mikethehiker

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.

Lanning likely had that theme prepped prior to the season starting for what should have been a huge game in smack in the middle of a grinding stretch. What a fantastic way to get a team focused for a long road trip in the middle of a long season for a game which had lost a lot of luster.

Dear USC, please don't fire Lincoln Riley. Just keep making subtle changes and you'll eventually get it right - even if it takes 12-15 years.

Low hanging fruit here, but I think field composition plays a big role in how the game has changed over the past 30 years. Weather used to have a significant impact on grass fields that favored teams with size and the ability to run the ball vertical. Turf will always favor speed and strength and to Darren's point - good offenses. Some in the B1G haven't quite let go of the memories of a pile of young men pushing each other through a sheet of rain, snow, and mud. It won't happen any more.

I didn’t have a problem with this one. The other two were terrible no calls. In an effort to protect the quarterback, the play was whistled dead for forward progress before the ball came out. One could argue the whistle should not have blown, but it did. If it was my QB or ball carrier that was already stacked up, I’d want that forward progress whistle in my favor.

Voters will deliberately place 11 teams in the top 10. Oregon will be penalized and Ohio St. will be awarded #1.

Breaking News: Baseball bans intentional base on balls! Basketball bans all fouls in final two minutes!

Buckeye fans will really be upset when they see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baCeMpAZIgI Sorry, can't seem to embed the video. Maybe someone else can. To summarize, up 7 with :11 seconds remaining in the game, the Ravens intentionally commit 10 holding penalties on 4th down to burn the remaining time on the clock before ending the game with a safety. Since the penalty was on the offense, there were no additional plays.

Ohio St. fans are up in arms and now there are reports of a potential rules change as if there is no down side or gamble when it comes to deploying this strategy. Like an offsides penalty, it is essentially a free play for the offense. And if the play were to extend long enough to expire the clock, the offense would get an additional untimed down with a full play clock, regardless of their timeout situation. It's a gamble either way. This was coming out of a timeout situation, but imagine this scenario in a typical no-huddle, two-minute drill, where players and officials are running and scrambling. Substitutions are being made and you don't know whether the offense is trying to run a play or kill the clock. Then officials are supposed to determine if players are trying to get off or if they stay and participate, but by that time the play is already being run. Just leave the rule alone! It's not the first time it's been used. It just hurt the poor Buckeyes because they weren't smart enough.

I haven't heard of any additional punishment and I'm not sure what the best answer is, but I would be disappointed in the standard of "Men of Oregon" if Holden sees the field in our next game.

That's a great perspective should OBD come up short on Saturday, but think about our prospects if we actually pull this off and look good doing it! Despite all the early season hand-wringing, with a win on Saturday, our Ducks could be the unlikely #1 ranked team in college football for the foreseeable future. We would at least split the vote with Texas and with Texas matched up again Oklahoma this weekend, anything is possible. Did not see that one coming a month after Idaho and Boise St.

I wrote this back in April (any of us could have predicted it) and we are here: The pendulum has swung dramatically in favor of highly talented college football players. If the pendulum is done swinging, one has to wonder if the current state is sustainable. I don't think the pendulum is done swinging. There are still questions around tampering, player agents, there will be NIL buyouts, and using NIL in lieu of scholarships allowing teams to work around the 85 scholarship limit. It is wild out there right now and it reminds me of children playing on a playground with no supervision. At some point, someone is going to get hurt and the yard duty is going to come over and put an end to all fun. The NCAA has been rendered toothless and it may not be long before legislation steps in to classify these athletes as employees. Now you're dealing with minimum wages, insurance, workman's comp, unions to increase fairness up and down the roster, etc. At this point, we can remove the word student from student-athlete. Once the student tag is removed, why would there be any limit on how long an athlete can play college football? I'm not sure how far the pendulum will continue swinging, but I don't believe we've reached a steady state. Once government gets involved, I think non-revenue sports will fold because the same rules for football can't apply to non-revenue athletics. This will in turn lead to a bunch of Title IX issues. Not to mention the trickle effect throughout FCS, Division I, and Division II where little to no revenue exists. What are we thinking? You DO NOT want the yard duty to get involved! Schools may shut down football all together once it becomes a losing proposition with compensation and regulation in the mix. If colleges were smart (hopefully there are a few left), they will give up the arms race and gather together and create a league in parallel that returns to pre-NIL days and simply offers scholarships with a return focus on the student part of student-athlete. Let the semi-pros, who are wealthy enough, have their league and whatever ramifications.

