GatOrlando

Oregon got two guys fired and one a huge pay raise this year. Will a third get fired after the Ducks host the Badgers?

All credit to Indiana, but this "big" game didn't seem to elicit the same type of energy at the Whiteout game, or the game last year with Ohio State. Maybe I'm wrong, but perhaps this top ten matchup was just bigger on one side. Oregon was the proven commodity, they were the brand and the power that held the crown. I only caught a little bit of GameDay, but I heard the Oregon crowd booing the mention of Ohio State more than Indiana. The loudest boos were aimed at McAfee when he trolled the crowd and picked Indiana to win(correctly unfortunately). Perhaps I'm wrong, but maybe Indiana wasn't given the amount of respect they've earned. As long as Cignetti is there I think they will win, and he has no reason to leave. He's older than Lanning, Day, Smart, and even Dabo, so he has a long history of success. Just Google or ask him 😂.

Boise State and Gonzaga have been misled into thinking they are finally joining a conference that provides them a real chance to compete in a power league. It's a real shame the Big 12 wouldn't take Boise and the Big East couldn't take Gonzaga.

Just remember the same people who laud you and give you the flowers first are the same ones who'll be the first to throw stones. Just look at Alabama. Look at Texas or Oklahoma. Heck look at Notre Dame and Ohio State last year. You know, the two teams that won three and four straight playoff games respectively.

As a self proclaimed Ducks bandwagon fan myself for this year, I can safely say I'm not leaving. My loyalties will always be Florida first, but I'm firmly behind Oregon winning it all this year. Let those other bandwagon jumpers start doubting. It was a ten point loss at home to a top ten team. It broke an 18 game home winning streak and the first ever B1G conference loss(Rose Bowl was a playoff game).

Sixteen days ago he was leading a team ranked in the top four. Heck this was meant to be his get well time before he got his second chance this year to be at a top ten team, potentially two. Times are changing friends. Ten years ago there is no way this many September/October firings. Mike Gundy and James Franklin were longstanding institutions with high levels of success. But investors are now involved in everyday activities now. They see a bad stock and they sell it right away, they'll take the initial big loss because they feel like a bad stock could ruin the rest of their portfolio. There's no sentiment involved. I thought Penn State being compared to last years Ohio State or that Michigan squad two years ago was inaccurate. Who did they beat? What did they prove last year? They still would've been shut out of the playoffs if it hadn't expanded. They played the two lowest rated participants. When they finally faced a fellow big boy, they came close but lost. Same old story. James Franklin has a 55 million dollar payout. Will he take a year off or will he coach again? Who is Penn State going to go after? I can see Oklahoma State or Arkansas looking at Franklin. I don't think Franklin would take either of those gigs. He's going to wait for a program on the level of Penn State. Penn State will likely look at the usual big names to see if they're interested. Guys like Curt Cignetti,Bob Stoops, Jon Gruden, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Matt Campbell, Matt Rhule ,maybe Chip Kelly. They may look at Vanderbilt again. It's going to be interesting, they are the biggest shark out there looking. I think Penn State is actually going to be more dangerous now. They are super talented and have great coaches still on staff. I wouldn't be shocked if they put a scare into Indiana or Ohio State.

In some points in life you have to just understand it wasn't your day. Indiana has really used the portal to infuse much needed talent and winning experience. This was their first ever road win vs a top ten opponent. They are now 1-40 in their history, Cignetti is a great coach. Props to them. Losing happens to the best, what makes you the best is how you respond. You can go the way of a proven entity like Alabama or Ohio State and win the whole thing, or you can go the way of the PSU and FSU who let one loss turn into three. I know which side I'm putting my potato chips into. The Mighty Ducks will bounce back like they did in all those Disney hockey movies. No Hawk, Iceland, or Hoosier is going to land a knockout blow. Ducks fly together, Ducks have a mission, and Ducks will never give up. The Hoosiers don't even have a mascot that knows what it is. The Bowling Green honorary cat Chubs makes more sense than that monstrosity we saw wondering the sidelines today. "Who's There?", apparently some hideous big foot looking creature found in the Disney reject bin.

Indiana has faced two B1G defenses. They torched Illinois for over sixty points but struggled for about three and a half quarters at Iowa. They were trailing until Mendoza threw the game winning score late in the fourth. They scored twenty on a defense not nearly as dynamic in both athletic ability and depth of options for pressure packages due to the secondary. Oregon will be able to get pressure on Mendoza unlike anything he's seen. Cignetti is incredible, but I saw his team just get whipped against the two teams that compare to Oregon. This years team is more talented, but they aren't at the Oregon level. Plus traveling across country for an environment louder than Kinnick. Oregon wins 34-20 Mendoza gets sacked three times. There are two turnovers forced. Moore throws for 256 yards.

