EastBayDuckDad

Interesting parallels are the efforts of graduate students at major research and teaching institutions to unionize. Yes, they are students and are getting an education, but GA's in the hard sciences do most of the rank and file teaching of undergrads and are the buffer for the 'professor' They also perform most of a lab's research under faculty guidance and write papers for publication. Ditto for medical residents. They take the night call, do most of the procedures and are responsible for day to day patient care. In training, yes, but their labor value is far greater than the stipend they are paid. I trained in the days when residents worked 80+ hour weeks, took call every third (or other) night, didn't sleep and got the snot kicked out of them. We thought it was a rite of passage and toughness (a little like 'physicality'). Sometimes patient care was less than optimal as a result of fatigue. We never thought of unionizing, but it may have been an improvement over the traditional way of doing things. D1 level athletes (mainly football and basketball) are generating income for their schools far above the value of their tuition and room and board. NIL is a start and at this stage is a bit of a ham-fisted free for all. Unionization may be where this ends up with negotiations under specific guidelines. I'm not all that crazy about the whole NIL concept as I would still like to see some sense of amateurism in college sports. But there is too much money in the system and not yet enough fairness to let the old system stand.

Vegas may not always get it right, but it never does anything except set odds based on the money. I think Oregon will get the usual -3 for home field advantage. So it might be Oregon -3 or perhaps if the odds makers feel UCLA has shown enough to be a 3-7 pt favorite, either a wash or UCLA by -3. It'll be the o/u that is the most interesting as both offensives would be expected to thrive. A shootout might be predicted. Say, o/u of 65. I think it'll be Oregon -3 with an o/u of 65. Then we kick their heinies. I believe Chip no longer has a house on McKenzie View Dr. I understand you can see Autzen from there. Who ever lives there now will enjoy the view next Saturday.

Utah. Redemption for Utah after a rough start (except for a subsequent beatdown by the Ducks at Autzen, which is owed to them). Even if Oregon wins out and beats an undefeated U$C in the Pac12 championship game, getting into the CFP is a long shot given the 49-3 egg laid against Georgia to start the season. I'd rather see the troy-boys lose to Utah, win out, then get spanked by the Ducks in Vegas for a trip to the Rose Bowl. U$C to the Holiday Bowl. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket....

One can cite the RB room's success after losing the vast majority of it's 2021 production. Or the creative use of the TE room in both run and pass offense, particularly in the 14-J package (love naming it after Josh Conerly, what a way to encourage high level recruits to come to Oregon). And of course the play of Bo Nix. Above all, I feel it's the coaching. Vast improvement in game management and offensive scheme over the last several years lead the list. Identifying problem issues and correcting them in practice follow that. The defense will come as Lanning installs more of his concepts. He certainly has the talent.

My wife says that I can, on occasion, be witty and funny. She also notes that most on my humor lands like a Caddyshack candy bar in a swimming pool. He did provide the building blocks for the success that Lanning's crew is bringing to fruition, and the 2020 Rose Bowl and 2021 beatdown at tOSU were games for the ages. Thanks, Mario. And thank you for jilting Oregon for your high school sweetheart. We'll be ok.

This could be the new NIL rave. Assuming the OLCC approves, think Sewell Stout, Whittington Wheat or Irving Imperial IPA. I hear that a bar in Miami is now serving a Mari-no-O Extra Special Bitter. It promises to pack a physicality punch but lacks finesse, flavor and for that matter, a head. And it costs a fortune for a pint.

Thanks to Coach Eric for diagramming and posting video of the counter and counter screen to show how the one sets up the other. Setting up a pattern only to run something else off of it once the defense thinks they know what's coming is one thing that gets everyone excited about the Dillingham offense. I particularly like the Jumbo/Big Boy package with McCormack, Herbert and Conerly that keeps going right where you expect it to go with James over tackle. Until it doesn't, and Cam M. is standing all alone in the end zone with a TD pass in his hands because the opponent sold out in the box to stop the run.

Great insight, Charles. Quite the money exchange for failure. Though it is a bit apples to oranges, here are some fun numbers: Cristobal buy out $9 mill MC 2022 salary $4.7 mill MC bonuses saved $1 mill Asst coaches saved (est) $1.8 mill DL contract $4.6 mill Additional Asst. coaches salaries 2022 v 2021 $0.7 mill Oregon comes out way ahead financially and Miami picks up our bar tab.

Tucson has been a tough place for the Ducks over the past decade, and I predict it will be no different this year. In spite of the talent imbalance the 'Cats always seem to play up when they face Oregon and 135 yds of dirty laundry might be a game decider. The upside is that each game exposes a weakness that needs to be addressed and the following week Lanning gets after it in practice. Each subsequent game has shown significant improvement that seems to stick. We've seen passing defense, edge containment and tackling all improve after a bad outing. Penalties and attitude will be on the agenda for sure, and we can bet DL will hammer it home on the field and in the film room.

I don't bet on sports, but for once I wish I had taken the Ducks on points and the over. Had the score pretty close but way off on TOs and passing yards, though I like the idea of maybe trading the latter out for total Nix yards. A lot closer to my prediction, then. Rules for a tie breaker maybe not such a bad idea..

Yikes, Nolan's second interception of the day a pick 6. Utah 14-7 over the Beavs

Oregon 48-27 3 TO 4 Sacks 325 passing yds

Great analysis on this. I'm in league with Charles on not loving the BDB defense, but understanding why Lanning may be running it now with the Cover 2 approach. It is impressive that run defense is as good as it has been. The outside DL and LBs have been setting the edge well, so plays are getting turned inside to the strength of the D. Not as much so far with the pass game, compounded by inconsistent tackling in space. But with a few exceptions, Cover 2 has kept the deep ball controlled. If setting the edge continues to get better keeping mobile opposing QBs in the pocket and limiting the read down dump off pass to the flat, things will improve. Add consistent tackling and the BDB will do less bending and more stopping. The Stanford game will be a good barometer on the progress made. McKee isn't as elusive as the QBs faced from BYU and Wazzu thus far, but he will test the D at all three levels: deep, intermediate and in the short sideline game.

