Nevada Dawg

Man, do I have mixed feelings about Bobo. I think the game has passed him by a little bit, but all the criticism about predictable play-calling stemmed last year from repeated injuries on the offensive side of the ball (particularly on the OL) and perhaps the worst receiver room I can remember throughout the Kirby Smart era. Plus, the best offensive analyst Georgia had who worked well with Bobo, got snatched by Georgia Tech as their OC last year. While Bobo could have done better, he called plays that he thought would work best with whom he had to work, even if they were unimaginative. When Bobo was the offensive analyst at Georgia, he deserved much of the credit for the development of Matt Stafford and that was well known by the Curtis family. This was another big reason that Curtis ultimately picked Georgia. Curtis is the closest prototype to Matt Stafford that Georgia has seen, so voila. I figure this gives Bobo at least two more years to do his development thing so we will all see what happens there.

Mama liked Oregon but definitely wanted him in Athens where OC Mike Bobo had forged a special relationship with the Curtis family.

Sarr sounds like ex-Dawg Anthony Ant-Man Edwards of the T-Wolves. Ant has much improved his outside shooting and is unstoppable going to the hoop if there is the slightest crease in the defense. Routinely jams over 7-footers. He reclassified to get to college early and was the #1 overall pick of the NBA Draft at the end of his one-and-done year. He's still a baby who, I believe, would still have been a college senior this year had he stayed in school. If Sarr is at all comparable, the Ducks sure as h-ll want him.

Wow, talk about a bittersweet moment for poor Derrick. Based on his comments about Mom being his rock, I won't be surprised if he dedicates his future football career to her memory. I know I'll be rooting for you Mr. Harmon.

Culture is paramount to the success of champions. Retention of talent is, IMHO, more important to success than portal acquisitions. Players who are recruited to top programs and spend their careers there are typically much more successful at getting to and staying in the NFL than program hoppers. Case in point: 26 of the 32 first-round selections in the recent NFL draft spent their college careers at their original landing spot. This is not possible without strong culture that emphasize player development. The Ducks have reached the point where they can rely on this model, stressing to in-comers that development is everything and to start grinding early, to learn from the older players, and to do anything to contribute before reaching the status (hopefully) as a starter and/or regular rotational piece. For many players at Georgia, they don't regularly see the field (except for special teams) until late in the second or the third year. But if they have embraced the "development" mantra and are ready to ball when opportunity knocks. One of the major reasons that both Michigan and OSU won nattys the past two years is that the coaching staffs had been very successful at retaining the top talents, whi, in turn were very experienced and "developed players who knew how football is supposed to be played.

Brock got nearly three times that amount last year in signing bonus and Ladd's signing bonus at the top of the second round was also higher than Beck's reported NIL. But many of the guys drafted in rounds 5-7 can only dream about making the money next year that Carson Beck will pocket. One such player is Quinn Ewers. Had he opted for the portal rather than the NFL draft, He'd have made at least three times as much actually playing football for a good college team than he will as a 7th round draftee carrying a clipboard on an NFL sideline and maybe hoping for some mop-up duty in a blowout. Jon what say you about the likely House settlement? Do you believe this will bring some sanity to NIL payouts?

Truly a remarkable showing for a first-year in-conference participant. Hearty congratulations to the Duck Athletic organization.

Congrats to the Ducks for a program record of draftees this year. It is a pain losing that many talented guys every year (see Kirby Smart), but I am sure Lanning will learn to deal with it.

Should easily break the program record tomorrow IMHO.

Well if you hope to knock it otta the park, you better be swinging for the fences. I heartily approve. Go Ducks!!

No other way to say it guys, but recruiting can be brutal. Aside from the news on Cantwell and Greene, backchannel buzz in Athens is that Jared Curtis will sign with Georgia as well. I know Curtis's mom prefers that he go to Georgia, but that may have changed and become less relevant after the OV to Oregon. At this point, how much of all this is supposition is hard to determine. Not that his is directly relevant to the Ducks, but many knowledgeable Dawg fans are secretly hoping that Curtis ends up in Eugene. Their backup QB choice is a big mobile Texas gunslinger whom they believe to be better suited to Georgia's existing offensive philosophy. Their biggest qualm with Curtis, who has the slightly better am, is that Jared played in a mediocre at best private school league and may take a good long while to command the Georgia offense and become the Man. The other guy, by contrast is battle tested in the big leagues of Texas high school football competing against many D1 prospects. Who knows how this all turns out months down the road. One thing is certain though: Neither the Dawgs nor he Ducks will be talent poor as the recruiting dust settles and we tee up the pigskin to (finally) play again come August.

