Grandpa Duck

Bringing in a new DC or OC means that person would bring changes in the plays and systems that players and other coaches would need to learn. As it is OBD hit the ground running the day after Indiana ended their playoff run. There’s always room for improvement. What Lanning chose to do allows for growth without disruption.

There are only four west coast teams that deserve to be in one of the major football conferences, and UCLA is marginal. OBD have been outstanding the first two years. It certainly does not appear that the Ducks are at some huge scheduling disadvantage as proven by results. The earth rotates from west to east, and time zones with us behind will always mean our games in the east will sometimes be early. But, we can and do practice in the morning to accommodate the clock adjustment. Most of the TV viewers are in the east, so playing there gets OBD more exposure and better recruits. Do teams win more games coming off a bye? I think that the opposite is the case. Upsets after a bye always garner the “rusty” excuse. We’re one of the new kids in the B1G, so favored treatment is not to be expected. If you must complain about scheduling, at least provide some evidence of damages.

JDuck beat me to it. OBD win the NC!

While we’re enjoying going to the fridge at home, or a nice clean bathroom at home during the break, those in Hard Rock paid as much as $3600 for a seat where thet don’t have nearly the view we have for free (assuming you’re paying for cable regardless of football coverage).

Bronco the "stepping stone" question was a small part of a much bigger question. Mario answered the bigger part of the question and ignored the stepping stone part.

And I happen to believe it makes no sense for him or OBD. If he went out now he'd be down the list of draftees, maybe 8-12. The Ducks have had lots of QB's go much higher. Harrington went to Detroit and got the hell beat out of him. Mariota went to Tennessee and got the hell beat out him. Hubert went to the Chargers and is still getting the hell beat out of him. However Nix, who was farther down the list, went to Denver and is doing great. I expect that Moore will have a tough battle to be the starter. Better for him if he loses.

TOSU did hit “kick our butts” in the regular season 2024. It’s irrelevant to say that the loosing team had better talent, or that the winning team had more experience. When a player puts on his shoes the day of the game he brings the combined talent and experience to the field. He’s either better than the player wearing the other uniform or he’s not. My belief is that in all six games, on the day of the games, OBDs were not the better team for a variety of reasons. Yet, because of good coaching and home field advantage we narrowly won one of them. The results make it difficult argue otherwise.

Sarcasm!

My understanding is that before entering the portal players meet with coach Lanning. I suspect that he is totally honest about their prospects of playing time. He may even say: “Sorry it didn’t work out for you. You’re going to have a better chance of getting on the field at a different school.” The coaching staff must make room for players who can make major contributions.

You say that the strategies were the same in that 2003 game as they are today? I think not! When Chip Kelly came to Oregon as the OC in 2007, he brought with him the mesh, making quarterbacks who didn’t run the ball about as common as hen’s teeth, thereby also changing the pass rush and blitzing. It took a couple of years but all of college football began to mesh. The change in offensive strategy changed defenses dramatically. Chip also spread receivers to the sidelines more frequently than the offense had done previously, thereby not only changing how the defense was positioned, but also requiring faster and more agile linebackers. Chip also had the Ducks running a “hurry-up” offense throughout the game, where before it was used only at the end of the half and, provided the score was close, at the end of the game. Before that innovative change, time of possession was an important statistic. Today it is often irrelevant. The faster pace of play put a greatly increased emphasis on conditioning and increased substitutions which requires deeper rosters. Dr. J you maybe might just need to reconsider.

Dr J you’re relying on a game played in 2003, before most of the players in the coming NC game were born, and another game played in 2020, when they were still in high school? Really?

Stats are extremely misleading. We made more yards from scrimmage because we played a far longer field. They had three drives starting from inside our red zone, two of them with first and goal. Pretty difficult to accumulate yardage on that short of a field.

Cignetti and his staff definitely have an eye for talent. But, so do Dan Lanning and his staff. The NC is not a destination. It’s a journey. It will be a journey next year for Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, Indiana and 130 other teams,

Obvious late hit with no flag!

Hennon 2000: As the poster (under my real name as author of the article) who wrote the article about Dan Lanning needing to notify the officials about IU roughing Dante Moore, it pleases me that others recognize that requirement. If the IU illegal roughing is not flagged, it likely will be a long evening for OBD. And thank you for a well thought out and nicely written post.