OhioDuck

SC has made some splashy moves with skilled players on offense for sure. They have solidified their defense, but I don't see spectacular improvement yet. So, they will almost certainly be better. We'll see how the move to the B1Ugly plays out with recruiting. Are Southern California guys going to cherish playing November and December games in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan? Even State College PA can be frigged. Yeah, it rains in Oregon, but you don't get frostbite. There is also a style of play issue. You think MC (no O) was boring. Wait until you get a load of Wisconsin and Iowa groveling in the dirt on Saturday afternoons. I'm still not sold on Riley. Yes, he's a good coach, but he has only proved so far that he can keep an already speeding train (Oklahoma) on the tracks. He took over a derailed USC program. He may very well prove himself at USC, but I want to see game day results before judging.

I'm not sure the Big 12 is that much better an option than the PAC. I still think some sort of merger of the two conferences is the best option for both. If not the B1G Ugly conference and SEuglyC will keep poaching members from each at will. To stop that there has to be a viable option that is competitive with the two Big Uglies. Neither the PAC or Big 12 has much of a chance of doing that alone at this point.

I think OSU may get some credit for being as close to Portland as it is. Programs like Vanderbilt and Rutgers are interesting. They are in major metro areas, but they are hardly relevant in those metro areas. They will still have to be relevant enough in those areas to make a difference to the conferences. In football Rutgers is the best college team in the NYC area, but they are still competing for attention with two NFL franchises. In B-ball NYC has lots of options, Seton Hall, St. Johns, U Conn, even as far as Syracuse. In Nashville you have an NFL franchise, plus Tennessee is probably more popular there than Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt lifts the whole SEC academic profile, if that is relevant at all in the discussion it may help them.

Okay answering myself here. Just a few thoughts on why I think this third way can work. One, if the PAC stays solid against any further defections to the B1G or SEC (seems they are done for the moment anyway). What will the B1G look like geographically? To me it looks like 18 dots in the north east and midwest bunched together and 2 dots in the south west corner. With no more West coast teams USC and USLA are isolated in their won conference. So, except for the two LA schools the B1G is still geographically bound. The SEC really did not go much outside their already established footprint to add TX and OK. If a conference were to be created from the PAC, Big 12 and ACC, it would truly be a coast to coast conference with teams from the the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Rocky Mountains and West Coast. This would outflank what the B1G and SEC are attempting to do, capture significant TV markets and enable the conference to have a true east division and west division (maybe 4 divisions, imagine a 4 team conference play off). And every few years, Oregon can go to Miami or host them and kick Mario's butt! Just a few thought.

It's about money of course, college sports has been about the money for a long time. The difference now is the amount of money has increased and those involved with making the decisions have no long term vision for where this is leading and little or no sense of the traditions cherished by many fans. The writer talks about wanting to have something where the 20 or 40 maybe best programs are competing against each other. In what universe would Oregon not be near the top of the list there. Yet at the moment the Ducks are in limbo, hoping for the best. I will watch and wait. My hope is somehow the the PAC, Big 12 and ACC manage to create a third way, one where a few little guys can be included too. I'm still thinking the best way is if you don't like what they are doing, you can give up and join them, or beat them against all odds. Seems to me the second option is more in keeping with Oregon tradition. Go Ducks!

Future Rocket, wonder if he will try out for punter, bet he would be pretty good at it. I imagine his body will change a bit with a major college training table and conditioning, but this guy could quietly turn out to be a great pick up.

Recruiting is often all about building relationships. Part of the reason MC is so good at recruiting is he does that and seems to be someone who is authentic in how he cares for the players. This just confirms that.

I haven't seen him, only heard about him. Where understanding the game is important, you can teach that. You can improve on some of the physical abilities, some just can't be taught. As long as he has enough physical ability to make the plays he sees with his eyes and understands with his mind, he could be great! The thing about Brady is he has all the throws. Yeah, most of the time he makes the easiest throw available, but when he has to he makes the hard ones too. Not the best arm, but good enough. Of course Arch has a long way to go to even be mentioned in the same sentence with. Tom Brady.. A lot will have to do with fit for what the OC wants to do.

For me the phrasing of this question is important. "Long Term" is important. Is any of this totally money driven, TV contract driven, re-alignment really good for college athletics in the long run? I think rather than joining them, we need to think about beating them. All of this is driven by the B1G and SEC trying to monopolize the college football product. How do you fight a monopoly? Competition! Build a conference to compete with them!

If there is a TV contract anywhere near what is happening with the B1G and SEC, that $50m buy out would be paid off in a year or two. The question is if there is a big enough pay off on the other side. A conference made up of top ACC and PAC, plus a few others might be attractive for a big TV contract. You start by seeing which networks might be interested and what they may be willing to pay. Plus bring in the best of the ACC basketball programs too and you may have the best basketball conference.

