I checked his stats. He averaged single digits in everything. He can probably contribute a little but he’s being offered because of his dad’s influence. Kind of like the Dungy kid who played WR for Chip.

I get it. They lost and entire coaching staff and their backfields on both sides of the ball. Their rank is based off of their trenches. They have tons of talent but no continuity. I wouldn’t  be surprised if they were 1-2 before conference play and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were 3-0. After the Ohio State game last year anything is possible in the first couple of weeks.

LeBron is a Nike guy. That might be significant.

On 8/13/2022 at 1:49 PM, NJDuck said:

Yes, we won it in overtime.  I love it that Browning went out his last year as QB for Washington losing to our Ducks!

I always though the term “corch” was minted by U.S. Representative Corrine Brown during her speech to the House where she formally congratulated “Corch Irving Meyers” and the Florida Gator football team for the 2008 national championship.

One of the tall, fast dudes

On 8/8/2022 at 12:39 AM, chrisjenn99 said:

All I'll say about this is, Herbert forced two bad throws in the 4th quarter for inexplicable INTs in that game.  Those aren't on Mario.

To me, the ASU loss wasn’t the issue. The issue was that Oregon had arguably the best QB in the nation in JH, but nobody knew it. Including Mario. The fact that he was only ever Honorable Mention All-Pac 12 says a lot about his coaching. The Chargers had to be giddy about getting a great QB with low mileage.
 

 

No season ending injuries every week and get stops on 3rd and 17. 

This SDS article obviously focuses on a few big SEC moments at the end, but it’s a great read. I never knew Vin Scully got his start in college football. I know everybody’s favorite call is The Pick call by Jerry Allen, but what are some of your other favorite calls? It doesn’t have to be Duck related as long as it doesn’t put USC or the fuskies in a good light.  I always loved Jerry Allen’s call at the end of the 2010 Civil War. It wasn’t exciting, but the emotion he showed made it memorable. 

 

Vin Scully’s passing a reminder to celebrate legendary broadcasters and the moments they immortalize

WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM

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Vin Scully is a reminder to celebrate all that is great about sports, including those who narrate the action.

 

 

They’re part of the team. Just like the band, trainers, equipment folks, etc. They all influence the game and fan experience.

The UGA game will be telling. I’m glad that’s the one Oregon leads off with.

On 8/1/2022 at 5:32 PM, David Marsh said:

I do think they'll regret their decision.... Or at least those who actually have to travel... Namely the athletes and coaches. 

 

I also can see the fan base being pretty unhappy with it in the long run. 

 

Short run the USC fans will lord it over us and say Oregon is dead and laugh at us. But we'll see how happy they are when they are irrelevant in the B1G. 

I don’t think they’ll be irrelevant. The Big 10 West is Wisconsin and a bunch of cupcakes. USC will probably play in the championship game most years. They may also win their share of B1G titles. I don’t think Day is any better than Riley when it comes to coaching and recruiting. They’ll be even from a talent standpoint in a few years. I just don’t think it will happen immediately like all the pundits say.

They was a kid named Jayden Nolen out of Sacramento who had a pretty good showing. He’s an unrated DB with good size and ball skills. I hope the Ducks get the jump on him. Every 4-5 star was a nobody at some point.

I found this article interesting because of all the ties to the Ducks program. It goes to show you that “slam dunk” hires are not always what they seem. Neither are the non-splashy hires. This year’s rash of coaching hires will turn out the same way. There will be a lot of big names looking for jobs in 3 or 4 years.
 

The author’s opinion on Mario’s updated ranking is interesting, but I think he got it right. I also think they got the Jonathan Smith’s re-ranking absolutely correct. He’s definitely top 3 in that class.

 

Nearly 5 years later, we can already say that the 2017 coaching cycle was a total train wreck

WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM

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It's crazy to think about how quickly that cycle went south.

 

On 7/29/2022 at 7:42 PM, Augduck said:

I never consider anyone a lock until there is ink on paper.  Just me but I don’t assume anything.  These kids change their minds on a dime and off course that is part of being young but until he signs I have concerns.

With the new rules that were suggested with regard to transfers, ink on the paper may be meaningless.

On 7/29/2022 at 4:34 PM, 2002duck said:

HS players like to commit to schools that already have a highly ranked class. They want to win championships. If you start to lose top recruits it becomes something like a disease, and other players start to drop. If you lose Dickey, then you could soon lose Dante Moore, and so on. Phil Knight could afford to be patient with Nike because Nike is on top, and every player wants to sign with them anyway. In college football, Oregon is not on top. We're not really even very close to the top. We can't be patient, and certainly can't bank on the transfer market. We need every 4 and 5 star player we can get.

Yeah, but PK is a business man. I don’t know if paying an 18 year old 10X the money he payed Jordan in his first shoe contract makes good business sense to him. Especially if the dude transfers after his payday. 
 

