latracey

My memory was also from 1994 and "The Pick". It really was "the most improbable ending to a football game" as reported by Jerry Allen whose call of the play has been immortalized. It was THE BEST on too many levels to put into words, and it truly was the vanguard moment in University of Oregon football.

More important than weather differences, or change in stadium environment, I think the very poor quality and the lack of consistency in Pac 12 officiating is the main reason that the Pac 12 eats each other up year in and year out. As someone who regularly watches as many Pac 12 games on a weekend as I can, I find that there are terrible, game changing/deciding calls that happen way too frequently in way too many games. It's painfully obvious that the officiating in our league is much, much worse than it is in any other conference in America. It is a problem that Larry Scott at least addressed, and one that needs to be rectified by the new Pac 12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff.

I don't see the recent recruits that flipped, or hit the portal, to have as much to do with what is happening on the field with Oregon as much as it's about players wanting to play close to their families for the programs that have been near and dear to them because of their proximity to said programs. For what ever reason, Mario is definitely evolving his game plans to fit the the strengths and the weaknesses of opponents in the last several games more than I've seen during his career as head coach. Maybe it was the booing, maybe it's the fact that JoMo being sick was a chance to stand back a bit and evaluate what was needed. Good things might definitely be coming up if the coaches can keep the players' eyes on the prize by focusing on one game at a time. The Utah game, and the possible rematch in the Pac 12 Championship look to be monsters on the horizon. As we all know, anything can happen and everything can change. As Chip Kelly said, the games in November are the ones we remember.

It's hard for your home state college not to get into your head and your heart, and leaving home and the support your family can give you in the rough transition from living at home to living at college is very hard. That said, it's surprising how many recruits from far away places end up honoring their commitments to the University of Oregon. It's a credit to Cristobal and his staff of coaches that put a high priority on creating the kind of family atmosphere that is so supportive of their players and helps to alleviate the homesickness players can feel being so far away from their families.

Until they sign on the dotted line, you just never know. I was looking forward to seeing this guy on the football team in the fall and on the track in the spring. That all said, I wish nothing but the best of good fortune to this young man.

As Kirby Smart, the football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs said yesterday, recruiting is the most important component relative to the success of a college football team. It trumps even coaching in importance because it's a lot easier to coach up a player with great physical skills and talent. The more talent you have, the more the coaches look like geniuses. There are many things about Mario Cristobal that drive me crazy at times, but the one way that he is superior to any other coach in the history of Oregon football is his understanding of the importance of recruiting. Recruiting is his top priority, and the emphasis he puts on it is paying off this season with so many key players injured. I'm not worried about what Lake said about Washington in comparison to Oregon in the area of recruiting. I graduated from the College of Education at the University of Oregon and the education I received there served me well through my 38 year teaching career. The only thing that truly matters when comparing Oregon football to Washington football will be the scoreboard at the end of the game.

We are now at that juncture in Oregon's schedule where their destiny will be made, or broken. Yesterday was a spooky day in the Pac 12. WSU over ASU, Cal over OSU, and Washington over Stanford. As the officiating crew at Autzen proved again (what in the world was up with that TD taken off of the board for a penalty that wasn't called in real time, but was called after a review?), Pac 12 officials can and will make things go sideways at times. Washington, WSU, and OSU have all been thorns in Oregon's side in the past, and they will be bringing their best games because beating Oregon would be a huge cherry on top of their whipped cream. Utah demonstrated once again last night the they are hard to beat in their home stadium. I was glad to see Oregon's offense led by Anthony Brown play their best game yet yesterday. The defense left a bit to be desired. I hope that was more about Cristobal's trying to get young guys some playing time because I expected better and the team will need better starting in the next game. When he coached at Oregon, Chip Kelly said something that really rings true today, "The games in November are the ones you remember". Let's hope Oregon keeps it's nose to the grindstone and gives us some sweet November memories.

I thought that was an odd question given that it's pretty clear now that Cristobal isn't the kind of guy that has "conversations" regarding the game decisions that he makes.

The more young guys that get game time experience, the better.

There's no doubt about it; Anthony Brown played like the kind of quarterback we are used to seeing in Oregon uniforms today. He had his best day of his college football career, and my hat is off to him. I also noticed that Joe Moorhead was up in the box again today. I think getting the bird's eye view has really made a positive difference in his play calling which is beneficial to Brown.

