Drake

Mar’Keise Irving has the tools to become a pleasant surprise. Decent speed, Can catch the ball out of the backfield, return punts, and if he gets through the LOS, he can make people miss. I think we will use multiple backs each game, but he should be a great change of pace type guy at RB. At receiver, Caleb Chapman might be one of my favorite targets if I were playing QB. Like everyone else, I am excited to find out who shines this year.

I think that OBD really need to open up the passing game. One of our strengths on offense appears to be the potential this team has at receiver and TE. To keep those guys happy and out of the transfer portal they will need to spread the ball around in the passing game. First game out is a tough one, but it certainly will be a wake up call to the younger players about how well you have to play to be considered a top team.

Didn’t see the game, but UNLV definitely has the nicest stadium in the Mountain West conference. Allegiant Stadium is very nice. BTW…Elton John has the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour (final tour) there on November 1st. One of my favorite albums.

Based on Auburn’s struggles last year I wouldn’t expect impressive numbers from any of its offense. They ended the season with a 6 - 7 record. Oregon was certainly not an offensive juggernaut last year, but won 10 games (10 - 4 record). Oregon is expected to win 8 to 10 games this season. I suppose I expect any QB, including Bo Nix, to post decent statistics for the season if they win more games than they lose. If Bo Nix is handed the starting job I am not anticipating him to all of the sudden become a TD passing machine. However, I anticipate that our QB throws for more than 19 TDs this year.

The MASH football game is always a classic.

Road tripping to games as a student becomes a lot more challenging. For me rivalry game are what makes college football games so much fun. With that said, I have to go with an already established rivalry…Boot stomping the Trojans will always be entertaining. Plus, a nice sunny SoCal day in November is better than trying to tailgate in sub freezing temps somewhere in the Midwest.

Having experience and young talent available at receiver is a huge benefit to this team. The experienced guys will lead by example in practice, on the field, and in the locker room. The young talent will learn from them and be better for having solid examples to help guide them. I am excited to see the young guys get their opportunity to shine. However, you need the guys on the field that both catch and block. Experience helps win tough games, and the first game is a tough as it gets.

Not announcing the starters until game day also keeps the media from putting additional pressure on the starting QB for the first game against the defending champs. That is the marquee starting position battle that most people want to know about anyways. The questions, or analysis, from the media about the players involved can be a little hard to take sometimes. The next big question always seems to be how far do you let a starting QB struggle before sending in QB2. Not announcing until game day is not a big deal to me, but I understand why people want to know. I guess we will all find out for sure just before kickoff.

I believe that donating money, or bidding on items that raise NIL money is fine (Ducks of a Feather). If it is not in your budget to donate then you should not feel compelled to contribute just because you are a fan. The University and DAF have received donations from me annually for many years. While I don’t feel compelled to donate to an NIL fundraising effort that I am not familiar with, I would not tell others that they should not donate, or get involved.

A family obligation keeps me from hosting a tailgate that weekend. There will be a lot of active tailgates 2 to 3 hours before kickoff. Oregon fans will be excited for the Lanning era to begin. The Moshofsky Center (an indoor practice field) next to the stadium is always an option. It is turned into a big beer garden on game days. However, you must enter the stadium gates to have access. Just be aware that your ticket is a one way trip into the stadiums confines. Once inside the stadiums gates your ticket doesn’t allow you to leave the stadium and reenter.

Mar’Keise (Bucky) Irving may be a nice offensive weapon that is underrated. Young back with a lot of talent that fights for yardage. He is a solid addition to Dillingham’s offense. The RB room is getting stacked with talent.

The size of our receivers that are available to our QBs will pose problems for defensive backs. That is assuming that our QBs play just above average. An elite QB will have some fun picking on mismatches that they can create. Jurrion Dickey looks to be the real deal. I hope that Dante Moore to Jurrion Dickey for a TD is a familiar call over the PA system at Autzen.