Oregon needs players for sure, but not guys like Quinn Ewers. A&M and Texas set a precedent of free $$$ for everybody because they have a ton of wealthy boosters who are embarrassed they haven’t won in years. Uncle Phil doesn’t strike me as that type. He’s the kind of guy who is glad to give but also have something to show for it (I.e. facilities, gear/equipment, etc.). 
 

I’m sure he would give a great NIL deal to a proven player, but giving huge money to a HS player doesn’t make good business sense. 

I read this earlier. Oregon is the only remaining PAC 12 team (LA schools not included) in the top 35. Miami is 10 which seems surprising, but they do have 5 championships and a 30 for 30 special on ESPN.

On 7/28/2022 at 9:26 PM, DuckIt said:

I don't condone handing out NIL deals to HS recruits who never played a down in college football, and I don't want them to be the prime reason for recruits picking Oregon.  But for the moment, it appears to be the name of the game.  If the Ducks want to stay in the game and remain relevant, they have play along to some degree which is what they are doing.

 

Whether we like it or not, there is a sense of entitlement with 5-star recruits and even some high 4-star athletes.  They can almost expect some kind of NIL deal.  If one team isn't willing to offer a recruit something, there are always a handful of other teams who are itching to buy a KID's services.

 

Others who prove their worth in the game, like 3-star TJ Bass, they can earn themselves NIL deals.  I read that he is valued at $266K.  That is how it should be, rather than having to entice HS kids with lucrative deals who may never produce or in some cases, play.

 

Jurrion Dickey may not have been a 5-star recruit, when he committed to the Ducks, but now that he has received his 5th star, I should like to think that Ducks are willing to reward him accordingly with some kind of NIL deal.  It will go a long way to buy favor with him and help to lock him in. 

Phil Knight has been in the endorsement game for many years now. I think he knows that guys who can sell Nike straight out of HS are very rare. He may play the waiting game since the transfer portal has become a free-for-all. 

On 7/28/2022 at 8:44 PM, GeotechDuck said:

I would say 9-3, but win the north and the conference.  Here is why

Completely new coaching staff, with new offensive and defensive schemes.  

Replacing leading passer, receiver, and rusher on offense.

Replacing the leader in sacks and interceptions on defense.

Difficult schedule to start the year with Georgia and BYU.

 

There is a tremendous amount of talent on this team, but it just feels like we are going to take a few lumps when you look at the situation objectively.  Hopefully I am wrong and talent will bridge those gaps, but that is asking a lot.        

I say 8-4 for the same reason. UGA, of course, but I also think BYU gets them at home. Then, they will lose two conference games. One against Utah and another one that they shouldn’t lose.

On 7/26/2022 at 8:36 PM, 1Ducker1 said:

One problem, What is a student athlete performs badly?

Academically, if he doesn’t graduate he doesn’t get paid. If he isn’t getting it done on the field then the coaches have to work with him to make him better.

Mike Leach always has some crazy stuff going through his head and it usually spills unfiltered out of his mouth into a microphone. This is no different, but he has some solid points here. I like the graduation incentive, but the draft for the pro track is a little weird. 

 

Hayes: The Leach Plan is so crazy, it may just work

WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM

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The Mississippi State coach has an idea to deal with the free-for-all that college football has become. Just hear him out.

 

I don’t see USC being the powerhouse everybody is building them up to be this year, but I think they’ll do pretty good in their new conference. Wisconsin is the only consistently good team in the West division, so they’ll likely be in the championship game most years. 
 

I don’t think Riley gets fired at all. The only way he might leave is if Jerry Jones decides he’s worth more than $110M. He’s done quite a job of assembling “free agency” talent in short order. If he’s successful then NFL coaches will be drooling over him. He definitely has the right temperament for the NFL unlike Meyer. The NFL has its drawbacks with the salary cap and huge expectations, but the big draw is no recruiting. 

As much as I would like to say yes, I just don’t see it happening. I don’t think he’ll get hurt again, but I also don’t think he’ll play a huge role in the offense.

 

Hollywood Ending: Will this be the season Cam McCormick finally gets his chance to shine?

WWW.ADDICTEDTOQUACK.COM

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The Oregon TE has played one full season in his six years so far at UO.

 

On 7/24/2022 at 9:13 PM, fred flintstone said:

I suspect that the pac 12 refs will be very fair to UCLA and USC this year. LOL.

 

For them......first downs .......10.5 yards........spots......sorta close........all hits look ok to me.......bring on the third USC QB.  

 

Now, they would not do this........right........but if the game is close........pass interference don't exist.

 

The playoffs........lots of luck with that. No way USC beats Utah or Oregon at a neutral or worst site.......the refs will be there.

 

Complaints to the conference office.......placed in the round file under the desk.  

They’re PAC-12 refs. Who they choose to screw on any given Saturday is anybody’s guess.

From what I read it was pretty good for the athletes as the campus setting provided an “Olympic Village” scenario with housing and food located in one general area.