Nevada Dawg

Unfortunately I do have a 9AM game Saturday with my Dawgs. But that is fortunate in one regard--about the time that ends, I can flip over to see the matchup at Iowa. Go Dawgs!! Go Ducks!! Keep on track moving toward the CFPs.

Yep, hopefully that early media rat poison has worn off. There is no way the Ducks don't get in the playoffs at 11-1 and almost certainly at 10-2 unless the second loss is a bad one. As I mentioned in an earlier post, a spanking at home by Indiana should have been a giant eye-opener and I can't wait to see how the Ducks respond when faced with significant upcoming adversity. Knowing the head man, I suspect that they will tighten their chin straps and handle it just fine. Sometimes it helps not to be the new media darlings on the block. I think this may be one of those times. I guarantee that people who know this game best haven't forgotten who Oregon has become and are unlikely to underestimate them.

Iowa is rising out of the offensive doldrums, that's for sure. They have forced me to do other than semi-doze through their games.

I agree with the assessment that there are no slam dunk favorites for the Natty this year. The Dawgs? they share one thing that also characterizes the Ducks--a youthful roster populated with talented players, many of whom are not very experienced. I also concur that the Young Dawg defense just ain't what she used to be. Give it a year. It is good for college football that there are no clear-cut favorites and that any number of teams could break through to capture the Natty. It is going to be a very interesting playoff season that's for sure. The win at all costs mentality is shaking up the field as witnessed by the high-profile firings at such high-profile places as Penn State, LSU, Florida, and possibly very shortly at Auburn, Wisconsin, and others that I have heard rumblings about. Owing a coach tens of millions in buyouts seems to be no impediment these days. I also noted the impressive victory by the Fuskies over Illinois this last Saturday. How long would you guess it will be before the Fuskies become a real pain for other teams in the B1G? I did pick them over Illinois by the way. I thought the Illini were clearly a bit overrated.

I'd agree about the contention appearing status of the Aggies and Hoosiers. Ohio State may yet prove to be elite, but folks!!! Brutus hasn't really beaten anybody other than a very flawed Longhorn team. They have a lot of proven to do.

Maybe so but somebody is going to have to beat Texas A&M first.

Lane and Kirby have an interesting relationship and can get away with going after each other both on and off the field. They do so this because they are friends with a sense of humor stemming from their coaching together at Bama in 2014-15. Typical barb: yesterday Lane insinuated that Kirby looked a little chunky and out of shape running up and down the sidelines against Auburn on Saturday. You can bet Kirby will have a couple of zingers ready for "Lame Kitten" should the dawgs prevail in Sanford Stadium on Saturday. Yet they really do deeply respect one another I am told. And you can bet that these two will have a good time laughing and jabbing at each another the next time they get together at SEC media days. That's just who they are.

I'd bet my eye teeth that a 10-2 Ducks team gets in. But then again, my eye teeth ain't worth much. The second loss would have to be a really bad one to strike the Ducks from the CFP field. Safest path, of course is to just win baby. Go Ducks!

I gotta say JJ that I wonder what parameters you feed to AI to retrieve the wealth on information included in your opening post, lol! I'll also note that it is silly season re ranking anomalies and nobody should be surprised--happens every year. I'd love to see what the new and improved RPI-like computer index that is supposed to be consulted for playoff purposes looks like at this point. Though that will change as much football remains to be played and college football is less transitive than it used to be.

They'll continue with the big buyouts because they think they have to for success at landing the guy they (think) they want at the moment.

Highly agree. But fans and donors get impatient and expect the impossible these days The changing financial landscape of college football has insured hat their will never be another Alabama dynasty. Saban saw that and got out early. At Georgia, there are people beginning to wonder if Kirby Smart has lost his edge and even speculating about who would be the best fit if and when the time comes to part ways with the best coach Georgia has ever had. This is nuts, but I now believe that Kirby will tire of the sniping and be gone in another 5-6 years at most.

My response is "Who the he-l cares what McAfee thinks?" As for his prediction, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then". But he did make a gutsy guess before that audience in Eugene, Oregon.

JJ has the right perspective on this loss IMHO. I told my great Duck buddy immediately after the game that the Ducks now have a wonderful opportunity to grow from this and I am glad that this opportunity came in the middle of the season. Here is the basis for my opinion. Last season every thing was roses for the Ducks ...that is, until the Rose Bowl. I saw complacency happening in the Oregon team as everything seemed easy. I feared it and it reared its ugly head in Madison Wisconsin against a team the Ducks should have (in my judgment) beaten easily. Things steamrolled along until the Rose Bowl against a team that the complacent Ducks had already beaten, came in boat raced them, surprising many on this board. I remember telling myself that I almost wish in retrospect, that the Ducks had lost the OSU game in Autzen. Nick Saban used to talk about rat poison, or the complacency that can result when players are repeatedly told how great they are. Today should fix that, losing AT HOME to a conference foe that people underestimated. How great is it that this lesson was learned relatively early and that players will maybe more closely listen when told that they have to scratch and claw for everything they earn? By the time the Ducks learned this last year, their season had just come to an end. Clearly nobody likes to lose. But some losses are better than others, and this one, in my humble opinion, is potentially a good one that could pay real dividends come playoff time.

