GatOrlando

With the football season winding down, I'm likely gonna check out for a while. I've grown tired of off-season coaching carousels, transfer portal changes, and recruiting flips . I mostly just care to hear about the games. Whoever is suiting up, and whoever is leading my favorite team is whoever it's gonna be. I'll be tuning back in around summer camps. I'll believe the Gators can make the expanded playoff. But our season has ended, and all the usual off field foolishness is not interesting to me. For example talk of Napier needing to be fired, or losing three recruits the past week. Plus I really can't watch Georgia win another title, FSU winning one against the odds, or Jim Harbaugh winning one. The other far fetched options like Alabama winning another one, or Ohio State backing their way into another one is too disgusting to fathom. I got my Duck rooting glove on right now. I hope you guys do it, I believe you can. So for most likely the last time in a while. I'll say Go Ducks!! When I start following the sport again come Summer, I fully expect you guys to be defending champions. I'll buy a gaudy Nike shirt. I can only imagine what that will look like, I'm expecting it to be wild though.

Sadly the whole season has been this way. We blew back to back games. Last week against Missouri, where we could have essentially left five seconds. But we had a guy go out of bounds. Good teams overcome adversity. Great teams steamroll through it. Florida isn't either right now, but next year is the third season. Please do the nation a favor. Beat the sand out of Michigan. Do Gator fans a favor and beat either Georgia or FSU. Go Ducks!!

I went on one of their boards to gage their sentiments. Mind you it's fresh news. But Smith is now a money-chasing mutt. He's not wanted to coach the bowl game. One message went something like this " Smith is a spineless merchant. A LIAR!! HE MUST ENJOY BEING OREGON'S KICKBALL!! GOOD RIDDANCE TO THAT TRASHCAN! HE CAN BITE A ROCK". They also have a rather unique name for Oregon. I won't say it here, but you can likely imagine what it is.. Makes me appreciate the civility of this board. BTW, one poster blames all this on Oregon https://bennyshouse.com/thread/25445/forget-who-caused

It sucks being a fan of a program where you can't even enjoy having massive success. You just know your coach is gonna be at the top of every other programs wish list. It's rare to have a guy like Whittingham stay at a place like Utah for years. Oregon State fans feel like they've been dumped twice this year. First by Oregon, now with Smith. If they can't keep a Beaver graduate, who can they keep?

I hope we can get bowl eligible, it would be a signature win for Napier. Last I saw was Florida State -10.5. Battle of the backup QB's!!

I wanted to put them alone. But the maximum options were five. I couldn't put them above an undefeated squad.

You still have to get past Washington of course. But assuming you beat them, who do you want to make the playoff?

7 points allowed? Just turned on the game. I thought this was gonna be a great game to watch. Three more to go guys!!

I have no doubt Oregon wants to crush Oregon State. I guess my limited knowledge of the bad blood leads me to see Oregon as clearly big brother. Sort of like Oklahoma to Okie State, Iowa to Iowa State, Michigan to Michigan State , or Washington to Washington State. Florida and FSU are largely on par imo. Oregon State hates Oregon. Oregon hates USC more than Oregon State imo. Much like Michigan State hates Michigan, Michigan hates Ohio State much more than MSU.

USC took over forty transfers the last two years. It's a different era, but you need guys at the core that signed up from jump street to help build a program. Transfers are supposed to supplement your losses. They built their hopes of a better defense mostly on transfers. Failing to realize it was an internal issue. Lincoln Riley needs to do what Ryan Day did. Go get the guy from Iowa, Parker.

Oregon 55-48 1 3 397 * I posted a prediction in the wrong thread. I chose to change the score, as I think Oregon State will make this a good game. That's the reason my prediction is different btw. This game is everything to that program. You know them keeping Oregon out of the playoff would be almost as sweet as making it themselves. You guys destroyed the rivalry In their eyes at least .

This may not be the last year Smith sees the Ducks. Regardless of Civil War status. Hopefully this is a great game. The Beavers will try to block the Ducks path to the playoffs, but the river will sweep away whatever they try to build to block the path. Ducks-45 Beavers-31

For this being the last year of the four team playoff. The debate of Texas or Alabama. Best one loss squad. What are all of you thankful for? *Of course I have personal thanks, but this is a football board. I hope you and your's have a safe, happy holiday today.

