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Latest Vegas line has the line moving just a bit to: Oregon +14. Trying to generate interest (betting) or...? Meanwhile, Mario C has a 'tough' challenge facing his Hurricane's Saturday. His team's -45 against Bethune-Cook...something-or-other. Imagine the angst! College Gameday giving only token attention to the Oregon-Georgia matchup tonight. Maybe they'll get more interested tomorrow. Anyone here know (or care) what Willie Taggert's team is up to these days? He is still coaching, right? Speaking of which, did Scott Frost make the flight home yesterday? GO DUCKS!

Well, we still have Bennett Williams and Trikweze Bridges. They'll have to git 'er dun for us this year. Lanning's new (to us) Mint Defense might cause enough confusion to give them a chance to improve on McKinley's performance (6 ints) last year. I think Williams had 3.

I guess my concern about the so-called 'Mint Defense' of Lanning's is: isn't Georgia well acquainted with it and expecting it - being that he (Lanning) is the inventor of it? Won't the Bulldog offense know what to expect and be fully prepared for it - introducing their own new wrinkles to defeat it? Or, is it so full of deception that they themselves will be unable to counter it? I guess we'll see in about two more days. At -17.5, the oddsmakers are 'betting' Kirby Smart will be able to out-smart it (no pun intended).

Oh... my head is spinning. I have never been able to quite understand how this all works but in the final analysis, I guess what I should have said is "there are reasons why the oddsmakers have Georgia winning by 17". If they thought it was going to be a close game, they would have set the o/u closer. If they thought Oregon had a good chance to win, the o/u would be -3.5 or such. I guess if Oregon wins by any score, this would be considered a major upset, given the 17 point spread. And if Oregon loses by 10 or less instead, they should get some amount of credit for that from the pollsters. I can see them remaining in the top 12 if they lose by <10 (depending on other game outcomes). Would you agree?

Just what we've been waiting for. Sat around the campfire last night discussing the upcoming game with friends and THIS is what I told them I come to FishDuck for more than anything else: in-depth football analysis and explanations of how things are meant to work. Can't wait!

When the Duckies win? Not If? I love your vote of confidence - thanks!

Dangerous tactic: could result in a fist-fight or wrestling match. "I'm starting!" "No, no, I'm starting!" "No, I am...." lol

Yep, and I think he's going to say that because he expects to get a bump out of a win by claiming he beat the best team in the Pac-12. Of course, that's only IF Georgia beats us.

Odds makers for the big betting houses don't often lose money. When you see one team is a 17.5 favorite over another, there's usually good reasons. Right now, the Ducks would do well to cover the points. If they do, they'll be rewarded by the pollsters. I'm hoping for something in the neighborhood of 20-10 Georgia. Oregon could pull an upset but it's not likely. If Ore does win, it will be a squeaker. .

They might be hard to see against the green backdrop of the field. Maybe the Dawgs will lost track of them and we'll get some busted coverages out of it! Lol.

Yeah, I'd say that. Sports fans are often very fickle. We get so compassionate and invest so much of our own identities with our teams sometimes. Maybe a good definition would be 'Genius': Risk-taker more than often, right. 'Reckless': Risk-taker more than often, wrong. How's that?

It would appear. But had it worked, people would have been praising him for "going for the jugular". It's tough to be a Head Coach. (ps: I'm not defending SF, just relating what we've all seen before)

Sadly, one of our best TE's will miss the bus. #4 Junior TE Spencer Webb, killed in a climbing accident in July. He might have been one of the best TE's in the nation. He was certainly one of OBD's favorites. I imagine the game will be dedicated to him - as it should be.

I certainly agree with this, playing it safe seldom results in Big Wins. But.. remember Scott Frost's "risk decision" last week? When it works, it's fabulous. When it doesn't, well... the knives come out. I'm trusting Dan Lanning to know better what risks to take and when.

We are all very hopeful this is true. So far we have nothing to make us feel otherwise. If it proves out true, then what a 'gem' we got when Oregon hired Dan Lanning. I'd go so far as to say that my friends and I think this upcoming season shows more upside potential than even after Mario Cristobal's hire, and second only to Chip K being named as Bellotti's successor. And... It could prove out to be even better.

This is mostly for visitors to our site. In the new 'Lanning Era' this is why many of us are both hopefully expectant and nervously awaiting this 1st game/season. The fact that it comes against one of the best teams in the FBS (and on the road) also lends to the nervous excitement. And if we aren't sure what to expect out of our team's performance this is why:

I would tend to agree with you on this except that the percentage of "NFL prospects" that make the jump to the next level and succeed are abysmally small. Many think they're ready, want to be ready, are hoping they're ready - but just aren't. Some athletes willing to remain in college a little longer do so after good advice from good coaches. This is especially true, I think, of O and D linemen. I'm visualizing a 22 yr.old 5* recruit facing off against 30 year-old All Pros who aren't ready to concede their lucrative positions...

The answer's simple, imo. Los Angelas and vicinity are one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) markets in the industry and all SC or UCLA (to a lesser extent) have to do to get 'over-the-top' media coverage is have one good season. Lincoln Riley will bring USC to every TV box in America, at least as long as USC can keep him. Look for him to jump ship to the NFL as soon as an opportunity he likes comes along. Then we'll see how long they remain the media's darlings. Tuscaloosa , nor Columbus have nothing on LA in that regard.