An aggressive defensive scheme with top notch athletes…hmmmm, YES, please!!! I believe Lanning and staff has an opportunity to be “setting the bar” for the Ducks future recruiting as well. Opening up the offense, and playing aggressively on defense is a good start. Winning against tough opponents attracts attention even faster. Always a lot of reasons to be optimistic at this time of year. This team has a lot of potential. Let’s see what that potential can do on game day. Duck football tickets need to be a must have again. Autzen Stadium wants to Rock!!! Go Ducks!!!

Cant leave out the iconic ending to Grease in a tribute to Olivia. The painted on pants suit was worn very well.

We have a lot of unknown potential at QB. Any of these guys could start against E WA. Different story against Georgia. With an uptempo offense we should have an opportunity to rest QB1 in the 4th quarter more often. Having QB1 on the field in a blowout doesn’t make any sense. However, you don’t really want QB2 just handing the ball to a RB to run out the clock. Platooning QBs is not the ideal way to develop talent. You don’t want QB1 looking over their shoulder to see if they are being told to come out of the game. You want your best QB option to be confident that they have everyone’s support through any of the rough spots. Generally, you can tell if the back up QB is a solid player in a short period of time. Should be fun to watch who goes the distance.

If Thibs stays healthy he will be a good one.

We have great fans. Those kids are going to be loud. It isn’t a tennis match…lol

Herbert elevated Oregon football despite the numerous challenges he faced. Herbert at QB in Dillingham’s offense with our current roster of talented receivers and RBs….that would be fun to watch. Ty Thompson, I hope you get your shot at elevating Oregon football.

Riley’s contract and housing costs may start to seem overpriced if he starts losing these types of recruits. This is all about creating a bidding war for this kid’s potential.

I would love to see Justin Flowe play hard and stay healthy for the entire season. I am sure that dealing with injuries in back to back years creates angst for him. Especially for a player everyone expects to excel at this level. I hope that he can fully test his knee and foot during the fall practices, and is a full go for the Georgia game. Watching Flowe and Sewell playing at an elite level together would be just a beautiful thing to see on Saturdays.

A lot of uncertainty about the future impact that NIL $$$$ will have on college sports. I wonder how long donors will throw millions of dollars at a team and still not be able to hoist the big trophy at the end of the season? NIL hasn’t really changed the number of teams with a legit shot at winning the CFP. Before NIL there were maybe 5 to 6 teams with a legit shot, after NIL there are 5 to 6 teams with that same legit shot. It is not news that Oregon State will not win the CFP this year. TV rights revenues generated by the conferences will determine the long term fate of what happens to many college sports. Oregon and Oregon State could very well both be impacted negatively. We may very well see colleges being forced to eliminate some sports because of the economics of fielding men’s and women’s sports (title IX).

Fun stuff. The guys who have played before are wearing sweatshirts on a warm summer day. Nothing better than getting a bunch of alpha guys together for a few rounds of capture the flag.

This is BO Nix’s opportunity to step up and perhaps grab some needed attention from NFL scouts. His play, coupled with how well our OL plays, will probably determine whether Oregon is in the game in the 4th quarter. I can say that I am not overly optimistic about Nix, but am willing to be pleasantly surprised.

Play fast, and score points. Offense creates excitement with fans and captures the attention of the casual observer who happens to tune in to watch. All the team can control is how they approach each practice and game. These kids and coaches carry the torch, but ultimately they will not decide the fate of the PAC 10. The shifting sands of the conference landscape is out of their control. Oregon will be relevant. A narrative will be established about the direction that the University is taking with regards to it’s future. However, it is still too early to give definitive answers to where they will be in 5 years.

This stuff gives me a headache. The pursuit of TV revenue is definitely changing the landscape of collegiate sports. The PAC 12 is paying the price of poor leadership within the Conference. Highly educated chancellors/presidents hired a commissioner that lined his pockets with gold, and ultimately made such poor business decisions that the conference may not survive. In the business sense of things, this conference deserved so much better. Shameful.