mikethehiker

As many have said, it’s not the loss - it’s the way we lose that’s so dispiriting. It’s hard to bounce back as fans and it has to affect the players and coaches as well. Any member of an outstanding fan forum like this invests a lot of emotional and analytical energy into the team each year and to be honest, I’m not sure I fully bounced back from last year’s Rose Bowl loss. I’ll save my thoughts and analysis for another day but that’s what we do here. It’s therapy. You have to feel for the players and coaches and fans who traveled so far to participate in this game. Why can Oregon fans not travel? Does our brand still not resonate? Imagine the players looking in the stands and 90% or more are rooting against you at a neutral site. We’re always outnumbered, but it’s usually closer to 60/40, maybe 70/30. Tonight was much, much worse. That has to take a toll and it will always be a disadvantage for OBD in this terrible post season format.

Dakorien Moore. If he is healthy, we need to hear his name a lot tonight.

DAK has to show up in a big way and Dante has to throw downfield. Oregon 31-24 1 BIG turnover 3 sacks 315 passing yards

I think Dante will need to throw for 300 yards in this game and our receivers will need to go up and make plays downfield which they have done all year when called upon. 1 on 1 is all they need - even if covered. Max protect with two tight ends who then become check downs. Stein and Moore need to look for the home run first and let it rip! Otherwise, you'll never loosen up this defense. Keeping the secondary back a couple steps for a half second longer could open up an additional 2-3 yards per carry.

The big advantage Oregon has that nobody else has is that we have already played them. I don't believe teams appreciate how good Indiana is until it's too late. The GameDay crew was still picking Alabama to beat Indiana on New Year's Day. Oregon has already learned this lesson the hard way. They will not sneak up on us this time, but we will still need to play a complete game on both sides of the ball to produce our best game of the year.

Looking forward to all the replays of Indiana’s winning touchdown in Autzen with the receiver blatantly pushing off to create space.

I had the same flashback. I can’t think of a more worthless scheme, especially against a team with incredible lateral speed. The longer the play extends, the smaller the box gets.

Read my mind on keeping TE’s and RBs in to block more and use as check downs after the rush. Force extra defenders into the box to try and hold the edge while making the pocket unpredictable so Dante doesn’t become a sitting Duck. I was yelling at the screen during the Orange Bowl to let our WR’s go up and make some plays. Dante threw one to Benson that he almost pulled off the defender’s back in the first half and then just abandoned any downfield aggression. Our WR’s will make those plays and will have to against Indiana. We will need to generate 1 or 2 turnovers and we will need near perfect games across the board from our players and coaches. This is it! If we can win this game, we could win it all. This could be our year!!

After watching Ohio State last night, the 25 day layoff is a real thing and must be fixed. OBD benefit from it today. It wouldn’t surprise me to see all top seeds lose today. The margins between these teams just isn’t that wide and the teams in rhythm win. We’ve known this forever. Teams that showed up for New Year bowl games were not the same and it always took 2-3 quarters to shake the rust off for both teams.

Oregon 24-20 1 turnover 2 sacks 196 passing yards

It’s hard to get a good read because the level of competition varies so wildly from week to week. Dante looks like the best pure passer in the game at times, but then makes some really bad decisions. Too many still.

I’m ready to jump out of this plane. Awful. All of it.

Watching the game while flying across the country to Virginia. “Physicality” drinking game is officially underway. Did Mario really take a delay of game on a 3rd and 8?!?!? These announcers are so over the top on these poor kickers, making sure the country knows that even their coach thinks they’re trash. I hope their poor parents aren’t listening.

Oregon 34-3 4 turnovers 5 sacks 238 passing yards

MASSIVE!!

Another element of this path that may not get talked about enough is that if Oregon makes it to the final, they will have essentially three road games after hosting in the first round. With the nation's longest road winning streak by far (12), Lanning has proven to have his team ready in hostile environments. I actually think OBD are more focused on the road than at home and this could end up being positive vs home or mixed stadiums (Rose Bowl or Fiesta Bowl) with family and friends in tow. I wonder if there is a scenario where the team stays on the east coast in between bowl games should they advance vs. returning home for 3-4 days? Travel and jet lag wears on you and obliterates two of your prep days.

With regards to the talent level of the competition, I think we have the gradual path towards the championship. I see this tournament as an opportunity for our coaching staff to prove they have the ability to have our players prepared with a game plan to execute against two savvy and well coached teams in Texas Tech and Indiana. If we can't get past at least one of those big tests, I'll remain concerned about DL's decision to promote coordinators from within. First things first. I expect a frisky JMU to show up and be ready to play. We need to bring our A game.

Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but if Duke beats Virginia in the ACC title game, the ACC will be left out of the playoff!!!! James Madison and the American conference champion will both be ranked higher as the 4th and 5th highest ranked conference champions to get it. This is the ACC Doomsday scenario. Both Texas and Miami needed more chaos to get in and it didn’t happen. Their best hope is that Alabama gets punished for losing the SEC title game. The fortunate thing for the loser of the B1G title game is that Oregon is setting the floor for their drop in the rankings. As long as the game is competitive, they will remain ranked higher than Oregon which could be anywhere from 3-5.

What ultimately matters is the opponent you’re matched up with. As we learned last year, even if you’re perfect, you have no control and could land in a bad matchup with a hot team. I don’t think a home playoff game at Autzen in late December weather conditions is going to be nearly as sexy as everyone thinks. However, pummeling the ACC or American conference champion is a great use of energy. Without understanding the full extent of the injury situation, it’s purely speculation on what the doctor is asking for. On facing Ohio St, I’d rather take them on in a semi-final. If you’re going to catch them with their guard down, that’s the time to do it.

Alabama will beat Georgia again in the SEC title game and we are still alive for 1-2-3 B1G in the final playoff rankings. It’s a beauty contest right now between Oregon and Texas Tech for #3.

This game has me worried a bit. This is Washington's super bowl this year and their players and fans will be ready. It's a rivalry game and if Oregon is not mentally prepared for this environment after the USC game, we may see some stunned looks on the sidelines. I'm excited, because this may be our best apples to apples to comparison with Ohio State so far this year. I want us to look impressive and stay ahead of Ole Miss in the CFP rankings and maybe leap frog Texas Tech. There's an outside shot BIG still finishes 1-2-3 in the final rankings heading into the CFP. This happens when Texas beats Texas A&M, Alabama beats Georgia again in the SEC title game, B1G Championship is very close, and Texas Tech trips up.

USC receivers timed their leaps with their push offs perfectly allowing them to create space at the perfect time and prevent the defenders from jumping. Why do you think our guys were on the ground half the time? If refs can’t call offensive pass interference, there’s nothing our DB’s or any team’s DB’s could do to stop that.

If we win out, I think we land in the #5 or #4 spot. There is still an interesting scenario where Ohio St., Indiana, and Oregon all finish 1-2-3. I believe Texas A&M will lose to Texas which will open the door for Alabama to beat Georgia again in the SEC title game. Then it becomes a beauty contest between Ole Miss and Oregon for the #4 spot unless.... Texas Tech trips up. Then Oregon and Ole Miss are fighting for the #3 spot. I don't see how a 2-loss Alabama climbs to #3 even with an SEC title.

The bottom line is if we lose to USC, they are getting a playoff spot before OBD. We may both still get in, but they would go first. This should be considered a must win.

It was really encouraging to see the Beast with 8 catches tonight. We need that level of production from our playmakers. Great night for Dante!