Oregon 42-10 2 turnovers created 5 sacks 327 passing yards

This is an outstanding list! Like you read my mind on all of them. 2002 Fiesta Bowl vs #3 Colorado. #2 Oregon won 38-16 - One I haven't seen mentioned is 2001 season ending win in Joey Harrington's swan song that quite literally ended Colorado's run as a football power. Colorado was the talk of college football outside of #1 Miami after steamrolling Nebraska and clipping Texas for the Big 12 Title. Oregon's dilemma broke the BCS computer-only formula as #4 Nebraska jumped #2Oregon for a spot in the National Championship. They returned with a human poll element into the equation the next year. [Edit: @QuackyQuack, did already flag this game. My bad) Most Inexplicable Game: 2001 vs. Stanford at home blowing a 14-point 4th quarter lead including a blocked punt (42-49). Most Stressful Game: 2011 vs. Auburn for the National Championship. Every. Single. Snap.

Intriguing thought David. Could be an interesting parallel. Team flirted with disaster the first half of the season until it finally happened at home against Arizona (aided by a ridiculous unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Tony Washington following his 3rd down sack late in the game). The following week, OBD rebounded for a tough road win against a 10-win UCLA team and went on to realize their potential and obliterate everyone by an average of 29.4 ppg (including PAC 12 title and the first CFP game) until the National Championship game.

Also loved what the Boise St. coach had to say for the halftime interview telling his players "your best is enough", "don't try to be someone you're not", "don't put your superman cape on", and "finish together." It's coach speak, but you don't want to see your players start getting desperate and try to over-compensate for another teammate on the field. Mistakes start compounding and games can unravel quickly. As they work through these early season issues, the Ducks must maintain full trust in one another and believe you can do what you were brought here to do.

I'm freeing myself from having to form an opinion about our season this early. I'm disappointed that Idaho and Boise St. have both looked much better prepared than the Ducks have in the first two games. Oregon was their Super Bowl circled on the calendar for 9 months. They could both end up having outstanding seasons. We were incredibly spoiled with the offensive efficiency with Bo Nix over the past two seasons - never seen before and maybe not again for a long time. I'm more concerned about Gabriel's execution through two games. It's not clear to me that he's reading the defense or his protections at the level I thought he would with his experience. Consequently, it's not clear where he wants to go with the ball. Going through progressions, instead of hitting a hot read. Apparently, one second may be too long to hold onto the ball at times. And where is our screen game? And I hope DG and other players drop this FEBU quip very fast. There's a better way to say this that doesn't include your fanbase.

Thank you Charles. That was one of the most fascinating football articles I have ever read. One primary thought - our offensive line has been practicing against one of the best defensive lines and best overall defenses in the country. I don't want to sounds like an entitled fan and even if we're not in the top 5, we're still one of the best in the country and one that no FCS team could come remotely close to matching. How could an impressive Idaho squad make our line look so bad? Were there not serious warning signs in practice? Secondary thoughts 1) Pre-snap leadership at the line of scrimmage from Gabriel and the Oline has to dramatically improve. Nix and JPJ were fantastic at seeing the defense, recognizing coverage and blitzers, and making those pre-snap adjustments. DG is on pace to be the most experienced QB to ever play college football and I hope we see improvements here. I know this takes time. 2) I wonder how much helmet radio communications factor in here. It's brand new and perhaps there was an over-reliance on getting the call right and maybe too much communication prior to the play vs. lining up on the ball and trusting your instincts on what you see right in front of you. Again, thank you so much for the wonderful read, Charles!

Of all the things taken from us in 2020, watching a college team try to eliminate Payton Pritchard and the Ducks from the NCAA tournament that year will always be one of the biggest for me.

I like 10.5. Ohio State still feels like a wildcard to me. Their offense has to improve dramatically over last year to be the threat everyone presumes. Did everyone really catch up to Chip Kelly or is he finally back to a coordinator position where he really belongs - a genius micromanager with singular focus? Two teams being dangerously underestimated in my view are Michigan and Alabama. There is a lot of championship pedigree at both locations. Michigan will have things figured out by time we visit. Looking at what KDB did at Washington, I think he's being underestimated in Year 1 at Alabama with significantly more talent. Still think our Ducks are going 11-1. If we can run the gauntlet at 12-0, this could be a really special season.