Too many kids grew up watching Ed Reed play hybrid with the Ravens. The difference is Ed Reed would only creep up on designed blitz packages and he had Ngata up front to eat the blockers. Ed was also a physical phenomenon with years of experience and the ability to audible out when he recognized the route tree.

The only thing to me that Oregon lacks that all the other powers have is a vintage or signature look. It's ironic in a way, Oregon became known for their uniforms, but outside of Eugene there aren't many who can identify that one iconic look. I personally like the chrome wings helmet, but the first Oregon game I saw was Akili Smith in the 1998 Sun Bowl. That yellow helmet with the O on it.

Will Nebraska ever win another National Title? Is Minnesota a blue blood? They have more claimed National Titles than Penn State with seven. Pittsburgh and Michigan State have six claimed titles each. These are all P4 programs with titles dating back sixty plus years. Michigan State has won the B1G and made a playoff. Are they a blue blood? I think it's time to just call the perennial contenders "Big Brands". Big Brands get the recruits, they have NIL, facilities and uniforms. They have big names attend their games and get the prime television slots against other Big Brands. What was a bigger game last year, Ohio State vs Oregon or Ohio State vs Nebraska? Those games happened back to back. One was remembered as a great back and forth. The other was seen as an almost letdown. The media didn't give Nebraska any credit for almost beating Ohio State. They said it was Ohio State still up in their feelings over losing to the Ducks the prior week. To me that was confirmation that Oregon is on the Ohio State level. Nebraska, not so much.

I didn't recall that happening in the title game. Wow!! I was taught to hand the ball to the official if I ever scored as a youth and in high school.

We don't talk about the shoe thing Jon. The only shoes we bring up are Free Shoes University as described by one Steve Spurrier. As for playing spoiler on Saturday and down the line. I'm for it as long as it doesn't keep Billy around another year. My hope is he has quietly been told this season is it and he gets to prove to maybe a program like Oklahoma State or even Arkansas that he deserves a second chance. Maybe he'll pull a Lane Kiffin and fail at his first big job only to succeed at a lower level one. No offense to Arkansas or Oklahoma State, but they aren't programs where National Titles are expected.

I don't know how many on here follow the NFL whatsoever, but this past weekend we saw the Arizona Cardinals coach get hit with a 100,000 dollar fine for physically shaking one of his players. Why would he do that you may ask. Well the player had a game sealing score against the dreadful Tennessee Titans except he dropped the ball before he crossed the goal line. The Titans got the ball back and scored the game winning field goal as time expired. I believe there was an Oregon player who did this against Boise last year. Luckily it didn't cost the Ducks the game, but this idiotic showcase has happened multiple times a year now for over a decade. What in the world is going on, and how did this become a thing? I'd rather see the guy get a flag for spiking it than doing this nonsense. Coaches need to start stressing this, just hand the ball to the referee and do your celebration for goodness sake. Can anybody think of a worse lapse of judgement in today's game?

Oregon is a great university, it just so happens the conference you joined has some of the best institutions in the country. Top to bottom, it's great schools. But if you want to be higher than you are, just let West Virginia and Utah in and you'll be up on three schools. West Virgina Mountaineers On SIWhy the Big Ten Isn't as Realistic for WVU as the ACCWest Virginia may have a difficult landing in a Power Five conference if the ACC doesn't show any interest.

One of these days I'm going to have the nerve to put some money down on -24 point home underdog and hopefully cash out big time. I was told gambling is a vice, but in small amounts it's pretty fun. I don't know how to play many of the tables in Vegas so betting on football is about as close to living on that edge as I'll ever get😂. I wonder if Penn State will have the money to do a fifty five million buyout for Franklin and his three million dollar coordinators.

As long as he recovers can I ask if this is his second most embarrassing moment after the ummmmm.....??

Oregon has looked and played like an elite team. Penn State has looked and played like a mediocre team outside of about ten minutes. It's time to call out the facts. Penn States best win has been over Nevada. They now have lost to UCLA. They should not be ranked anywhere. Oregon should still be ranked top 3, they shouldn't be punished.

Is it wrong that I'm feeling two ways about a win by the team I want nothing but success? Short term I'm elated to see a top 10 win and love it for the current guys who've stayed through the turmoil and worked their butts off. I've seen this script before though. Last year with LSU, Ole Miss, FSU and the bowl game. It's why Billy was retained and Lagway was a Heisman candidate. But the season started and before we even got to October it was done. There isn't a snowballs chance at a conference or playoff. At Florida that isn't good enough. Napier is now 22-22 in his fourth year, he isn't the answer. My fear is they beat enough decent teams that the leadership gets fooled again. It's never going to happen and the sooner everyone knows that the better. Best case scenario is Billy has been told quietly this is it and he goes out on a high. He is a good man and I hope he gets another shot and succeeds.

