Washington Waddler

So long as Dylan Morris continues to have more floaters than someone whose been staring at the sun too long we’ll always have a chance.

Based on our game at the shoe, this team plays best away, as the underdog and on a big stage. All three are present in this game. The unexpected? Our O line does what no one expects them to do, and gives balance to an offense which will require both the rush and the pass.

Losing is the great teacher because it’s painful and you’ll do whatever it takes to avoid it. Winning, on the other hand, teaches you only one thing: you like it. Addictive behavior cycles are like that. Hopefully, most long time Duck fans have had that watershed moment where they’ve had the chance to glimpse the bigger picture. Mine came at the 2005 Holiday Bowl loss to the Sooners where the ‘what ifs’ were eating me alive. A couple of gristled, longtime Oklahoma fans (dating back to the Bud Wilkinson era) sitting next to me kind of took me under their wing, and gently brought me up to speed on how long this journey was going to take. While it didn’t remove the pain, their perspective lessened it. No, Mario is no more the perfect a coach than Chip. One seems more interested in recruiting while the other seems more interested in coaching. Put the two together and you have what, a Nick Saban? How often does that happen? Wishful thinking is always a good indicator for me to reapply my hard earned perspective on this journey of being a Duck. When I look at Mario, I see the biggest experimental shift in football culture the Ducks have ever undertaken. Aside from Willy the weasel, he is the only Oregon head coach without west coast roots dating back to Len Casanova (l cancel out Chip because of his hand-in-glove fit for the west coast style). For better or worse, we’ve embraced a style of football we’re little acquaintance with. It’s difficult to quantify — this coastal difference in football philosophies — but we all know it’s there, and our west coast sensibilities are taking a beating. That can happens when you’re in the midst of an experiment. The advice? Hold onto your hard earned perspective, ignore the addictive behavior cycles, and let it run it’s course. Who knows what the next game may bring?

What is interesting is what’s not being said. Oregon’s unique grasp on cutting edge intelligence, imagination and conception is producing the first major college football program to eliminate outdoor practice facilities in favor of a near sci-fi-like removal from an increasingly hostile environment. The wave of the future? Wait and see.