Joshua Whitted

I too am hoping one of the young QBs takes the horse by the reins. Nix is a good backup option if they don't pan out, but I think that's a (relatively) worst-case scenario.

Really great point, the coaches have to put whoever starts in the best position to succeed. I do wonder what a guy like Shough could have done under a better offensive staff.

Very very true. I hope we hang on to Butterfield, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him exploring other options either.

Yep, it was a bit of an eye-popper at first, but the more you look at it, the more obvious it was that we needed a veteran QB.

You all have been bringing up a very good point about the schedule, specifically the opener. I know winning is a longshot in general, but I'm sure the coaching staff is glad they have a guy who has played in these types of games before, specifically playing Georgia three times already.

Yeah the Transfer Portal itself could be broken down in like a months worth of articles lol. I understand that coaches jump ship all the time, but there are monetary consequences for them doing so. I feel like that part has gotten ignored when comparing coaches leaving to players transferring. The NCAA has a mess on its hands here and not really much power to do much about it...

Dillingham and Lanning are saying all the right things, which is refreshing to hear. Hopefully they put those words into action because you are correct, Cristobal did not develop quarterbacks.

I too am mixed on Nix as a player. I'm a big fan of the process of adding a guy via the portal. That said, I wish we would've swung for some of the other QBs available. (To be fair, we might have and just lost.)

I don't have anything to add, as I agree with this wholeheartedly. I gave Mario a pass for the struggling offense because he recruited so well, but boy did he really set our offense back...

Spot on to you too, Jon. Yep, Alabama adapted and runs a very modern, creative offense. Hopefully Lanning was taking notes.

I am very excited to see us play with tempo again. It's been missing far too long.

I think your last paragraph is key. Innovation can come in a variety of ways; as long as we're keeping defenses on their toes we're doing our job.

Yeah, Dorlus is really, really good. With this staff, he might be a game-wrecker.

I do hope Lanning gets the Ducks to play up to their potential more often than Cristobal did. I feel like Oregon only brought its A-game like once or twice a year under him.

Adding Tosh is such a massive addition, and he should be a big help in recruiting the Southeast. Of course LBs are important too, but they're really able to shine when teamed with an elite D-Line. I am confident Lanning will get the D-Line in championship-level shape before long, so long as he gets some recruiting wins at that position.

Absolutely. This is going to be a process, especially with all of the roster turnover.

This is a fantastic point and one that should not be overlooked. Depth is HUGE. You hit the nail on the head.

I'm VERY excited about the transfer from Washington. He was a much-needed addition to our relatively thin D-Line.

Hayward, this is a great point and it leads us to a great discussion on whether this is a “chicken or egg” scenario. Elite recruits want to go to schools that create draft prospects, and the schools that generate NFL players generally do so because they sign the best prospects. To break the cycle, a school has to stand out and do something different from everyone else. Oregon used to be that school. If it can regain that reputation under Lanning, the recruits will follow.

Jon, terrific insight as always. I just don’t think we need to change the college football infrastructure to nerf the SEC. I think the easiest way to balance the sport is for many other premier programs to simply pull their weight. There’s no reason Michigan should be a a clear second fiddle to Ohio state in recruiting, likewise USC should be owning the west. Texas shouldn’t be letting Texas A&M take the state from them. I think there have been monumental recruiting failures from many former blue-blood programs and that more than anything has allowed a select few programs to dominate the landscape.

Yeah, I think Cristobal had a bunch of good qualities. He was a strong leader, hired really good coaches, had an infectious personality and as you said, was a relentless worker. I think we'd be fortunate to have those traits in another head coach. Of course he wasn't perfect, and ideally Lanning can learn from what Cristobal did well and improve upon what he didn't.

Perfectly said. Honestly, what an absolutely cool matchup. I wasn't too bummed when we lost the Pac-12 Championship because I knew this game would be our consolation prize, and I think it's a pretty cool one!

I would absolutely love to see Moorhead empty his bag of tricks. I'm sure he's got some really cool plays drawn up that he's been sitting on.

I think our offense will be just fine crazily enough. I'm pretty concerned about our defense this game, though.

I sure am hoping this game does not become a 3-hour Heisman campaign for Williams ...