Mic

I couldn't agree with you more, Charles. My feelings exactly. In fact, elsewhere on the forum I made mention that in the the event Ty Thompson were not to work out for Oregon next season (let's hope he does!) then I wouldn't mind seeing Mendoza make the transfer to Oregon. He's just the type of QB that I think Dan and Co. could build into a great QB. At least I think so. GO OREGON!

I've always thought Justin Wilcox would make a heck of a Defensive Coordinator for his Alma Mater. If he were in the role as Dan's D.C. I think Oregon would do well and be hard pressed to do better. But what do I know, really? Nothing. However, it's a moot point because Lanning has the team he wants right now and Lupoi, tho not my favorite by any stretch, is doing a good job. And there is no indiction Wilcox would ever want to step down as the Head Coach for a Coordinator's job anyway. There's really no reason to speculate about it.

If it's OK to comment: I really liked hearing the little snippet about Coach Lanning and Bo Nix where they were talking about the upcoming game and discussed Utah's 9-out-of-10 success rate of stopping the opposing team's 1st drive. After the game when the Ducks had scored on that opening drive (with Nix going 4 for 4 passing) scoring the TD and taking the air out of the Utah crowd, Nix texted Dan that Utah was now 9 for 11. Gads, I loved that!

O.C. in 10 years? Can we sign him to that promise now? While Uncle Phil's still around to guarantee his salary? Actually, as much as I'd love to see that happen I think he might have a long career in the NFL, as a QB and then as a QB coach then as an offensive coach. And then who knows? I certainly wish him all the best in the years to come and I thank the lord for him deciding to come be a Duck and then to bring his little brother along as well. It was about time for something good to happen to Oregon after the 'Willie One-and-Done' and the 'Mari-no-O' back-to-back fiascos. He and Dan Lanning both arrived just when things were beginning to look bleak.

That's a man taking the blame on himself instead of letting the blame fall on the players. This is just about the exact opposite from what one would hear from "coaches" like Lane Kiffen or Rick Neuheisel. They always seemed to find others to point fingers at. Stein is a definite cut above of many coaches we've seen before.

Very... sinister looking. I like it. Darth Ducks, save for the shiny helmets. As long as they win we'll love 'em.

My guess is the running game will feature more in this one than the last - partly due to Cal's run defense not as good as Utah's and partly due to the effects of rain. But the Duck's bread and butter has been the balance between the run & pass. Ought to be quite interesting to see how it shakes out.

Fantastic post Charles. As I've said before on at least two occasions, these videos alone would be enough to make a subscription to the forum a must for anyone wanting to learn about the game. The OBD coaches are getting so good at reading tendencies and Bo Nix is so good at recognizing them and getting the right play called that I would;dn't be surprised if opponents begin to wonder if Oregon isn't stealing their signs on defense. I think Lanning's a heck of a lot smarter than Harbaugh regarding the efficacy of that stunt. This is purely football acumen at a high level. Lord, we're gonna miss Bo when he leaves!

I can't be certain but I'd say that this coming weekend there are more close games on the schedule than anytime this season, so far, including at least two games that are dead-even. Usually, each weekend will see a few games with odds favoring one team over another by less than a TD but nothing like this one (based on the latest odds from Odds Shark). If I counted it correctly, there are 35 (!) games with odds of <7 pts for the favorite, about half by < 4 pts. The Ducks are favored -24.5 currently over Cal. This seems too high for a Justin Wilcox team but given the way the Ducks handled Utah, Odds Shark might be right on this. (Sure glad I don't bet large sums of $ on these things). Over the last 10 games the average pt. margin has been ~15 pts, with 2 Oregon losses. What game(s) have your attention this weekend? Besides Oregon-Cal. GO OREGON!

Certainly good news but I'll wait til the Ducks have his signature on paper before celebrating. Word is there may be a third 5* in the works. Same thing tho, wait til they're on campus in uniform. In today's CFB world, nothing is certain, even then.

But then OSU's stock goes up again and OBD's get them in game 12.

It's certainly the very best they could have hoped for since dropping that game in Seattle. Good news is they might get a chance at a rematch. But the Beavers might be able to pull off a win - they've done this to O before. And there's USC. One never knows...

Then, if true, not to be a debbie-downer but won't the CFB come down to the teams with highest paid players? Not necessarily recruited because players can always transfer to a higher bidder or a team looking to win the whole thing. Excuse me Log Haulin but I sure do hope this isn't what's coming, no matter how much money Phil Knight has. Phil only has so many days left in him and then it's up to endowments and the surviving relatives. Also, it IS, in the long run, part of the fan's money - in ticket prices, DAF fees (I'm sure all schools have something similar) parking fees and all the related expenses of viewing a live game at least once in awhile. Can you image where this is headed?

Ohio State #1 seriously? I guess we can maybe speculate who dominated the selection committee on this one. Oregon at #6 is reassuring but still left needing help to get in the final 4. Beating Washington in a rematch, (should both teams get that far) still leaves them one slot short. But doesn't Michigan play Ohio St yet?

Oh, OK. wow So, the pundits were speculating that the Duck's might be paying Bo $2 million? I'm pretty surprised they'd even speculate on that during a live game, if this is what I think you're saying. Is that even legal? Gosh, I hope not! I think Bo might go very high in the draft, Heisman trophy or not. Then he might get "2 Big ones", but not now surely? CFB hasn't come to that yet, I hope.

"2 bigs" Please, what does this mean?

U$C #24 and tanking. I was hoping they would be higher ranked (still might) when they come to Eugene for their next loss. But Utah winning that game doesn't hurt us because they moved up a bit to #13 for next week's showdown. It'll be a tough slog in the mile high desert next Saturday but beating a ranked team helps the ducks even more. OSU is the dark horse and if they can keep it up (they'll have to beat UW) it should be a great opportunity for Oregon to beat another ranked team.

Small, trivial point but what's with the 'W' on the hats (see photo above)? That's like a Beaver wearing a hat with 'O' on it, no? It's not Washington but Washington State. Same with Oregon State. Don't be ashamed of wearing WSU or OSU on the hats. If ya gotta abbreviate, make it WS or OS. Like I said, just a trivial point.

We'll turn Bill Lunden into a Duck fan. Or not. I don't think he follows football at all. Be nice if he did.

Media Hype. All 5 picked UW to win in Seattle. All 5 would have had egg on their faces if Oregon had made a play or two differently. All 5 would have pretended not to remember it the following week. Unless CGD is in Eugene I only watch the last 20 minutes to see their predictions, which, as the averages go, are barely .500 usually.

And then Miami beats Clemson in Hard Rock. They'd never beaten Clemson in Death Valley.

I was thinking of that last series for Washington. 37 seconds to the end zone. O's db's do a pretty good job - most of the time - but they're vulnerable at certain times, sometimes the worst times. It's not a knock on them individually. Just an observation. 438 yards is a lot to give a team in the air. Though it's all WSU had has offense.

I like Oregon's chances in this next game, despite it being a mile high in the air. If they're as good as we think they are, they should win this one and then they have a very good chance to get to 10-1 vs the Beavers who might also be 10-1. What a Civil War that'll be - the last one as it looks, for a while.

I'd thought CGD would be better to come to Autzen either when the Trojans are in town or the Beavers. Probably the Beavers, given USC' loss last night.

If i'd known before hand Cam Ward was gonna throw for over 435 yards in this one (w/o a TO) I'd thought - uh oh! Oregon's got to somehow get the passing game reeled in. It's how Penix beat them and how WSU, without a running attack whatsoever hung in there as long as they did in the 1st Half.