EastBayDuckDad

UO just released this on X. He'll be in NYC on Dec 9. Jayden Daniels, Marvin Harrison Jr., Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr. named finalists for 2023 Heisman Trophy SPORTS.YAHOO.COM Daniels is the prohibitive favorite ahead of the two Pac-12 quarterbacks.

Watch his film. Quick decision maker moving through his progressions. Not really a cannon arm but zippy delivery and he fits it into tight windows. Not very big at 5'11" (generous, I think) but a gutsy slippery runner when he takes off. Reminds me of a southpaw Vernon Adams. If the reported $2M NIL price tag is not bs, then I'll bet someone in the OBD donor stable has the coin. Assume that Marcus would have his ear if he said to go play for DL and Will Stein, behind a great O-line and with talented RBs, TEs and WRs. If the Ducks want to bring in a quality one and done QB and understand that TT would probably enter the portal, it seems to me that Gabriel is the better option over Ward or Moore. It would make quite a splash entering the B10.

I've gone through all seven stages of the grieving process over Friday's game: Shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and finally, acceptance. With acceptance comes perspective. If we all could have looked into the crystal ball in July and seen the current outcome (aside from losing twice to Fusky) would that change how we feel about the season? 1. OBD goes 11-2 2. Plays in the last Pac-12 CG 3. Misses going to the CFP by 6 points total for the season 4. Plays in a NYD 6 bowl 5. Bo is a Heisman finalist 6. Offense and defense are top 20 7. Demolishes Utah in SLC, Spoiled Children at Autzen and then Beavus in the final Civil War Who would have said in July "What a crappy year! Oregon sucks! Fire Lanning! Boycott the Fiesta Bowl!"? We are all suffering from the curse of unmet expectations because OBD were so close to the prize. Heck, at one point Georgia and tOSU were #1 and #2. How do you think their fan bases are feeling? Not to mention FSU's? I'm as disappointed as anyone but won't let that blind me to the fact that 2023 was a very good season that still has a game to go. With a special HC who has the program on an upward trajectory and with a special QB who cares enough about his teammates, adopted college and town and his legacy to give it one more go. So I will be either in attendance or watching the Fiesta Bowl on TV, with a favorite beverage and wearing every color of Duck gear that I have. Rooting for OBD.

'Sport psychologists are educators who teach techniques to help the athlete better handle competitive situations but they don’t help athletes get their life in order. Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists help with life issues but do not possess the skill set of performance enhancement techniques.' Hopefully that clarifies the issue. Pretty much every major college and professional sports team has them. Consider then a component of the training staff. An ice bath for the mind.

Yep, this is potentially U$C v Tulane part two. Zero upside for the Ducks. Unless compelled by NIL contract, no way Bo plays. Ditto TFerg, Troy and Dorlus. That said, great opportunity for the 2s to step up.

IMHO the eight best teams IF they are playing their best roster (Not necessarily ranked top to bottom): Michigan Fusky FSU Alabama Georgia tOSU Texas Oregon I could see Oregon paired up against Texas, tOSU, Georgia or Bama but also Penn St or even Louisville, Notre Dame or Iowa. The outcome likely won't be reflective of how good a team Oregon was this year due to opt outs. It may be more like a 2024 pre-season game with only bragging rights on the line. I will watch with interest but not put a large amount of emotional currency on the outcome.

QuackAttack, kudos to you for being the first to voice the concern, but several others on OBDF had a similar perspective, though perhaps not quite so forcefully. Several threads contemplated what the CFP committee might do under this exact scenario. Myself, Duckman2, the Esteemed FishDuck himself (who generated a separate thread about the Ducks potentially getting screwed) and many others were concerned that a one loss Oregon Pac-12 champ could get iced if Alabama beat Georgia and everyone else (Michigan, Texas and FSU) won out. Not exactly 'chaos' but what ultimately happened outside of the Pac-12 CG. If I recall, ESPN had a predict-o-meter that let one test every feasible outcome. It projected something like a >80% chance the Ducks would be in regardless of the results in the other games. High, but not 100%. Alas, this is all what ifs and coulda-shoulda. We'll never know since domino #1 didn't fall. We'll see later today if SEC bias rules the land. There are three undefeateds, two of which deserve to be in the CFP. FSU's inclusion is debatable as both Bama and Georgia are better teams, but heck, so are Texas, tOSU and Oregon. How the 3 and 4 spot settle out is anyone's guess. Thankfully this is the last 4 team CFP. One can list all the reasons why a 12 team playoff is about media deals, dollars and how it won't alter who wins it all past the top four seeds. But this season has illustrated that there is no dominant team and that the any of the top seven or eight could have potentially won out.

So in all of our doom and gloom, here's a ray of sunshine. The Ducks appear to have emerging studs in Evans and Shelstad with solid play from Rigsby and Oquendo. Shelstad drains the winning trey ala PP the last time they beat Michigan.This could be a solid crew when they get N'faly back.

Right now Bama is up on UGA by 17-7 at the half. Milroe is throwing all over the place on their D. The potential nightmare scenario with two 12-1 SEC teams and 13-0 Michigan and FSU getting in and a 12-1 Pac-12 champion Oregon getting left out may have played out anyway, leaving them to end up playing a 12-1 tOSU, Texas or even Georgia. As much as it grieves me to admit it. I want the Washington team that beat OBD yesterday to show up in the CFP. Maybe not to win it all, which would make the b*st*rds insufferable, but to at least play well enough to make the swan song of the Pac-12 a good one.

