Nevada Dawg

Herbie has had some astoundingly bad picks this year--maybe he is compensating for Corso's absence on Gameday.

If what was said about Robbie today, that he never saw the field in a game for Oregon, is correct, we should recognize that experientially, he is now playing in his 4th or 5th college game. Hopefully the kid will grow up fast and have a good career at Auburn. The potential is there but the SEC wars are a rough baptism for anyone as inexperienced as Ronnie Ashford.

If I may play devil's advocate for a moment, it is possible that Ty's deer-in-the-headlights look is simply due to a lack of meaningful reps in practice with the first-team offense ,and he may never develop if he never gets these reps. Had you seen Justin Fields on the field as a freshman at Georgia, he looked, and was, totally lost trying to run the GA offense. It was a great decision for him to go to Ohio State as the Bucknuts ran an offense tailored to Justin's skill set and he probably had little chance of unseating a less talented but solid college QB as a sophomore or even a junior. Now Justin is in Chicago trying to run a Bears offense that is not well suited to his skill set and he is again struggling. But he got the big pro contract and may develop yet into a star. A change of scenery might be good for Ty, particularly if Nix returns. I don't know how Dillingham operates, but if Ty's skill set does not suit the OC (do we know what that skill set is?) he may not get a real chance to win the starter's job and should probably transfer. If he leaves, good luck to the young man.

I thought that Leach would be a joke in the SEC when his hiring was announced. Yet I was wrong. His teams have consistently been competitive and I actually view my Dawgs visit to Starkvegas in November to be their number 1 possibility for a "trap" game. His spread offense has been a challenge for some SEC defensive coordinators. The first time the DAWGS played MSU, the game became a bit of a shootout. In his first start, J.T. Daniels had to throw for more than 400 yards to subdue the SEC's other bulldogs. Yet I can see the sentiment on this tread toward Leach. Some of his antics and comments are a bit bizarre.

Ohio State is essentially the Clemson of the B1G. This is perhaps the most overrated conference in America and it is even worse for basketball than for football. Charles's statement in comment 7 above about Oregon remaining in the PAC-12 re expansion of the playoffs is right on in my humble opinion.

I throughly enjoyed the Oregon-WSU game and thought as I watched that the Cougs had deserved to be ranked. The proposition that they may determine who wins this conference is perfectly reasonable to me. Having said that, the comeback win by the Ducks was an important accomplishment for getting them by a potential spoiler that other contenders may not so successfully navigate. Oh, and I smiled when I watched the experienced Bo Nix calmly direct the Oregon offense in crunch time. He is not going to be a Heisman candidate but he has the moxie to direct his team when the chips are down, as in the rapidly expiring 4th Quarter in Pullman. I suspect that this is one reason Lanning is apparently sold on Nix for the 2022 season.

I wrote a post to the MC thread and it disappeared when I tried to post it. Part of what I said congrats to all my Duck friends for the team's statement game against a very good BYU team. I knew the team would bounce back and hope that some of the Lanning doubters out there are feeling a heck of a lot better about his hiring. Treat him right and he'll make you proud in the years ahead. As for the Dawgs, I knew that the offense was going to be potent but I am a bit surprised about how well the defense has played, especially the young secondary. Can they run the table? I think that injuries (or the lack thereof and perhaps Alabama) will have a lot to say about that. Also the SEC East division has improved greatly in the past year so who knows. But I do love what I've seen thus far.

Ga Southern beats Nebraska 45-42.

My take: I think it is a solid team but may be a tad inconsistent at times. Next week should say a lot about competitive balance. BYU is good and locked in a donnybrook 20-20 with #9 Baylor. I expect the Ducks to win at Autzen however. As for Georgia, the focus on offense was fuzzy today and, as a result, they settled for four field goals that should have been touchdowns had they had the same focus they had against the Ducks last week. Bennet was just a bit off throwing the ball all day. He seems at his best when he is challenged and Samford did not provide much of that. By the way, Georgia played a ton of people in the second half. Thirteen or fourteen people caught passes from three different OBs. Coach Hatcher of Sanford gave Kirby his first coaching opportunity I believe, and Smart had no interest in running up he score on him or his kids.

My understanding from closely following Georgia recruiting is that this year is subpar for top offensive line recruits and pretty darn good for defensive line prospects. I am no expert, but this is what i am hearing, and not just from the Georgia people.

The last paragraph above is very insightful in my opinion. Also: answer to the question has Noah regressed--No. I think that Georgia OC Todd Monken was probably scheming away from Noah all game. It wouldn't be very smart on his part to go directly at the other team's best defender. Noah will become that beast again, I can almost guarantee it.

Yeah, except they were Big-12 refs.

