On 1/4/2024 at 5:14 PM, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

I saw the last name and thought you were talking about this guy. Last I heard he had a bum knee.
 

Looks to me like someone de-aged that ex-ESPN tool Skip Bayless and stuck him on a billboard.

 

With all but the NC decided, we're entering the college football silly season, filled with rumors and fake news.

On 1/3/2024 at 5:00 PM, Duckster said:

 

In December of 2021 the coaching carousel was in full swing and the headlines went something like this: 

LINCOLN RILEY to USC!! ... DAN LANNING to OREGON!! ... kevin deboer to washington. 

It was more like:

 

RILEY TO USC!!!

lanning to oregon

deboer to Washington

 

At the time the pundits and CFB poobahs proclaimed the Riley hire an A+ and the Lanning and DeBoer hires B- to C+.

 

Funny how things work out. 

On 1/2/2024 at 9:16 AM, jrw said:

I don't believe that Mario beat DeBoer. Mario was gone when DeBoer arrived at Washington.

The MC led Ducks beat the DeBoer coached Fresno State Bulldogs 31-24 at Autzen on Sept 4, 2021. UW hired him on November 30, 2021.

A couple of thoughts after watching the two semis yesterday:

 

Arguably the two best and closest semis ever. Edge of your seat stuff.

 

Each team deserved to be there and the CFP committee got it right.

 

So did Georgia and Oregon. IMO the expanded playoff can't come soon enough.

 

The wins came down to little things like poor snaps and clock management.

 

Penix to Odunze was stuff of the highest order. I was amused that Fusky ran the same double reverse pitch back that OBD ran in the Fiesta Bowl.

 

The zebras called good games, got the replay reviews right and mainly stayed the hell out of the way. I'll bet they were the cream of the B1G and SEC. No PAC-12 refs in sight. Good riddance. 

 

If both teams play to form, the NC will be a doozy. Especially looking forward to watching the UW offense against the Michigan defense. 

 

Heaven help me, as I bleed green and yellow and excrete purple from my nether regions, I may actually pull for Fusky to win. I respect what DeBoer has done and can't help but root for Penix and Odunze to go off. Their fan base would be insufferable but it makes beating them next year sweet beyond measure.

Pretty evenly matched so far to my eye. Odunze has made a couple of great NFL level grabs and Penix dropped it right where it needed to be. Glad both of those guys are in the league next year.

 

That said, the Fuskys are leaving money on the table and should be up by at least a FG. 

On 1/1/2024 at 2:35 PM, David Marsh said:

I saw a few low snaps... But not dreadfully low. 

Nothing like the debacle that Alabama had with two snaps in the dirt in a row. Pancho had a really good game and it's exciting to think how he will improve once the job is his in 2024. 

On 1/1/2024 at 1:10 PM, Krsmqn said:

Classy move to end the game. 

Agreed. Let Novosad run the offense and get Dickey a catch, then let up at the end. 

About as bad as Georgia v FSU. At least the Liberty players are still trying to compete. 

Well, that's the cherry on top if it stands. Yep. Cherry on top.

Liberty appears to be talking a big game in their version of a 'us against them' video. This should get the juices flowing for OBD. All the more reason to start hot and fast and extinguish the Flames. 

 

Liberty Trolls Oregon With Elite Hype Video Ahead Of Fiesta Bowl

WWW.OUTKICK.COM

---

Any college football program looking to troll their upcoming opponents better take notes...

 

Oregon 

49-24

2 TO

3 Sacks

375 yds passing

 

A couple of observations after watching the Ducks take care of business at home against the LA schools. 

 

Defense is back. So is moving the ball and playing DA's offense that makes the extra pass to get an open look. Thus 3pt shooting is better and it compensates in part for the lack of post presence while Dante and Bittle are out.

 

In both games the Ducks built a lead then came out flat in the 2nd half. In previous years they would fold and lose close games. Now led by Shelstad, they stiffen up on defense, get a couple of clutch points and play well enough down the stretch to win. 

 

JS is not only playing good fundamentally (crisp passing, ball movement, lack of TOs and aggressive defense) but making clutch shots. When he brings the ball up on point he is always glancing at DA to get the right call. He is showing rapid progression and a level of maturity that is rare in a freshman.

 

As far as comparing JS to PP at this stage, perhaps it's better to recognize the connection and line of succession from one to the next, with the pupil following in the footsteps of the master.

 

 

 

Shelstad has PP level floor vision and ability to run the offense. A step quicker for sure. 3 pt shot maybe not quite as good but he did bury a couple of beauts against U$C early in that game. 

 

IMO overall trending as a freshman on par with PP, but he doesn't have the insane level of talent that 2016-17 Final Four team had. This will put JS in a position to have to step up more to shoot and make plays that PP didn't need to given who was around him.

 

Already loving the chemistry with Evans and can't help but think that growing pains aside, once they get Dante and Cook back this team could make the tournament. 

Agree with all here. TMac is a receiver in the Odunze and TFrank mold that runs great routes, gets open, wins the point of attack and gets YAC. He's a Sunday dude for sure.

 

It's a joy to watch him with Fafita and I'm actually thankful the Ducks didn't need to play them in Tucson this year as they would have been a tough out. They will be a force in the B12 next year.

 

 

This is just wrong. All of you are contributing to climate change and unethical eating. Uncooked sustainability sourced

organic heirloom fruits and vegetables served with Cascade artesian water on compostable hemp plates and with plant based utensils is the standard and should be enforced by law. I'm going to write my congressperson to demand change. 

 

Just kidding. Cook it and eat it anyway you choose. 

 

Happy Holidays to all and Go Ducks!

