Drake

Nice! Bear really hit his stride mid-season. Tony Tuioti has been instrumental in his development at Oregon. It is cool to see players with NFL potential trusting our coaches to further enhance their skills.

DL will need to hit the portal. He should be searching for a couple of position coaches. It will be interesting to see the level of experience he brings in to fill those positions.

My first thought, so much for limiting practice in order to avoid injuries.

The politics of college football is exhausting. Now that we have a CFP there will always be teams on the bubble that have legitimate arguments for being included. Bowl games outside of the CFP are a risk for injury in meaningless games. Eliminating bowl games, and expanding the CFP makes the most economic sense to me. However, agreeing on an expanded format simply shows the chaos of what management by committee is all about.

So far, Texas seems hellbent on proving to everyone that huge NIL budgets are not the most important factor.

Matt Campbell has a lot of work to do to plug holes in a program taking on water. I suspect that Knowles is paid too much, and not the relentless type of recruiter needed for Penn State right now. If I was Matt Campbell I would look to pay less to a younger, and more energetic DC, then provide incentives for a higher payout.

What is funny is how perception changes with age. Less than 5 months ago many here predicted a 10 - 2 record. Seems longer. 10 - 2 may not have been good enough to put us in the CFP. Oregon had the depth to navigate the season, and played very well in spurts, with some inexperience at key positions. Now we are at the point where games will be won in the trenches, and by solid QB play. Our path put JMU in a game that might change future CFP formats. I say let’s deal with them harshly, and prove that they don’t belong. Beyond JMU, all teams in our path want to show that Oregon is just like JMU, simply a pretender. I think most of us believe that Oregon has not played their best game yet. I want to believe we have the talent to compete with everyone in our bracket. Play with discipline, and a big chip on our shoulder. Someone will win it all, why not OBDs.

Pretty sure you don’t need to worry about Gatlin being completely out of shape. His mom was an All-American pole vaulter, dad was a decathlete, and two of his brothers were decathletes. They have competed at high levels, and the whole family is supportive of each other, and aware of how to stay in shape. Doesn’t mean Gatlin will be a phenom, but I like his chances.

Halftime Entertainment.

Seems like expectations are that Chris Hampton gets promoted, and a new position coach is then needed. That seems to keep things tidy. We will see if any underlings are prompted to follow.

The NCAA bowed to the monies of those that sponsored major bowl games for decades. Logistics for a D1 playoff system was apparently beyond their imagination, and pay grade. Fast forward, and we now have a CFP with growing pains, outside the NCAA’s control. The decision by committee style leadership of the CFP will always be problematic. Every decision makes someone unhappy. At this stage, I have given up paying much attention to proposals, and decisions, that make sense. Money determines the outcome, and as fans, we will end up paying the price. Ultimately, I could see sports playoffs as a stupidly priced streaming package.

The Duck will never correct you GatOrlando. He doesn’t talk. : )

That Ritalin kept them going for two years. The Fuskies can also brag how DeBoer stayed twice as long as Slick Willy.

Happy Thanksgiving my Duck friends.

Didn’t the ball hit him in the face mask? In my opinion, Chris Miller era marked the start of Oregon’s rise from the ashes. We had good starters in those years, but no depth.

Nobody stops Davison with an arm tackle. He really has good vision, and is elusive for a big guy. A lot of big backs in high school just run over smaller defensive backs. Look forward to watching him become our feature back.

Took my son to a game at fusky stadium years ago. Walking back to car, after our win, three skinny drunk fusky students grabbed my Duck hat and told me to try to take it back from them. I should have walked away, but having wrestled for years, I took that challenge. After a short skirmish, I got my hat back from the moron that grabbed it. Luckily for me, the other two kids stayed out of it. I still have that hat. During the Hate the fuskys week, I usually get a text from my son asking if I wrestled any kids in the parking lot.

It would be interesting to see the AD’s realistic list of candidates vs. the candidates that rodent fans think they can attract. If I were the agent of whom they hire, I would make it a habit of verifying that paychecks cleared each payday…lol

I like that we are somewhat off the radar this season. However, schedulers did us no favors this year. Back to back rival type games to finish the season. SUC on an uptick with playoff hopes is a solid team that you have to outscore. Immediately followed by the pups, a decent team with nothing to lose. We are battling for the CFP, and a playoff game at Autzen. They want to poop on our plate. Oregon being nationally televised in both games shows that we are not completely under the radar. College football at it's finest.

Chip is not about the team. Chip is all about himself, and hiring him erodes what I perceive as a strong part of the culture that DL is building at Oregon. Being prepared for the inevitable loss of assistants is a part of being a top program. Oregon, under DL, is a very attractive opportunity for OC’s with an eye on putting together a strong resume for a HC position. Oregon should already have better candidates on their list.