Nevada Dawg

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!!!

Well I'm probably forgetting someone here but there hasn't been anyone coming to my addled mind that have made a strong case as a four quarter team this year. Somebody will gel and do it and I hope that the Dawgs and OBD are two of them.! With the advent of sizable NIL stipends and the inevitable spreading of talent across more schools, the days of the all-powerful bully boys like Saban's pre 2020 Bama and more recently the 21 and 22 Georgia Bulldawgs may largely be over. That is good for college football and some of you may remember that I predicted this might happen about a year ago. It seems like it might be happening even sooner than I had anticipated.

Can't say that I disagree with your analysis and will probably watch if the Dawgs and Ducks are doing well doing well, but some of the excitement and enjoyment would be missing I fear. I'm a bit...but only a bit... sorry for posting an epic rant that kind of slowed the thread here. I just get so frustrated with projected entitlements, legalities, possible threatened litigations, and so on and too little analysis of football per se. I want all who posted here that I meant no personal criticism of anyone...I really enjoy he folks on his blog. It was simply that I had just had it with the subject of the thread and probably would have been better off just signing out off for the night. I hope that I offended no one.

I had a post here and guess I forgot to post it. I had said this is indeed interesting but I don't believe CU has the offensive line to sore big on the Utes and qill question how well they hold up against BYU and/ or OK State .Remember how great some thought they were last year until they actually played somebody, namely OBD? I know Saban loves him but, for me, the jury is still out on Prime as a viable coach of a winning program.

This is indeed an interesting development.. Color me a skeptic at this point as we will see what happens when they play the likes of BYU, Utah, OK state and so on. I don't think that the Buffs have the offensive line to score at will against the Utah defense for example. I've been wrong many times before so I guess we'll see what happens.

All this emphasis on collusion, exclusion and the damn all-mighty dollar is frankly making me sick to my stomach and ruing the death of the college game. We all want to see our teams excel but let them earn it on their own merits. Call me old fashioned but I like tradition and am reluctant to throw it out the damn window for the selfish motives I see expressed in threads such as this one. I've had my rant and will now STFU. But i am increasingly becoming one of those past superfans who will care less and less about college football if the events described in this thread come to pass. It might actually be relaxing to leave the TV dark on Saturdays and get back to enjoyable pursuits in the beautiful Sierras like hiking and trout fishing.

For those who think the Ducks are winning ugly, I have a truism that I have seen play out many times. Winning ugly can be beautiful if you can just find the way to keep doing it. It may drive the fan base crazy, but in the words of the shallow philosopher Al Davis, the important thing is JUST WIN BABY!!

Actually, I like where the Ducks are at this moment. Four games is sufficient for the brain trust to have a better idea what they have on a squad with many newcomers and to more clearly identify with whom they want to go into battle for the tests that lie ahead. Keep improving a little each week and I can't really see the Ducks missing the playoffs, even if, heaven forbid, they drop their game in Autzen to the Bucks. I am surprised hat I am not down more on my Dawgs after they stunk it up in the first half against Alabama. It was so bad that I thought the break between 1st and 2nd Qs was for the half so stunned was I. Despite the far to daunting road schedule the Dawgs still face, I remain confident they will make the playoffs. At this point, I'd be happy if they could maintain their #5 ranking and get to host a playoff game against the group of 5 representative. Short of a bye, playing at this seeding is the best of the rest seeding slot. Bottom line: good luck to both my teams. I am really confident the postseason is in the cards for both squads.

Crowed a bit about he convenience of cable he other evening and the retribution goblins got me back today. My provider Spectrum failed big-time this evening--for 7 hours, no TV, voice or internet. Had it come 24 hours later, I'd have missed the Georgia-Alabama game. I actually wouldn't have as the sports betting lounge of the nearest casino is a mere 7 miles away. I had lots to watch on DVR and am a bit ashamed of my attitude about the outage. My good Crimson Tide friends just weathered a hurricane north of Atlanta where they live (but they didn't lose power or internet like I did on a perfect cloudless day). Bottom line: this is an irrelevant post and I am a crotchety ole spoiled brat. And, unfortunately, cable is still sometimes.....cable. .

I'd be willing to bet that Lanning has already talked with Kirby Smart, probably when Bear was in the portal Georgia, and has already heard an ear full on Bear. Bear's problem in Athens was that he already considered himself a consensus All American as a rising sophomore and was quite chippy in practices with Georgia's grown-men offensive linemen during practices, regularly getting his backside kicked for his efforts. He was convinced, I have heard, that the offensive side of the ball pretty much hated him. I don't want to speak for those on the offensive side of the ball, but I suspect that they considered him a punk and were glad to see him depart. The tragedy here is that Bear has some real talent and may have achieved that All-American DT status if he had just accepted the challenge and let coach Tray Scott develop him the way Scott has done with so many other Georgia defensive linemen. Bear may turn it around but I fear his upper level now may be the CFL.

Ah streaming! The great leap backward in television technology. I know cable is expensive, but I can afford it and it sure as hell is convenient!

Indeed, Who cares at this point. Bear has real "head" problems and may never develop into anything meaningful (hope I am wrong though).

Forgot about Indiana his year. And I did say that the addition of the four West Coast schools will make the B1G stronger and more interestingly competitive in the years ahead. I think the future looks a heck of a lot more intriguing football- wise than the conference's rather staid past.

Whoops, sorry about the spacing glitch above.