Great article Charles, and it clearly explains the endgame issues with Cristobal that have driven me crazy for a long time, but most notedly in the last three games. Clearly, the time time to be aggressive is NOT with 3 minutes left in the game and a lead. It's hard to believe that, left to decide for himself, reputed offensive genius Coach Moorhead would go along with that ridiculousness. First downs are as good as touchdowns at the end of games you are leading is basic football coaching 101. Maybe MC needs to be reading less about Navy Seal philosophy and more about the basic tenets of good football coaching strategy. The whole idea about needing to get a bigger lead is even more ludicrous when considering that Oregon's offense on that drive was moving the ball down the field, the Ducks were inside of the 30, and if Oregon kicks a field goal, UCLA is forced to drive down the field to score a touchdown to win with probably no time outs against a defense that was playing well. All I can say is Booooo! Thanks for posting the cued Youtube video. I appreciated being able to replay it over and over again to digest the many aspects of the play that resulted in the interception. Why were Pittman, Johnson III, and Williams all in the same area with all of their defenders right there with them? Most notably, What WAS Johnson III doing there? My guess is that he completely messed up and shouldn't have even been in that area which is why, at first, the coaches were saying that the failure of the play was a "player issue". Either Pittman, Johnson III, or both were not where they were supposed to be. Justin Herbert would have seen every defender in the same area, realized someone had blown the play, tucked it, and ran. Brown is not at that level and, as others here have mentioned, has a "just doing what they told me to do" attitude. As far as running goes, Brown would have had to make the decision to do that pretty quickly because Dye's block wasn't very good and the defender was a step away from getting to Brown. Regardless of that, running would have been a much better choice. The real problem here, that was so adeptly addressed in Charles' article, is that Cristobal's understanding of endgame strategy is terrible. It's also come to my attention that MC is fairly bull headed about the way he sees and does things so we are sure to see what we consider to be crazy coaching decisions at the end of close games many more times to come in the future, although hopefully not today.

I find that Steve Tannen, who is part of whatever they are calling the Oregon Sports Network now, tends to fall in with the company line; and right now the company line is loud and clear that Cristobal doesn't want to hear fans booing in Autzen Stadium on Saturday, or any time in the future. The interesting part of Tannen dissing fans who booed is that I often listen to the 5th quarter broadcasts that he does on KUGN with Ken Woody after the games, and there has been no lack of criticism by both of Brown, his lack of good decision making, and the poor clock management and coaching decisions made in the end of the last 3 games on their radio program. Tannen is well aware that fans who were booing were mostly booing the decisions make by the coaching staff, but far be it for him to buck to company line.

Great analysis Charles and I completely agree. DeRuyter is blessed with a talented cast of characters and they are beginning to internalize his schemes and use them to make for a defense whose upside is just plain scary. Sewell, KT#5, Dorlus, and Swinson and company are crazy good. While it may be debatable that UCLA has the best O-line in the Pac 12, the fact that Colorado is far behind in that department is clear. It will be interesting to see if Oregon's defense will continue to improve and to capitalize on Colorado's weaknesses. I think we are all keeping our fingers crossed that this WILL NOT be another game in this year's trend where the Ducks play down to the level of their opponent. Given the terrific mismatch of our defense vs their offense alone, it shouldn't be close.

Ducks 34 - Colorado 10 2 turnovers, 5 sacks, 250 yards

https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2021-10-25/chip-kelly-officials-blew-field-goal-call-ucla-loss-oregon Chip Kelly believes a UCLA field goal attempt by the Bruins was called no good by the officials when it actually went through the uprights according to video replays that he saw after the game. I thought this was interesting because I remember that field goal attempt in the game, and from my angle it looked good. It wasn't replayed or made a big deal of at the time, so I thought it was just a funny camera angle. Did the Pac 12 officials get it wrong? It wouldn't surprise me.

I definitely DO NOT think it's safe to say that Brown has "turned a corner". His terrible interceptions in the 4th quarter almost cost Oregon the game. Regardless of how well he played leading up to those picks, the fact that he threw not one, but two, demonstrates that he is still lacking critical vision of the field, timing, and decision making skills. The fact that those pass plays, especially the last one, were even called also causes me to question the coaches, who you would think would be well aware of Brown's strengths and weakness. We certainly all are. Have the coaches turned a corner? I think not. I don't buy the "we trying to be aggressive and put the game away" BS. You are leading the game by 3 points. Your quarterback just threw a pick that resulted in a UCLA touchdown that put them back into the game. There are 3 minutes left, UCLA only has one time out left, and you are in field goal range. The more I think about that play call, the more it has me shaking my head. It's clear to me that there is much about Brown's game that still needs to improve, but I'm more concerned about Oregon's coaches who have not seemed to turn a critical corner when it comes to wisely managing the end of games. Seriously, we are talking about the last 3 games in a row. Let's hope it's not even an issue in the Colorado game. It certainly shouldn't be.

93 - 26 is the final score. I think this Lady Ducks team is going to rock this this year.

I feel like, with every game, Oregon has learned key lessons that make them a little bit better. For instance, it seems like Cristobal trusted JoMo's game strategy more for the UCLA game with great results. Maybe that was health related, but I feel like it was an important corner that was turned. In addition, I feel like Oregon's defense also turned an important corner in the UCLA game. The line is becoming healthy, KT#5 played an entire game, and the backs are playing better. It also seems that the defense as a whole is playing better as a unit, and understanding the defensive scheme better. The two unknowns that will affect Oregon's success in the games to come will be injuries and emotion. There are several key players, especially on offense, who are key to Oregon's success, especially vs Utah and Oregon State. It's important that Oregon finds a way to stay healthy for the rest of the season. The other factor is Oregon's ability to realize that they can lose any game in the Pac 12 if they aren't up for the game because every team is going to bring the juice to beat Oregon. Victory against every team left will take a disciplined effort from players and coaching staff. Playing Oregon is the only bowl game Colorado and probably WSU are going to get. They may not be any competition on paper, but neither were Arizona, Cal, or even Stanford for that matter. Oregon needs to find a way to truly ignore all of the back ground noise, and get up for each and every game they have left, beginning with the one this Saturday.