Charles. I am very sorry about the spacing on my above post. If you can fix it, fine. Otherwise delete it and I'll try to figure how it happened.

Well no comment on the rest of the top-10, but I think the two Ohio State guys definitely belong there and probably Ryan Williams at #10 as well. Williams may be the most electric with the ball in his hands as anyone. The reception that won the Game for Bama against Georgia was something to behold. He alluded two pretty fair safeties, Malaki Starks, a likely first round pick in the NFL draft next week, and K.J. Bolden who is pretty far up there on this top 150 list, and made it look easy. The QBs though are often a crap shoot. and many are ranked far too high IMHO, I particularly get a kink out of how the Manning name seems to suggest to many that Manning will be the second coming of college QBs. He couldn't displace Ewers in any game that Ewers was ready to go (as I recall). He may be everything people think he could be, but let him prove it in at least a couple games that matter before anointing him the Crown Prince.

Yeah, it is the off-season for sure.

Todd Marinovich's dad went to my old high school where he was a stud football guy but a first-class p---k. If I recall correctly, he (and the entire USC Front Four) got thrown out of a Rose Bowl game, with Wisconsin I believe, for dirty play.

Absolutely spot on about Nico being quite average--and he had good weapons among he wide receivers in Knoxville. In two outings against the Dawgs, the defense absolutely rattled him both times, but that happened to a lot of opposing QBs, several better than Nico. I wouldn't touch the guy and I am pretty sure he has really sunk his football future.

As to the premise of this article, I wholeheartedly agree!

I don't see Bama-FSU as a crapshoot. Though I can't say who will be under center (is anybody actually there anymore) Bama's roster is loaded with elite talent and I don't believe that FSU's is so blessed. I'd guess Bama wins this one comfortably.

Again Florida did what Florida does: rallies like crazy to win games late. Rarely do they lose the close ones in the last two minutes of a game. The last time they did so: In the second to last week of the regular season against...the Georgia Bulldawgs! So at least we beat the national champs this year, only not when it really counted. It is hard for a Dawg fan to feel great about a Gator triumph, and I couldn't help rooting for Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars to kiss the trophy. But it is also hard to not admire the way this Florida team stood up, time and time again, to adversity this year and managed to prevail in the end. Congrats to a gutty bunch of kids. And Houston really is a beast on defense, aren't they?

I think the teams on Fan Duel's list are the most likely title winners but I quibble with the rankings. First, I'd switch the places of Penn State and Ohio State . Penn State has a QB returning and Ohio State lost a lot of firepower on defense and their OL. I'd switch places with Georgia and Texas. I am always leery of breaking in new QBs, and that applies to both squads (and Oregon as well). But the receiver room in Austin will be nowhere as good as it was last year while Georgia's is going to be dramatically better than last year. Plus Texas has more to rebuild on the OL than Georgia does. Once again, Texas has the easier schedule however.

I told my best Duck buddy that if Houston was at their defensive best, they would beat the Dukies. Now for a big admission and something I haven't dome since snapping off my TV with a tired Boise State seemingly out of gas and missing their miracle at the Fiesta Bowl over Oklahoma: I turned away from the late game tonight with less than 30 seconds remaining and missed the Houston triumph which I didn't know about until I read this thread. Color me embarrassed! Like 30Duck, I had picked the Gators to win it all over Duke. I have a feeling that Monday's game against Houston is gonna be a war. :

Oh I know; just being a wise acre.

So the ex-PAC-12 schools are outperforming the B1G ole guard but receiving only a fractional share of the conference payout. Yep., that's fair, lol.

Better than two-hand touch. That could get a little dicey.

I hadn't watched Houston very closely and for very long before today. That team is longer, more athletic, and a LOT BETTER than I thought it was. I actually picked Tennessee to beat them but knew coming in that their shooters had to be "on" for that to happen. They weren't however and the Cougars defense had something to do with that, although the Vols missed a boatload of 3's even when they had open looks. I have a feeling that next week's semi between Duke and Houston will be an absolute war well worth the price of admission. And kudos to Sparty for hanging in today against Auburn. Auburn is another team famous this year for going for the jugular in the last five minutes of games. With their best player (Broome) largely ineffective due to an injury, they were unable to do that today. If this injury is anything other than minor, the Tigers have little chance of advancing further in his extremely talented field of participants.