Nevada Dawg

Cignetti is the better coach IMHO. His teams are far more fundamentally sound than Prime's. I really don't expect Prime to stay around college football for long--as his boys muster out. we'll see if the fire still burns. After all, he could easily make a living continuing to yuck it up with Saban on all the corny AFLAC commercials.

Just a quick postscript here on Indiana. I watched them carefully for most of the game against Nebraska. So much for Nebraska's vaunted defense: The Hoosiers shredded it. I was more than simply impressed with the Hoosiers defense. They played disciplined assignment football and they DID NOT MISS TACKLES. These guys are going to be tough on everybody. This was the only sample of Indiana football I have so far for this year but I am really impressed. The Buckeyes had better be ready to play serious football when the Hoosiers come to down, Think losing in Autzen is a sting--wait for the feeling you will experience if Indiana upsets you in your own house. It is not beyond the realm of possibility, and I will not be shocked should the Hoosiers find a way to sneak into the playoffs. Now the IU partisans may have to hope that coach Cignetti and his family love the Bloomington area (it is a really decent college town) as much as Lanning does Eugene when the bigger boys from the power conferences come calling, as they almost certainly will in the next few years.

Me too. I think that the Dawgs would BEAT PSU by 15--20 points on a neutral field.

Trust me, Suckeye excuses are a part of Big-10 lore dating back at least to the 60s when they finally started losing their share of games to he PAC in the Rose Bowl.

Well what did you expect re the Ducks. I just watched Oregon play, by far, the best game I have witnessed since I circled around to begin watching with my Duck buddy about 5-6 years ago. And it was all the better for whom they beat. The Ducks players need to stay away from he fawning press telling them how good they are (Saban's rat poison) and just keep grinding away every week. Even though they will be favored in every league game the rest of the way. they are only now to experience the rigors of cross-country travel, and the Purdue game should prove the easiest of those challenges. November trips to Camp Randall and the Big house should prove far more challenging. So keep on choppin wood my feathered friends and have yourself a season to remember!!

I love to get on Ryan day because of his whining and crying after losses and just the fact that he coaches the Suckeyes. OSU partisans demand near perfection because that's what they thought they were getting with Woody Hayes great teams and anything less is substandard. It is absolutely unacceptable to lose repeatedly to Michigan (and now Oregon) and if he falters against the former this year, he is at serious risk of being canned. Honesty compels me to admit that I think Day is a damn good football coach--but maybe not good enough to satisfy a marginally delusional fan base in the state of Ohio.

You may well be beyond that kind of bias Charles. Certainly hope so anyway. But games like last Saturday's do have consequences. And I can assure you that most SEC fans will not be quick to underestimate the Ducks anytime soon (if they really know anything about football, that is). So let's take it one game at a time and just keep choppin. Go Ducks.

OSU has always been the Suckeyes--a team that never loses unless they beat themselves. It is interesting that it took ole Ryan no time to live up to my nickname for him: Cryin Day. I really don't think this will ever change folks. But it looks like the guy just can't win the big one. During the three years I lived in Ohio, it was the same ole song. I firmly believe that Buckeyes coaches are afraid to take some of the responsibility for their failures. They are supposed to win! The fan base demands it! This is the year that OSU went out and spent mega NIL bucks to build a team that couldn't fail to get to the promised land. This is a major reason that a loss to first-year upstart Oregon is so devastating. OSU is a very good football team and could still achieve all their objectives. But Heaven help Cryin Day should he lose for the fourth straight year to Michigan.

What took you so long to become a hater Solar? I have held that honor since the Rose Bowl in 1958!

On the season card I filled out for he Ducks, I had predicted a close win by the Ducks tonight because I thought he teams reasonably matched and,,,The game was at Autzen (which saw good for about1-2 points). So I am ecstatic. Not that my predictions mean anything, but I also foresaw a slip-up that no one sees coming and a loss in the B1G championship game. This season has simply been too unpredictable to think that anyone will run the table. I had thought the SEC would be easier to forecast this year than almost any conference. How wrong that is turning out to be. Bama was fortunate to win at home today over South Carolina, Georgia struggled some (owing to playing a scad of young pups and almost blowing a three touchdown lead, Ole Miss inexplicably lost to LSU (although it is very difficult to win in Baton Rouge on a Saturday night) and Vandy just keeps chugging along with its third straight SEC win, and on the road no less. The SEC has but one undefeated team, Texas, and that streak may be history this time next week. So we just experienced an unbelievable uplift from he win tonight, but the path through a 16-team playoff field is likely to be a minefield. So tighten your chinstraps and enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. It promises to be an experience that few of us will ever forget.

Well here is something that should get our dander up. Saw an article posted on the Talk'n Dawgs forum citing the extreme confidence of the OSU beat writers that the Bucks would come into Autzen, quickly quiet the crowd and come away with a throughly dominating beat down of our poor feathered friends. Reminds me of the four years I lived in Ohio and the many times I called out Ohio State beat writers for their delusional outlook on Bucknut football (though they were pretty darn good most of the time in the overrated Big-10). At any rate, thought I'd pass along that the OSU writers think we don't stand a chance at winning this game--right about I want them to be thinking.

Well rear-ends isn't what I typed above, but I should have recognized that many kids probably read what we say. Sorry about that.

Only been to Autzen once. I was driving south and saw the lit up stadium and so took a side trip to kinda suck up the atmosphere outside without a ticket. As I wandered, I saw a gate was open and some obliging Duck fans pushed it open further and let me and my companion in. It was a chilly night, the Ducks were losing to WSU I believe, and the Oregon fans that invited us in apologized for how dead the crowd was on this evening saying, You gotta come back when we have a good team and are playing a big game. I always thought I might want to do just that to confirm what I had heard from other Oregon fans about Autzen since then. In games like Saturday's. the home crowd can be worth 3-7 points IMHO. Go Ducks!! Get after their rear-ends!