The fact that Oregon has been able to successfully mix and match their offensive line due to injuries to the extent that Oregon has done it this year is nothing short of amazing. It says a lot about the high intelligence of O-line players and their ability to keep track of the assignments of every O-line position. Landman not being able to play is a huge loss for Colorado's defense. Still, I'm looking for a much closer game than the oddsmakers are predicting because that's been the story of the Ducks all season long so far.

I also agree with CJ that the Thomas/Mariota teams were the most entertaining. They performed a lot more consistently on offense, defense, and in respect to coaching, and Thomas' brilliance and speed was electrifying to watch. The best word for this year's Ducks is mystifying in an interesting way. They are filled with talent, yet unable to play above the level of any of their opponents. First and foremost, some of the coaching decisions have truly had me scratching my head. It seems that certain basic mistakes in clock management and play selection at given moments in the game would be digested and learned; only to reappear at key moments in subsequent games. Case in point was the decision to loft the ball into the end zone into double coverage with 3 minutes left on the clock, a three point lead, for the 30 yard line, well within field goal range. UCLA only had one time out left at this point. It's an even more baffling decision when you consider who the quarterback is. Wasn't throwing the ball late in the game when a running play would have drained more precious time from the clock the other team needed every second of to win also a key issue in the Stanford game? Also mystifying and frustrating to me is the lack of poise shown by Cristobal on the sidelines and in his comments to the media. Center stage temper tantrums directed at players and officials just aren't my thing. Discipline and poise under pressure, as was demonstrated by coaches like Bellotti, Kelly, Helfrich, and Jonathan Smith for that matter, is a much better look from my perspective. Cristobal "doesn't want to hear that s...t" when it comes to fans booing his coaching decisions, but also points out that he doesn't pay any attention to the other ways fans make their frustrations known. One wonders if he realizes who is paying his 4 million a year salary and footing the bill for new practice facilities. It comes off as arrogant in a time when the program needs to be inviting and inclusive of fan support. One wonders how much what we see along those lines is just the tip of the iceberg, and how that lack of discipline and poise translates to the problems Cristobal teams seem to have with penalties that end up killing drives on offense, or maintaining drives on defense time and time again. 6 wins and 1 loss. What's not to love? Fun to cheer for? You bet!! While I think the rest of the season will be exciting, this isn't the team that I think one can be rest assured about how things are going to turn out. I don't think for a minute any team left on the roster is going to be easy, especially Oregon State. Maybe that's what makes them one of the most interesting teams to follow.

I HATED the uniforms at first, but they grew on me by the end of the game. Love them or hate them, I have a funny feeling that this is only the beginning. There are endless color combinations of base color and splatter to choose from in Oregon's uniform arsenal.

I totally agree with Utah Duck's observations. Watching this year's defense has been maddening at times because they play well on 1st and 2nd downs, but allow far too many 3rd down conversions causing the grinding and gnashing of my teeth. The good news for the future is that KT#5 and some other key players were unable to play due to injury or suspension for a good portion of the season so far. They were as close to a complete unit as they have been vs UCLA and, if that trend continues, I look to see their statistic vastly improve over the rest of this season.

KT#5 is starting to settle into his groove as the season goes on. I'm hoping he can stay healthy for the rest of the season. As he proved in the UCLA game, he is a major force of disruption who is just plain fun to watch in action. He's one of those special players who only come along once in a long while.

I'm not a fan of booing your home team in their home stadium, but I understand that the booing that happened in the Cal game was directed at coaches who are intent on "shutting out the outside noise"; even though a lot of that "noise" is being made by the people whose support they depend on. That said, I agree with Mr. FishDuck. It appears that booing is the only way fans are able to express their frustration and displeasure with the program to coaches who actively tune out the other avenues fans have to express their opinions. I'm also not a fan of coaches who throw temper tantrums directed at players and officials. I put it in the same category of booing as far as low class behavior. It shows poor leadership and a lack of self discipline in my humble opinion; two things that you'd hope your coach would be trying to model to his players.

I can't resist this chance to be an armchair coach. The first play that I found frustrating was the coaching decision to go for it on 4th and 2 in the first quarter with the ball well within field goal range. How many times are we going to leave points on the field only to have those points come back and haunt us later in the game? When will Cristobal learn?? I also agree that the last pass AB lofted into the end zone that was easily picked off in the 4th quarter was a play that shouldn't have even been called at that juncture in the game, especially considering that Oregon was leading and in field goal range. The objective should have been to safely run the ball again to eat up as much clock as possible and then kick the field goal. That all said, it was a great win for the Ducks against a good team on the road. KT#5 is a force of disruption, and Travis Dye has become the money man in the red zone. I was glad he yelled for a running play right before he scored his first TD. DJ James final interception was a thing of pure beauty. He's come a long way from his bone headed air rifle incident. Go Ducks !!