Finebaum said that even an undefeated FSU shouldn't make the playoff due to an injury. I thought that meant he thought a one loss Oregon/Washington should be in over them. But then today he said Georgia should be in regardless of what happens in Atlanta. To me he is hinting at Michigan/Ohio State winner, Georgia, Texas, and Alabama. Pure stupidity. This is not the year to trumpet the SEC horn. It's definitely not time to put two teams from the same conference in. B1G champion, SEC champion, Pac-12 champion, and FSU if they go undefeated. Texas if FSU loses a game(preferably this Saturday) These ESPN guys try to turn their speculation into fact.

You aren't rooting for America's team?

Real question is how Oregon would do against what most likely is the best offensive line, and defense in the country. Having watched the top six teams. I came to the conclusion Michigan just smothers you like a thick blanket. It doesn't look flashy. But it's very draining to watch the snowball just slowly grow, knowing it's inevitable you're gonna get rolled. Oregon is like a bomb on the other hand. Ten minutes in, you feel yourself blown away. We'll see how well Michigan does against explosive players this week. Ohio State isn't as explosive as usual, but Harrison, Stover, Ebuka, and Henderson are going to present issues.

One thing people fail to bring up when referencing Phil Knight being the primary reason Oregon has risen, while Oregon State hasn't. Why have programs like Maryland with Under Armour founder and booster Kevin Plank, or Oklahoma State with Boone Pickens not elevated themselves past second tier? Yes big money has helped Oregon, flashy facilities, uniforms, and now NIL. But as Charles wrote without Oregon making the right hires, none of that would matter. Oregon State has been good the last two years. People have been saying how deserving they are of being in a power league. Why are they entitled to that with zero titles of any sort? Did anybody cry for Cincinnati when the Big East folded? They were coming off two straight conference titles, and almost making the BCS title game in '09. But they were pushed down, to their credit they continued to invest in their program with stadium upgrades. Hiring the right guy, and they did all this without any payout from the Big East. They stepped up, and made themselves a Big 12 member. I'm in the minority when I say Oregon State and Washington State have no claim to the entire PAC-12 remaining equity. They sure as heck didn't do anything to make the league better, thus making it more money. I felt bad for them earlier, mostly their fans. But now I'm just ready to move on. Their relevance is fading quickly, three years from now they will be forgotten. It's their job now to do what Cincy did. Make yourself an attractive option if a better league is looking to expand again. Get your boosters, alumni, and fans to make Oregon State relevant. Pay to keep Smith, continue to invest into your program. Yes the monetary windfall is going to shrink, but overcome it. If you're worthy of being in a power league, PROVE IT! Until then, to quote Willie Wonka in regards to your claims of being owed power league money. " YOU GET NOTHING!!! YOU LOSE!! GOOD DAY!!".

As we try to get bowl eligible. We lost our starting QB for most likely the season. But Florida State lost theirs as well. If we can pull the upset, I think the line is around 10.5 right now. Pretty low, but with Hunter being out it may have caused that to go down. If we can beat them, it should eliminate any doubt that you get in if you win out.

To me this seems like the eventual understanding that Oregon State needs that game more than they wanna admit. Same for Washington State. Temper tantrums, finger pointing and name calling won't change what's happened. Oregon will have USC, Washington,UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State coming to Eugene. Oregon State will have Washington State, Fresno State, Boise State, San Diego State, and New Mexico coming to Corvallis.

He is a man that has refused to adapt to the changing ways. Jimbo just got fired because of that, Dabo is struggling due to that. But National Titles will buy you more time. Plus a 72 million dollar buy-out. Many FSU folk told me Jimbo was arrogant, non changing, and quick to pass the buck for his failures. I bought this as sour grapes, but the word is he was this way in Aggie land. Who knows? Chip was said to be this way in Philly and San Francisco. Only NFL players don't buy into the college coach speak, see Urban and Nick. You gotta give Pete Carroll some credit on that aspect. Belloti helped bring Oregon to that second level. Guys like Akili Smith and Joey Harrington both being top picks helped. 2007 was the year I remember Oregon demolishing Michigan and top ten ASU. But Chip definitely helped Oregon reach both title games. Mark Helfrich was not up to the task of his position, or to even keep Oregon at the level Chip had left it. To Oregon's credit, they have made all the right hires since. Willie brought Mario in, Mario brought in better recruits. Toughness, and Lanning has only gone on to build upon that. Chip deserves credit, but the game has passed him by.