Yeah, Cowturd constantly makes me want to violate FishDuck's word not to use.

I think the PAC, Big 12, ACC combo league drawing the best from each is the best option. Going with a 24 team conference with an east and west division. Starting East: Clemson, FSU, UNC, UVa, Syracuse, Pitt, Miami, Duke... Mid west: OK St., Houston, Texas Tech, Baylor, KU, K St.,Texas Christian, Iowa St.... West: Oregon, Stanford, Utah, Arizona, Ar. St., Washington, Oregon St. Cal or WSU. Also consider BYU, Boise, San Diego St. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Colorado... and maybe, just maybe outflank the big10 and get Notre Dame. I'm sure I'm leaving out a good choice or two. If the big 10 and SEC are determined to create super conferences, beat them to it. There could even be a combination of all current members of all three conferences plus a few more split into 4 divisions and having a four team play off to decide the championship. That could generate a lot of excitement!

At this point, if the PAC survives with Oregon in it, they need to move quickly and boldly. I think at least an immediate merger of PAC and Big 12 would make sense. Add ACC, maybe, but only if those definitely coming include Clemson and UNC. If Notre Dame could somehow be pulled into that configuration, what a wonderful gut punch to the Big 10 (I'd love to see that, but not expecting it.) It seems regional based conferences are no longer desired. So why not an expansion from coast to coast. Too bad the PAC didn't have the forethought to do this kind of thing two years ago, or at least as soon as OK and Texas announced for SEC. You had to see this coming as the Big 10 tried to compete. I'm still sick to my stomach though. I don't see how all of this ends up being good for college sports, even if you are just talking about football.

What's the dilemma? three good QBs in the room, and two possible great recruits. Maybe if Johnson wants to commit, but the Ducks are waiting on Moore, but I have to think the coaches will know where they stand with each. Right now, Nix looks poised to reach some of that unrealized potential. Ty just smoked 'em at the Manning Camp and Butters looked great in the Spring game. Whoever starts will have a more than capable back up and even third string guy. A whole lot of schools would love to have Oregon's dilemma.

Yeah, I remember 2 a days in August in VA when I was in high school. Oregon dry 95 degrees is paradise! Oh, and GA, AL, MS... are much worse than VA. These guys are going to love this. I also am feeling some commits coming.

Look at who's on campus this weekend. Some commitments are already coming. I have a good feeling about several of these players and a few from last weekend also. We don't have to get all of these guys. One or two of the 5 stars, then 3 or 4 of the 4s and Oregon is well on it's way to a top ten class, maybe top 5. I live in Ohio and I can feel the vibe from here.

That will be one very unusual year in Vermont high school football!

Yeah, Johnny Rodgers at Nebraska and Greg Pruit at Oklahoma were similar backs, fast, quick shifty, leave you grabbing at air when you thought you had them type backs. Nebraska's more pro-style offense allowed Rodgers to get lots of opportunities in open space. Pruit turned the grind it out wishbone into an explosive offense with his speed and illusiveness. They were both fun to watch. Not really seeing Oregon resurrecting the wishbone though.

Having lived most of my life outside of Oregon, and only a few years in Oregon, it is hard for me to understand why anyone would WANT to leave. If I had the right opportunity (and family wouldn't rebel), I'd move back to Oregon in a heart beat!

Yes, as much as a night game and the excitement it brings is attractive from a local standpoint, it is one of the things that isolates PAC 12 football. I would love to watch games, expecially Duck games, but when they are starting at 9 PST that mid-night for me and I work Sunday morning (clergy here). Even 7:30 or 8:00 allows me to watch the first half anyway.

Just a note to the Georgia fans that have visited us here. It is great to have you! Love your input and hope you stick around beyond Sep. 3. You are representing UGA well.

I would add Seven McGee to the receivers that can make big plays down field and turn any play with the ball in space into a big play. He needs 8 touches minimum. I also think, while certainly agreeing with limiting turnovers, we can't play too conservatively. We have to have some big plays and occasionally take some chances. Trust our playmakers. In all likelihood will will have a very good defense this year from day one. We can either say, we will play conservatively to help out the defense, or we will play aggressively and trust the defense. I don't think conservatively is going to beat UGA.

That is one of the problems with these kinds of pre-season predictions. They too often give more consideration to who is not there than they do to who is there.

So true. Very often is is because the preseason predictions are made with very minimal actual knowledge. I think that is probably the case here. Thanks for dropping in here and participating with us. Best of luck to your Dawgs after September 3.

With a healthy Justin Flowe, the question isn't if Oregon will have the best linebackers in the PAC 12, that's a given. The question is only whether they will be the best in country. Even going to depth, this group is big, strong, fast, skilled and ready to get after people. I'm excited to see them take the field in September.