AnotherOD

From advanced stats, not including the Oregon/Minnesota and Iowa/USC games (only non-garbage time regulation snaps): Points Per Drive: USC: 3.71 (#2) Oregon: 3.33 (#8) However, Points Allowed Per Drive: Oregon: 1.13 (#4) USC: 2.26 (#72) And yards per play: USC: 8.07 (#1) Oregon: 7.19 (#5) Defensive yards per play allowed: Oregon: 3.75 (#1) USC: 6.07 (#92)

I was looking at some numbers and wow have Oregon and USC both faced some lower ranked offenses: USC: Notre Dame #25 Michigan #50 Nebraska #69 Illinois #70 Georgia Southern #75 Michigan State #80 Purdue #91 Northwestern #95 Missouri State #98 Iowa #118 Oregon Indiana #6 Montana State #14 (FCS) Rutgers #40 Oregon State #86 Northwestern #95 Penn State #108 Iowa #118 Oklahoma State #120 Minnesota #124 Wisconsin #133 So, both defenses probably have at least slightly elevated defensive stats; but, the good news is Oregon is ranked #3 in total defense and USC is #50. USC gave up 34 points and 442 yards to its top 40 offense faced (including 306 rushing). 4.5 points and 16 yards under Notre Dame's averages. Oregon allowed 30 points and 326 yards to Indiana (13 points and 152 yards under its average) and 10 points and 202 yards to Rutgers (20 points and 219 yards below their average). If one wants to throw in Montana State they were held 26 points and 199 yards below their average. So, looking at it from an outsider's perspective, Oregon's #3 overall defense might be helped out by half its opponents rated outside the top 100 in total offense; but, USC facing 8/10 opponents rated #69 or lower in total offense might be helping it's #50 overall total defense ranking too. USC's offense looks elite, Oregon's offense looks near elite, Oregon's defense looks elite (to near elite) and USC's defense looks really about right on FBS average, and the game is at Autzen. My initial guess is Stein and company may have a spring in their step this week. USC's front has been described as "more athletic than physical" and on the back end I guess they have been using a lot of cover one with man-to-man. Stein should be open to attack any way he chooses.

In the trenches, interesting to look at some of the dire preseason predictions about the OL starting three first year portal transfers (it wasn't here but certainly was pushed by at least one well known Duck site): On paper, offense predicts 3,260 yards rushing at 14 games (2,157 currently). Last year, without a single first year transfer portal OL, Oregon rushed for 2,211 yards in 14 games. From 4.4 ypc to 6.6 ypc. Sacks allowed are also down from 1.50 per game to 1.22 per game. ATQ often brings up those successful Cristobal OL season (and they were good) but: 2019: 14g, 2482 rush @ 5.1, 1.79 sack 2020: 7g, 1167 rush @ 5.0, 1.57 sack 2021: 14g, 2833 rush @ 5.4, 1.71 sack 2025: 14g, 3260 rush @ 6.6, 1.22 sack (predicted)

Rumors swirling of as many as 4 guys out on offense Saturday, anyone else? I guess it has hit some of the bigger Duck forums, Scoop Duck, Ducks Rising (plus Reddit): "Dak is out, Harkey out , Davison will play and Sadiq is questionable. This is info from a insider forum"

Couple of nice drives in the first quarter 7-7. I'm with GeotechDuck. 🙂

Season opener, going to try to avoid being too harsh until we see Shelstad return. Glad to hear Kwame seems to be ok (it looked like a bit of a knee hyperextention which AI tells me can vary quite a bit in severity but if there isn't a lot of pain, swelling, or bruising it is a good sign, as is being able to walk on it soon after). Generally felt ok about the two new guys at forward, Pryor (6-7) and Stewart (6-9), to go along with Evans (6-10). I see Simpkins averaged 16.4 at Elon last year on 42/37/76 shooting. Clutch drive for the game winner. If he can consistently bring something similar, I'm not without optimism. Not really plays to be praising, but sort of fun to see Demir effortlessly bouncing guys around (there is a guy on Ege? Nope no more). 🙂