Not me. I'm not going to root for Dye but I'm not gonna dis him either. He gave us some good years here and helped our team along. He just got mixed up with the wrong crowd, that's all. (All them condescending, smug, think-they-know-it-all bunch of prima donnas that Southern Californians seem to love. Just like the Dallas Cowboys. ) Basically, your "little sister's favorite team" sorta thing who, as soon as things go a little south, are completely forgotten for the next fad to come along.

They are. This line has been together, shaped and molded by a team of coaches (not the least of whom was Mario Cristobal, himself a Miami Hurricane O lineman) and have played a lot of quality snaps together. Injuries have kept some players from playing more but at this stage they are judged to be virtually all healthy including Alex Forsyth who may be one of the best Centers in the country. Size & talent are important. Experience is invaluable especially at the collegiate level where young men have (at best) about 4-5 years to learn the offense, gel together and scheme. The Ducks have all three attributes as well as football smarts which comes largely by experience and training. Regardless of the outcome Saturday, (and I know your Dawgs are all these things too) Oregon's O-line will aquit themselves well. It's the QB position that has us all concerned, I think. Game On!

Word coming out of camp is Lanning will rotate and substitute frequently keeping the linemen fresh. I don't know how deep the Bulldogs are (probably very deep) but Oregon is also deep and multiple players play more than one position. In-game decisions will dictate whom, where and when. Sophomore Faaope Laloulu, 6'7", 330 lbs will likely see action at LT, a position he played last year in two games. Word is he had a good Spring camp and is developing fast. This 'kid' is gonna be a brute of a man as he gets older and more playing time. Freshman Josh Connerly Jr;, 6'4" 294, a consensus 5* (top 35 nationally, 31 ESPN) out of Rainer Beach HS, Seattle should also see time this year. Oregon is really high on this young man's potential. At 294 he's said to be very quick and agile with good football smarts for a Frosh. Voted top OT by 247 Sports, (consensus top 3.) Another Freshman who may see significant playing time is Michael Wooten, 6'4" 305 lbs. out of Simi Valley California was a top 50 recruit among offensive tackles (Rivals 41) and the 247 composite (No. 47).

No mincing of words here! Well, I have a lot of friends who feel exactly the same way for pretty much the same reasons as you do. Personally, I think USC's move to the Big-Whatever is going to prove to be a big mistake, if not a fiasco. If I'm right, they will have gotten what they deserved far better than anything we could ever do to 'em. Also, imo, Ucla doesn't make the move to the Big-Whatever if USC hadn't made the 1st move. But I have nothing to base that on except my own gut.

Let's have a snap shot of some of the O's Offensive line who'll face off with the Dawgs: #56 T.J. Bass 6'4" 325 lbs. Senior - Outland Trophy pre-season watch list for Top Offensive Lineman 2022, Pac-12 All-Conference (1st team) 2021, Pac-12 Lineman of the week winner 202, Ranked Top 25 Nationally OLinemen 2021, Played all 14 games as a starter 2021 #70 Dawson Jaramillo, 6'5" 300 lbs., Junior played in 10 of Oregon's 14 games as a starter #71 Malaesala Amavae-Laulu, 6'6" 330 lbs. Senior played in all 14 games as starter allowing 0 sacks and just 1 QB hit in 359 passing down snaps, Pac- 12 All Conference Honorable Mention #74 Steven Jones, 6'5" 340 lbs. Junior - Started all 13 games he played for the Ducks, missing one due to injury … Started four games at right tackle before starting the final nine at right guard … Played 781 total offensive snaps, with 556 at RG and 225 at RT #78 Alex Forsyth, 6'4" 312 lbs. Senior, Outland Trophy pre-season watch list (Top interior Linemen), Rimmington Trophy pre-season watch-list (Top Center), Phil Steele Pac-12 All Conference (2nd team) Played 647 total snaps allowing just 2 sacks and 7 hurries. Started 10 games, 9 at Center #53 Ryan Walk, 6'3" 292 lbs. Senior, Pac-12 Coaches All-Conference (1st team as a Junior) Honorable mention in 2021, Burlsworth Trophy Top 10 semi-finalist, playing all 14 games last season with a 77.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus The younger players will contribute to as the Ducks have some very highly rated recruits brought in by Mario Cristobal and Dan Lanning both. But it's the experience Oregon is deep in.

Back then (and maybe even now) the Huskies are probably the most despised team (by Duck fans) in the Pac-12. Including USC. The Trojans are just a bunch of condescending players with feelings of entitlement since they once dominated the league for so many years. But the Huskies? That''s more personal - starting with coach Don James stabbing Oregon in the back and seemingly every coach since then fostering a dislike for our fans. Except for Peterson, not many of us have ever had much good to say about the Huskies. Not sure why, just the way things are, I guess.

I wouldn't think he is fretting. He knows Bo and he knows that behind Bo there's two underclassmen w/o much real-game experience. On the other hand, he's loaded with experienced talent - esp at QB.