Gizmoduck

I don't when it will happen, but we all know Miami will drop a game that they shouldn't. Will this be the year Mari Cristbal leads his team to 0 losses? I don't think so.

I’ve been waiting for this so I could finally let go and move on to Indiana. Just the little behind the scenes of insight we are provided make me wanna run through a brick wall for these young men. Every time I see coach Lanning behind the scenes reminds how close we were to hiring someone else, and how many of us on this forum were skeptical. I thought he was gonna bail for sure when Alabama came knocking. When he stayed I decided then and there that all the ghosts of the past were dead and buried. It’s not if he can win a championship, but when he wins it I’m never calling it a “natty”, that’s what the old Ducks fan in me would have called it. I’ll call it a “chip” because it’ll just be a little piece of the legacy he builds here.

I hope he stays, but if he does transfer I’d like to see him go to Dilly at ASU.

It looked like the defender was leading with his helmet but I could be mistaken.

Great question Charles, I don’t think that whatever I say will stand up to the standard coach Lanning has. I have to remember that the starters have yet to surrender a touchdown. I would love it if the younger subs could play up to the starter standard but that’s just my druthers. If anything I would like to see the O-line play to the normal Oregon standard which they haven’t to this point in the season (and they still haven’t given up a sack). The level of play that this team has show. Has blown the roof off of any expectations that I had preseason, so it’s hard to adjust realistically as to who or what this team is. Beat the Beavs, cover the spread, no injuries is about as good as I can ask. Go Ducks!!!

With all due respect to each poster on this thread, and the one about Dakorian Moore, I humbly think we are all asking the wrong question. I think we should be asking “Did we underestimate Dan Lanning?” And “Expectations of Will Stein.” Coach Lanning has shown an obvious talent for learning from his mistakes, and coach Stein is one of the most innovative and dynamic coordinators in college football. Finally in year 4 Lanning has a full roster of “his guys”, who are familiar with his defensive scheme. On offense, he and coach Stein have a returning QB who is familiar with the system. With a dynamic WR who was here in the spring. All of these things are a 1st this year, which is why I believe we are seeing such great things so early. As a greybeard myself(52 and born and raised in Eugene) trusting a staff to have the best roster, have them prepared, and have them play to their dynamic potential is something I’ve never had the opportunity to do. The Kelly years were great, but we knew if we came up against the big boys, it was usually not gonna go our way. I’m trying not to care about the results and “trust the process” as coach says. I remember at his introductory press conference he said something like “Don’t judge us on what we say, but judge us on what we do. He’s done a whole lot from recruiting, to being a great spokesman for the university, to turning down Ala-freaking-bama!!! My friends the sky’s the limit and yes, I think even we have underestimated Coach Lanning!!! God bless you all, even if we disagree I know we agree on our beloved Ducks!!! Saturday can’t get here fast enough.

Alex, great article as usual. Managing expectations this early in the season with a team that still has so many questions surrounding it isn’t something we’ve had to worry about for awhile. I just have to remember to breathe, and that we are just watching, while these young men are actually living this in real time. What a time to be a duck.

I like what I see, this team has a great foundation to build a season on. Rooted in substance for sure. That substance being length, and speed.

I’m hoping Dante gets to start the 3rd, but I’d like to see some backups around the middle of the 3rd

That was a great opening drive!!!

45-9 is what I want it to be, but I’ll go 34-10

Alex, great article as usual. I think the only way the Ducks floor is lower than 10-2 is if they are snake-bit by injuries. If Dante is comfortable running the offense by the time they head to Penn State, I think the game will be electric. We all have to remember that this is only the 2nd time that this staff has had a QB that has been in the system for more than a year. The last time that happened Bo Nix was a Heisman finalist. If he stays healthy, this season will be special. GO DUCKS!!!

I’m not worried about it. If there is a battle I think it’s a battle of true qb1’s. I think coach Lanning isn’t worried what anybody thinks, I’d even go so far as saying I think he wouldn’t announce it just to start rumors. He’s always preaching about ignoring the outside noise and rumors would help to unify this team against the hype. If we don’t find out who the starter is until the game starts I won’t be upset. If whoever is under center can’t move the ball or the defense can’t stop them from moving the ball, then I’ll get worried. So far this staff has given me reason to trust the process, and understand there is method to the madness. Gameday can’t come soon enough though.

