mikethehiker

I'm good with Altman sounding off here. The Ducks put in a great NIT effort and should have been rewarded with fans to cheer them on. Understand the year long issues, but I thought he was also speaking to the athletic department, ticket sales, social media, and promoters. That's not Dana's job apart from leading a pep rally. Oregon athletics should have found a way to get fans in there, especially with Wisconsin in town.

Proud of the overall NIT effort! Our downfall last night were year long issues mentioned in this thread. Ducks were playing vanilla man-to-man defense through NIT for the most part due to lack of experience, leadership, and communication. Anytime Altman tried to switch it up, the wheels came off the buggy. We have a lot of players who aren't true position players other than center. We typically don't have true centers. Last couple of years we've had no true PG. Shooting guards who don't create their own shots consistently playing point. Our small and power forward wings have been problematic, lengthy, athletes for years and they've played with an edge. No one knew what to expect from anyone on the roster this year outside of perhaps Dante. Always look forward to next year and hoping the team gels on defense in December rather than March.

I watched the NIT game last night against UC Irvine. The arena was mostly empty and you could hear everything a small, immature, section of students decided to yell and chant throughout the broadcast. It was embarrassing, childish behavior, but it's also not unusual for brains that haven't fully developed. Cheer on your team, yell in frustration at the refs, and boo the opponent, but endlessly heckling and impugning opponents and officials in demeaning and personal ways shows poor character and sportsmanship. Please put yourselves in your team's shoes if they were a visiting team in another arena. I don't think legislation is the answer, but maybe ADs could be more proactive in fostering high expectations of sportsmanship. I wish we had higher expectations of ourselves.

Forgot to add that we'll be -15 on targeting calls again.

I'm so excited for the ridiculous amount of talent returning to the PAC-12 next year. EVERY possession will matter. Our success will largely depend on the health of Bo Nix and defensive improvement. U$C, Washington, Utah, Oregon St., and Oregon could all make a run, but the PAC-12 Champion will be the one with the best defensive unit from those five. Best case is 12-1. No one is running the table in this conference next year, but a 12-1 PAC-12 champion will make the playoff. Worst case is 8-4 with a phantom loss (I've attended the last two Sun Devil stadium losses). Could be worse if Nix is injured mid-season and defense doesn't improve. I think we easily score 42 ppg with a healthy Nix, especially without Georgia on the schedule. We'll need every single point. Our losses will come at Washington or Utah (maybe both) with ASU on standby. I can't see our defense improving enough that quickly to stop Penix Jr. or Rising on the road (hope I'm wrong). If we win both of those games it will be because Bo Nix is winning the Heisman Trophy.

I don't like any of this NIL one bit. However, as long as we're turning on the TV to watch the games, $ will dominate the college football landscape. I have personally watched college football to escape the NFL. How is this sustainable? I'm not sure there is a middle ground here. College sports across the board are either amateur or they're not. Isn't NIL undermining the whole purpose of Title IX? As stated above, at some point there will be lawsuits to make sure everyone has access to the pie.

Pritchard was the perfect player for Oregon. Developed over four years to become NBA ready vs. arriving NBA ready in their own heads. Altman's goal is similar to the military trying to break down individuals to do something greater as a cohesive unit on the floor. 1 unit will always beat 5 players and it's beautiful to watch. It's very easy to observe on the defensive side of the floor.

65-7 should be Exhibit A as to why we don't need a 12 team playoff. The gaps are too large right now. Most years it's very clear who the top 2-4 teams are. Some years you need a 5th, but rarely ever do you need 6. The only way 12 teams is good for CFB is if the football talent spreads out across the country now that there are more paths to the playoffs and 2007 type parity returns to the sport.

