Nevada Dawg

I did my own ranking prior to reading the article and found myself agreeing exactly with the four projected toughest games, for what that's worth.

I read this morning that MJ Sherman has found a new home at Nebraska and was surprised that he still had three years of eligibility remaining. My prediction is that he will become a meaningful contributor to that defense. Correction: It was late when I typed my response to the death of the Georgia football player yesterday. His name was Willock not Wilcock.

Devin Willcock was not only a good and rapidly improving OG who played a fair amount in the offensive line rotation, but he was also a very good (nearly straight A's) student I am told in a rigorous undergrad business major (Insurance and Risk Management.). So his life extended far beyond the football field. Nevertheless, he was projected as a likely starter on the Georgia OL next year. Most of what I learned about him today centered on his amiable character and sunny disposition. He was a beloved teammate whom everybody seemed to adore. And yet, he was an intense competitor between the lines. He sounds like the kind of kid whom I would have loved to have taught at UGA. Rest in peace young man.

MJ Sherman I am told is a great guy and teammate who contributed regularly on special teams. He was injured late in his high school career and simply was not the athlete Georgia thought it was getting. the Dawgs even passed on future Alabama All-American Will Anderson to take him. I am pretty sure Lanning knows Sherman well as he coached OLBs as a position coach at Georgia. We'll see if the Ducks pursue Sherman who deserves the opportunity to show what he has somewhere over the next couple years. Most Georgia fans would classify MJ as a DGD (Damn good Dawg).

Georgia had an awesome 22 recruiting class at DB and the other guys were early entries where Singletary was not and fell hopelessly behind. I'm told he has excellent coverage and ball skills but is slight of build and was having problems reaching a weight at which Georgia wants their DBs to be. Plus, I'll say again that the DB room at Georgia is stacked with more experienced guys. I have no idea what Lanning knows about the kid, but I am sure that Kirby would play straight with him were Lanning to ask. Personally, I think Singletary is worth the risk and he could confer significant benefits a year or two down the road. I'm guessing that the hill to climb at Georgia was simply too steep given the talent, much of it as young as Singletary is, present in Athens.

Actually, many coaches championed advent of an early signing period. One big advantage is that it gives eligible incoming recruits the option of enrolling early and actually participating in practices for a team's upcoming bowl game, thus getting a big jump on preparation for the following freshman year. Georgia's All-American tight end Brock Bowers credits the early start for the awesome freshman year he subsequently posted in which he led the Dawgs in receiving in 2021. Most of the big-time coaches love wrapping up the majority of their classes early. You won't see Kirby Smart or Nick Saban (nor I suspect Dan Lanning) complaining about early signing.

This is a great pickup for the Ducks. Lanning was Jordan's contact person when Georgia was recruiting him, and I speculatged a week or so ago that if he could break away from Mama's wishes, Oregon might just be a likely landing zone, particularly if an NIL offer was attractive. Some on the Dawgs' main blog had speculated that he would be Athens bound. But as he would have to fight it out with accomplished DLs there and with two 5-star edge guys, Oregon was clearly the best spot for Jordan. I wish him great success in Eugene where he fills a big need. Go Ducks!

It is hard not to like this kid. Maybe he is not a great QB but he is something I respect just as much--a gutsy football player. Another one of these just won a second natty tonight--Stetson Bennett. To me, calling someone a gutsy football player is high praise indeed.

Kirby was actually trying to shorten the game after Bennett came out by handing the ball off repeatedly to the 4th string running back, freshman Branson Robinson. Somebody forgot to tell Branson to go easy and he scored two rushing touchdowns. TCU was so gassed by this point in the game that the most humane thing to do might have been to repeatedly go into victory formation--which could have been almost construed as tacky and condescending with nearly 10 minutes left in the 4th Quarter. I kept asking myself should there be a mercy rule that could be invoked in games like this?

I will point out that there have already been two non-SEC/B1G champions in the playoff era and both were Clemson of the ACC.

As I was a big proponent of the Dawgs going all in on Sewell out of HS, I have watched him carefully the past two years. In 21, he was generally slow to go to the ball side--to- side and seemed engaged only when plays unfolded right in front of him. This year was more of the same and, if anything, a bit of a regression from last year. I expected him to be a stud. He turned out to be a disappointment to me. I am not a football coach, but as an amateur scout, I couldn't justify drafting Noah higher than the 4th or 5th round. In my opinion, he should have returned and worked his butt off to improve his draft stock.

Though I posted yesterday about the smoke I'd seen from Georgia sources about Birch and the Ducks, the word among insiders on the blogs today is that the Dawgs are the team to beat for his services. If this is an NIL recruitment, the Ducks, I suspect have a fighting chance as the Dawgs will not be the NIL leader. Yet a reason that Birch committed to USC in the first place is that he was from Columbia and Mama wanted him in Columbia. Maybe Birch has developed enough independence to buck Mama's wishes, but I suspect she will voice her displeasure should he decide to play in Eugene 2500 miles from home. Of course, I have no personal inside knowledge, so this is all pretty much my thinking out loud (i.e., speculation) at this point.

