mikethehiker

I would call it selfishness over incompetence. Everyone (schools, TV networks, players, coaches, conferences, bowls, NCAA) is looking out for their own interests. No one is interested in giving an inch for the betterment of the sport as a whole.

Tez is a matchup nightmare for any team. You can’t just hand him off to 1-2 defenders. Everyone in the secondary has to know where he is. Tez along with our Oline, DG’s quick release, and screen game are why defenses don’t blitz us much. I pray that they do. Our YAC will set Rose Bowl records. Ohio State’s win over Tennessee has put them in the same place they were last time we met - overconfident.

If this weekend of games in the first round of the College Football Playoff showed us anything, it’s that teams ranked 9-12 have no business competing for the national championship. What could have been a nice, fitting end to a season in a destination bowl game with more equally matched foes, turned into a death sentence traveling to teams ranked 3-6 in terrible winter conditions and little fan support. And that’s where it ended. No bowl game. No festivities. Not even a Pop Tart. It’s over and none of the games were enjoyable or competitive. Most years felt like 1-2 deserving teams got left out (e.g. Florida St. and Georgia last year), but never 8 deserving teams. I personally think the perfect number would have been the top six ranked teams, rewarding the top two with a first round bye. What do you think? Was 12 still the right number?

No problem with this. The recruiting never ends now (see Dante Moore). Go get some experience and come back in 1-2 years ready to make a big difference.

Injuries have been the cause of our most sever PTSD almost every time. Come January 1, Oregon will be at their healthiest all season barring something terrible happening in practice. Every team will have to overcome injuries and adversity to win it all, not just OBD. In fact, one could argue that Oregon will be best positioned heading into round 2 because all teams advancing will have won dog fights in round 1. OBD will be rested, healthy, and not overseeded. I don't think Georgia is in a good place and their defense will not be good enough to carry them.

If Oregon makes it back to the "Natty" this year, Cliff Harris has to come back for the pregame speech, right?

These are literally the safest picks an analyst could make at this point with no real insight to share. I really like our chances after surviving the Rose Bowl. Evidence all season has shown Georgia is offensively flawed with or without Carson Beck and I don't believe they will make it to the title game. And please keep underestimating Arizona St. and Boise St. One of those teams is going to pick off a favorite. I don't think Texas makes it through both Clemson and Arizona St.

A rubber match occurs after a split. It's over Texas. You don't have one Top 25 win this year. Not one.

Wait, does DJ Uiagalelei have any more years of eligibility left? Just kidding. The only transfer I'd be interested in is a healthy Cam Rising if he's able to swing another year. That guy is a freaking baller.

Next year is going to be as good of a year as any to develop your next signal caller. The outgoing crop of top tier QBs with talent and big game experience leaving after 2023 and 2024 are going to leave a significant vacuum in that Top 5-10 quarterback list. The most proven big-game experience potentially returning will be Drew Allar, Jalen Milroe, and Quinn Ewers. I'm fine putting our next highly talented and developing QB in the box with those guys with Will Stein running the show. If we have the right pieces around Dante Moore and Novosad, they still have the opportunity to have OBD competing at the highest level.

This is going to be an ongoing issue until something gets fixed, expecially for the B1G Conference with almost all of their members being up North and all the bowl games in southern locations. It's one thing traveling to one bowl game over the holidays. It's quite another to travel to 3-4 games all residing in the heart of SEC and traditional Big12 country. HUGE disadvantage.

If we run the table, I think our first round game against Ohio St. or Tennessee will be our toughest game. I'm not convinced that Georgia's offense can execute at the level needed (even with Beck) to get to the championship. Texas' resume leaves a lot to be desired with Michigan and Texas A&M being their biggest wins of the year. They played the entire bottom half of the SEC conference with Georgia as the only exception. They miraculously missed Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina, and Ole Miss. However, it would be glorious to beat nearly every playoff team at least once this year on our way to our first championship.

Who owns the decision for the matchup locations? My guess is the bowl owns the decision to maximize their revenue. If Oregon had any control of the matter as a higher seed, I would request the Orange Bowl over Cotton Bowl just to ensure Texas didn't get a home game (if favorites win out). I'll be rooting for a lot of upsets.

Agreed Charles. I would love insight on how Penn State offensive line neutralized our defensive line. The hands to the face foul on Harmon seemed like a frustration foul because I know those guys have a ton of pride up front.