I am starting to hear talk about Florida trying to lure Cig to Gainesville after they fire Billy Napier. If I am Cig, I'd stay right where I am. And as a Dawg fan, the prospect of such a move induces nightmares.

Given the way I have seen Cig rebuild and strengthen the Hoosiers, I think Indiana will be one of the top teams in the B1G as long as he coaches there. I have no confidence in the Illinois coach BB stemming from his dismal showing in the SEC, but we'll see if he can keep the Illini meaningful and competitive. My biggest disappointment among recent B1G coaching changes is Luke Fickell--I thought the Badgers would be very competitive by now. I think that Washington could well ascend to become a meaningful opponent again, as could USC if they finally decide to can Lincoln Riley, and I regret to say that I am not at all confident about the longer term prospects for Nebraska--but could well be wrong here. .

When I saw the Ducks" schedule whenever it came out, I told my great Duck buddy that Oregon was in the catbird seat for playoffs 2025. My critique is not of the best half dozen of the B1G teams, but the other dozen seem like cupcakes to me. Hopefully NIL will help to improve the competitive balance of the conference over time.

Cig seems to be brash mostly when bragging about this coaching accomplishments and is way too smart to give the Ducks bulletin board material. So, let's give him an experience on Saturday to make him more humble (if that's possible, lol).

I'll make this short and sweet--when (not if) CDL breaks through and hosts the big glass trophy, he will skyrocket to the top of the Ducks' coaching fraternity!

I tend to agree with this assessment. Cristobal needs to let his assistants pretty much run the show and not be Mari intrusive. Bonehead decisions is what I dislike most about Mari and i am not sure that he can resist if the going gets tense in a big game. Time will tell I guess.

I also meant to mention last night while posting here that I am glad to learn that Bear Alexander appears to have "grown up" considerably and s making great progress in Eugene after his miserable showings in Athens and Los Angeles. He, I believe, was on his last shot and is not wasting it. So, congrats to the young man and to the Duck staff for helping to set the young man straight.

I certainly agree that you are fortunate to have Lanning (as I have noted here several times). And I do believe that a Natty is in our future, maybe even this year. There is always hope, No?

My best friend, who is a Notre Dame grad, has the deepest contempt for USC. This staid retired Air Force Colonel gets absolutely profane when referring to Trojan football. In a recent phone conversation, I asked him if he will miss the ND-USC annual rivalry game going away after this year. His reply was "Hell yes, I relish the chance to blister their f----- rear-ends annually and would even enjoy the opportunity for an encore in the playoffs or a bowl should that come to pass." He hopes Lincoln Riley can remain at SC and keep them mediocre forever.

This is going to sound like a "homer" comment and I don't mean to overrate this young, relatively inexperienced bunch of BullDawgs, but I see 4-5 teams rated higher than them who would be underdogs (gambling odds) in a head-to-head meetings on a neutral field. I remind you that the Dawgs lost to the same Bama team in week 4 last season and dropped way down in the polls. So what happened. They learned from their mistakes and ended up winning the SEC. They, like the Ducks, earned an ill-fated Bye (remember all Bye teams lost their initial playoff game). My point though is that polls are nearly meaningless at this point in the season. Saturday night, I congratulated my dear Duck fanatic buddy on the PSU win and said they should probably rise to #2 in the polls. His reply: Why not #1? I cautiously reminded him that polls this early don't mean squat and said the early ascendance To #1 last year really didn't work so well last year did it? So I ended up besting his predictive ability on most of the polls, but I was quick to point out that the Sunday morning ESPN poll did indeed have the Ducks at #1.

Thanks Charles. We back sufferers should try to support and encourage one another. Two of my friends have a similar condition and can understand when one of us needs a brief rest on our hiking outings. The Sierra Nevadas rise straight up out of the Carson Valley floor where I live and can't be hiked on anything other than severe switchback trails. Three years ago, my regular hiking buddy and I walked a 6-mile extreme trail up to a waterfall above the little town of Genoa. I mentioned that hike to him a week or two ago and all he could do is groan. Truth be told, I have no desire to repeat that walk either although it sure was scenic when we did it. Hope you get to make that trip to Happy Valley for the next White Out involving OBD.