mikethehiker

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?

If there was ever a year to develop your own recruited talent, 2025 is that year. There was a significant drop off this year in returning QB experience and talent after Bo Nix, Michael Penix, Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, McCarthy, Drake Maye, Jordan Travis all left college. Next year, CFB will lose Cam Ward, Dillon Gabriel, Will Howard, Shedeur Sanders, Carson Beck, Will Rogers, Kurtis Rourke, and Jaxson Dart. Pending draft decisions from Jalen Milroy and Quinn Ewers, next year’s QB class begins with an even steeper drop in proven talent and experience. Even with Ewers and Milroy returning for senior seasons, it’s wide open next year for top teams to develop their next signal caller. It’s also welcome news for our secondary which will lose almost all of our two deep.

In the new world of NIL, we're blessed to have more players stay through their senior year. With the transfer portal, it can be tough to keep track of who came in as a So, Jr., or Sr. Barring a loss in the B1G Championship game in Indianapolis, this Senior Day will be the final home game for a special group of Ducks below. I included how many years each senior has played at Oregon and where they transferred in from. Offense Dillon Gabriel (QB) - 1 year, Oklahoma Tez Johnson (WR) - 2 years, Troy Traeshon Holden (WR) - 2 years, Alabama Terrance Ferguson (TE) - 4 years at Oregon Patrick Herbert (TE) - 6 years at Oregon Matthew Bedford (OL) - 1 year, Indiana Ajani Cornelius (OL) - 2 years, Rhode Island Marcus Harper II (OL) - 5 years at Oregon Nishad Strother (OL) - 2 years, ECU George Silva (OL) - 2 years, Fullerton College Defense Jordan Burch (DL) - 2 years, South Carolina Jamaree Caldwell (DL) - 1 year, Houston Keyon Ware-Hudson (DL) - 6 years at Oregon Josh Simmons (DL) - 3 years, Catawba College Jeffrey Bassa (LB) - all 4 years at Oregon Bryce Boettcher (LB) - all 3 years at Oregon Jestin Jacobs (LB) - 2 years, Iowa Connor Soelle (LB) - 2 years, ASU Brandon Johnson (DB) - 1 year, Duke Tysheem Johnson (DB) - 2 years, Ole Miss Dontae Manning (DB) - all 5 years at Oregon Jabbar Muhammad (DB) - 1 year, *$#*?!**&% Nikko Reed (DB) - 2 years, Colorado Kobe Savage (DB) - 1 year, Kansas St. Kam Alexander (DB) - 1 year, UTSA Special Teams Andrew Boyle (PK) - 2-3 years?, *$#*?!**&% St. Who will you miss the most?

Still not tired of it! Ready to take on the entitled ones again in Indianapolis. We’ll leave no doubt this time.

If Indiana didn’t have the worse punt team in FBS, the game could have looked a bit different. There were a few punts prior to the TD return where the gunners were nowhere near the returner making the catch. In this day and age, it’s rare that any returner has space to return a punt.

Why didn’t ASU just hold every BYU defender on the last play? I was begging them to!!

So thankful no Ducks were physically harmed while dancing in the making of that video!

Such a great point. There could have and should have easily been two teams each from the ACC and B12 finishing 13-0 and 12-1 and even a third 11-1 team because they don't play each other (just like the B1G). Notre Dame should have been 12-0 with an 11-1 Army. 11-1 Washington State? How many one loss teams do you throw out in favor of two and three loss SEC teams?

This is so exhausting every year trying to compare things that are not equal. Even after expanding to 12 teams (something unheard of a decade ago), some teams will still feel left out. As a sports fan purist, we should all want arbitration and committees removed from the process and let everything be decided on the field. It requires more conferences with fewer members, so each team plays the entire conference. This year, we are looking at 3rd, 4th, and 5th tie breakers because there's not enough head to head competition. Then every conference sends their champion to the playoff or maybe their champion and the runner-up. Then there is never a doubt what a team needs to accomplish in order to make the playoff. No comparing the incomparable, no committees, no excuses. That's my sports utopia.

I liked our third quarter approach this Saturday. Coaches are aware of the 3rd quarter malaise and decided to spice things up calling three creative and improbable plays. OBD have been fantastic this season and DL took a lethargic moment towards the end of a 8 game grind to accomplish two things: 1) reward the team by rewarding players with unique opportunities in the middle of a game 2) give future opponents more film to study and waste more time in practice covering all the "just in case" scenarios

The absence of Tez looms large without a bye week to make big adjustments. Nothing downfield tonight as Tez normally draws a lot of attention including safety help. Hope he gets back soon.

I think Jordan James was being managed tonight. It’s a long season and Noah is coming on strong. James will be fresh for a big road game next week. Not sure about Lamar. Seemed to panic to the outside. Needs more experience and patience.