CalBear95

An UGA fan I used to be close with when we both lived in SF (he now is in the burbs of ATL) but who has now drifted off my radar texted me late in the 3rd quarter with the sole intention of trying to provoke me (now you know why we drifted). I didn’t engage and he finally texted something to the effect of ‘the Ducks got paid $4.5MM to be obliterated.’ Honestly, I didn’t think of the Ducks as lambs but, I suppose it worked out that way. Whatevs. But while he was (wasting his time and energy) trying to make me angry a thought crossed my mind: the days of the SEC never playing these games, say, in Seattle, are rapidly coming to an end. When the CFP expands, the risk of losing these games goes way down. I’d like to see Georgia come to the Clink (yes, I know, but that’s it’s name just like the Kraken play at the Key vs whatever name it might have at the time) after DL has 3 years of building under his belt. Mercedes is a tomb compared to the Clink. Today Georgia won’t do it because they don’t need to. But when the CFP expands, teams are going to be rewarded by early wins in tough environments. And the delta between the SEC will begin to close once they are part of the B1G ($$, conference brand and strength, etc.) IOW, the day of the PAC as lamb to SEC in their chosen stadium should be coming to an end (if for no other reason than the PAC is coming to an end )

I actually suspect it’s the kid from Michigan

Text is many times a poor medium. My comments were meant more in the spirit of perspective as to how freakishly good Georgia is and to not apply that to the Ducks relative to the better SEC teams. I would not be surprised to see Georgia to that to a lot of teams this year, even those of quality. As to the stats question, I didn’t come into the game with any predictions (and that will always be the case. That’s not how I consume the game as some do) but I definitely acknowledge I didn’t expect that kind of showing. To this though, I would just say ‘they did get destroyed, OK.’ As Charles and Dazed noted in great detail and analysis, this team has holes that need to be addressed via either personnel and/or scheme. Ultimately I take a long view though I can most certainly appreciate your extreme frustration with the result. It is frustrating. So apologies if my comment came off as anything other than simply to convey that this is going to be a multi year journey but to my eyes one of optimism It’s a good lesson and I will be more more mindful in how I frame my response going forward Be well

Lost to (unranked) Ole Miss 45-14. And Vanderbilt. That is all

Exactly because then this game would then truly be a debacle.

The QB from Michigan coming in next year is going to be given every chance to win the starting role and I suspect will win it because the coaches are likely aware of the problem of a continual 1-and-done QB system. The 2023 schedule sets up much better to allow the staff to start a Freshman. Consistency AND competition are how great programs are built

Charles, I would offer a different take. Your critique of Bo is spot on. But we don’t know what DL is saying behind closed doors. Slamming his QB publicly has no value. He very well might be telling Bo a version of what you have said. Again, the BYU game will be telling. I would not be shocked if Bo has a very short leash in that game.

Yeah, this post, as is usual with Dazed, is spot on to my mind. The Ducks aren’t going to see anything like the Georgia team or that atmosphere for the rest of the year. IOW, the BYUs of the world, while likely formidable, are going to play at a speed and talent level that should be manageable for the team. Georgia is loaded across the board. They’ve had their baptism of fire and I’m glad they did. I expect this team to get off the canvas and apply that level of hurt to others. Duck opponents should not look at this game and see the Ducks as weak. They should see them as likely playing without fear.

This post is a wonderful example of perspective. The lack of separation might also be a function of insanely talented and athletic Georgia DBs, superior defensive schemes, and relative inexperience among the Duck’s receiving corps. We should learn a lot as the season progresses. Georgia’s body of work should help us validate some of this possibility as well as the inevitable growth among on our side. I am not proffering a definitive view here. Just pointing out an alternative POV. That’s the beauty of perspective as well as the unknown. I acknowledge ‘beauty’ may be a hard word to swallow after this kind of showing bit I honestly am excited to see how the Ducks progress this season. Where I see many on this board portend disaster, I choose to see the beginning of what I hope to be an exciting - and, yes, at times frustrating - path to dominance for a coach I very much still to believe has a great future in front of him. That probably doesn’t manifest this season but you cannot enjoy the highs without experiencing the lows.

Well, that wasn't what I expected. Makes me wonder if BYU is Bo's event horizon. If you are DL maybe you are thinking nobody would look good against that defense in that atmosphere so let's see where this goes as far as the BYU game. I don't know. What I do know is a rookie coach in his first game got it handed to him by his mentor. Not surprising. See the aforementioned 'rookie' adjective. Predicting doom and a slide into irrelevance or mass recruiting exodus is, to me, as silly as earlier posts that were positing whether DL would bolt for a bigger job. It's one game. Sample size of one. A 'you probably don't want to be making any big decisions off this data set' situation. DL is in a learning curve (again, see aforementioned adjective). Our society fears failure which is a (ironically) recipe for future failure. Anyone start walking right away? Ever take a test and bomb the first question and decide to up and leave the exam room? Failure only becomes a problem when you do not take the opportunity to learn from it and then apply that acquired knowledge to improve (or worse, internalize it and carry it with you into future situations). Failure is...healthy. Yeah, I get this was a spectacular failure and that it's a high stakes business but again, aforementioned adjective coach. You are buying into the potential, not perfection right out of the gate. The Ducks got laid out today. Let's see where they go from here. Aside: For those worrying about the PAC's reputation after today, don't sweat it. The PAC (and the Duck's membership in said conference) likely won't exist in 3 years. You can't cheapen something that has no future value.