Let's hope this is not entirely accurate when it comes to OBD. Georgia v Oregon: Georgia 439 yds passing 132 yds rushing 571 yds total offense

Pac-12 in danger of eventual collapse as Big Ten considers further expansion, Big 12 interest looms - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM If the Big Ten can get one more significant payday, it may be curtains for the Pac-12 Pac-12 reportedly in danger of collapse WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Conference realignment continues to have significant impact on where college football is headed.

Very good article, Joshua, and an accurate read on Nix. My observation is that the Oregon offense under Dillingham has him playing to his skill set, which is accurate reads, short to medium range passes and controlled runs, planned off the RPO or scrambles when he needs to get out of the pocket. Nix's long ball is not his strength. In reviewing passing attempts over 30 yds, he more often than not will slightly over or under throw the ball. Luckily most of them are catchable. The long completions to Franklin and Hutson at WSU required each to break stride just a bit. One of the long passes in the BYU game led the receiver just a bit too much and he wasn't able to reach the endzone and the great catch by Franklin was a bit behind him. This tendency to underthrow was the reason the first pick in the Georgia game occurred, albeit to a very talented DB that played it perfectly. I'll bet Smart coached his secondary to that tendency given his familiarity with Nix. On the flip side, Bo's TD pass to Franklin late in the WSU game was on a dime, and the 4th and 2 completion to Irving was perfect. It was a do or die play and the reason Oregon came back to win. Both of those passes were in the 25-30yd range where Nix is most effective. With the O-line giving him a relatively clean pocket, Nix has the time to launch down the field, but his real strength is that medium pass. He is really accurate on those and can pick apart a defense. Oregon has the speedy receivers to get significant YAC, so that medium game is money.

Thanks for posting that, PDuck! Heard it on Steve Tannen's show yesterday and smiled for half an hour afterwards. Spanish play by play is rapid fire by nature of calling futbol matches (That's 'soccer' to you Norte Americanos). Prehm needs to polish up his high school Spanish though. It's 'Hasta la vista' baby! Goooooaaaaaaaalllllll !

Irving's clutch reception in the 4th Qtr of the Wazzu game on 4th and 2 was 'do or die'. It was a great pass thrown into a tight window. If Nix doesn't find him, throws a bad ball or Irving drops it, Oregon's comeback is toast. Franklin's grabs were fantastic Sports Center material but Bucky's reception was the game's true pivot. The comparisons to Kenyon Barner I think are the closest, and Irving may even have a bit better anticipation, field vision and finishing power than KB. Getting Cardwell back will be important later in the season to keep fresh legs in the RB rotation, but Irving (and Whittington, for that matter) have really performed above expectations.

Personally I would rather see Bo have a great season, then move on. Don't think he is a high end NFL talent, but he could carve out a decent pro career. He's married and will want to provide for his new family. Something tells me Dante Moore will find his place in the new system at Oregon. Maybe he waits a year or more behind TT, but I think it may be sooner rather than later that he takes the reins.

Heavens, that's Noah Sewell lifting DL towards the rafters. Like coach said, he doesn't pay attention to stats and they don't tell the whole story. My bet is that Kelly, Helfrich, Taggart or Cristobal ever had that experience. Something special appears to be happening here.

Middle Tennessee coach, ex-FSU QB Rick Stockstill slams Miami after upset win 247SPORTS.COM ... Wow, Happy Birthday and all that, but talk about rubbing Cristobal's nose in it. You don't often see an opposing coach win with such, umm, grace.

The beauty of Dillingham's offense is the mix of pass/run, variety of formations and deception. It seems to play to Bo's skill set perfectly, even if we got a bit of bad judgment on the pick-6 yesterday. Yes, the pass was tipped and well played by the WSU LB, but that ball shouldn't have been thrown. That said, give Nix the time the O-line is giving him to make the throws he can make and this offense just sings. Those last two drives against Wazzu were just plain masterful.

Charles, pretty much in agreement that Oregon can be a top 10 team at season end with a victory in a big time (Rose) bowl game to top it off. I don't really see them in the CFP unless they run the table convincingly with a defense that has improved significantly from where they are post-Wazzu. Unfortunately I see tOSU, GA, Alabama and Clemson in the CFP again, ho hum. I think specific goals will make for a satisfying season: 1. Beat Stanford next week without letdown after yesterday's coronary spasm inducing win. Finally extinguish the ghosts of Zach Ertz's bad call TD and CJ's fumble from Autzen. 2. Win the away games they are supposed to win convincingly: Arizona, Colorado and Cal. Their fan bases are nowhere near what WSU brought to the table so these three games should be less formidable. 3. Much as I hate to say it, UW is a much improved team and beating them, even at home, will be a challenge. Ditto for Utah, with that revenge factor thrown in. Mid-late November will be a real gauntlet for the Ducks and victories in those two games, followed by beating a very dangerous Beaver team at Reser, will define success for 2022. 4. If Oregon gets that far, knocking off a now exposed U$C (oh please, please!) in Vegas and a trip to the Rose Bowl would make for a great 1st season under Lanning. Then finishing with a win over Michigan or Penn State would be the cherry on top with a top 10 ranking assured.

Ok, so that was a grim performance in the 1st half. But offense outgaining WSU 2:1 and without the pick-6 we're up. And ......Hell yes!!