The Kamikaze Kid

For an outside the box take, I'd propose that Lanning himself may be the best OC the Ducks have had. Early in his coaching carrier at UO, Lanning said that the offense would be a blend of his, Dilly's and the position coaches concepts. He also said that for years, he and Dilly would bounce ideas off each other to get a better understanding of how an offense or defense would respond to a certain type of play or formation. Lanning said that a better understanding of offensive scheming made him a better defensive coordinator. When Stein took over for Dilly, Lanning said that the offensive scheme already in place would remain in place and Stein would be adding his takes to the mix. Bottom line, this offensive game plan is baked into Lanning's offensive philosophy and will remain regardless of who the offensive coordinator is.

UO wins the next three games and they are in the playoffs period. The leading Heisman contender won't be elbowed aside by anybody.If the fuskies blow it against the #12 beavs, they wouldn't drop enough to matter and the Pac would have three top 10 ish teams before the conference championship. Any one loss Pac team is in this year. And this year, it will be the Ducks.

UO 31-13 3 TOs 3 Sacks 260 Passing tards

What the "difficulties" in a historic context look like. Spoiler alert: Ducks are 11-2 in last 13 games. Winsipedia - Oregon Ducks vs. Arizona State Sun Devils football series history WWW.WINSIPEDIA.COM Winsipedia - Database and infographics of Oregon Ducks vs. Arizona State Sun Devils football series history and all-time...

Check out how three Duck coaches handle the same question. Can you spot the difference?

SUC: Next years champs, this years chumps. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.

UO gave Lanning $4M+ a year for his first head coaching gig. The next year they bumped it up to nearly $7m a year for a Mario like year. If he gets to the playoff, I'd expect that to get bumped up again in the $10M a year range regardless of the ATMs lurking out there. I can't see him leaving the perfect situation for similar pay to have to just recreate an infrastructure all over again to just be the 3rd or 4th best team in the SEC.

Ducks were up 36-14 when they stopped a 4th and 4 at mid field. Then the Pac 12 refs showed up and went all Pac12 ref.

UO/ Uncle Phil could just verbal with Lanning that they'll match whatever the ATM coach gets and that should be that. Everything is setting up perfectly for him here. ATM would be a high stress pressure cooker with oil tycoons playing general manager constantly in his ear telling him what to do. Hard pass.

CaptainCane where are you!

SUC fans have already lost interest in this season. Now they are convinced that they're just one DC hire away from being next year's Delusion Bowl Champions!

If Stony Brook calls for a rematch, Miami better not answer the phone.

Lanning has everything he could possibly want right here especially a great calm lifestyle for his family. UO/ Uncle Phil will make sure to match any offer to leave he gets. Jonathan Smith leaving a sinking ship on the other hand....

AnM fires their coach and a few hours later Lanning is "named" as a possible replacement. I highly doubt that a single source within AnM was sited as naming any candidates for the job. News without sources is just gossip. Lanning will get this team into the playoffs, his contract will again get bumped up to reflect his current value and the Ducks will keep on keeping on.

Keep recruiting, running the team but stay away from the games? This punishment would be a Miami fan's dream come true!

According to ESPN stats, UO sits at #37 in passing defense at 204yards per game. This includes eight BIG teams ahead of the Ducks. I think that is mostly due to the lack of passing offense in the BIG than great defense. I highly doubt that teams like Indiana and Northwestern have better passing D than UO. Also of the seven games played (not counting PSU), four have been against top 10 passing QBs: #1 Fuskies, #3 CU, #6 WSU, #7 Hawaii. In that context, I'd say UO's passing D has been spectacular.

I had a great time last night talking with my fellow Duck fans and forum friends. I also really enjoyed the excellent presentation by Mr FishDuck himself. Lanning's complex defensive schemes are smash mouth poetry in motion and a joy to watch. It was great to see the well explained breakdown on many of the techniques used to create so much havoc at the line of scrimmage. I look forward to looking for these details tonight. It was also great getting a well detailed look into Will Stein's blocking schemes. It was interesting to see how both similar and divergent from Kelly's attack they are. Thanks again for all the work you do to make this a great place to both learn about the tactics used by our elite coaching staff and have great discussions with fellow Duck fans without the barrage of trolls just trying to kill the buzz. Go Ducks!

UO 66-27 3 TOs 5 Sacks 345 yards passing

In summary, here are the main pregame story lines. Lanning, while working up his team like sharks in a feeding frenzy, calls SUC soft. SUC fans lose their minds over it. SUC QB cries in mamma's arms on national TV. SUC fires D coordinator for soft defense. SUC defensive player casually admits to not watching game film. SUC coaches confirm no film session this week. Sorry SUC but this week, it sucks to be you.

Isaiah Thomas once told a story of life growing up in the Chicago projects. He said one day a group of mean kids wanted to beat him up and he ran home and told his mom. She said he had to go back outside and fight or he'll never gain respect on the streets so he did. No binkies in the Thomas home but their are some NBA championship trophies.

What does points per game even matter when the Ducks are just running out the clock by the mid third quarter and SUC is scratching and clawing till the final second to avoid defeat every week?

The problem with that plan is giving the ball to Bucky against that Swiss cheese defense will become a score much quicker than five minutes!

Let's not forget that UO is usually in cruise control by around the middle of the third quarter. By comparison, SUC is usually desperately attempting to fend off defeat week after week until the final play. While the Ducks are basically killing time by giving reps to their 4th and 5th string backs, SUC has Williams out there in panic mode working to get every yard and point they can.

The Ducks will be able to portal in a top 10 rated QB if they want. If TT has arrived and is the five star super stud he's supposed to be, he should be able to beat out a top 10 rated QB. Either way, UO should have a top 10 rated QB running the show next year.