I really don’t think DL is going to visit the sins of the father on this team. Bo has shown he hasn’t progressed. DL doesn’t strike me at all to be as stubborn as Mario. He can’t risk losing this team.

Nix is hors de combat. They are going to let him get abused because why let next week’s starting QB lose confidence

Maybe so Ty’s confidence doesn’t get crushed by this D? I suspect later in the game when the starters are out?

I thought you were going to say anticipating the need to allocate more instances on your cloud provider to handle the site load but, yeah, that prediction too.

I see a lot of angst on this board. I know I sound like a broken record when I say this but I encourage you to step back, breathe, and understand this is going to be a tough game. The team's confidence is shattered. You will only shatter your own well being by being upset in real-time by what is going on. Demoralized kids start to play poorly. It is what it is: one game. Yeah, it would have been nice if the Ducks (and really Bo) had not come out this way but they did. Some possible silver linings: This opens up room for time for some folks (like Ty perhaps) and get them experience they would not have other wise have OR this likely ends the Bo experiment which carried the risk of being a ticking time bomb over who should play as the season progressed (not to mention another performance like this in a game that really counts). Be easy, it's healthier for you

It's really important people not lose context. This is a home game for Georgia and the first game of season for an insanely keyed up crowd. And they are playing last year's national champions. Remember that Smart has had years to build his roster to exactly what he wanted (it is easy to forget that Georgia had some big bumps on the road to where they are now). The Ducks are in transition (talented but moving from one scheme mentality to another) and their 'veteran' QB starts the game throwing two really bad INTs which is a huge blow to a team that is really pretty young and doesn't know who they are. It doesn't mean there should not be critiques, etc. But Smart is playing with his team. Lanning is playing with parts of Mario's and hasn't yet had the runway to build the confidence, culture, and toughness that comes with experience in these games and in winning tough games. The Ducks are very likely a lot better than they are showing here. Bo's INTs likely sapped whatever confidence they had they could hang with the Dawgs. Take what you need from this game and turn the page.

I like Lanning calling TOs. He's signaling his confidence to his D and that he thinks they can score exiting the half vs 'let's just get out of here and into the locker room.' UPDATE: Didn't pay off but I still like the aggression. Says a lot about his mentality.

I know this sucks and the Ducks are clearly nervous but these games can be incredibly helpful for a team trying to find its identity. They can and should grow from this. They are not going to be in a game that is in a more hostile environment and facing such a powerful team. This can be the beat down that leads to great growth as the season progresses. That, to me, will be the first real test for Lanning. Not only can he settle his team in this game but can he grow the team's confidence and mental toughness as the season goes on.

At this point, time to put in the kid. Bo is clearly not the answer here (and probably not for the season if he can't show up for this game)

There was an article (The Athletic maybe?) that quoted some high level Iowa officials (president or some such title) that they were opposed to expansion because they would take less from the current deal. I think that’s the roadblock. OSU (refuse to add the ‘t’ because reasons) would, in my view be very pro expansion

If the Dawgs wear black the visuals are going to be stunning. The Ducks bringing the style, as always. Hopefully their play will match the beauty of their kit.

First, as an English Lit major I am always down for a good Yeats reference. Well played. Second, let’s not kid ourselves. We’re (mostly) all hoping to be invited on that same said journey so… Why do I feel like I am channeling Eeyore in my posts this morning?

Of course he is going to say this. If the Dawgs win then they beat the PAC’s best. It may be true, mind you but the comment is nothing but self serving regardless of how good it may feel.

It’s funny how Mario is getting all kinds of hype based, I believe, largely on his recruiting success at Oregon. I don’t think you can look at his results on the field to justify that hype but maybe I am being cynical in that regard. In any event, DL is having amazing recruiting success and…pretty much no hype. I can totally justify the latter because DL hasn’t coached a single game and so is an unknown quantity in terms of results that mater: on the field performance and championships. But breaking it down, Mario is in some ways no better than DL because he is a known quantity on the field. Relative to what can be measured between he and DL, the latter has equaled his predecessor’s results and, IMHO, bettered them (it would be fair to say DL is riding the foundations Mario built and so cannot be truly graded until year 3 but my point still stands I think). An example of the media willing a narrative into existence based solely on the brand of the program (Miami) Honestly, I’ll take it. Better to be undervalued and outperform than vice versa. Mario’s seat is already warm (even if he doesn’t realize it) and they even haven’t played a game.

Frost’s decision making is, to put it mildly, suspect. The onside kick’s expected value had to be heavily upside down relative to Nebraska’s winning percentage at that point in the game. I am sure there are folks on this forum who dislike or are perhaps, at best, lukewarm to the application of analytics for coaching decisions. But this is a perfect example of why making decisions by gut feel are so dangerous. I would love to see Nebraska’s winning % prior to and immediately after the onside kick. I have to imagine it changed by double digits in Northwestern’s favor. Insanity and I would fire him on the spot for that alone. He isn’t going to learn anything or change his style at this point in his career (or at least won’t without a material event like being fired that forces him to do so)