Drake

Not just #1, a unanimous #1 in both polls, which is very cool, since this is a first. Difficult to be critical, or complain. I will sit back and admire what this team has done, and remain cautiously optimistic looking forward. As DL reminds his team every week….they can’t control the narrative of what others say, or think…FEBU, do your job, talk with your pads, and let’s go play some football.

ESPN has $1.3 billion reasons they would want to see more SEC representation in this years CFP. Proven viewership numbers that they can sell to their advertising clientele. I would think that they would love to take a 3 loss SEC team over the BIG 12 champion if they could get away with it.

My guess is that they are focusing on finishing the season strong. The coaches, and players, also avoid any questions regarding sloppy play, injuries, transfer portal rumors…etc. The coaches also have to focus on putting the finishing touches on the 2025 recruiting class. Not enough hours in the day based on what the team is trying to accomplish. Have to keep current players focused, and impress potential recruits.

An error. Apparently we played with mainly LG’s, and Ajani watched.

The physical, and mental challenge of navigating through a new conference schedule is difficult all by itself. Being ranked #1 makes it even more distracting. Physically, players are banged up, and mentally the team is expected to play mistake free ball each and every game. While Wisconsin should not be feared, they should be respected. They will be very motivated to knock the Ducks from the unbeaten ranks.

I think the AD has simply chosen the two of you to step up your game.

With these comments would Ryan Day survive if tOSU “reworked defense” falls short against Indiana?

A predictable offense can be stopped. As an example, Oregon fans hated the pistol formation of the MC era, because opposing defenses knew what to expect. tOSU, Michigan, and Penn State have generally ruled the Big for years, without the need to make adjustments to their style of play. This year Oregon is equipped to handle top teams with speed, and size, on both sides of the ball. Having a QB in the thick of the Heisman trophy race gives us the upper hand. I don’t expect to boat race the BIG every year, but with our level of recruiting, we will definitely dominate many BIG teams if they don’t start to adjust their style of play.

I think SUC will need to stand behind a coach at some point. Riley is a decent recruiter, and to replace him they would be need a top coach, and recruiter, that can assemble a staff quickly. We struck gold with DL. Oregon gave a very young DC full support to assemble a top staff and go after the top players and recruits in the nation. Oregon fans hoped it would work out well. All the while, SUC nation was sure that Riley was the solution to years of mediocrity. When you are completely wrong, and overpay for something that is less than you wanted, what’s next? Let’s say they hired a guy like James Franklin. Good coach, and recruiter. Would that fan base be happy losing to Oregon, and tOSU most years. Doubtful.

Oregon has had many great college level receivers, with memorable catches and great performances in games. What is interesting, at least by my count, since 1990, the NFL has drafted 10 Oregon QB’s, and 8 receivers. I dont know the metrics the NFL uses to evaluate WR talent, but Oregon’s WR’s are often overlooked. Evan Stewart is a good one, but WR has to be one of the more difficult positions to have the speed, size, and agility that the NFL desires in any given draft year.

Consistently win the Ugliest helmet award.

Kudos to DL, and staff, that have brought in talent to compete with the top teams in the nation. Not really a villain, but the normal bullies of the conference know that the new kid is pretty darn tough.

Worst…Potato salad stadium before they spent $150 million on lipstick to put on that pig. Best…Tailgating at Stanford in the grove of trees, with the trees. Many tailgate setups have white table cloths, and great Cali wine on the table. We were serving salmon, and burgers to a fairly large group. Some Stanford alums tailgating nearby came over with a few bottles of wine to talk football, and for some of our food. Their stadium experience is more subdued, but had fun tailgating with those fans.

Colt without the heroin addiction. Colt was an athletic marvel that had demons that he could not overcome. He ended up in being sentenced to jail, escaped out of a window, and somehow found heroin, then overdosed. He did survive. He was definitely an NFL caliber athlete Sadiq is still growing into the role of a TE. He creates mismatches for a defense. He has the speed of many college level DBs, and a clear size advantage. Fun to watch.

Sounds like a cheap seat on a discount airline. Seems to me they increased the number of seats years ago because someone had built a stadium with more capacity. Rather than make the stadium larger, maybe they just moved the seats closer together to get a few more rows.

I think you need to make a deposit in advance to obtain new season tickets. Season ticket renewal period is early every year, and they never know who will, or will not renew, until about April. Whether your order is filled is based upon how many seats you request, and the number of deposits in front of you for that year. Obtaining two seats is much easier than four, or more. There are years where availability is scarce. I think the cristball (no O) years there was a trend of higher non-renewals. I believe your friend was mistaken with the way it works, it is not really a waiting list.

A good team can also have a very favorable BIG conference schedule. This year is a good example, if you don’t have to play at Oregon, tOSU, Penn State, or Indiana as an away game you can rack up wins. Oregon had tOSU at home, and misses the others. However, Michigan is struggling, and we never know who the next Indiana is going to be in any given year. A BIG schedule may allow a team to completely avoid playing the conferences top ranked teams. So, my conclusion, the BIG can be easier based on your schedule.

Natural reaction when a defender lowers his head and is aiming at the family jewels.

Games against rivals, or highly ranked teams gets Duck fans at Autzen fired up. Once an opponent has a false start, and the crowd sees that there is now blood in the water, the noise level increases. Opposing fans from the BIG just don’t understand how loud Autzen can get at field level. They will slowly find out.

Interesting notes on BBDB defense. The biggest difference that I see of today’s defense, compared to the high scoring teams of the Aliotti years, is the time of possession of the offense. Alioti’s defense was always on the field much longer. Aliotti also did not have the defensive depth we have today. Therefore, his BBDB defense was scrutinized when our offense wasn’t outscoring opponents.

A loss by tOSU would certainly turn up the temperature on the Ryan Day hot seat. Watching the tOSU, and USC fan meltdown, is just solid entertainment.

I think the last thing Michigan wants is to rely on a steady diet of Warren’s passing game. They will have him pass just enough to keep our defense honest. I am sure that we are not planning to blitz this kid on every passing down. Sorry Kid, your resume precedes you.

If I had a voice in the decision making of the conference I would not recommend full time employment status. I would use full time staff to make the process to receive credentials more vigorous. Which requires a larger time commitment to maintain status, which in turn equals higher pay. Once credentialed, annual continuing education would be required to maintain the ability to work games. Beyond that, a referee is really a thankless job. For those that have played baseball, remember the over zealous parents that scream at a young umpire at youth baseball games…smh

Jet lag going east isnt that bad. You are just wide awake at midnight…4 1/2 hour direct flight to Detroit from Portland…not too bad.

Wait until Oregon starts flipping recruits from them like we do from SUC. Buckeye fans will completely lose their minds. Was reading about buckeyes, apparently you can eat them….however, they have a lot of tannic acid and can be toxic …”if not prepared properly Buckeyes can cause weakness, vomiting, paralysis, and death. Is Ryan Day preparing them properly?