 

 

Great and well researched article. I agree with Mike that the committee got it right given the constraints they worked under and that it wasn't rigged.

 

What a fitting way to usher in the 2024 12 team CFP. The main argument against the expanded field has always been that it wouldn't change the eventual NC as the best team was always in the top four. Not so true this year as Georgia could beat anyone on a given day and FSU was 13-0 and did win the ACC.

 

You can argue that it's all about the dollars with the best teams playing as many as 16 or 17 games. Let's face it, the talent arms race created by NIL, eight digit HC salaries and the portal make college football NFL Lite. It's the world we now live in, good and bad. Oregon might as well use the tools available to it and prosper.

 

With the demise of the Pac-12, there are four power conferences left standing. In the future each conference champion will be in the CFP along with the runners up in at least the B1G and SEC, Notre Dame (maybe) and a few G5 flashes in the pan. The ultimate NC may very well still come from the champ of one of the P4, specifically the B1G or the SEC. But no more potential winners getting left out and no more whining about not getting in.

 

 

On 12/21/2023 at 7:59 AM, The Kamikaze Kid said:

Lanning seems to be enjoying building his own empire. I don't think he's interested in simply maintaining someone else's.

I tend to agree. DL appears to be a man of his word and made a definitive statement when rumors were swirling about the Texas A&M job.

 

That said, the dollars speak volumes. Smart has a 10yr $112.5M contract that expires 2031 with a $91M buyout. I don't know if that buyout extends to taking the Atlanta Fail-cons/Dirty Bird job or if it just applies to college. DL is getting $45M on a six year contract that expires in 2028 with a $20M buyout. Georgia would have to pay $20M to get Lanning away from Oregon and then pay him $9-10M/year with a Smart sized contract, but they may have that kind of money to burn.

 

Rumors are just that and Smart may not be giving the Fail-cons job a second thought. If coaches want to jump, that's exactly what they are going to do.

 

DL is setting OBD and himself up to be the kings of the west and a perennial CFP power in the B1G. I think he stays put even if Smart moves on. Either way we'll know pretty soon. 

On 12/21/2023 at 8:20 AM, Babyjesus615 said:

Lanning must've taken great notes while at Georgia because it won't be long before this team resembles the juggernaut that might win it all for the 3rd time in a row

Don't think Georgia can do that when they missed the CFP this year, but back to back NCs is still pretty dang impressive, and DL owns one of those. 

Fentress has always been the "odd duck" on Talking Ducks with JKent, JoeyH and ANewman, all high level former athletes. Fentress played WR at Grant HS, then PSU, then Pacific but never at a high level. He has done some coaching at the HS and semi-pro level.

 

Interesting that he likes to be the contrarian in the room about OBD. Maybe because he never got a sniff from Oregon as a player and it sticks in his craw. He certainly has a bee under his bonnet over how Helfrich was shown the door after that dismal 2016 season, leaving a bare cupboard except for Justin Herbert, Troy Dye, Dillon Mitchell, Brady Breeze, La'Mar Winston, Hunter Kampmoyer and some good O-linemen as incoming recruits.

 

Helfrich was a very good OC and QB developer but overreached his ceiling as a HC. He didn't last long at Chicago as an NFL OC. He did bleed Oregon green (and yellow and black and silver and pink) and maybe Fentress is angry because that homegrown loyalty was cast aside, just as he was never offered the chance to suit up for OBD.

 

Or maybe AF knows that the best way to generate clicks is to create controversy.

The RPO game can keep defenses guessing without exposing the QB to the kind of hits that take them out of commission. Gabriel ran that game successfully at OU and I'm guessing that Stein will expand that aspect of the Duck offense some.

 

MM was the RPO/Zone Read master at Oregon and stayed upright mainly by not being asked to run through the inside gaps. 

On 12/18/2023 at 5:33 PM, Steven A said:

Thank goodness that was prior to my electric shock therapy and it doesn’t ring a bell!

Not for me. Still burns like it was yesterday. I was doing ok this morning, soaking in the Dante Moore transfer before I read this thread. All that therapy and Prozac shot to hell.

 

If anyone needs to find me in the next few hours, I'll be under the bed in my safe room sucking my thumb.

Appears to be a good add for the O-line. Ducks needed a guard once the JPJ domino fell. 

 

JPJ to NFL

Pancho from Guard to Center

Bedford to Guard

 

Hopefully Cornelius will stay and the other interior linemen like Iuli, Silva and Strother as well

On 12/18/2023 at 8:02 AM, Steven A said:

Has Riley's shine worn off?

Short answer: Yes

 

Long answer:

Yep, Sí, Ja, Ya, Da, Oui, Tak, Sim, Hai

Ya sure ya betcha

 

Nelson wants to play now. No way Oregon needs any of that drama. Moore says he wants to be developed and is willing to wait a year. 

 

Not to count the chickens (or ducklings) before they hatch but Moore has some elite skills that just need time and coaching:

 

 

Yikes, who does Beach Crib Lincoln have left once he loses his 5* QB? Looking iffy in LaLaLand. Maybe entering the B1G running the wildcat is his plan.

 

This Zenitz fellow has put out some brassy predictions in the last 24. My coarser nature hopes he is accurate. 

 

Getting Savage would be just fine and the quality safety Oregon needs

 

Interesting side note: Savage faced Gabriel on September 24, 2022. He led the K-State defense with 8 tackles and they beat the Sooners at home 41-34. Gabriel had a good game going 26/39 for 330 yds and 4TDs but was sabotaged by the Okie D (largely Riley leftovers) who got spanked by KSU and Adrian Martinez.