My second attempt: the first vanished into cyberspace. I stopped by this evening expecting a thread of this type and expecting some discouragement. In my humble opinion, the last sentence of Mic's post is what is needed at this point. CDL is young and all young, inexperienced HCs make mistakes, Saban, Smart, Dabo Swinney, all of them. In his first year, Kirby Smart blew a homecoming game, to Vanderbilt no less, by poor in-game decisions in the 4th Quarter. I had cautioned, all this talking season against setting unrealistic expectations for this coaching staff. I certainly have no right to tell you what to think. But, I am very high on CDL I am also of the opinion that you'll likely much feel better about "what your coach is made of" after he has learned from early mistakes, and recruited a couple more excellent classes building the kind of roster that can consistently compete with the elite programs of college football. Sorry if I sound too preachy, but that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it. Go Ducks!

Yeah, kinda true, but I think that Kirby is correct if Lanning and Lupoi do a lot better job of defending heavy use of tight ends than MC did last year against Utah and Stanford. USC is a paper tiger this year in my opinion but will be tough in the years to come.

I've said all along that I expected this game to be a spirited contest and that I might even place a (small) bet for the Ducks to cover the spread. And I look forward to watching Duck games and pulling hard for them, particularly against the Bruins and Trojans. I do this because I grew up out West and was a big PCC, PAC 8, 10, and 12 fan and hate that the conference has been weakened for the love of money.

SoGaDawg's comment here exactly match my own sentiments about the Dawgs, Ducks, and the reception that I have received on this Board. I will be hanging around throughout the season as well and actually had a soft spot for the Ducks before ever posting here. I remember rooting so hard in Quarter 4 at the horseshoe last year. I also felt a bit ill over the Utah games as well. I wish the Ducks nothing but success after this year's opening game and would love to have a rematch of that game for the natty.

Hey guys lighten up. Talking season is the time for delusions. I also believe that posts above by fellow Dawg fans SoGA Dawg and amcDawg accurately reflect what most knowledgeable Georgia fans think about the upcoming game. As for perceptions of the PAC-12, many SEC fans who are not students of the college game downplay a league with a champion that ended up with four loses last year. Unfair but that's the perception. Oh, and Go Utes on September 3!!

After living most of my adult life in Georgia, I became comfortable with all kinds of southern accents (even Cajun). I get a kick out of some of my Nevada associates who have trouble with TV shows such as Swamp People or Moonshiners because they can't understand portions of the Southern mountain and/or Cajun dialects. One guy won't watch without subtitles. I was raised on the West Coast and spoke pretty much radio announcer English when I went South. But over the years, I did pick up traces of a Southern accent without really trying. It is especially apparent while partying and/or drinking beer. That I was married to a Texan helped the process along as well.

I, too, hope that Utah beats Florida and actually expect them to if the Utah squad can deal with the oppressive early September heat and humidity at Florida Field, aka the Swamp.Ofcourse, Florida is the Dawgs biggest rival whom we always like to see getting stomped.

Great article D&C and I love the optimism of the Duck fan base. As I've said many times here, I expect this game to be a true contest and, quite frankly, expect the Dawgs to wear the Ducks down in the second half. I like the analysis of the Duck defense. There are definitely some talented players there. As the Dawgs substitute liberally on D throughout the game, the real question in my mind is can the Ducks do the same. If not, fatigue may rule who wins the battle of the defenses on June 3. As for Andrew Paul, who was generating more buzz in Fall camp than our other very highly rated freshman back, there is little chance he would have seen the field in game 1. The hope was that he might become a meaningful contributor by mid-season.

Earlier in Talkin Season I implored Duck fans not to heap so many lofty expectations on Lanning right away because first-year head coached make bonehead mistakes at times. MC did it, Lanning admitted to it today, and Kirby Smart lost a game for Georgia in his first year due to clock mismanagement. It happens folks! Judge DL on the results of year 2or 3 rather than expecting him to bring home all the bacon in year 1.

Forgot my score. I say Dawgs 38 Ducks24.

I pretty much agree with your logic here but would not be surprised if the game a bit closer than 44-20.

I think it is fair to say that OC Todd Monken will emphasize whatever the Oregon defense is giving him. If the Ducks overload the box to stop the run, the TEs may have a very big day. Several will be on the field to combat a stacked box and quick completions to loosen things up should be quite effective. Two of those TEs (Bowers and Arik Gilbert) can also function effectively as wide receivers and have excellent ball skills downfield as well. Lanning knows all this, as well as the fact that Monken is a master at scheming so as to take advantage of what the opponent is showing on defense. Those big, talented TEs are just one more weapon that will give Defensive Coordinators fits.

Your point is acknowledged and I may re-think my prediction after the two Pac-12-SEC games on June 3. An impressive win on the road at Florida in the heat will bolster Utah's standing nationally to be sure. But...The Ducks now have a coaching staff that will be pretty good at making in-game(and with respect to last year's Utah debacles) between-game adjustments--certainly better than the few adjustments I could ever detect in the MC administration. Plus, don't the Ducks get Utah in Autzen this year? I'd treat the Utah game as a grand opportunity rather than than a dreaded encounter.