Nevada Dawg

I'm not so sure Finebaum is wrong in this case if there is a palatable way for USC to settle Riley's contract. For a top coach with the resources USC has, winning should be relatively easy. Southern Cali is appealing as are the chickas, the weather, and the night life in the LA basin. Yes the latter are distractions, but good coaches are mostly successful at mitigating distractions, at least in season. Riley has been an epic fail IMHO. And I understand his recruiting class is falling apart further compounding the problem. I've been known to be very wrong before, but to keep Riley around long-term seems to be an indication that the Trojans have almost decided to de-emphasize football.

I certainly did not realize John Robinson was ever Duck. As for the notable USC football coaches, Robinson was the one I liked best although I sometimes chuckled at John Mckay's sarcastic wit that often got under opponents' skin (particularly Notre Dame).

Yeah Finebaum is a jewel isn't he? But his critique of Georgia's play yesterday was close to spot on, and the Dawgs do have to win out to see the playoffs. It will be interesting to see where the Dawgs are ranked by the CFP Committee on Tuesday night. Given the strength of their schedule, I suspect it will be somewhat higher than the 11th or 12th they fell to in the media polls. But even so, rankings are meaningless this far from the end in any poll (although the Ducks deserve their ranking at this point), and the Dawgs do need to win out to see the postseason promised land.

Today is the worst I have seen my Dawgs play on offense since the 2019 season. People far more of "insiders" than I say there is a major disconnect between Carson Beck and the OC this season. But that is only part of the problem. Georgia's OL got pushed around today with several guys nicked up and other playing out of position. Receivers keep dropping passes, and today, running backs developed a propensity to fumble, Simply stated, today they suffered a good old-fashioned butt-whuppin, And things get no easier. Next week now #7 and soon to be #5 or 6 Tennessee comes to town followed the next week by by Georgia Tech--and we all saw what they pulled off today. I am presently feeling the despair of a bad loss and it is hard, in light of today's performance, to say that Georgia wins both of these and manages to slip into the playoffs. I guess I'll just keep rooting and hope for the best. Go Dawgs!!

I'm with you Mike on this being an awesome year for college football. For the record, this doesn't feel like a championship season for my Dawgs, even though if things break just right it could happen. I agree that the center of the DL isn't up to Georgia's recent standards. The receiving core is also somewhat substandard, and Beck has been victimized with a higher percentage of drops than any of the top QBs. Both of these problems are being addressed in spades in the coming recruiting class, but as will be true with the Ducks, Georgia faces a big restocking/rebuilding year in 2025. Of course, if and when my Dawgs bow out, I am behind the Ducks all the way. Depth of experience is my biggest concern over a long playoff run. But given continued good fortune on the injury front, I expect the Ducks to make a deep run in the playoffs. Roster depth is my biggest concern over a long playoff schedule, but good luck on the injury front will make the Ducks a tough "out" for anyone.

We'll see how "down" the SEC is at playoff time. One reason that SEC teams might not pass the eye test is that they play each other and rarely have the luxury of playing three mediocres in a row as can and does happen in the B1G. While the very best teams in the B1G are very good. I do believe that Penn State would have its hands full with this year's Vandy. I think they are pretty good, but the fact of the matter is that Indiana hasn't beaten anybody notable yet this year. But I do expect them to win in Ann Arbor tomorrow. One thing I also suspect is that no one in the B1G would have come out of the season unscathed had they had to play Georgia's 2024 football schedule (playing what home games Georgia has at their home and road games at Tuscaloosa, Austin, Tx, and Oxford Mississippi--a notoriously tough place for road teams over the years. Georgia still has tomorrow's game in Oxford and top-10 Tennessee the following week. Whew!

Oh c'mon now. Doesn't it ever get miserable at Autzen on cold rainy November nights? The only time I was ever inside Autzen was on a coldish,damp windy evening in November and the team handled it well. Far better than I as we sneaked in (with the assistance of an insecure gate) and were not really dressed to watch a football game. As someone mentioned, Nike and the coaching staff will have the equipment to insure that OBD are at no serious disadvantage due to weather. i am far more worried about handling a fired up Camp Randall fan base as it is sure to be with an opportunity to upset the #1 rated interlopers from the West Coast.

Interesting to speculate on this but shouldn't we pause on passing pronouncements until a little later in the season?? In our new marathon-type years, we are about ready to leave the field for halftime. There are other names from other conferences that might also warrant consideration as well when all is said and done. One that pops into my head is first-year coach Mike Elko of Texas A&M who has turned that dumpster fire completely around and may well be a major factor in the SEC season this year. I am not arguing for him here, but just saying that he could well deserve consideration as COY if the Aggies keep manhandling people like they did with LSU last weekend. The guy at BYU is having a pretty fair season as well. A lot of these speculations may fall by the wayside as the long season progresses.

Going undefeated is not clearly a guarantee of anything this year except a well-earned great playoff seeding. In a 12-team playoff the playoffs are the second season. Roster depth is super important to compensate for late injuries. In some ways, the team with the healthiest and deepest roster could become the betting favorite, regardless of regular season record. I am not so presumptuous as to tell Coach Lanning how to coach and probably don't even need to say this, but it might be wise to rest essential players whenever possible and to get reps for more Ducklings down the stretch to better position the team for the rigors of a potentially arduous playoff run.

Back to Day on the hot seat: Most on the Talkin Dawgs site think that Day will survive most scenarios this year. But (and this won't happen) Let OSU lose again to Michigan for the fourth straight year and you should expect the Mayflower Van Lines truck in front of the Day household by January 15. Not my opinion but a popular prediction from Dawg fans who seem to have as much or more fun poking fun at Cryin Day as Duck partisans do.

I've said several times that I'd not be surprised by an upset few of us foresee. My biggest candidate, Camp Randall and the Badgers in November. Madison is a tough place to play and a long way from home with possible inclement weather and a rapidly improving (I think) bunch of nasty tempered diggers. Plus, Luke Fickell's teams are quite capable of being a thorn in anyone's sides. That's the major reason OSU would not schedule in-state Cincinnati when Fickell coached there. Again, I am not predicting a loss, just saying I'd not be shocked if it comes to pass. Go Ducks!!!

Welcome to the world of elite recruiting in big-boy football. Georgia has had more players drafted over the past four years than anyone, and many of the backups ,failing to crack the two-deep at their position, decide to portal out. Replacing tremendous roster attrition every year is part of being an ultra successful coach these days. Unfortunately, several of the disgruntled portal exits are from players who feel they are not being developed properly when, in truth, they haven't given it enough time. A relative minority transfer and flourish, but many do not. And, of course, some players are advised to portal if the coaches don't see them making meaningful contributions after two years. But my major point here is that very meaningful roster turnover is the rule rather than the exception among the elites of college football in the NIL era. Get used to it

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!