I think your take is as good an argument as anyone could make. Texas losing really throws a wrench into the bracket. How much can you penalize three close losers in their conference championship games? What do you do with Notre Dame whose best win is against Texas A&M 3.5 months ago and easily has the worst loss? What do you do with Penn St. which played us and Ohio St. very tough but their best win against Illinois is our fourth best win? What do you do with Indiana whose best win against Michigan is our fifth best win? Could they slide down to 11 or 12? Ranking Texas, Penn St., Ohio St., and Notre Dame 5-8 is anyone’s guess at this point and no answer is wrong based on whatever unwritten rules we’re using. But the implications are massive for second round matchups.

No major Duck injuries if any at all!! I wouldn’t blame anyone for being a little concerned over our defensive performance against Penn State and I’m sure it will leave a bad taste in the mouth of OBD as they visit the doctor on Monday, but I’m so thankful that we only need to visit Dr. Filmstudy and not Dr. Injury. This month long playoff will be a war of attrition and the depth of every team will be tested. Snagging the B1G crown in our first year, beating all three blue bloods, and securing the overall #1 playoff seed were all incredible feats. Just as important was getting out of Indianapolis healthy. With that said, what does Dr. Filmstudy prescribe for the Ducks heading into the Rose Bowl?

With Cam Ward losing again and out of the spotlight this weekend, it’s down to a three horse race with Hunter and Jeanty. Gabriel has a puncher’s chance at winning this thing as the “best player on the best team.” Both Jeanty and Hunter are two unconventional picks as a non-P4 RB and Hunter as a two way star on a 3-loss team. Another wrench to throw in the mix is the fact that all three candidates are out west. How will the majority of East Coast voters view the candidates?

In the PAC 12, every team had an offensive pulse and when you can put points on the board, then there’s always a chance. Teams were “frisky” every week and there was no respect for decorum. In the B1G, there is always a clear pecking order and inferior teams are not allowed to cross those lines and they don’t seem to try. If we had joined the B1G last year, it would have looked even worse for them. Oregon, Washington, USC could have all been Top 5 and Michigan would not have finished unbeaten.

I love reading these in-depth articles. Thank you, Charles. I remember the Ducks trying to "read" Nick Fairley in the 2010 National Championship Game and it did not go well. Darron Thomas may have made some bad reads, but some athletes are just so explosive, I really don't think he had time to read anything. He just had to guess which way Nick was going.

I hope this is true, but I'm not so sure. The committee has signaled that they will not penalize teams for participating and losing in the conference championship game. I'd prefer that Ohio St. climb one more spot and move to the other side of the bracket.

I'm a big believer in the original PAC 12 plan where the "home" team hosts the conference championship games. More so now as fans must make significant travel decisions for 4-5 post season games. Having the top seed host the conference championship ensures a 100% fan turnout and rewards the team with the best regular season. The problem is these conferences are so large now, that a huge advantage could be given to the top seed often determined by tie breaker and the top 2 teams are more and more likely to have not faced each other.

I don't think Penn St. has the tools to follow an Ohio St. blueprint against the Ducks. I think they will try to improve on the Wisconsin blueprint and be very patient with the running game. Very patient. Oregon cannot get off to a slow start on offense, because Penn St. may start to get traction on offense and they have much better talent than Wisconsin. If Penn St. and their near home field crowd smell blood in the water against the #1 team, it could be a very dangerous game for OBD. It's one thing to have an opponent on your calendar for weeks and months ahead of time. It will be an interesting challenge for both coaching staffs to have their teams prepared and a harbinger for making quick adjustments in the playoff. Offense MUST execute early and FINISH drives.

So a ball carrier loses the ball in large part to being concussed from helmet to helmet contact and that is not targeting? Targeting is the most ridiculous and inconsistent rule in football.

Would have loved to see all green this week.

Honest playoff scenario question I haven't yet found an answer for, so I'm polling the audience. What is Notre Dame's (or any other independent) playoff seeding ceiling? Say Notre Dame is ranked #2 in both polls and the playoff committee also ranks Notre Dame in the same #2 position. Is there any scenario where Notre Dame can secure a top 4 seed and a first round bye? Or is winning a conference title a MUST to get a first round bye?