OhioDuck

I'm not going with all the hand wringing. You want to be the best, you have to play the best. Oregon can lose at GA and still make the playoffs. If Ohio St. hadn't lost to that team up north and won the Big 10 they would have been in after losing to Oregon the first game. BTW, a lot of folks were questioning the OSU game before we played it and won. I would rather have a home and home, but that's not happening now. Go out and play the best schedule you can, wherever you can get the games, prove yourself and you will start getting home and homes.

They are certainly losing some good players, can they now turn around and bring some good ones in. I think the portal is going to be a fickle resource for many programs and players.

I think Oregon fans have a different perspective on this than a lot of people. East Coast folks (I have been living on the east coast and mid west) just see Oregon winning a bunch of games under MC. Oregon fans see his upside of being a great recruiter and relating so well with his players, but we have also seen his down sides of not so exciting, unimaginative offense, mediocre game prep, and sometimes poor in game management. Lanning is in some respects an unknown. He hasn't been a head coach. Oregon is a big stage for a new head coach, so there are questions. I had them myself, but he has come in and changed the culture before he's even moved in, hit homerun after homerun in hiring a staff and shown he speaks the right words, but also listens. So, I understand someone not rating this an A+ hire, but let's see what they are saying in two years. I think this will prove to be one of, if not the, best hire this year or over many years.

Thanks, great article. I am a good example of those all across the country fans who became Oregon football fans because the Duck were simply SO exciting to watch. I lived in Portland for just a little over two years and actually rooted for the team in Corvallis (had alumni friends with lots of extra tickets, and it was the short Erikson era there), but the Duck's style of play won me over and I haven't faltered since. I'm so excited about the staff that Lanning is putting together, but like you hope for a return to the kind of offensive philosophy that defined Oregon football for so long. Play fast, play with speed, game plan for chunk plays running and passing and have a lot of fun while working hard at it! Add this to Lanning's defense and the sky's the limit for Oregon football.