ty Thompson is a 5-star recruit and he has barely played. How does that prepare him to take over if Brown gets injured? And how can he be ready to open next season at Georgia with virtually no playing experience? That is on Cristobal. We’ll find out what this team is “made of” Saturday against Oregon State. Win that one and the Ducks will get a chance for redemption against Utah. The Rose Bowl is still a possibility…..

Oklahoma’s Rattler may be looking around.

No, a Ohio State blowout win helps the Ducks……makes their victory in Columbus look even better.

You realize that Ohio State is up 49-0 at the half, right?

Wouldn’t it be great if the Ducks had a vertical passing game?

Confused may be confused a lot, but he is 100 percent right about this.

You are right Charles….he does not have breakaway speed. But nor does the Rams’ Cooper Kupp, the Eastern Washington product who is now the NFL’s leading receiver (who was Vernon Adams’ favorite target before Adams transferred to Oregon) Nor did so many others. Julian Edelman was a quarterback at Kent State before be became Tom Brady’s favorite target, despite not being able to outrun some of his offensive linemen. Anybody remember Steve Largent? Fred Biletnikoff? You don’t need breakaway speed to become an elite receiver. What you need is someone to throw you the ball. The Ducks have already lost two highly recruited receivers - and Oregon pledges - in the 2022 recruiting class. Don’t you think Oregon’s dismal passing attack played some role in their decision? Especially the kid from Arkansas, who is a promising track athlete. What? Oregon’s track program is not good enough for him? That was a football decision…don’t kid yourself. These elite players are viewing their college careers as little more than a stepping stone to the NFL. If they feel they are not getting the exposure they need, they are going to try to find it elsewhere. That’s what Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow did. All three were Heisman Trophy winners who transferred from their previous schools and eventually became multi-millionaires. This is the new reality in college football.

I think there will be plenty of teams after Pittman. And I’m sure he will do his due diligence before deciding where to go.

This is the fear….that even more wide receivers flee once the season is over. You know they have to be frustrated. Can you blame them? These are top level highly recruited receivers, and most have been reduced to spectators. Cristobal’s biggest recruiting challenge lies ahead….holding on to the elite level talent he has already successfully wooed to Eugene. The fact that Oregon is continuing to win without a vertical passing game is no salve for those sitting on the sidelines waiting to get their chance to shine. These guys have been stars their whole lives and are all wondering what to do next. Stick around in hopes of playing more next season in a more diversified offense, or hit the road. I think there will be some dramatic movement, Pittman for sure, but others as well.

Without the win at Ohio State the Ducks would not even be in the playoff discussion. The loss to Stanford was a terrible setback. Stanford is flat out bad this year and losing that game — a game the Ducks should have dominated — was a head scratcher. Jon is right. I think the ONLY hope for Oregon to make the playoff hinges on Ohio State winning out. If they lose, both the Buckeyes and the Ducks can kiss the playoff goodbye. Even if the Ducks win out, they’ll drop out of the top 4.