Bryan Bennett Marcus Mariotta Jake Rodrigues Jeff Lockie Damion Hobbs Morgan Mahalak Travis Jonsen Tristen Wallace Terry Wilson Justin Herbert Much has been written about Mariotta finding his way to Oregon; and, it certainly was helpful having Herbert playing football right down the road from Autzen; but, those QBs brought in otherwise? QB is of course notoriously a tough spot to evaluate; but, I would say still safe to question the "great evaluator" tag? Among Rodrigues, Mahalak, and Jonsen, really important spot to whiff. Even in the Herbert year, flipping Tristen Wallace from Ohio State was the bigger splash after Seth Green decommitted to Minnesota (himself an eventual QB washout who ended up as a sort of hybrid WR/RB at UM). Wallace of course quickly ends up in some hot water and turns into a WR at Prairie View A&M. [ If one wants to throw in Daryle Hawkins and Green, you find five recruits brought in for a look at QB who ultimately ended up college WRs, TEs, or hybrid ball carriers (Hawkins, Hobbs, Jonsen, Wallace, and Green). 5 out of 12 QB recruits (42%) turning in college receivers just seems an odd number in evaluating how well someone has done recruiting QBs ] Without VA, it is quite possible Helfrich struggles to even make it to 2016. "Penthouse to the outhouse" style collapse in a single season doesn't appear to have been impossible. 🫤

Nice to see Kwame Evans rebound from 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 0 assists in 20 minutes versus Utah to 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in 26 minutes versus Stanford. It would be helpful if Evans, former composite five star (#15 nationally), now a junior, could become a reliable 12/8/4 guy this year to go along with Bittle and Shelstad. Former Duke/Ohio State PF Sean Stewart (also a 2023 composite five star and #17 nationally) had a nice game with 15 on 6-8 from the floor to go along with 4 boards. Seems like Texas transfer SF Devon Pryor (who pulled himself out of the NBA draft but was worked out by the Blazers in May) is off to a slow start, 5 points in 27 minutes against Utah and 0 points in 26 minutes against Stanford. Altman should have both a fair degree of talent and upperclassmen in 2025 (plus a pair of international additions). It seems like a tournament bid, with no more major injuries, should about be the floor? Way off?

Oregon's biggest nightmare? • How about "Dan Lanning Hired by Penn State"? • How about "Phil Knight Embraces Scientology?" • How about "Dakorian Moore, Jordan Davison portal to Ohio State"? • How about "Huskies beat Oregon by FG, Join Playoff, Oregon to Play Houston in Alamo Bowl"? Maybe my nightmares are worse than others? In seriousness though: "If Indiana (or any other 'outside' program) does win a national championship before the Ducks, Oregon fans will be left slack-jawed and misty-eyed, crying, 'That should have been us!'." If Indiana, or Vanderbilt, or Texas Tech wins it all, good for them. It would be fine quite possibly enjoyable to see Indiana beat Alabama or Vanderbilt beat Ohio State. It wouldn't have that much to do with Oregon. Oregon would have had its chances and not got it done. It happens. The system has now significantly changed. Someone else adapting faster and getting there first? Sure. Absolutely possible. Good for them. As a Duck fan I have never felt Oregon was inherently owed to be the next "breakthrough National Champion". You have to win it or what's the point? No crying. 🙂

How about $200,000 cash in a McDonald's bag to cast aside your lifelong Duck allegiance and transform Mike Parker style into a huge Beaver fan? You must watch all their games on TV and actually root for them, visit Reeser for at least one game per season, wear their gear out at least once per week (year-round), and regularly talk up Beaver baseball to all your friends and family. You must keep a John Canzano subscription and must bad mouth Nike whenever possible, and only refer to Oregon as the 'ucks?

