The Kamikaze Kid

The phrase "Altman's never lost in the first round with the Ducks" never gets old.

Checking scores this morning, it looks like the BIG men went a perfect 8-0 in the first round. The ladies are 5-1 with another four to play today. This doesn't include play in games (I saw the UW women lost one) as I can't bring myself to count those as actual playoff games. Hoping the BIG continues to show out through the weekend.

Just checked the new spring roster on the chilliduck repository page and there is only one player in the secondary that is not at least a four star. With that much stacked talent at every position, someone has to emerge as THE guy. In fact the entire defense and most of the offense is the same story. Time to watch that cream rise to the top.

What a great post. I love the idea of a playoff to get into the playoffs with home games for the top four. It allows for a March madness Cinderella to sneak in. It also keeps the expanded conferences from getting too top heavy and keeps most of the conference relevant to the end of the season. That can't be bad for ratings. If all the conferences adopted this model, the playoffs would actually expand to well over twenty teams without glutting up the actual playoffs.

I would take what Lanning has learned in just three years over what Mario's learned in seven any day. Of his six loses, four have come to teams that either played for a championship or won it. He's also 1-2 vs champions. Steps backward are always frustrating but with Lanning so far they have all come with several steps forward. I expect that trend to continue.

Great article! I think the biggest question to answer for both sides of the ball is if the up and coming youngsters live up to the hype this year or not. If these four and five star recruits turn into four and five stars on the field, the sky is the limit. Not every 4/5 star recruit can become a KT or Penei Sewell their freshman year. After a year in the system adapting to top tier college play, the cream should rise to the top and those guys should be able to find playing time against whoever transfers in or by pass lower ceiling seniors on the depth chart. This will be my most highly anticipated spring game of the Lanning era. Can't wait!

Year 1: We're disappointed that a couple second half defensive melt downs kept OBD out of the Pac championship. Year 2: We're disappointed that after a slow start OBD don't win the Pac championship and miss the playoffs. Year 3. We're disappointed that after an undefeated number one season, a slow start in the playoffs dooms OBD against the eventual champions. I'd say the disappointment trend is heading in the right direction and is running out of room. It seems like a Duck fan life time ago that Mario lead wins against Cal and WSU that felt as disappointing as loses. I'm loving the Lanning era and looking forward to this upcoming year.

Not only three in the top ten but No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4. Wonder how many would make the top twenty. Can't imagine Makhi and Bear being that far from top ten.

Madness Altman has arrived. Good. Very good.

I do not see a season in the Dan Lanning future that the Ducks have to worry about having a top tier two deep at QB.

Thanks for all the behind the scenes work!

I enjoy attending the spring game. I remember a couple years ago a new receiver caught a routine 12 yard pass in the middle of the field surrounded by defenders. He did one tiny fake created just a little separation found a crease and was gone. After a quick look at the roster list I knew this new guy Tez was going to be special. If the coaches think a different schedule is for the best, I would understand. Still, I enjoy the feeling of heading back to the stadium after a long cold winter and seeing the football team getting ready for the next season.

I went to a couple Eugene Generals game awhile back and had a great time. I don't know a thing about the sport but I'd love to cheer on a Ducks hockey team.

These are the kind of transfers that seemed necessary in the past but concern me now. Incoming three stars that are good enough to take away playing time from young four stars that just need some playing time to develop into four stars on the field. I feel they could risk losing a higher ceiling by opting for a higher floor. Lanning has put together much better teams than I have so I differ to his judgement on this one but it still concerns me. I think we have arrived at that time to take off the training wheels even if it means a possible crash or two before we're soon popping wheelies and cruising around town riding without hands.

Anyone know when the game is supposed to start?

Looks like letting it idle for a few years will happen due to previous scheduling. I don't think we should drop any pre scheduled games to accommodate a Beaver game. They already canceled a P5 home game to squeeze in last years road game. I'd say that was generous enough.

Since the Final Four appearance, Altman to me has seemed confused and out of step with the direction of the modern players. I have always hated the five star one and done mentality. It seemed like he felt forced to go in that direction when the UO final four brand was at it's hottest. Coddling teenage primadonna's isn't Altman's thing. He seems more comfortable coaching three star gym rats. like at Creighton or the early days at UO. I don't really know just what the answer is but for the last few years, it just seems like such a struggle for the teams to get on track and be competitive. Dante stepping up his game last year elevated the team into March Madness. I have been a huge fan of Dana and was also a big fan of Ernie Kent. As much as I loved Ernie, when it was time to go, it was time to go. I think we are approaching a similar spot with Dana. I don't think he should be fired. I still think he's a great coach just maybe not matched up well with the players he brings in. I'd like to see him maybe move up into UO athletics administration or possibly simply retire. I think the Ducks could use some young up and coming Dan Lanning type coaches energy at this point.

Does a Coordinator move count the same as a head coach move for players to hit the portal? Enquiring minds want to know.

osu2 42-10 3 5 345

The Ducks had 31 points at halftime. They had 33 with 11:53 left in the second half. They had 41 with 5:35 left. Eleven points in nearly fifteen minutes won't get it done. Way too many unforced turnovers and missed uncontested shots. On the other hand, the defense was pretty good and kept them in the game when the offense went AWOL. They let this one get away but the team is showing more potential than many others have recently.

The Buckeye’s starters have a higher ceiling than OBD’s plain and simple. I’ve used a Mike Tyson analogy before and I’ll do it again. A dialed in and self confident Buster Douglas having the match of his life barely pulled off a monumental upset over a distracted and unfocused Tyson. If there were a rematch, focused and locked in Tyson would have taken his head off in the first round. Sound familiar? The Douglas team wouldn’t have had to analyze too hard about what just happened. A pissed off Tyson is what would have happened. As Lanning’s recruits begin to fill up the starter spots, OBD will begin to look more like Tyson than Douglas.

This year we should finally start seeing Lanning’s recruits start filling out some starting spots or becoming key backups. 4/5 star guys doing 4/5 star things should look different than 3/4 star guys punching above their weight. If our 4/5 star guys don’t look as prepared or as capable as their 4/5 star guys then that should be a cause for concern. Until then, I wouldn’t be warming up seats yet.

Maybe in the end it was the fight over the flag with Michigan that woke up their fighting spirit. Buckeyes have been an entirely different animal since then.

Now that's how you do a goal line stand!

Is this a football game or a momentum ping pong match? 14-7 osu2.