The Kamikaze Kid

Nice to see that a duct taped together Utah can still go into SUC's back yard and grab a win.

"Will Stein remains a suspect play caller." What's with all the Will Stein bashing? I keep hearing how he needs a mentor and nearly every decision gets questioned. The season is now a little over halfway over. Let's check in on how bad the offense is doing this year. Points per game: 47.0 National rank: 2nd (LSU is 1st at 47.4) Yards per game: 553 National Rank: 1st Maybe just maybe Stein actually knows what he's doing.

UO 45-17 2 TOs 4 Sacks 305 Passing yards

You don’t get to be the undisputed Delusion Bowl champion year after year without extreme dedication.

Bravo Brian! When Lanning begins to embrace the chess match of 4th down decisions instead of just a one size fits all pedal to the metal mentality, he may become the most dangerous coach in the country.

The UO has the best scoring and yardage gaining offense in the country right now. There is nothing to be patient about. We’re already there. A couple key play calls could have been better and so could have the execution.The UO just lost an epic top ten nail biter on the road. This was the best college game of the year so far. When two great teams play, someone has to lose. Sometimes it will be us and that always sucks but the sky is far from falling. If Chicken Little wants to break some legit bad news, he should head to Boulder and LA.

This is why the B12 should stop messing around and bring in OSU and WSU ASAP. It could happen eventually but if the coaching staffs and players bail first, then the schools lose all that precious infrastructure.

The beautiful thing about UO's schedule is that if they win out, they'd hang a second Pac loss on every team with only one loss as well as win a tie breaker with USC between the only teams with one loss. They still control their own destiny.

I think how easy this important play was to defend is what has most fans upset.To me, the biggest drawback to the 4th down play call is that success can only be achieved if specific things happen that didn't. If the D line simply slides over staying in front of the QB (which they did), then the run option is gone. If the DBs stay with their receivers (which they did), the completion window shrinks. If the play is moving toward the sideline and is covered (which it was), there's no time or space to improv a plan B. I'd say, the right call in that type of situation may be something generic with a bunch of options. In that moment I think I'd rather have the most seasoned QB in the country surveying the field and going with what ever option he sees as having the highest percentage of success. Having a dump off option to Bucky as a last resort seems like a good idea. Having a scramble option if a lane develops is also a must. Send receivers on quick high percentage routes to different parts of the field. Force them to defend 4-5 different options all at ounce while trying to contain a QB that can still run for it. I didn't like how that play felt doomed from the start and hope to see a better play in the future. In the big picture, the Ducks did go up there and nearly beat one of the best teams in the country on the road. The glass is WAY more than just half full.

A play or two goes our way in the end and today the country is talking about that awesome goal line stand and Lanning running to get the ref's attention for a drive (and game) saving time out in the nick of time. Personally, I think a better play call on the final 4th down that gave Bo enough options to do Bo type things would have won the game. That's pretty dang close to pulling off an impressive top 10 road win.

I think critical 4th down plays NEED to allow some options including running for Bo. The worst part of the play calling on the roll out, is the lack of options for Bo if the play is not working. I would have preferred he stay in the pocket giving him a scramble option if the receivers are covered, give him a dump off option to a tail back and that's three options Bo has to figure out the best way to get it done.

In his post game interview, Lanning seemed to point out this very subject. He said something to the effect of going for it before the half because he thought it was more of a high scoring type of game (get as many points as you can) but he should have thought of it as a close score type of game and should have taken the points instead. I think this is some growth on his part.

This morning millions of disappointed Duck fans are grappling with the feeling that their team let a big one get away yesterday. A few key decisions at a few key moments altered the path from victory to defeat even though the Ducks won the statistical battle in most categories on the stat sheet including QB performance. There where also haunting similarities to earlier losses from the Chip Kelly days. I think it comes down to the different coaching mentalities between being in a shootout vs a chess match. In a shootout, you just hope that your defense can get a key stop or a turn over as you race your opponent to fifty on the scoreboard. In a chess match, you brace for a defensive struggle and try to win the field position battle and scratch and claw your way to getting a few more points than your opponent. Watching Kelly and Lanning leave points on the field in a slug fest with elite teams is frustrating. Watching Mario settle into a slug fest mentality when his team was capable of boat racing most opponents was even more frustrating. I think there is a hidden skill to coaching that is about being aware of the type of game you are in not just believing the type of game you want to be in. Lanning has proven that he is a go for the jugular type of coach which is great against inferior teams buy has proven catastrophic in equal opponent chess matches. If he is the always achieving to get better guy he says he is, he will embrace the need to develop the tactile skills of a chess master and coach the team to victory in these situations. My glass is has full one this and I think he is that guy and will get there. If he gets there this year, they still may be a playoff level team. Go Ducks!

Disappointing outcome but still an impressive performance by the team. UO dominated so many of the major statistics, you'd think they won by double digits. In time, I think Lanning will come to learn to take the points when you can in tight games. Chip had to learn the same lesson the hard way in some of those close Stanford defeats. It's a tough loss but I also don't see them losing to another team on the schedule. This can still be a year of special things.

UO 34-24 3 TOs 3 Sacks 260 Passing

Great stuff Charles. I think the biggest key to the game will be the joy killing effect of the UO run game. 60 thousand soggy fusky fans watching the Ducks methodically move down the field for five minutes at a time is the buzz kill I'm really looking forward to. Silence is golden.

I see this stuff and all I can think is that this may end up being the best Oregon vs Them episode yet.

I'd expect the BIG to simply live up to the minimum expectations of the media contract. If Fox feels good with dumping boat loads of cash on the BIG for eight conference games a year, then that will be all the BIG will feel the need to schedule.

At this point, I've learned to accept the fact that if I don't like the uniforms, the kids must love them.

Great stuff. My keys 1. New nightmare blitz packages springing from the depths of Lanning's playbook. Personally, I'd be terrified to think of what Lanning could install given two weeks to prepare for an epic battle. Just ask Nick Saban. 2. The ground game just doing what it does. If 1st and 10 regularly becomes 2nd and 2 after handing off to Bucky and Jordan, the steady slow roll drives will dominate the clock and they won't outscore us. 3. Win the turn over battle. At WSU last year, a pick six right before half negated the work UO had done climbing out of an early whole and robbed them of halftime momentum. Anything like that Saturday may prove catastrophic. Go Ducks!

I think everybody else should be concerned about him landing with the coaching staff he was hanging out with less than 24 hours before this announcement. Hint:It wasn't the flea riddled leg lifters!

I'd say keep it simple and schedule MW and former Pac teams. Minimize travel and and keep the team healthy for the real part of the schedule.

The Ducks have been and will continue to do a great job of recruiting both O/D lines as well as skill positions. They'll be in the mix at the top of the BIG most years with some drop off with the occasional upset. The real question here is what will Canzono's lane be going forward? Does he embrace the Ducks national presence and climb aboard the bandwagon, or does he continue to stir the pot for the bitter Beaver fan? All I know is that I already don't care either way.

Maybe Miami just didn't physicality enough.

Miami's 24/7 board is like deja vu all over again!