"Can you imagine where Oregon would be if it fired Coach Brooks before the Rose Bowl?" One of my favorite topics from Duck history that isn't discussed too frequently anymore. Not so much about not firing Brooks, just the many "what ifs/what could have beens" that sort of sank the Duck program in the early 1970s; and, the story of the AD who arguably took an ok program and led it to a decade of futility (35-82-4) followed by ten years of mediocrity (58-56) before the 1994 Rose Bowl season breakthrough. Sort of maybe fits in with the topic of coaching searches, hirings, and firings too. It starts in 1972. The previous 50 years Oregon had been a fair 242-216-28 (with only one losing decade). Jerry Frei, a member of Oregon's staff for 17 years and 5th year head coach, had gone 22-29-2 (but had shown an upward trajectory in 70-71 going 11-10-1 behind the likes of Fouts and Moore) resigned rather than follow the direction of 2nd year AD Norv Ritchey (following pressure from boosters over five consecutive losses to the Beavers) to fire several of his assistants (a story at the time reported in the Register Guard and later confirmed by Fouts). At the time, the Oregon staff included, John Robinson who would go on to win a National Championship at USC and become a member of the college football hall-of-fame, George Siefert who went on to coach the NFL 49s and Panthers (retired with a top 5 career winning percentage among NFL coaches with 100+ wins), Gunther Cunningham who went on to coach 35 years in the NFL including head coach at KC, John Marshall who went on to coach 30 years in the NFL including DC stops with 5 teams, and Bruce Snyder future head coach at Utah State, Cal, and ASU. At the time, the Oregon job wasn't at all viewed as the bottom of college football world, but rather as stuck in mediocrity but a viable opportunity. Oregon had beaten USC in 70-71 and had otherwise been genetally competitive outside a couple paycheck games. Frei had recruited well, and Autzen wasn't even 5 years old. One name that had popped up in the early coaching search (which included over a dozen candidates) was then San Diego State head coach Don Coryell (who of course went on to revolutionize NFL offenses). AD Ritchey had apparently wanted Oregon assistant coach Dick Enright all along, a young former SoCal high school coach with exactly two seasons of college coaching experience (Enright, at 37, was the same age as Dan Lanning was when he arrived at Oregon). Ritchey eventually got his way and Enright was hired. Oregon went 6-16 the next two years and Enright reportedly learned about his firing from a phone call by a reporter. Ritchey then hired Don Read from Enright's staff, whose primary experience had been going 39-52-1 at Portland State from 68-71. He goes 9-24 in three seasons. Oregon' top target in 1977 to replace Don Read was none other than Bill Walsh. The story goes Walsh wanted to be a head coach in the NFL but after getting passed over for the Cincinnatti job, he took the OC job in SD for a season where he learned he had been essentially "blackballed" around the NFL by then legendary but ill-tempered coach Paul Brown. Walsh moved to the college game and picked the Stanford opening over Oregon. The second choice was UW DC Jim Mora, the eventual 15 year NFL head coach, probably most well known for his stay with the Saints (and his "Playoffs? We are just trying to win a game and you are talking playoffs?" rant). Mora was interested but eventually took his name out of the running. Brooks, who had been Oregon State DC in 1973, DB coach for the SF 49s for two seasons, and LB coach at UCLA under first year head coach Terry Donahue in 1976, got the job. Brooks goes 24-49-4 his first 7 seasons at Oregon trying to dig out of the Ritchey, Enright, and Read hole (not helped by the scandal plagued early 1980s), yielding a 12 year run of 38-89-4. Brooks finally goes 28-28 in the five year run up to the 1989 Independence Bowl. John Robinson, George Siefert, Gunther, Cuningham, John Marshall, Don Coryell, Bill Walsh, and Jim Mora coulda been. Or, just stick with Frei and let that staff cook. Instead Oregon got AD Ritchey directing 38-89-4.

Coaches Fired LSU Penn State Florida OK State Arkansas UCLA Virginia Tech Oregon State Colorado State UAB Pending Possible Firings Auburn Florida State Wisconsin Michigan State

I think Bridges was available after being drafted in the 7th round by the Chargers after their last DB spot on their roster was given to 2025 UFA Nikko Reed.

Make that now two Nix-to-Franklin TDs. Nix to Franklin covered by (checks notes) Trikweze Bridges? Flashbacks to 2022 Duck practices?

Decided to further add: Leaving out JCs, OL recruits inside the top 500 over the same period: Alex Forsyth #461 Penei Sewell #53 Steven Jones #246 Dawson Jaramillo #252 Jonah Tuaunu'u #69 Jonathan Denis #303 Kingsly Suamataia #32 Bram Walden #66 JPJ #183 Josh Conerly #8 David Luli #191 Gernorris Wilson #388 Iapani Laloulu #347 Shaq McRoy #95 Fox Crader #247 Devin Brooks #443 Ziyare Addison #102 Zac Stascausky #154 Douglas Utu #161 Leaving out TF and DM from the first group and FC, DB, ZA, ZS, and DU from the second group (too soon to tell), roughly the "pan out" rate of each group is: Inside the top 500: 9/14 = 64% Outside top 500: 1/16 = 6%