DrJacksPlaidPants

Like Jimmy Johnson used to say “You treat all players the same until you don’t”. What he meant was high performers (I.e. star players) were treated better. There was a game the Cowboys lost in Washington where everyone played horribly. Jimmy got a few Heineken’s deep on the flight home and went to the back of the plane and openly ripped anyone who looked to be having a pleasant time. He also told the flight attendant not to feed them. He walked right past Aikman, Smith and Irvin (who also had bad games) and lit into everybody else. Back home in Dallas, Aikman confronted him about why he didn’t yell at the star players and Jimmy alluded to the fact that his words would have no effect on guys like him, Emmitt, Irvin, etc. because they were harder on themselves than any coach could ever be. Long story short, great coaches know which buttons to push and whose buttons to push. What works for one guy might not work for the next. A great example is Tua in Miami. Flores used to ride him hard before he was fired and Tua played poorly. Along comes McDaniel who treats Tua like a pro and he takes the Dolphins to the playoffs and has a great season.

He could also pull a Peyton Manning and send him to the sidelines.

Actually, the similarities to 2014 have been running through my head, but I have found a way to articulate them. I’m looking forward to your article.

I was there. I was also in Pullman two weeks prior when Mariota was limping on the sideline. Helfrich didn’t let Mariota run against Arizona on that fateful Thursday night, so he could get healthy. Aside from the unsportsmanlike penalty there was a huge dropped pass and a long run by Arizona on 3rd and 20. The one big similarity to 2014 was Matt Pierson. He was a walk-on OL who was absolutely horrible when he had to replace an injured starter (Fisher?). The Ducks were barely hanging on with him in the lineup. Fisher finally came back, but I think he ended up getting better and earned a few more starts.

Remember in the 2010 National Championship game against Auburn when the OL got completely destroyed, but the defense played good enough to keep them in the game and the offensive skill players showed flashes of brilliance? This team reminds me of that team. Only it's every game instead of just against Auburn.

Once Oregon starts making 10-12 hour round trips for road games they will realize that they need 3 home (or near home) non-conference games. The conferences realigned, so schedules will change. I think we will see the games in Stillwater and Logan get dropped and replaced with somebody more suitable to Oregon's needs. I see Beavis filling those voids. Possibly Cal since they have openings on their schedule for those two years. With conference realignment, home/home series need to be mutually beneficial. UT and AZ schools have expanded to playing in TX, CO, etc. What's the benefit of coming to Eugene? None, zero nada. UGA and A&M figured this out a long time ago. On the other hand, Cal and Stanford need all the West Coast games they can get. I would like to see Oregon's recruiting philosophy evolve with their move to the B1G. What I mean by this is keep recruiting the Bay Area, AZ and Utah as needed but expand to large metro areas in the B1G footprint. Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, DC, Philly, NY/NJ, etc. should be recruited just as hard as Los Angeles. If you look at Ohio State's roster they have over 40 scholarship players from outside the B1G footprint. The majority of their players from within the B1G footprint are OL, DL and LB's. Many of their skill guys come from the South or West. As a general rule, Oregon should get the best players they can out of LA, PHX, SLC, SEA and the Bay Area. But don't settle for undersized front seven guys. Get them where they grow them. They're in Oregon's recruiting footprint now. The PAC 10/12's lack of a national championship since 2005 should tell them something. They should recruit the West out of need and not convenience. With Oregon's brand and the backing of Nike, they can make this happen.

You can also throw in the fact that Oregon has only won a single game (2018) in Reeser since 2014. However, DL broke the Boise curse this year so he may be onto something.

All of these match-ups you mention could happen in the playoffs. I'm quite confident that if you polled the student/athletes they would choose an extra weekend at home. These long road trips aren't easy and they don't care if the fans want to see them play Alabama or LSU in non-conference games.