I got you Jon. Ididn't see it like that, I was hung up on the language. I was just questioning what these private investors are going to want or are getting promised to invest in these brands. I know private donors get things named after them, and the larger ones get some voice in the room. I know these are going to be very small percentile in comparison to what the B1G has already, but they will want something. I hope we don't get patches on the uniforms or fields. That's my only hope.

Thank you for that explanation Jon. So private equity will own a percentage of the brands merchandising? They'll have say so over which brand plays on a certain platform or timeslots? If Ohio State is deemed more valuable than Northwestern, does that mean Ohio State will be moved into more primetime matchups while Northwestern plays a MAC school? Seems like a slippery slope. What happens if the investors start interjecting and forcing Oregon, Ohio State, and Michigan into bigger matchups while Purdue, Wisconsin, and Minnesota get easier opponents?

Is this money going to help the non revenue sports? Is it to offset the travel costs of the expanded map already in play or potentially when the league expands into the South with FSU, North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia Tech ? Why are Michigan and Ohio State potentially against this?

Lincoln Riley was great in the Big 12. He was probably the most innovative offensive play caller at the second most talented program and the kings of the conference. Oklahoma has the most conference championships of anyone with 40 plus. The Sooners made it to the four team playoff the third most behind Alabama and Clemson with five. Care to know how many they won? Care to know the average amount they lost by? It's October so maybe you do. I just think Riley made his name beating the Timmys and Moes, in the B1G or SEC if he had stayed at Oklahoma he doesn't have advantage because now there are several teams with Jimmys and Joes . You gotta out coach some guys at this level.

You are absolutely on point, I think Michigan proved you could win with a 57 percent blue chip ratio and a style that can offset the skill advantage of an Alabama or Ohio State if you can impose your style. To me that's really tough sledding though. It takes a complete buy in and keeping a core together for three years. Penn State was seen as a favorite entering the year because most thought they were copying that formula. But remember Michigan had already proven they could win big games entering the 2023 season. Penn State hadn't done that, and I'm sorry but beating SMU and Boise doesn't qualify imo.. To me that's the thing that kept me from buying them as Michigan 2023 or Ohio State 2024. What's James Franklin's five biggest wins at PSU and what year was it? 1.) Ohio State 2016 2.) Wisconsin 2016 3.) SMU 2024 4.) Boise State 2024 5.) Michigan 2019

Although I don't agree with him being elite, I do think he's very good. Very good coaches carry an ego, heck below average coaches carry an ego(see Billy Napier). They win with a style and hire coordinators that will fit that style. Nick Saban is the greatest because of his ability to adapt and allow coordinators post McCarrron and Blake to transform the Tide in an NFL QB factory. They went from having one really elite pass catcher to about three every cycle. Receivers like Cooper, Ruggs, Smith, Waddle, etc.. came because the Tide had NFL QBs like Hurts, Tua, Young, Jones etc.. Franklin likes to run the play action two receiver sets. He likes to employ athletic tight ends that have size and speed, but can also block for his more run oriented offense. Who was the last NFL WR from his tree? KJ Hamler? His last NFL QB? The most prominent guys he's put into the NFL are guys like Parsons Geisecki and Barkley. Beau Pribula is actually more in line to the QB Franklin would prefer to use imo. But he transferred out to Missouri and the offense is trying to use Allar in some RPO actions, and yes Allar isn't a statue, but he's no Josh Allen either. He's a 6"4 230 lb pro style QB with a rocket arm, but he's primarily a one read guy. I don't think a top receiver would choose Penn State over Oregon, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Washington, USC, Miami , unless the NIL was absolutely huge. They know the history, and they know if they want to get developed that Penn State doesn't prioritize them as currently ran. Franklin is a great recruiter, and they have the financial backing to enhance that. But his history tells me he will continue to run power formation with NFL RBs, TEs, and a great run blocking line. So to answer your question in a rambling fashion like I tend to do, I'd say it's possible. I just wouldn't bet on it. I think James is comfortable and he really believes he can win it all with his system. You made great points and if was an arbitor I'd say your point is better than mine because Penn State has everything to get NFL type receivers. A huge brand, history, and they are always just a player or two away from breaking through. I just think Franklin doesn't prioritize it. As a five star WR , I would need to see a change before going there. Three questions would pop into my head. 1.) How fast can I see the field? 2.) How will I be used? 3.) Will this get me into the NFL and who's throwing to me along with making me better?