It is way too early IMHO to be talking about who has the better (worse) loss (or win) but people are going to do it anyway. I saw a post or other discussion somewhere today arguing that Alabama had the best win (Georgia) and the worst loss (to Vandy) of any team this season. It all means little at this point. It is hard to know how good Ohio State really is with the soft schedule they've played. Oregon hasn't played world beaters either but the Ducks schedule looks more formidable to me than the Bucks' slate. Win or lose, if the Ducks just keep chopping wood (i.e, getting better every week) they will be well positioned for playoff selection Saturday whenever that comes around. And what do you all think is going through Kalen DeBoer's head after the merry-go-round he has experienced thus far in the SEC?

Just Do It Better or worse, just win the damn thing and let everybody adjust their thinking to what has transpired. Be the hunters Ducks, not the hunted!!

Interesting point but...I'll remind you that before the Bama game everyone was crowing about the Georgia defense being the only team in the NCAA not to have given up a touchdown. Then they give up four touchdowns to Alabama in the first quarter. These stats can disappear in the blink of an eye, though I will say the the Duck defense has improved over last year's edition. But the team hasn't played anyone to date with the offensive skills of the Buckeyes.

But the Ducks have the home field advantage here so I would expect them to drop further after a loss on this basis alone.

After some reconsideration, I think that the loser drops maybe three spots after a close loss, similar to how much he Dawgs fell after losing to Bama. Maybe the drop is 6 or 7 spots if he loser loses by 10-14. But let's just see what happens.

I actually love the pistol formation. Carson Beck was in it quite a bit in 23 when the offense was really humming and almost unstoppable. It gives backs an extra step head start on running plays and opens up vision to multiple downfield passing routes. Georgia has not used the pistol as much this year, why I am a bit uncertain. I think it probably has something to do with a lack of experienced running backs beyond Etienne (who is still assimilating the Georgia offense),and a lack of absolutely dominant receivers such as Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey who were practically uncoverable. I'm certainly not an OC but would encourage ample use of the pistol with Dillon Gabriel and dynamic receivers. It really is hard to stop when you got it rolling.

Slight quibble here. Oregon is a darned talented roster. BUT...I don't believe the Ducks" roster is as deep or as experienced as the Bucks, particularly on defense. I concede this might not matter much for a single matchup (I sure hope not anyway),but it might end up mattering over the course of a long season and potentially long playoff stint.

When I tuned in after the end of Georgia-Auburn, I did so because I knew this Vandy team was no pushover. The previous game with Missouri (in Missouri, I believe) was ample evidence of that. First thing I saw was very little red in the main stands. Usually when Georgia or Alabama play in Nashville, the stands are predominantly red as the visiting fans take over the place. So the Vandy fans had bought in. I then watched Bama pull within 5 with several minutes to go. I thought two first downs and it is over. Then I watched Vandy come to the line and play the kind of smash-mouth football I had rarely ever seen out of them. Of course we know the result. Vandy has become a decent football team and, if they can keep this coach from being hired away, they have a chance to remain relevant. I am not kidding myself here. If Bama and Vandy played 10 times, the Tide would win eight or nine of them. But not on this day, and games like this one is one of the things that makes college football great. Welcome to the SEC Kalen DeBoer!

Bring em on. Boise State is a fine program and they have a win over Georgia in their history (along with a couple of bad losses during their glory years). But They might finish as low as seventh or eighth in the SEC. Ducks and Bucks tee it up next week and one will fall pretty substantially after the loss. The following week, it is the Dawgs and the Horns in Austin (of course, this season), and same scenario. Penn State likely loses to Ohio State (if they play) and I wouldn't be surprised to see either Wisconsin and/or Nebraska pull off a B1G shocker during the regular season. Surprise team in the SEC is likely to be TA&M. Wouldn't be at all surprised to see them in the playoffs. We have a long way to go folks and it is just now getting interesting. I'm encouraged by the growth I've seen in the Ducks so far this year. But as I mentioned earlier, we'll know more about both sides of the ball after the game next weekend.

Skippin to the end here and will read and react to this thread tomorrow if it is still up. Had a chat with my dear Duck buddy before the game who is also a MLB baseball fan. His assessment pre-games was that this was a blah Saturday with few if any games of any consequence so that he would be checking in on the Georgia game but concentrating on baseball playoffs. I reminded him that I had been a baseball player who had had an opportunity to play professionally (I'd have never made it very far) but was not going to waste a perfectly good football Saturday watching a game that is exciting only in spurts. IMHO, this turned out to be One of the more exciting college football Saturdays that this witness, undoubtedly one of the oldest viewers on this forum have ever witnessed. All day long upsets ( from A&M's beast mode with Missouri through the Vandy stunner and Arky's thrilling takedown of Tennessee (but thankfully not my Dawgs). Last I looked Cal was handed it to Cristobal's boys 21-10 and every league had a surprise or two it seems. Have to follow this as I get into bed with my novel. Looking forward to digesting all your thoughts in the morning. P.S. I had fun posting all the updates all day to my baseball watching Duck buddy. Yes, we are very good friends and he wasn't offended--in fact invited me to meet up for lunch on Monday.

Completely agree.

Next week should answer a lot of questions about both sides of the ball. I really do want to see how the Oregon receivers (and Gabriel) do with what promises to be a top-flite OSU defense. I like James, wish we in Athens had tried harder to keep him committed, and hope he keeps up the tough running. But he will definitely face his biggest challenge on the season thus far running against the Bucks front line and senior laden defense. I am really looking forward, as we all are, to this upcoming game. Go Ducks, crack the Bucknuts!!!