I'm glad Oregon has a great shot at pulling in talent from the portal, but this new transfer portal free agency is turning college football on its head. I enjoy college football for the amateur athletic nature of the sport and this isn't it. Moving forward, how important will it be to recruit other college rosters vs. high schoolers? If you don't strike an initial NIL deal out of high school, now you can strike one transferring. They HAVE to bring back the 1-year sit rule for non-graduate transfers in D1 football. There's got to be a tradeoff to put more tension into the system that benefits the sport as a whole. Think about the ramifications: -players will think twice before jumping on an already stacked roster, maybe make a name for themselves elsewhere -players will think twice before jumping ship and be more inclined to stay through the development process -boosters are less likely to through NIL $ at players who can't compete and must sit out the next year BTW, I think the 1-year sit rule should apply to coaches too. It may look a little different, but a head coach under contract should not be able to leave a D1 school and head coach another D1 school the following year. There must be some tension and tradeoff put back into the system.

Before conference play started, I thought it was highly unlikely anyone got to the title game with less than 2 losses. USC proved to be better than I thought, but 2+ losses it is for everyone in a very good year for the conference.

I love the way we stack up in the bowl games this year. Especially if both Michigan and Ohio St. go to playoffs and everyone gets healthy. Does B1G send Penn St. to the Rose Bowl. I like Utah, USC, Oregon, Washington, Oregon St., UCLA, and Washington St. against similarly placed opponents from other conferences. Could lead to some high rankings to start next year if key QBs return.

Late to the thread, but all of this had me thinking back to the 2010 Oregon defense. One of my favorite and better Duck defensive units in a long time. They were high football IQ defenders with great instincts - Casey Matthews, Michael Clay, Spencer Paysinger, Brandon Bair, Kenny Rowe, John Boyett, Eddie Pleasant, Talmadge Jackson III, Cliff Harris, Dion Jordan, Boseko Lokombo - WOW!! They were play makers - football players. And none of them were as highly rated as our current team. They gave up under 19ppg including 2 shutouts. Part of the problem is that we have played some outstanding quarterbacks this year. However, I also feel that many defenses are so over-coached nowadays where players are more worried about making mistakes vs. trusting their instincts. Outside of CB Gonzalez, it doesn't seem like anyone is consistently winning any 1:1 battles to be considered a "player maker" on the defensive side of the ball. I'm not paid enough to solve the problem, but it had me longing for 2010.

Thank you for the great and well-researched article. I DO remember many, many, 3 and out's from the Chip Kelly days. We scored fast, but many times it took a few drives to get started. This year, we see long backbreaking drives from the offense. It would be really interesting to compare average plays per drive from year to year. Agreed on kickoff returns, especially with this year's offense. Only return situationally, when there's a clear advantage and the team needs a spark. It's not so much comparing 2014 Ohio St. vs 2022 Oregon as much as it is the other elite teams available (although it's a great point). There was only one unbeaten team in 2014 (a flawed Florida State team ranked #2, not #1). I'm also ok with Oregon missing the playoff to win a Rose Bowl. However, my dream scenario is an Oregon vs. Georgia rematch in the National Championship where Kirby Smart is played on loop saying "we've got better players" and Oregon wins the game on a last second, long-distance field goal.

I think it's absolutely selfish and has no place in a top tier program. Ever since Tony Washington got flagged for a midfield bow following a drive stalling sack in the 4th quarter against Arizona in '14 (not nearly as bad as what we see today), I cringe each time a player feels the incessant need to posture after every routine play. I'm always waiting for another flag to fall and frankly, the refs should throw more. It's a terrible example to set for young people watching college football. I understand the tremendous amount of hard work most of these athletes put into every practice and game - it's rewarding to see it pay off. However, it's plain selfishness to celebrate your own play by yourself. If it's worth celebrating, a teammate will come over and celebrate with you.

Thank you for sharing. Unfortunately, this still doesn’t explain why 3rd down was the correct down to come back to. If the goal was to give WSU one more play, why not just give them another 4th down? How can these officials say it was corrected if WSU never got their 2nd down situation and play call? Did they still get it wrong after a 24 hour review? If all they did was replay the exact two plays, then nothing changed and nothing was “corrected”. I really desire to fully understand the game and this just doesn’t compute.