I am seeing some smoke about former South Carolina DL Jordan Birch, someone who Georgia recruited hard out of high school, being a target of interest for the Ducks. The "smoke" was on the Georgia blogs. Anybody connected to the Ducks know anything about this? Jordan is a former 5-star and a very good college player.

I think it could easily be argued that the other three Heisman finalists and playoff participants) (Duggan, Stroud, and Bennett) were all more deserving than a guy who could not engineer a win over Utah to get in the playoffs. And by the way, having to rely on statistics to win awards is what is wrong with Heisman balloting. Just my opinion.

I told my rabid Duck friend after the first semi that I hope if the Dawgs are destined to win their game, that they do it more comfortably than TCU did over Michigan. What a laugh. Ohio State had Georgia scouted well and came in with an unbelievable game plan. My congratulations to Ryan Day and his staff. I remember telling my football chat mates near the end of the game that were Stetson Bennett to engineer a TD on Georgia's last possession, he would remain a legend on that campus for as long as any Georgia partisan in the crowd at the Benz remains alive. The guy plays huge in crunch time. His only fault on that drive is that he scored too soon, giving C.J. Stroud 50 some seconds to work with. And that almost bit the Dawgs in the rear. For now, I'll gladly take the win, pour some bourbon to celebrate, and look forward to the Dawgs vs. the Frogs in LA next week. Oh and honesty compels me to admit that as a toddler, my most dear imaginary friends were a bunch of Purple Frogs that I had named and played with a lot. Now I hope that doesn't come back to bite me next week.

Most Duck fans, myself included, would have been overjoyed in September to know that the team with a first-year coach would finish with 10 wins...no?

There seems to be no solid team "culture" at UM at the moment. If this class is mainly NIL driven and does not gel into some form of team identity, my expectation is that it will underperform on the field much as we have seen with A$M this year. Older players who have busted their tails for years often resent the big bucks flaunted by incoming and unproven high school talent--another problem plaguing the A$M team. I predict these problems will continue for schools that recruit heavily through NIL.

I don't think that Noah would have improved his draft stock by a return to Eugene but I would have liked it had he finished the season in the Holiday Bowl with his teammates.

Neither would I put a second SEC team in. Have to reward the teams that take care of business. TCU beat five ranked teams during the course of the season and belongs in the field in my opinion. Using the same criteria, Ohio State has to be in as well, although I believe that they and the B1G are generally overrated.

I am not getting any younger and applaud the coming of a 12 team playoff in 2024. I hope that I get a few years of this. By 2024, Lanning will hopefully bring in two more solid recruiting classes and be building the depth necessary to not only make the field, but also to make a little noise as well. But it will take some time to prevent the rich from becoming richer. Case in point: Given the current CFP rankings, a quarter of the field, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee would be in (four if LSU were to upset Georgia in the SEC Championship game). My prognosis is that over time, as more teams have realistic aspirations of at least making the field, that recruiting will become a bit less concentrated on the blue bloods as more talented kid see that they can be relevant attending the solid programs out there (e.g., an Oregon or Wisconsin) who will get to the dance more frequently than is possible now. And the major bowls will still be relevant as part of the playoff tournament.

This is almost certainly the reason as I have been told he is a midwesterner through and through. And I'll add one other thing that some of you already know: Luke Fickell is one hell of a football coach who will mold Wisconsin into a formidable B1G powerhouse.

Ducks 17-14 1 TO created 4 sacks 190 yards passing

I was really impressed with the offensive game plan and Nix's execution of it on Saturday. Obviously the plan was for Nix to get the ball out fast on passing plays, thereby minimizing Utah's chances of getting at him. His veteran leadership was palpable all night. I particularly loved one of the final plays on offense where, with an empty backfield on 3rd and short if I remember correctly, gimpy Bo caught Utah completely off guard by calling his own number and diving forward for the game clinching first down. I guess it is possible that Dillingham called this play, but I'd bet that this was something a veteran competitor just decided that he could pull off. Now just go out and find a way to skin the rodents--Go Ducks!

As an interested fan I'd like to know: Has Lanning given any injury/player availability updates for Saturday's game as yet? Can Bo play and, if so, how limited is he expected to be?

My Dawgs had he same problem 3-4 years ago when supposed all-world freshman QB Justin Fields backed up Jake Fromm and was not properly prepared to truly step in and lead the team. When he did get in, Justin's plays were limited to calls from the booth and the kid looked like a deer in the headlights, kinda like TT on Saturday.. In my opinion with Justin, this was a coaching problem, not a player problem. Justin saw the handwriting on the wall and transferred to Ohio State, where the very next year he played like an All-American. It could be that TT is a lot less talented than Justin Fields. But it also might be that the kid has to leave Eugene for a true chance to display whatever talents he possesses.