mikethehiker

Not related specifically to the Oregon State, but I must confess it's really difficult to watch former women's Duck basketball players starting and absolutely thriving at other programs. What on earth has happened to our women's basketball program? Sydney Parish (Indiana), Te-Hina Paopao (South Carolina), Jaz Shelley (Nebraska), Kylee Watson (Notre Dame), Maddie Scherr (Kentucky), and Angela Dugalic (UCLA). I haven't even followed WWBB this year and their names are coming up everywhere.

I’m so tired of barking up this tree, I just don’t care anymore. It works so much in favor of the SEC, why would they ever change? Incompetent AD’s and presidents do nothing about it while the SEC puts on a straight face and then laughs all the way to the bank. They’ve all made their beds…

Lopes Up! (my kiddos attend there)

This is insane! Now NIL deals with have more strings attached and time of service elements. Then new NIL deals will have to buyout old NIL deals. No wonder student athletes weren't allowed to previously hire agents. These agents have nothing better to do than constantly shop their clients around as they do with coaches. In the old world, once you hired an agent, you were no longer an amateur athlete and disqualified from college athletics.

Lots of bubble teams on the outside ahead of Oregon have had good conference tournament success. My guess is Ducks will also have to win tomorrow.

Thanks for the great article Mike! I appreciated your comment about the ACC possibly being the only conference with any prospect of winning a national title outside the Power Two. It's been clear that power has been consolidating towards a few programs even within these conferences. This has always been true, but with NIL, the transfer portal, and expanded playoffs, these top teams are able to build systems that ensure their power is entrenched for much longer periods of time. The introduction of the 85 scholarship limit instituted a quasi salary cap that led to the golden age of college football parity and popularity. NIL and transfer portal have given top programs new levers to horde top talent and avoid any lapses of success. Expanding the playoffs to 12 teams ensures the super powers can lose 1-3 games and still win championships. For teams on the outside looking up, you are not going to beat 3-4 NFL caliber teams in a playoff. You could have the best season in school history only to smashed in the 1st round of a playoffs. So at what point do those teams throw in the towel and opt for a new system that reverts to elevating the student in student-athlete? Right now, it looks like the Power 2 and ACC are strong in number, but the likes of Rutgers, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, and Arkansas just have to hang on and enjoy the revenue. They don't have to win anything. If Oregon wasn't top tier, I'd probably have thrown in the towel on college football. The only way to make our voices heard as fans is to turn off the TV.

Praying for rest and recovery!

If I were UCLA, I would target top tier coaches in the ACC and Big12 who are on the outside looking in at the Power 2 conferences. I think it's time for Jimbo Fisher to land another contract

I think Chip will really enjoy letting go of top level operations to just coach football again on one side of the ball. It could really reinvigorate him again and solidify Ohio St. as the B1G frontrunner and 2024 national title contender. The other side of the coin is UCLA getting a better head coach with athletic director synergy. Someone who thrives recruiting, understands and embraces NIL, and turns UCLA into a bigger west coast threat on the field and in recruiting battles. Will be keeping a close eye on the UCLA replacement hire. It was so nice to count on mediocrity in Westwood.

There's a lot of reasons I've stopped watching all professional sports, but entitlement and showboating are at the top of that list. It's gotten pretty bad at the college football level, but I reserve Oregon Ducks as my sports outlet. Drexler era and brief Pippen/Wallace/Sabonis era gave us hope, but there hasn't been any hope since the NBA stars started joining forces and assembling super teams instead of committing themselves to beat their rivals. There is more parity now, and it would be the perfect time for the Blazers to finally be good, but they're not. I have no hope or expectation that they'll contend for a championship again.

Eight conferences of 10 teams each to crown an 8-team tournament champion is absolutely perfect!! And that's why it will never happen. Bracket should also be predetermined, not based on rank. Remove all judging and guesswork. I don't care about at-large bids or second place conference finishers. Results matter. In general, the best teams win tournaments, but not always. It's exactly what makes following sports so compelling. If David slays Goliath, Goliath shouldn't get a second shot. However, I am open to allowing 2nd place conference finishers their own tournament as it's own compelling twist to highlight conference strength or "what could have been." Like a consolation bracket. College presidents would never back moving up and down divisions based on W/L results. This should remain standard Division I requirements over the course of a number of years. With transfers, graduations, recruiting, football rosters are too volatile to move teams around based on one year's on field performance. Scheduling also becomes an issue. If conferences need more than 10 teams to accommodate all Division I teams, they can go back to divisions if necessary. Figure it out. You only get to send one champion to the playoff. The SEC has been gaming the system for years with 8 conference games and 14 teams. They don't care about a true conference champion as much as they want two playoff teams - minimum.

This statement from Drake perfectly summarizes the end result if current trends are not reversed. The equity and logic are simply not sustainable. I've maintained this from the beginning - athletes need the stage that college football provides to achieve their dreams, and as long as no other minor league exists, colleges have a monopoly on amateur athletes. There is a reason athletes choose college football over other non-NFL pro and semi-pro leagues - the opportunities and rewards are far greater! Imagine these dominoes falling: -if players are employees, they must be compensated (wages and benefits and insurance) -if some football players are employees, all football players are employees -if all football players are employees, all student athletes are employees -if student athletes are employees, then they are not student athletes thus no student requirements -if there are no student requirements, there should be no limit on the number of years an athlete can play at a college -now you're stepping on the NFL's toes as several star athletes choose to stay at college (on field coaches) vs. grinding against pros for similar pay -now the cost of maintaining an employee base for both revenue and non-revenue sports is so prohibitive, colleges begin dropping some or all sports programs OR colleges elect to join true amateur conferences (if still permitted by law) where there is absolutely no student-athlete compensation permitted outside of standard books/tuition/room/board/equipment. If college football was smart, they would walk all of this back. Once insurance and laws get involved, they may end up killing their golden goose.

Husky success over the past two seasons ends up being their demise. This is going to be a tough recovery. On the other hand, I was hoping Alabama would leave at least one void at the top of the CFB pecking order. Unfortunately, I think KDB is a freaking good coach and the best option available to Alabama. If he can solve recruiting, he may be better than Kirby Smart and far better than Sark or Kiffin. I have a feeling we'll be butting heads with KDB and Alabama soon and often in a 12 team playoff.

This is an interesting point. Our loyalty to the Ducks and Lanning's loyalty to the Ducks are likely two different things. Maybe Lanning's loyalty is more commitment. I think the following can all be true at the same time: 1. Alabama reached out and showed interest in hiring DL to replace Saban as their next head coach. 2. Oregon proactively sweetened the pot and did everything they could to entice DL to stay at Oregon. 3. DL was already committed to stay at Oregon and finish the work he, his staff, and his players have started. 4. DL may develop a loyalty to Oregon over time that will keep him in Eugene for as long as Oregon will have him. #3 is the very rare and commendable part of this sequence - a coach keeping his word to the program and his players. What a tremendous example that is to young men in the program and across the country! It should be applauded and frankly, I hope it catches on.

No sooner did I post this thread and Saban retired and the rumor mills started! My gut told me Lanning was different than our last two coaches. DL said it perfectly this morning at the team meeting, "A lot of starters, but the world doesn't have a lot of finishers." The first of many more blessings in 2024 - great call!