Desert Duck

I noticed the emoticon change yesterday. Like you indicated, it was a little thing, but very nice. The other change is also appreciated. And it's so nice to be able to make a quick edit (usually a grammatical correction for me) within an hour of posting... let alone, delete a duplicate.

Right now, mock NFL drafts generally have him going as one of the top couple pics. And since this kid just keeps improving by the week, I think over the next couple games, his stock is only going to rise. If he goes number two, obviously the downside is that he would go to the Raiders. But, if he is picked as one of the top two or three players in the draft, he's going to immediately have a contract worth about $50 million dollars, with about 60% of that coming in the form of a signing bonus. And while I definitely do not love money, I certainly have a strong appreciation for what it can do. I just can't see him turning down that kind of money, unless we could possibly could come up with some heavy duty NIL cash-o-la, and make sure he gets one hell of an insurance policy. So, if he doesn't come back, who are we thinking that we might be able to pick up to backfill his role?

Bear has truly been the standardbearer on that defensive line. In many ways, he has been the loadbearer out there. I'm highly confident that next season that he will bear even more fruit & success by coming back. Clearly he has been able to bear some hardship given that he started at georgia, transferred to USC, and finally found a home here at Oregon. I am highly confident that one more year in Oregon is going to allow him to bear & reap some significant fruit leading into the draft next year. (Sorry, but I just had to try and get in on some of the corny and funny "bear" crap flying around here),

In today's world, it is very rare to fire somebody "With Cause" unless you have ironclad evidence of significant violations. The repercussions for Michigan if they blew this, would be incredible for institution. Therefore, I have to believe that they have him dead to rights.

I was getting ready to draft a post, but basically you took the words right out of my mouth. So, I really have nothing more to say on the subject. You nailed it here.

Hope they enjoy the rust that they will likely carry into their first game.

Wowzaa... I didn't realize that. And they're going to have a tough time of it for a lot more years.

LOL... Apparently, I was thinking they were flying in from Honolulu 😅😜🥴 Obviously, I am time zone challenged. Which is really embarrassing because in my day job, I work with people all over the US in four different time zones. It might be time for me to have a little afternoon coffee.

In looking at Alabama's strength of schedule and the teams they lost to, versus Notre Dame's pancake Sisters of the Poor schedule... If Alabama had at least and kept the game close -- say within 7 points, and had not received an absolute total beatdown from Georgia on Saturday, I could see them being selected over Notre Dame. But not after Alabama was totally body slammed by Georgia, in a game that Alabama really believed that, at a minimum, they needed to keep close to earn a spot in the playoffs. But perhaps the Fighting Irish are learning that scheduling these cupcake opponents for almost the entire season, is not doing them any favors. And maybe they will decide to grow a pair and join an actual conference.

Their body clocks will be playing at 1:30 p.m. The time zone change could have some impact, but I think it will be fairly minimal.

The Autzen crowd is also going to rock the Dukes. They have not played in a stadium anything remotely like what they're going to experience Eugene. I think the crowd could be worth 7 points in this game.

Also, perhaps it's time that Notre Dame grow a pair and join a real conference.

I was about to say the same thing. There's not a chance in hell that he made this decision in a vacuum. Clearly, he had full support and direction of the administration as well.

Or, at a minimum, be radically altered.

In Lanning, I Trust. That is all.