DUCKED

Yes, the Ducks CAN still do it. ”It” being the playoffs. But there is no room for failure. One stumble and they’re out. If the Ducks make it to Vegas, against the Huskies, I expect a win. We must remember…..Oregon went toe to toe with the Huskies in front of 70,000-plus fans screaming their heads off…….and came within a couple yards of winning. In retrospect, it was a very impressive performance.

The Ducks better be ready from the opening kick. Wazoo was trounced on Saturday. When I saw that score I immediately became concerned. The Cougs are not likely to lay an egg two weeks in a row. You can NEVER feel comfortable going into a football game. Look what happened yesterday……the lowly Jets beat the previously undefeated Eagles. The Ducks need to make a statement early.

I said A LOT worse than that……

Excellent take…..you make many great points. But, while Lanning is unquestionably a great recruiter, the jury is out on his coaching chops. With a few more gut wrenching games under his belt, I suspect his game management skills will improve. I’m still shocked that he made the exact same mistake against the Huskies two years in a row. I think the future looks bright for the Ducks under Lanning. He’s going to get better. Will he be the same coach in year five that he is today? I certainly hope not.

DL may have a bit of a stubborn streak. How else can you explain him making the same mistake 2 years in a row against the same team. I am glad the Ducks extended Dan. He has upgraded the talent on this team to the point that the Ducks are capable of competing against anyone. But he is an inexperienced head coach…..and it is showing. This is only his 2nd year as a head coach. I am making an assumption that after a few more years on the job, hopefully very few, he will not make the same boneheaded calls that cost us two wins against the Huskies.

Even if ALL you say is true, and it very well may be, Ducks’ chances of winning that game would have greatly increased had they chose to kick those two early field goals and punt the ball.

I see where you’re going with this, but I don’t agree. I think this is a bad loss. It was a very winable game, and questionable coaching decisions robbed the players of a victory on the road against an arch rival, a victory that would have catapulted the Ducks right into the playoff conversation. A huge opportunity was missed, due to little fault of the players.

Passion is good, as long as you can still make calculated decisions under pressure.

You took the words out of my mouth. Hasn’t Lanning learned the concept of risk and reward? The Ducks…I mean Lanning…took a potential 6 points off the board in the first half by going for it twice on 4th and short rather than kicking two relatively easy FG’s. And not punting the ball late in the 4th quarter is flat out inexcusable. This loss is on him.

Excellent take, but I have one issue. I don’t feel confident in a Ducks’ victory if we give up 45 points. If our defense has truly improved substantially since last year it has no business giving up that many points to a one dimensional offense that cannot run the ball.

I have no idea what you’re talking about…..but I love your last sentence.

My key….get on the Husky receivers early in their routes, forcing Penix to hold onto the ball a little longer than he likes. He’s not noted for his mobility and likes to get rid of the ball in a hurry. Even forcing him to wait just a second could pay huge dividends, leading possibly to sacks and more errant passes. If Oregon can do that….Ducks win.

Never kneeled! Mario must think it’s a sign of weakness, when it’s really a sign of stupidity. This was a blunder of epic proportions.

Thanks Alex. Great points, great article. While everyone acknowledges how huge the Husky game is, it’s far more than just a rivalry game. A win -on the road- firmly puts Oregon in the CFP discussion, and provides a safety net that, should the Ducks stumble down the stretch, might still allow them to sneak in.

That’s hilarious…. and you’re right.

Excellent points. I'll take a gamer over a great practice player every time.

I am shocked by the line. I'm sure the bloated number was affected by the expected loss of Travis Hunter, but that's a lot of points. I must admit, though, that most often when I feel the spread is out of whack, the oddsmakers are usually right. Still, I'm taking the points. I expect the Ducks to win, but by 3 touchdowns? I'll be a happy man either way....as long as Oregon wins the game!

But mom.....he started it!

The whole bulletin board thing, in my opinion, is a non-issue. If you need some slight to get ready to play, you're probably not going to win anyway. You win on the field, nowhere else.

Doubt that........I'm guessing Ducks -3.

Oregon opening the game by being penalized for having two players wearing the same jersey number was perplexing, as were the three false start penalties that stalled the offense in the first half…and another on the first play of the second half. That must be cleaned up. It was not a great performance by the Ducks, but they showed resilience and heart, and came away with a clutch win on the road against a decent team. There is work to be done, for sure, and this type of game is a great indicator of the areas that need the most attention.

I think you might be right…?

I’m not sure this will benefit Oregon. After laying an egg Tech will definitely be more “up” for the Ducks than ever, so the loss may actually help TT. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t the loss as a benefit to Oregon, other than possibly helping to tweak the game plan.

DumBO, smart as, well, you know……

Very impressive performance by the Ducks, but what really stands out to me is what Whitingham is doing at Utah with the fifth best roster.