I don’t think this was an outlier season either. I believe the nation is going to come to an understanding of how challenging the Pac-12 really was, and the story of its complete mismanagement will be one of the most tragic cautionary tales in sports history.

The season cannot get here fast enough!

Charles I love how you never miss an opportunity to take a playful jab at Mari-no-O. This is what makes college football the best.

Just my two cents after watching maybe 5 mins of tape on this kid. DO! NOT! SIGN! HIM! Arm talent did not impress. Carson Beck 2.0 in my eyes but hey I’m not paid to make these decisions.

Agreed Charles.

This will be his 3rd year I think. And if Moore or Novasad win the starting position, then it will be his first coaching a starter for more than a single season.

Great eyes Charles. I also noticed Conerly, Strother, Poncho, Harper, and Cornelius as being an above average lineup, but I wondered why they didn't stick with it for the remainder of the game. Maybe injuries, maybe conditioning. As a former O lineman, and O-line coach, I know that early season conditioning is different than late season conditioning. These young men are in great shape, but adrenaline pumps different on gameday. It takes a couple games for the body to lock in and respond. If the trenches (offense and defense) settle in (they're supposed to be strengths) I am not worried about 10+ wins. The skill players are definitely there. The back end of the D is there if the front can stuff the run. Go Ducks!!!

I disagree. I don't think the Ducks got outcoached at all. As a matter of fact I think our coaches did spectacular! As a coach you make a gameplan, theirs was solid, the players just didn't execute to start the game. Down 20-3 it's coaching and execution that got them back in the game, and allowed them to take the lead. After Penix threw the interception, we had a chance to put them away. Instead, they intercepted it right back. (I don't blame Bo, when the ball left his hand that defender was out of bounds.) Washington executed just a little bit better than us in all three games since Lanning and Deboer took over the progrums. It is also true that the doggone Fuskies have had lady luck bounce their way in all 3 games as well. We'll win our share, these three really hurt because we know how special this team is, and what a magical season it could have been. We watched those young men put their hearts and bodies on the line for OBD and came up just a little short. Sometimes the fairytale is just real life where our heroes don't defeat the villainous Huskies. They move on to the rest of their lives and we regroup and put our hopes into a fresh batch of ducklings cheering them on until they finally reach that mountain top. I believe in coach Lanning, I think He has the makings of a Legendary Ducks coach...just not yet.

Oregon 38-17 1 5 323 Go Ducks

I think DJU would be a perfect fit here. Remember Bo when he first came here? He wasn't a 60% completion passer, and he had never thrown for more than 16 touchdowns. He was a former 5 star who had the talent but not the development needed to maximize his production. Sound familiar, I think if Will Stein could do for DJU what Kenny Dillingham did for Bo, it would solidify his status as a great coach, and not just as a door holder that didn't wreck what Dillingham built. I don't think that, (I think Stein is a genius) but I think it would be fair to say it could be said that he had an easy job this year with Bo and the offense. Plus Matayo is here, the story just writes itself. I want to see Ty Thompson next year, but if DJU can beat him out then that's on him.

I'm probably going to say something on here that will alert the moderators. If I do I apologize in advance and will take my punishment accordingly. I am not trying to purposely offend anyone or intentionally break any rules. Now that I have said that, on to my point. I think a lot of us forget the real takeaway from the Mark Helfrich era. Oregon couldn't recruit, or develop players at a championship level. Our brand was going international, but the football program had a glass ceiling on it for recruiting. As much as I hate to admit it, Willie Taggert blew through that glass ceiling. He understood that the brand was nationwide and went after recruits no other Oregon coach before him would have dreamed of landing, Chip included. Now that was about the only thing he did that was of some use to the university. Coach Lanning understands the mass appeal of the brand and he is a relentless recruiter, as well as being an awesome teacher of the game of football. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think his most critical hires to date are Marshall Malchow, Wilson Love, and Jawarski Beckum. These hires are why he is able to implement his overall vision for the "progrum". As fans we still might have a bit of PTSD from the previous staffs. We need to implement the same growth mindset that coach is always talking about and judge them by what they do, and not by what former staffs did. Oh how I love to share ideas about our beloved DUCKS!!!

Goal 1A: Win The Game, Goal 1B: Play To The Standard. Do that and 70 is within reach. GO DUCKS!!!