Traveling to SLC or PHX is way more significant. It requires a bus ride to the airport, a flight and a hotel stay. The bus rides, loading and unloading, security checks, stress of flight, driving to a field to have a Friday walk-through, strange beds and different meals all play a factor. Playing in Corvallis requires a 45 minute bus ride. Recruiting has changed so much with the addition of the transfer portal, social media and the Ducks camp circuit. Oregon has 10 players from Texas, but they haven't been to Dallas for 5 years. That trip to Lubbock sure didn't move the needle on recruiting. The only benefit of those trips to the Bay Area, PHX or SLC is the coaches can stay back and visit some recruits rather than making an extra trip. I say put the stress on the coaches instead of the student/athletes.

In 2025 the Ducks will be traveling to Chicago, NYC, Iowa City and State College, PA. The other away game is in Seattle. Luckily, they get the OSU Cowboys and Beavis in Eugene along with Montana State to start the season. Having a bi-annual away game in Corvallis is going to be beneficial if Oregon wants to be competitive in the B1G.

Here’s how I look at this strictly from the football perspective. The Duck play a FCS, G5 and P4 team every year for non-conference games. The P4 teams have typically been a home and home series (MSU, Ohio St., etc.). If Oregon can cancel all future P4 non-conference opponents and stick with Beavis then that’s a series with a very short away game every other year. That also means they play 3 non-conference home games every other year. They have to play 9 conference games, so this makes perfect sense.

If the Ducks keep laying eggs (pun intended) and USC West and Penn State are both undefeated, you might see the A Team head for sunny California instead of Eugene.

Bo Nix looked like a rookie. One of the funnier moments in the 4th quarter was when he threw his 2nd interception. As soon as the ball left his hand you hear the color commentator, Adam Archuleta, say “oh, no” in a very deadpan tone of voice. He knew it was a bad decision. lt could’ve been worse. Seattle is a tough stadium to make your first start. Herbert did a good job managing Harbaugh’s offense. His first TD pass of the season was to Ladd McConkey who took a short pass and juked a couple of guys for the score.

I would put them in the mid teens somewhere. Miami and USC need to be ranked ahead of them for sure. I noticed other ranked teams played pretty bad yesterday. Penn State and Notre Dame were pretty notable as well as Kentucky. Those 3 teams played really well last weekend, so yesterday’s showings were very strange. I’m glad they got the win, but I know they’re not in the same class with those in the top tier.

I thought we would come away from week 2 with more questions than answers. This team is exactly what they showed on the field. That’s why I picked BSU for the upset. There is a very good chance this team will be unbeaten when they play Ohio State. Unfortunately, that game will look an awful lot like yesterday’s Texas/Michigan game.

The ESPN Gamecast credited Jayden Limar with a “0 Yard KO Return”.

Sean Payton has a type. Shedeur ain’t it. He doesn’t have the leadership traits.

I don’t like this weekend. Too many upset alerts!

USC East is up on Kentucky.

Idaho up on Wyoming. 17-13.

I watched the video again from the side and back angles. DG seemed to look at Tez, but double clutched his throw and decided to throw it to Evan Stewart. This pump fake drew all of the DB's toward Stewart, so he had no chance to make a first down. Had DG just hit Tez in stride he would've picked up 15 yards at the very least.

Boise 27-24. 1 TO 2 Sacks 326 Passing Yards Traeshon ran his mouth which is bad karma. Boise beat Belotti, Chip and Mario. It looks like it’s DL’s turn.

Great article. However, the missed 3rd down where Pickard had to block two defenders is all Dillon Gabriel’s fault. Tez filled the open area vacated by the blitzing LB and Gabriel didn’t see him. He was too locked in on his outside WR. Tez would’ve easily picked up the first Dow and then some.

The Fresno Michigan game was broadcast on Peacock and then replayed on B1G Football in 60. You just have to look at the schedule after the game. TV Schedule - Big Ten Network BTN.COM Looking to stream live games from Big Ten Network, FS1 & Fox? Use the Fox Sports app: iOS | Android | Roku Don't have a TV provider? Sign up and watch now. Find Big Ten highlights on...

His uniform doesn’t fit him well.