C J

Totally agree with the article. Two huge factors: 1. We are too conservative and predictable to consistently fool other teams and stay competitive. This is the foundational coaching issue we have and is what leads to the plodding. Notice how our receivers are rarely wide open. 2. The mental toughness aspect is paramount. How many times have we shot ourselves in the foot this year? Penalties and lots of just weird bonehead plays. Hopefully this is because we have a very high percentage of freshman and sophomores.....although in reality they are more like sophomores and juniors if it weren't for the covid season. Notice how penalties are having such a huge factor in this Michigan vs. tOSU game.

Ohio State defense is getting exposed the same exact way the Ducks offense exposed them. Obviously Harbaugh watched that film over and over. They are attacking the edges with their run game and with short passes time and time again. When Ohio State tries to stack the box they throw it over the top. Great game plan from Harbaugh and his coordinators today. Any given Saturday eh? 35-20 Michigan with 9:14 to go.

The Cougs didn't "Coug it" this time. Will the Ducks?

While Camden Lewis did make an impressive recovery from where he was the past few years, I still couldn't help wondering all season when the yips would come back. I hope you are wrong in your prediction, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit. I am still not happy about Katleman not getting a chance to lose his job on the field during game time. Could the curse of Henry Katleman become a thing?

Agreed that San Diego State would be the best team in the Pac 12 this season. The Mountain West in general just looks like a better product on the field to me this year than what the Pac12 has put forward.

Yep, and it's when they then merge multiple 5 stars on a single team, and add them to the rest of the roster that are no lower than 4 stars that parity in college football really disappears.

Looking like the mutt's are a no show........again. About to go down 3 scores (edit: 2 scores, nice goal line tackling) in the first half and no sign of life in their Huard led offense. Bummer, I was really hoping a team from Oregon would be going to the championship no matter the outcome tomorrow. Hopefully the Ducks can dig deep and trounce the Beavers.

Turns out......yes, yes he will.

Yeah, I can't say I disagree. There is just something about Frost that seems real arrogant. Problem is I love seeing the underdog win. I am torn.......but in the end I could care less I suppose.

I didn't even realize that. Wow, yeah that is very strange. I thought he was toast.....early retirement or something. Fascinating.

Platypus Bowl or Platypus Cup are my favorite. The history is there and it makes biological sense. However, it does seem that a majority of the fan base is refusing to walk away from the previous moniker of "Civil War". Does this say something about the fan base?

I am currently watching this San Diego St. vs. Boise State game. The SDSU coach, after watching his starting qb throw for less than a 50% completion rate, made a change to his second string qb. It completely turned the game around allowing the Aztecs to come back from a 16-3 deficit and go up 27-16 just now. This is just another example of coaching with flexibility. This is something the Oregon staff could really learn from. Of course this isn't the only example of this this year, but it is yet another one that shows us we have way too conservative of an approach to sustain a competitive advantage. Another big realization I have had watching this game is that the Mountain West conference is a better more competitive conference than the Pac12.

The Slick Willie Effect?

While it's not in Reser it's also not that much of a road game. Hard to say if it's the travel stress or just playing in other stadiums that has made the Beavers look like a completely different team when they go on the road. I think they put up around 40 points though, the same way they did last year.

Jonathan Smith is going to stop the Ducks from running just like he did last year. So that leaves the game on Anthony Brown's shoulders and his ability to make accurate reads and throws. Can he get back to the form he had against UCLA and Colorado? Meanwhile the Beavers rushed for 269 yards against the Ducks last year and scored 22 points in the 4th quarter to take that game. Will DeRuyter scheme something to stop the Beav's rushing attack? If we do stifle them on the ground, can we also stop them from spreading the field with their athletic receivers? Hate to say it but I think we will be looking at a similar result as last year. The Ducks coaching staff just has too much trouble evolving, adapting and adjusting. We don't score enough points per game to win these kinds of games. The moral of this story is we are out-coached...........again and the Cougs play the Utes for the Pac12 Championship. Ducks 34 Beavers 41 2, 2, 210

If they get rolling on the ground the way Tavion Thomas and Utah did it's going to be lights out on this season for the Ducks. DeRuyter better come out with an aggressive game plan. Can't sit back and try to read everything. Instead I think they are going to have to take chances and hope they guessed right. Run blitzing is going to be needed on 1st and 2nd down and a major pass blitz on 3rd down. On the flip side the Ducks are going to need to put up around 40-50 points to win. That is a big ask of Anthony Brown.....in fact it may very well be too big of an ask. I am fully prepared to see the Ducks continue to unravel at the end of this season and lose this one in a very similar way to how they lost to the Beavers last year. The coaches are going to have to evolve and change. If they can do this then I think we can win it. So the question becomes can Cristobal, Moorhead and Deruyter show us something we haven't seen? Can they pull out a game plan similar to a tOSU and UCLA? Or will we see a similar team to what we saw at Rice Eccles last Saturday?

On paper I thought the same thing. But there is one BIG problem. There is not a natural point guard on the team as Tony Stubblefield took Jalen Terry with him to Depaul. Richardson is a classic 2 guard along with Jacob Young and De'vion Harmon. This has created a chemistry problem. The most natural point guard I have seen play so far is Gabe Reichle, who I believe is a walk on from Wilsonville HS. If it were me I would start Reichle, Richardson, Williams, Guerrier and Dante for a few games and see how it goes. Bring Kepnang, Harmon and Young off the bench. Sub in Bittle for Guerrier periodically as well. Without a floor general you end up with the kind of numbers we have been seeing. Very few assists due to poor ball movement. Those stats translate to very difficult looks at the hoop. Difficult looks at the hoop translate to poor shooting percentages and subsequent 50 point averages per game.

Bingo! There it is.....the new name for the rivalry. Genius!!!

Mic drop for Saban on that one. I must admit I have suffered from some of the issues he brings up, but I have worked hard lately to let them go. It's a sport played by college kids who are doing their best. Tempering expectations is probably called for.

Tony Stubblefield heading to Depaul and taking Jalen Terry with him was a huge blow for Dana Altman and his program in more than one way.

very good point! Wasn't he just saying that last night? Although to be fair the Ducks bball team looks bad enough to actually just say it without it being questionable.

Check, check, check and check. I agree with all those statements. The worn out look led many to wonder about elevation. Elevation changes as drastic as those between Eugene and Salt Lake City are an issue, but it was more than just that.

Good to hear, I didn't know that. I hope he stays loyal. You are right that it can be a blessing.......and a curse in the case of his decision making around Brown.

My takeaway from the mistake by the great salt lake was it was more shooting ourselves in the foot than it was Utah being such a better team. How many drives did we kill because of dumb false start penalties, or the QB rolling and tripping over his own feet. How many points, and more important how much momentum, did we squander with all these errors. Dropped passes, bad throws, penalties, pocket collapsing sacks....the list could go on. Then you add in the poor coaching decisions with managing the clock. I think we have the team to beat them in a rematch, but I just don't see us improving on the fundamentals of the game. We have continually made these bonehead mistakes all season long. I hope that is just a sign of a young team.

Yep, and "it's imperative that it's the right hire" he writes. He has Cristobal at the very top with a "blank check....hire this man now." It will be really interesting to see Cristobal's loyalty challenged in this situation. He made it real clear that he was going to build at Oregon. The way he was hired created a lot of loyalty from him, but all those players are gone now I believe. Whatever happens I hope the best for him. I like him a lot as a person even though I have complained about some of his X and O chops. He is definitely more about the Jimmy's and the Joe's than the X's and O's.