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GatOrlando
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Posts posted by GatOrlando
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On 3/1/2025 at 8:16 AM, 30Duck said:
Tez will always be one of my favorite Ducks, but I think he's flying off course with this. Osu2 definitely out schemed OBD in the Rose Bowl, but I think Skill v Skill osu2 comes out ahead as well. The Buckeyes didn't take the Ducks seriously at all in first game and almost won anyway.
I think Ohio State made a lot of silly mistakes in the first game as did Oregon. What I said before the Rose Bowl was that Oregon could win a close one but Ohio State could blow Oregon out, although I didn't see that happening. Ohio State has a ceiling that nobody could match. Their floor was losing by three to an underwhelming but talented Michigan in a rivalry game and really weird things happen in emotional rivalries. Ohio State was better off when they ran the Ryan Day offense instead of the Chip Kelly heavy rushing attack.
Oregon benefited from Ohio State being well dumb in the way they played defense. But Oregon made them look dumb because they exploited Ohio State in the passing game because Jim Knowles never brought pressure and Gabriel was able to have a clean pocket with time to make reads and run for yards if needed. Will Stein didn't make the proper adjustments when Gabriel was getting crunched. By the time the coaching staff made adjustments with quick hitters and putting a back to pick up the free man the game was over.
Ohio State did that to everyone outside of Texas. They trailed for a total of seven minutes the entire playoff and won every game by double digits. Ohio State has the talent advantage and it is amazing they lost two games. Not amazing in a good way, but they got it done when it mattered. Oregon just got the wrong opponent at the wrong time. Lanning is a man and never blamed the seeding but I will. Oregon should've been playing in a rematch, but it should've been Boise State.
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Some Duck news from the combine.
Oregon Wide Receiver Tez Johnson Thought Ducks Were Better Than Ohio State “Skill for Skill” Despite Rose Bowl Loss
WWW.ELEVENWARRIORS.COM
Oregon WR Tez Johnson thought Ohio State “wanted to see who can win skill for skill” in the first matchup while OSU...-
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On 2/27/2025 at 11:48 AM, Jon Joseph said:
Thanks, Gat. Connelly noted that returning production does not correlate with season win-loss totals. Bad teams will likely return lots of bad players.
I disagree with Connelly's ranking teams with the same percentage of returning players differently. If and when using Bill's returning production numbers, I round up to the highest rated team with the same percentage of returning players. For example, No. 30 Michigan State, and No. 33 Penn State both return 63% of the 2024 roster.
I focus on position group returnees for preseason highly-ranked, Blue Chip Roster programs.
For example, Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, and Brandon Inniss returning at the wide receiver position at Ohio State, and adding preseason tight end All-American Max Clare from Purdue, gives me less concern over TOSU losing its OC and untested Redshirt Frosh, Julian Sayin, starting at QB.
Another B1G example, not only does Penn State return two outstanding running backs, both of whom lit up OBD's D in the B1G champ game, it returns four of the five O-line starters from 2024, two of five were draft-eligible guys, and has added O-line players from the portal to help the cause. Also, this is OC Andy K's 2nd season with the Nits.
I appreciate Connolly putting the numbers together but they don't mean much without a more detailed look.
Automatically if you lose your QB, RB and top WR as Oregon does that is already about 80 percent of most teams production according to Connelly. The man should've consulted with somebody from each team to do a better researched write-up. I mean he is a paid journalist. But for all we know AI could be writing these articles or editing them from ESPN.
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On 2/27/2025 at 11:26 AM, Jon Joseph said:
THIS should be the Out-of-Conference Scheduling Ruhle.
Matt Rhule says the quiet part out loud regarding College Football Scheduling
DEATHVALLEYVOICE.COM
As the landscape of College Football shifts, programs and head coaches are adjusting on the fly as the sport continues to change. After the first year in the 12I think this is going to be the new way of doing business until there is some way of really rewarding teams that play a tough out of conference schedule. Maybe guaranteed slots are a way but even then there are teams like Indiana or South Carolina that just won't see the advantage of losing a home game vs a cupcake. I don't know how the conferences can incentivize programs outside of the big boys that already do it every year. Nebraska used to be one of those big boys.
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Just came across one of those silly rankings done to do something during football dead season. This is a ranking of B1G programs based on returning production.
Oregon is rated 16th with a 41 percent clip. Ohio State is 15th btw with 43 percent. The grading is based on percentage of teams offensive stats and defensive stats. The article does say Oregon recruits very well and develops players at a very high clip but that this upcoming season may be a letdown year much like Michigan this past season. One big difference is Oregon retained it's coach and that's huge.