For some reason this doesn't surprise me. Doubt it has anything to do with last night. Several options in the QB room right now but I can't wonder if the real reason isn't a potential portal addition. Like that Wazzu kid. Ward would be a one and done, and TT would have the most to lose, but Van Buren would have been 3rd or 4th on depth chart.

I'm glancing sideways occasionally at the ESPN app to see a score or two but don't give much of a rat's behind about who wins what, except to draw a bead on who Oregon may play in a bowl game. Other than that, getting a head start on some winter tasks. Yeah, a few days of mourning is in order. I appreciate the way the OBDF is getting through this and that we all have a platform where we can constructively vent and commiserate. Thanks, Charles

Well, it'll take a couple days to get over this one. Kudos to UW, they went out and took it.

The problem is Burch, Florence and Jackson are all out. Oregon secondary running on fumes and the D-line is getting beat. It sucks but it is what it is. Washington has played the better game. Short of a miracle..

Both Oregon's starting DBs are out and it shows. Got to get to Penix faster.

The tale of two halfs!

Great gutsy drive. Bo to TFerg Heisman throw. Now the D needs a stop.

This game is only half over. Oregon just had a great drive and score. Tez is lit up. Absolutely right call on that DB PI/Holding of Troy. Good to see him back in the game. Bo knocked that UW defender back on the 2 yd line. TFerg just had the best catch of the season. That drive took some of the air out of Fusky. The Ducks get the ball to start the second half. A TD and we've got a 3 pt game. Defensive adjustments need to be made but if OBD can get stops things can flip pretty fast. Toughest spot they've been in all year. Keep the faith.

That was horrible. Fusky is outplaying Oregon in all facets of this game. Need a drive for score now

Ok, points on the board. Disconcerting that Franklin has been neutralized and now injured. Ugly so far but the Ducks have the depth to keep this going. Get a stop and score.

My guess is that one of their overzealous writers composed a 'what if' article and inadvertently hit the publish key. An "oh, sheet!" moment must've ensued followed by several editors mobilizing the meltdown-damage control DEFCON-1 scenario. It may still come to pass as Ward to Oregon makes some sense, but ooo..weee I wouldn't want to have had that writer's blood pressure for the 15 minutes after they realized what they had done.

Idontroll, got any spare Kingsford? I was doing OK until this morning but now I'm thinking I could flatulize fountains of flawless faceted fractal floes. Might as well do something constructive while I wait for kickoff.

While I dislike the quality of Pac-12 officiating as much as every other OBD fan, I would be pretty shocked to see that kind of disparity in calls. It seems to me that the soon to be conferenceless refs would want to go out as something other than the laughing stock of CFB if they ever hope to be employable again. The truly odious and incompetent refs have declared themselves time and again on the televised games. We all know who they are. I'll be watching with a jaundiced eye as the crew is introduced hoping to not see the worst of the lot. Oregon has been penalized far too much this year due largely to unforced errors and some undisciplined play. The zebras have done them no favors, but if you want to keep the refs out of the game, don't let them into it.

That story disappeared in a gnat's heartbeat. So no confirmation as yet. What a stupid bit of info to leak hours before this game if it is indeed true as it serves no useful purpose in the Oregon locker room. If Ward does indeed ultimately transfer to Oregon, great. It means that the staff sees the best way forward in 2024 is with another veteran QB. Cross that bridge when they come to it, hopefully after a Duck win tonight.

It is actually the TE #37 Westover, that I'd be a bit concerned about. He has caught a few passes in important settings the last couple of games, finding gaps in and behind the LB zone coverage to move the chains. He provides Penix a short throw safety valve and has picked up some of the slack created by Polk and McMillan being less productive. I wouldn't be surprised to see his role expand today, particularly if their run game sputters and if the Ducks have Bassa and Jacobs pin their ears back to come after Penix. #37 is no TFerg and he isn't the greatest run blocker, but he could present an unpleasant surprise or two if left uncovered. I'm assuming DL and Tosh are going to be on top of that.

I would agree that the mutts have relied more on their ground game since 10/14, but not convinced it is that much better. It is not terribly balanced as it has depended on Johnson for >75% of the carries. If you take that insane performance against a horrid U$C run defense out of the equation, the numbers settle down quite a bit, particularly in the last two games. Fuskys O-line is pretty decent in pass protect but less so when running the ball. OSU held them to 110 yds on the ground with Johnson getting most of those touches. Ditto WSU at 102 yds. Oregon played to par against the Beavs since Bo lit them up so bad through the air but Bucky and Co. rolled up 248 on the Cougs. If Johnson is a bit dinged up those numbers won't even be that good against the Duck run defense. Then their offense goes back to depending on how well Penix's arm works. DeBoer and crew have been leaning away from that previously successful strategy since the Oct 14 game and probably will need the run to keep Oregon's safeties honest. If #33 and Co. can stay back in Cover 1 or even 2, while the front seven takes care of business, those Odunze daggers get harder to accomplish.