Thank you, I still don’t get it. Why does running the ball on 2nd down after the mistake matter? They could have went back to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down and they picked 3rd down which is one down past the mistake. It worked out in Oregon’s favor, but my OCD can’t get past this.

I knew they screwed up the moment it happened and couldn’t believe they were able to rewind an entire possession. What I don’t get and nobody has explained is why did they go back to 3rd and 17? The mistake was made going from 1st to 2nd down. Why didn’t they go back to the actual mistake and make it 2nd down? Can anyone explain this?

I will never forget how completely unprepared Oregon was (especially on offense) when we last played a real game there in 2018. First drive had a 7 yard loss, false start, and a delay of game. 3 and out on first three drives for -3 yards (and 1 def PI penalty). Total first half was 18 plays for 35 yards. Here's hoping for a much better start. Oregon vs. Washington State - Play-By-Play - October 20, 2018 - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM Get play-by-play updates on the Oregon Ducks vs. Washington State Cougars football game.

How about just plain confidence and experience? When our first team was trying to score a TD at the end of the game against Georgia's reserves, did any of you actually believe they were going to do it? Did the players themselves think it would happen? I'm not so sure after being rattled all day. Two quick points: 1) Our skill position players are much smaller. I made a mental note years ago watching Alabama vs Clemson in national title games, "we won't be competing for titles until we get much bigger at the receiver position." Size at receiver and the ability to get physical separation from elite corners is a huge difference maker or at least a great equalizer. We simply didn't have the scheme or the player to make a play down the field. 2) I'm not sure what coaches tell players vs media, but the "every position is an open competition" line is getting old. Your program isn't going anywhere until there is a clear talent/experience pecking order on both sides of the ball. I bet Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio St all have very clear 1 and 2 deeps starting fall camp with few exceptions. It adds clarity and confidence for the program and helps the team understand what to expect from the players around them. I didn't know what to expect from Oregon on Saturday. Did the players know what to expect from themselves? All this to say that Oregon has four head coaches (1 interim), a gazillion coordinators in the last 5 years, and a huge swath of players from the transfer portal. Georgia is a well-oiled machine at this point after years of building and consistency. It's disappointing that we played them at likely the worst possible time.

Agreed, something needs to change. It should be a blank canvas. I'd rather reduce the demands on players than compensate. How can you compensate a male sport and not female athletics in a Title IX world? And why not all sports? It's always been a slippery slope. Far more student athletes appreciate the opportunity to attend school for free that those who feel they need to be paid. The truth is that it is a privilege to play and showcase your talent on a college football stage. Athletes used to be thrilled just to show up on ESPN, Sportcenter, or FOX. The product being sold to TV viewers is not the athletes or the names. It's the schools, amateur athletics, and the college football stage. It's a BIG advantage for these elite athletes to be part of that. Try building your personal brand without the college football stage. My 2 cents 🙂

The answer to all this may be to let go of "the dream" and create a parallel NCAA. The "have nots" outnumber the "haves" by a mile. The "have-nots" should let go of the "haves" and create their ideal system around amateur student athletics. Create the best playoff possible where everything is settled on the field, reign in coaches pay, eliminate NIL, reign in the demands being put on student athletes. Create a competitive NCAA based on competing ideals and let's see who wins out. One rule - there can be no crossover play. If you want to compete in our "league" with amateur athletics, you have to abide by amateur athletic rules. The semi-pros need the "have nots" to beat up on. Maybe when the "have nots" stop complying, the "haves" will get tired of beating the snot out of each other and losing and will prefer a more pure form of amateur athletics where the best athletes are more spread out across the country.

To think we could have expanded with Texas and Oklahoma years ago.

These were my thoughts also. PAC-12, ACC, and Big12 are all extremely motivated to survive right now and the Oregon/Washington combo may be the biggest chess piece on the board. ANYTHING is possible right now and those 3 conferences are in the fight of their lives. What was impossible yesterday is possible today. If nothing will fix losing LA schools, the best I can hope for as a sports fan is possibly a merger and hopefully four power conferences remaining.