To me that was your best team to date. This team looks more physical on both sides. But everybody wants to look back to 2014, I look at 2010. Ohio State pushed Oregon around. Auburn did not in 2010. Had Cam Newton not thrown a laptop out of his dorm in Gainesville two years earlier, Oregon would have a banner.

Thirteen years ago this guy was seen as the future. There was a large push to hire him in Gainesville following Urban's departure. Looking back at his success, and his recruiting classes ranging from the high 20's to low 30's, he would have been what Mullen turned out to be. Dan was pulling in top 20 classes, but he succeeded with scheme. Urban Meyer was an ace recruiter, but he needed Dan to run the offense. I ask you, my friends at Oregon. Was Chip overated? How well did he recruit, and if he had never left Oregon. Would he have gotten you that elusive championship by now?

There is a bias against Washington and Oregon. I would say the west coast, but USC would be top four, probably number one if they were undefeated. Of course they would have a road win against Notre Dame, and wins against top 25 squads Arizona, Washington, Utah, and Oregon. Moving to the B1G will help Oregon and Washington far more than USC. USC had the world in it's hand's. They wanted more money, exposure, and to leave Oregon behind. As Meatloaf said "Two out of three ain't bad." I don't know if USC will agree. Perhaps they'll hire Phil Parker as their new defensive coordinator. He's an Ohio guy, but USC is now in the B1G. Maybe he'll bring that Midwestern grit.

At some point when things appear equal, you have to ask yourself who is better. Texas has struggled against Kansas, Kansas State, and will have lost to a three loss Oklahoma if both make it to the Big 12 title game. Oregon has sandblasted everyone, and will have avenged their only loss if both Washington and Oregon win out . Texas has QB issues with Ewers lingering injury. But yes, Texas did schedule a game at Alabama . The committee obviously feels this is important. How else could they justify having Ohio State at number one the first two weeks? It's the main reason Florida State is ahead of Washington. Florida State beat LSU in their first game. Washington pounded Michigan State on the road. LSU is much better than Michigan State. I feel this is the reason the playoff should have been 8 teams all along. Most years you have this argument, and there were five power conferences heading into 2014. So there was always going to be one left out, even if their champion was worthy. There are eight squads that have a legitimate claim this year. Georgia Ohio State Michigan Florida State Washington Oregon Texas Alabama After that you start getting into squads like Louisville that lost to a two win Pitt.

I think the cleanest option is Georgia winning out. Ohio State/Michigan winning out, Florida State winning out. Washington/Oregon winning out. Georgia is either the one or two seed. Ohio State/Michigan is whatever Georgia isn't. Undefeated Washington is third seed, one loss Oregon is four seed. Florida State is whatever Washington/Oregon isn't. Texas is five, Ohio State/Michigan is six. The rest is irrelevant at that point. A real headache occurs if Alabama wins out, Texas wins out, and Washington loses a nail biter to Oregon. A one loss Ohio State with a narrow loss at Michigan. At that point you have one seed Michigan, two seed Florida State as the lone undefeated squads. Then you have one loss Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Washington, and Ohio State. Georgia has one narrow loss to Alabama, Ohio State has one narrow loss to one seed Michigan.. Washington has one narrow loss to Oregon, but also a win over them. Then you have Texas with a loss to Oklahoma, but a double digit win at Alabama. Then you have a one loss Alabama that has just beat Georgia to win the SEC. Washington would have a great argument, saying their only loss is to the very team they already beat. So again the easiest path would be three undefeated squads, possibly four. But if Oregon knocks off Washington, it's over imo. Washington would still likely trumpet their lone loss as nullyfing due to the going 1-1. But Oregon would have the conference title, and it would be on a neutral field. Plus all the stats tell us Oregon is better.