The Kamikaze Kid

The weekly train wreck that is Miami and the weekly growth of this team couldn't be more opposite. I think The Ducks and The U were nearly identically ranked to start the season. I'm just constantly amazed at how Mario's decision to leave may have just ushered in a UO golden era reboot. And Mario can stop giving us so many pratfalls to talk about when ever he wants if he can help it.

Great post Hayward. Lanning has had to process a few significant check marks so far this season. He's had to get the team back off the mat after being destroyed in game one. Had to defeat a top 20 team, come from behind on the road, and avoid a trap game slip up. The next one up will be winning a straight up chess match with a master. If he wins that, then the next check mark will be handling success. So far so good.

The growth rate of this team both individually and collectively is staggering. Freshmen jumping in and having an impact early on a great team will get attention from recruits. So will the coaching up they'll both see on the field and hear about from the players. It's nice to see the secondary becoming a strength of the team. By the Utah game, the entire team may become the strength of the team!

Isn't running it a part of TT's 5 star skill set? What if they just let him run a few designed keepers to get mojo going? A couple 15 yard scampers and maybe some simple short passes open up. Give him two or three going for the end zone drives and then hand it off to Jay for hand off duty. I think they need to put him out there on a mission to score and develop a killer instinct. TT may be called upon to save the season. He'll need to ready. And if he's not the guy, they need to find that out soon and develop Jay ASAP.

Next weeks game to keep an eye on. #10 Penn St at #5 Michigan #6 Tennessee hosting #1 Alabama #8 Ok St at #13 TCU #7 USC at #20 Utah. The Ducks could move into the top 10 next week without playing a snap.

This offense has gone to extremely awesome in a hurry. We have a great QB handing off to great running backs or passing to great receivers or great tight ends all being protected by a great line. It makes me wonder, if you were a 5 star recruit, would you prefer being the man and getting the lion's share of the snaps or would you prefer sharing the load with other awesome players at your position. Being the man gets you a boat load of stats and highlights but sharing the rock cuts way down on wear and tear and potential injuries. If pro ball is my end game, I think I'd prefer less wear and tear, get enough highlights to get NFL attention and take fewer snaps on a star studded team. Thoughts?

TT nearly gave up a pick six on a terrible decision to throw a swing pass to the running back in the backfield that was already being swarmed. The fact that he had no situational awareness on that play really concerned me.

Adjustments. I'm so glad that word has returned to the UO vocabulary. That word is now mia in Miami. I couldn't be happier about the cultural changes this team has made.

My only concern for this team is back up QB. I like TT but haven't seen anything on the field that says QB2 to me. I think they should give Butters some snaps to see what he's got.

This offense may have more A gamers at every position than I've ever seen. That includes the coaching staff. The D is also quietly catching up with the O. If this rate of weekly growth continues, it might not matter if UCLA or Utah bring their A games. Those Sparky roasted fuskies don't even make it into this conversation.

Hot seat alert!

fuskies out there licking their nether regions as usual.

UO 56-31 3 4 285

Beat legit top 20 team. Check Come from behind road win. Check Separates from underdogs early in games. Double Check Visible team improvement week to week. Check Seems like an A grade to me.

North Carolina scores points. Mario doesn't. If UNC takes down the Canes in a 45-17 type of way, a category 5 hurricane may soon arrive at Mario's office door.

One of the things creating Miami’s blind spot to Mario’s coaching woes, is their lack of respect for Oregon. They say he won the PAC 12 and got to the Rose Bowl. What they don’t comprehend is that every UO coach that’s been here two years or more, has also one the PAC and played in the Rose Bowl or NY 6 equivalent. UO has basically been the Clemson of the PAC for the last 15 years. The brand has been built. Helfrich coasted to the Championship with Chip’s machine. Mario’s peak year was 2019. The seniors leading that team were Justin Herbert and Troy Dye. I’d say they took the team as far as they could. Mario kept them from playing in the Natty.

Back in my hoops days, I was quite the shot blocker and had some really nasty ones. I once spun a guy into a 360 back flip with a perfectly clean block. I never showed the slightest bit of emotion about it. That way it was just accepted by all involved that that’s just what happens if you dared to come into the paint. To me show boating makes it seem like players are surprised and rejoicing that they actually made a play.

Every time I seeTT, he seems disinterested. Every time I see Butterfield, he seems amped up and excited to be there.

I figure if I hate them, the kids must love them!

What about an equation of point spread plus total points scored? The contestant with the lowest number off wins. The game had an 18 point spread with 72 points scored. With this formula, let’s see who would win. Score: 45-27 18 spread 72 total points FG Lumber: 35-17 18. (0) 52 (20), 0+20= 20 ebdd: 48-27 19 (1), 75 (3), 1+3= 4 mic: 45-24 19 (1), 79 (7), 1+7 = 8 krsqvn: 38-18 20 (2), 56 (16), 2+16 = 18 This formula gives these results. 1. ebdd 4 off from perfect 2. mic 8 off 3. krsqvn 18 4. FG Lumber 20 Bake this formula into an Excel spreadsheet equation and the answers should self generate to avoid all the math.

A little more focused now. A little more focused now. A little more focused now. A little more focused now.

UO 52-17 3 4 325

Lanning has evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of his team and has set out a plan for success based on that evaluation. That plan currently has the Ducks in the top fifteen and rising weekly. Down in Miami, Mario has been ramming his plod ball scheme down their throats with disastrous results. The fan base is wondering what the heck happened to their Heisman contending QB and high octane offense. The program directions of Mario's my way or the highway mentality vs Lanning's perpetual growth mindset couldn't be more opposite.

Great article. I've been thinking that there should be some sort of tiered targeting penalty system as well as separation of targeting and incidental contact. This article stated it much better than I could.

I don't mind a slow and steady defensive scheme install. It's a confusing defense with many aspects of it being counter intuitive. At UGA our defense was more confused by our defense than UGA was! I'm fine with giving them time to really understand the basics before adding the cool bells and whistles. I'm really enjoying this season. If we stumble here or there along the way, I can live with it. The direction we're heading is promising. It will be worth the wait.