Ranking all 18 Big Ten football teams by returning production entering 2025 season
BADGERSWIRE.USATODAY.COM
ESPN's Bill Connelly released his annual returning production rankings on Monday -
On 2/26/2025 at 9:13 AM, David Marsh said:
I do think Championship Weekend needs to see a major face lift.
For instance this last year Oregon was the de facto winner of the B1G going undefeated in conference play. Then they had to play Penn State, a one-loss team, in the B1G Championship and they won that but they could have lost.
I believe in scenarios where there is a clear cut winner of the conference based on their season's performance should result in them winning the conference outright. Only one undefeated team and that played against other contenders for the conference, they win the conference. If there is no clear cut winner then there should be a conference championship game (based on our current desire to crown a champion).
Otherwise play in games are fine as long as they don't affect those who have already earned their spot by their regular season record. I don't think the B1G had any other teams outside of the four that made the playoff that were even sniffing at the playoff. But the SEC currently would have had some fun with a play in game between some of those three loss teams.
Yeah the regular season needs to matter. The only thing that would make it an issue is if there is a tie between two teams that haven't played. I like that there aren't anymore divisions since we've got some really inferior teams playing in weaker divisions like the B1G West or the SEC East.
Do we eliminate the whole process or do we tweak it? I don't know. Seems like the more they make adjustments the more fans dislike it. I was one who thought the playoffs should've been eight teams from the start. In an alternate universe this would've helped keep the PAC 12 together and likely helped the Big 12 and ACC stay closer to the pack. But ironically it was the SEC that wanted a larger playoff but they were denied and it made them stronger.
But we definitely need to find a way to reward a team like Oregon that did everything right but somehow got a much tougher road despite getting the bye.
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On 2/25/2025 at 10:35 AM, Jon Joseph said:
In today's mega conferences, the strength of schedule will vary widely. Below is a ranking of the five hardest B1G schedules in 2025. I would have Wisconsin No. 1 and not Rutgers. Regardless, looking at Wisconsin's in-conference schedule, why are the Badgers playing at Bama?
I reiterate, in 2027 with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State on the schedule and six home games, OBD does not need to travel to Waco, Texas to play P4 Baylor. Nothing to be gained with a win and lots of pain with a loss.
Greg Sankey has tried for the last five years to get the SEC to go to nine conference games but the coaches and athletic directors have said no. So for this reason Sankey has decided to do static two or three year schedules where it doesn't matter who was the best or worst team the prior year. Mississippi State has (by some standards) the toughest conference slate in 2025. It remains to be seen if/when the SEC will eliminate Sun Belt November weekend but the commissioner of the league is in league with the B1G commissioner in wanting a 9 game SEC conference slate.
When the big two gain control of the playoff in 2026 there have been some whacky propositions like four play in games on championship Saturday which would replace the Conference Title game. That's a terrible idea imo. An undefeated or one loss SEC team shouldn't have their playoff fate decided against a three loss program in any scenario.
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Following Nebraska announcing their decision to cancel their spring game because of fears of showcasing guys to transfer portal hawks despite having 60,000 people attend last year. USC, Texas and Ohio State have followed suit. Oregon has yet to come out on the issue publicly, but rumor has it that most college coaches don't enjoy spring games but none wanted to be the first to cancel. I think it's fair to say spring games are going out of style.
But wait!!! Nebraska has also been in the news for cancelling a two game series that was meant to be played in 2025 and 2026 because of loss of revenue due to Memorial Stadium getting renovations and having a reduced capacity. Which means they won't have as many paying fans. They informed Tennessee last week which has infuriated their AD Danny White. To me thats a little suspicious and I suspect Nebraska is looking to schedule as many easy wins as possible. I have no problem with that but doing it with just seven months before the first game was to be played is a little dirty.
Is this possibly a memo from the B1G to the SEC to go to 9 conference games? How would you feel if Oregon did this or had it done to them in the timeframe Nebraska did it? I don't buy the revenue loss because they have to pay Tennessee a substantial fee to break the agreement and now pay Bowling Green and Miami Ohio to come to Lincoln to replace the Tennessee games.
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On 2/22/2025 at 7:04 PM, 30Duck said:
Especially with the Portal. Players are Free Agents, I'm sure there is some bonding, but the name on the front of the jersey has never meant less.
