The Kamikaze Kid

I don’t know anything about the promotion of Mehringer to OC and will trust Lanning on that one. I am nervous about switching him to QB coach. With Dante’s return and the star studded depth behind him and an absolutely stacked receiver room, I’m sure we could get the best QB coach in the country.

I'd prefer a sixteen team playoff with a sixteen team NIT playoff. Dan's format for home games and schedule that ends around New Year's Day. I'd also suggest that first round losers be eligible for bowl games if those still end up being a thing. I think an NIT tournament would be cool so the rest of the country could be included in the fun and not just be for the same ten teams every year with a few sacrificial lambs thrown in.

In 2023 Washington was that team. A great coach with a great QB and receivers and a roster filled with seniors that decided to run it back one more time. In 2024 tOSU was that team. A near NFL ready offense and defense with a sketchy floor but also a spectacular vaulted ceiling. In 2025 Indiana is that team. A roster stacked with 5th and 6th year seniors and awesome coach and a Heisman QB. The 2026 Ducks are starting to look like that team. A large group of NFL ready players deciding to run it back one more time, a four and five star roster at every position and even with a mass exodus to the portal, a two deep with four stars at every position. As for the coach? He is 17-1 in the BIG including 9-0 on the road. I know that SUC is the undisputed wait till next season champions but I think things are shaping up nicely for the Ducks to make a real run at a Natty.

Are stars lining up?

Great news. Now to bring in an elite level QB coach.

Big Ten regular season leaders last two years: OBD 17-1 Indiana 17-1 tOSU 16-2 Not bad considering the BIG is about to win it's third straight title by three different teams.

Still rooting for Akili Smith Jr to win QB1.

Looking around at the portal rate for other top ten teams, I think it's safe to say the the era of a legit three deep is over. I wonder how this affects Lanning's coaching hires moving forward. I think prioritizing coaches that can prep players for the pros to lure elite portal players will be more important than elite recruiters of players that just portal out anyway.

Five star tight end from Penn St is coming in. Welcome aboard Andrew Olesh!

The Beavers finished that year at 10-3 and ranked 17th just a couple spots below the 10-3 15th ranked Ducks. Washington finished that year at 11-2 and ranked 8th. Lanning's never lost to an unranked team and only lost once to a team outside the top ten.

I'm more in shock than mourning. I felt going in that if we brought our A game we may have a 40-45% chance of winning and was looking forward to a 4th quarter battle that could go our way with a history defining play. Instead we got a bad pick six on thirst play of the game. Then a few minutes later, we had yet another self induced backfield fumble and the game was over just like that. As pointed out on another post. Indy only had to go 30 yards to collect 28 gift wrapped points. It was a complete and utter collapse. It's like stepping in to the ring against Tyson, tripping on the ropes, falling flat on your face and knocking yourself out. It wasn't that we lost it was in the unbelievable and continuous way that it happened.

No matter who wins, Lanning has only lost to championship game participants for 75% of his four year career. He's also had the miss fortune of playing a participant in all four years. In fact only two of his eight total loses we're not to championship participants. Pretty amazing record really.

I'm actually excited for the Akili Smith Jr era to begin. In my mind, it's why Novo portaled out before Moore declared anything. I would rather let Jr grow into the position even if they take a couple Ls than just portal in someone with experience.

A sure fire top five pick or clearly not ready for the pros seems like a bizarrely wide gap. Personally, I like Dante and want him to succeed but I’ve never understood the hype. Where would you rank him with Nix, Herbert, Mariota, Dixon, Harrington , Akili Smith, Musgrave or Miller? Where would he rank with Musgrave Graziani, O Noel, Clemens, Masoli, Thomas, Vernon Adam’s or Gabriel. How would the Ducks have looked last night with any of those other options? Again I like Dante but I just don’t understand the hype.

Imagine the opening play going to Harris.