Desert Duck

But I'm in a cranky mood.

Wow... so glad I just tuned in for the second half. Our defense looked like Swiss cheese on that series. I hope the Oregon coaches know that points do matter.

Need/want: - KSU over Texas - LSU over Bama - Mutts over Trojans - A miracle Pitt over FSU

I'm afraid I'm letting my emotions get the best of me this week as I've predicted Oregon 44-14. I'm afraid the fan "fanatic" might now be getting the best of me.

Or Arizona State in Tempe.

Ducks 44-14 4 4 284

Our Ducks are right where we should be right now. FSU is a pretender. Unfortunately, with their soft schedule and some very underwhelming wins, they may likely just slide through unscathed and into the playoff, which, IMHO, would be a shame. Michigan has mopped the floor against their opponents, but so far against a bunch of Sisters of the Poor. However, we'll know if they belong there over the next 4 weeks after they play @ PSU and tOSU. The one team in the top 10 that I think has a strong beef to make is Oklahoma. I just don't remotely see how they should be ranked behind Texas and Alabama.

I'm so sorry you weren't able to get there. But glad that you've got a couple great souvenirs. And I'm curious why/how your friends got stuck there.

If the rankings were actually based on where the team is today, then Oregon should be ranked ahead of the Mutts. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. But it would sure be fun if you were right. But go LSU, OK St, and K State!

You make a fabulous point. This one play truly epitomizes MVP. From the field, a college kid outcoached and out-executed a highly experienced, great, defensive coordinator – on one single play, while converting it for a TD. And every player on Bo’s side of the ball trusted him and was 100% in sync with him. That is simply exceptional leadership. If the Heisman is truly awarded to the one player who has the greatest “team” impact, they might as well give it to Bo right now.

I hear you, but as an old guy, whose first game was almost back when dinosaurs were still roaming around the then gravel-pit-like lakes at Autzen, with thousands of pterodactyls-like-seagulls that semi-owned the air space around the stadium, and my first game at Autzen was Oregon 0 – UW 58, every one of these major-league recruits we now get still kind of amazes me. We were just so painfully bad for so long. Clearly, it’s obvious that I still have not entirely shed the Fan-PTSD from those almost ground-hog-day-like years (when successfully begging our way into the Independence Bowl almost seemed like winning the Rose Bowl). But I am working on it. I’m hopeful that another decade or so of fan recovery therapy will do the trick.

There was one play just before the end of the 1st Q that made my jaw drop. Not because it turned into a TD pass play, but because of what Nix and the offense did before the snap. When Bo first got behind his center and surveyed his kingdom, he saw that the Utes lined up in a three-man front. So, on the road, in a sold-out Rice Eccles stadium, with fans almost as loud as Autzen, he changed the play. That alone is a difficult thing to successfully do with that kind of noise and pressure. But then, Utah quickly adjusted and moved to a five-man front. So then, what does Bo do? Well, naturally, Bo knows, so he audibles for a second time on the same play... with the clock winding down and hostile fans going nuts. He then takes a shotgun snap and throws a strike to James for an 18-yard TD. There's just so much goodness going on within this play that I find rather incredible. To audible once in an extremely loud and hostile environment is difficult (as a reminder, it was early in the game and only 7-3 at that point, so you know the fans were still 110% into it). To do it twice on the same play and actually pull it off, is amazing. I cannot imagine what the Utes defensive coach, the truly great Morgan Scalley, was thinking after this play. It might have been something like, "I just got beat twice by a college QB... on the same play. Damn, I think we might be done for the day." 😉😲 Finally, while Bo read the defense beautifully and initiated the two audibles, huge props must be given to the entire Oregon offensive squad. To have had the discipline to follow Bo, in extremely loud conditions, not jump before the snap, clock winding down, and execute flawlessly was truly a thing of football beauty. If our Ducks can stay with this "One game at a time mentality," we may likely be in for something incredibly special this season.

For the kid to announce his commitment to his hometown University of Arizona (born and raised in Tucson), then three weeks ago to rescind his commitment, and then choose Oregon... well, it's just beyond huge for our program. The pressure on him to stay with Arizona was immense. And when you combine this with the fact that his brother, Cruz Rushing, walked on at Florida his freshman year, and then transferred to Arizona this season, it's even more amazing that he's walking away from that and flying Air-Duck to Oregon! It says to me that this is a strong, young, man. I'm truly amazed by this -- along with the entire recruitment class... thus far. And we all know that there is more goodness to come! WELCOME ABOARD, MR. RUSHING!!!

"As it is written, so shall it be done." 1 Duck 1:1

He's just so damn competitive that he likes to lower his shoulder into the defense. If he'd slide more, I'd feel a lot better when I see him take off. But still, there's nothing quite like the defense totally biting on the running back, and then seeing your quarterback turn the corner with the ball. I have a feeling we're going to see that somewhere along the way, in a crunch time situation, where Bo takes it in for 6.

"I could even see us winning with a backuo QB (not jinxing it)." Dr. H - Saying something like this is almost as bad as saying the name of the one who must not be named. 😉

Stop it 🛑 😉. There's absolutely no question that he's good at it. I would say that he is actually great at it. It's even fun to see him run. But, as I mentioned above, we are getting an amazing 40% of our offense on the ground... without Bo running. When we need him to run, like we did against Texas Tech, then sure, I agree that he should run. IMHO, there is less than zero reason to risk injury by having him run more than absolutely necessary. That is all.

In absolutely no way am I remotely overlooking Cal or USC... However, it should be about 82° and sunny down here in the desert by mid-November, and it's an easy non-stop flight from Portland or Eugene. And, if you order before midnight, not only might you qualify for a set of Ginzu steak knives (or not), but you'll definitely qualify for the 14-day advance flight ticket price. I'm just sayin.

Everytime I see Bo run, I just flash back to last year, as well as seeing both Marcus and Justin taken out of games on running plays. Fan PTSD is brutal 😉.

I think anyone who wants to see the Ducks have a shot at getting in the playoff, is rooting for us to play an undefeated team (they who must not be named) in LV.

That's funny. Because I know that any one of those teams has the potential to be a problem. Granted, if we continue to stay focused like we are right now, and we can mitigate key injuries, I'm looking forward to going to LV to watch us rock the Huskies world.

I hate seeing Bo run. I'm glad he is a running weapon, but the less I see him running, the better. And fortunately, given we have an offense that is getting an amazing 40% of our yards on the ground, versus UW that is only getting 20% of their yardage rushing, thankfully, we rarely need to have Bo run. And if we remember last year when we played the Huskies, he was injured on a running play which effected him the rest of the season.

I think you are right. Our defense certainly beat the crap out of him and he was hurting late in that game. I was literally sitting here looking at the Huskies last 2 weeks of football and asking myself how in the world did we lose to those guys. I think you just helped me answer that question. But, I think that if we get another shot at them in LV, that we will rock their world.

And I had to look back further to see prior to 2019 when was the last time Oregon held 3 or more opponents to 6 points or less. 1961. 62 years ago. We held 4 opponents to 6 points or less. But that was way back when offenses scored nowhere near the points like teams do today.

Now, all we have to do is beat Cal, USC, ASU, and OSU... in order to have another shot at the Mutts. And I really like our chances.