The NCAA is a complete joke. They want to enforce certain rules and claim it's for the "student athletes" when it's really just about keeping a cushy job for themselves. Either commit to revenue sharing or don't. You can't let football programs like Oregon or Ohio State operate with a hundred million dollar revenue gain but then have the entire Athletic Department be thirty million in the red because there are too many non revenue generating projects. College used to be the final stage for a young adult to launch into being successful and productive members of society. But when administrators can't even balance a checkbook to save their lives but insist it's the right thing.
It doesn't make any cents.
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Great write up Jon. I only wish those in charge of schedules would do the research you did. The whole antiquated cross division rivalry was always stupid and nonsensical. Florida draws LSU every year and while it's a fun game to watch there aren't any Gator or Tiger fans that need that game. I would like an Arkansas or Mississippi State in between the Georgia and FSU games some years. I'm sure LSU wouldn't mind Vanderbilt or South Carolina once in a while over coming to the Swamp.
The different ways Texas and Oklahoma have been treated is also mind boggling as you pointed out the programs first two years in the SEC. Yes Texas played at Michigan last year and will be at Ohio State this upcoming season, but they'll be given a mulligan if they lose at Ohio State. Not sure if Georgia or Florida will if they lose to Clemson and Miami respectively. Texas got their way in the Big 12, they helped destroy that league by chasing away Nebraska, A&M, Missouri and Colorado with their Longhorn Network.
Imagine the PAC Twelve having such a vanity project like the Trojan Network or some really ill conceived and poorly ran PAC 12 Network with a commissioner using major funds to build lavish offices in expensive San Francisco.... Scratch that last part.
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I didn't get to watch this game and watching it back as I record most live events is impossible since inevitably someone or something spoiled the result for me. Funny how nobody talks about something until you don't want them to. Congrats to Canada. We'll get you in the Olympics next year(fingers crossed).
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What's the definition or amount you call heavy and is it still a transfer if say a recruit signs up but never really goes to the school? Florida took a five star receiver from Oregon after he signed with Oregon but he is still in high school or was an early graduate that will be a true freshman this year. I don't consider him a transfer.
But as to the question of what is considered a heavy transfer class. I think you can look at Indiana and Florida State as truly heavy transfer classes with about twenty guys or so that saw time. Ole Miss was a heavy transfer class and most of their NIL went to getting guys like former Gator Princely who was a heavy contributor in 2023 with over 80 tackles and nearly 10 sacks.
Ohio State has their well known twenty million dollar roster. But a lot of that went to keeping guys like Ebeka, Henderson, Burke, Sawyer and JT. Yeah Will Howard, Judkins and the "Eraser" Caleb Downs played big roles, but most of their leadership was recruited and coached up for years.
Oregon brought in Dillon and Bo Nix before him. But Nix was developed during his time and is more Duck than Tiger. Dillon was a journeyman brought in so he could lead an already deep and talented squad into unknown waters and he did just that. I don't think you'd want a second or first year guy leading you into games at Wisconsin or Michigan and hosting Ohio State or playing against Abdul Carter and that ferocious Penn State line in Indy.
Oregon won't have to be dependent on the portal because you recruit at such a high level already. Indiana and Ole Miss will need to hit it yearly because their classes are in the twenties and forties respectively. Remember when Lane Kiffin was considered a great recruiter?
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Edited by GatOrlando
Congrats to Sweden. They lost two heartbreaker's in overtime but end up getting a victory heading into the Olympics next year. To anybody of Swedish ancestry SKOL or SKAL!!!!
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On 2/17/2025 at 6:56 PM, David Marsh said:
The Heeler Family... From Bluey!
First off I have two girls and I have seen all the Bluey. Beyond that Bluey is more than a kids show. If you have Disney+ it's worth watching just a little bit... And you'll be hooked.
Also my family is the Bluey family it feels right now.
Yeah I've seen this show and had to find the toys around Christmas. This and Paw Patrol.
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On 2/17/2025 at 6:54 PM, SoGaDawg said:
They will absolutely respond in kind. There are a ton of folks in Boston that love some Ice Hockey! It’s going to be an awesome atmosphere Thursday!!!
For an "exhibition," match there sure is some excitement. Next year we get the Olympics. I hope the NHL keeps the momentum from this event.
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In 2010 the USA beat Canada 3-1 in round robin play during the Vancouver Olympics. Canada came back to beat the USA in overtime to win Gold in the rematch. Let's hope the outcome is different this time. USA will be the home team this time. I hope the Boston crowd is as electric as the Montreal crowd was.
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Interesting Tez Johnson Combine Comments
in Our Beloved Ducks
What's his draft projection Jon? I know it says he wants to go to Denver and with the way Sean Peyton utilized Jimmy Graham back in the day it might be a pretty good fit.