OregonDucks

That’s next week. The Indiana game is Friday. Furthermore, I don’t see anything preventing a player from being enrolled in multiple schools. You usually have weeks to drop classes without penalty. I’m sure there is a work around. If your new school/coach doesn’t understand or is not supportive of you finishing the season and competing for a national championship, do you really want to play for that coach/school?

I completely disagree, respectfully of course. Davison is a special player and will be missed. He is a completely different back, with a different skill set, compared to Witt and Hill. They are all complimentary to one another. Hopefully someone can step up to fill the void.

As a former athlete/competitor, I don’t understand why you would quit on your team in the middle of a national championship run. Even if you weren’t playing, contributing on the scout team and being part of a potential national championship is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Playing scared might be a bit harsh; however, Dante was probably responsible for over half those sacks in the first Indiana game. He has to read the defense, step up into the pocket (if necessary) and pull the trigger.

This is terrible news. I hope the coaches also look at utilizing Kenyon Sadiq in the backfield as a blocker and/or short yardage ball carrier. I believe that Teitum Tuioti and Bryce Boettcher also came in for a TD (USC game?). All hands on deck!

In watching breakdowns of Indiana’s defense, I wonder if the best offensive approach would be to play max protect (extra OL or TEs) - think Stanford’s offense under Harbaugh or what NE did last weekend with playing an extra OL, even using him as a full back occasionally. Run the ball down Indiana’s throat with our 3-headed monster in the backfield and protect Dante against Indiana’s simulated pressures/zone blitzes letting him pick Indiana’s secondary apart with his excellent arm talent. Move the freakin’ pocket, if Indiana starts to get pressure, as Dante is extremely good at throwing on the move. Coach Lanning likes to play aggressive but perhaps against Indiana the best approach would be to play for time of possession, which would keep Indiana’s explosive offense on the sideline and wear down their defense, as they are not as deep as Oregon and the most talented teams in the country. Also, call more plays to take advantage of Indiana’s simulated pressures - RB/TE screens, draw runs, etc. If you guess correctly, it could result in a big play.

The answer is both. However, Coach Stein is calling plays that are getting WRs/TEs open but Dante is not seeing them or is not willing to pull the trigger (see the video clip above for examples). Many of the sacks in the first game were a result of confusion/hesitation by Dante.

OBD’s Big George Wrightster (GW) provides his breakdown of how Oregon needs to attack Indiana: As many of us have said, Dante needs to play better. GW provides some clips in the below video, over halfway through, that shows open receivers that Dante missed. I’ve also seen clips where the WRs did a nice job sitting in the zone and Dante just didn’t see them or pull the trigger. Run the ball and don’t stop running the ball. Our offensive line was opening up some gashes in the first game and all of our running backs averaged over 5 yards per carry. Davison was particularly effective. Win the turnover battle, like we did against TT. When Indiana is getting turnovers the game tends to snowball like it used to for Oregon under CK. On defense, force Indiana into 3rd and long, beat the right side of Indiana’s OL, play more man-to-man coverage while mixing in some zone and contain Mendoza.

The problem is Indiana is very good at disguising pressure and coverage pre snap. Our receivers did a nice job of sitting in Indiana's zones during the first match-up but Dante either didn't see them or was scared to pull the trigger. Dante was also indecisive at many points during the game (likely due to the disguises or good coverage), which led to many of the sacks or lost yardage. Dante is going to have to play much better this time around to get the W. We should get a good indication of how much he has developed since the first matchup. What makes Indiana’s defense so great? Here’s what 5 college coaches had to say - The Athletic

Depending on how this season ends, what players decide to come back next season and what the NIL offer looks like, I would not be shocked if Thieneman decides to return to Oregon for his final season. At best, he's probably a 3rd or 4th round draft pick and, while I am not sure if he can improve it much by coming back, he seems to be enjoying himself (the coaches give him the flexibility as a 3rd safety to come up in run support or to drop back into pass coverage, like Downs does at Ohio State).

Oregon signed the top high school football player in the State of Alabama the past two years. Let that sink in.

I saw someone that predicted Leavitt to Kentucky (who knows how likely that is) but Coach Stein needs to find the best possible QB, whether he is on the Kentucky roster or in the transfer portal.

That and coaching. I still believe that Coach Lanning and company were outcoached the first game by a much more experienced Indiana coaching staff.

College football has a player patience and loyalty problem, not a QB developmental problem. How many top high school QBs are wiling to sit a year or two to learn the system and be coached? That was the expectation for most QBs since the start of college football. Now they want millions in NIL out of high school and the opportunity to start immediately. Also, who’s to say you can’t develop a transfer QB, regardless of the experience? The Oregon Ducks, under Coach Lanning and company, takes transfer QBs (of all experience levels) and develops them into more polished NFL ready QBs. Bo Nix had talent but was not surrounded by the best players and system at Auburn. He had a tendency to play hero ball and, as a consequence, turned the ball over a lot (he also made some spectacular plays). At Oregon, he was reconnected with his first OC and learned to read defenses, make adjustments, get rid of the ball quickly and take what the defense gives you. He is now doing really well in the NFL for a Super Bowl contender. Dante Moore was thrown to the wolves at UCLA and, like Nix, was not surrounded by the talent he has at Oregon. He sat out a year and is a completely different player this season. He is cool and calm and a really good game manager. Dante has the best arm talent at Oregon since Herbert and can make Aaron Rodgers type of throws. I believe that he needs to continue to learn how to read defenses (pre- and post-snap changes), see the field better and take a few more shots down the field when there are opportunities and the situation calls for it, without putting the ball at risk. He should avoid running unless there is wide open space in front of him or it’s a critical down and there are no other options. Oregon will continue to recruit high school QBs and hopes one turns into a diamond in the rough (perhaps there is already one on the roster) but will not hesitate to turn to the transfer portal if they don’t believe the next QB up is ready to lead Oregon to a national championship (that should be the team’s goal every season given the talent on the roster). I doubt they will sign the high 5 star recruits, as the price is too high (it’s not worth the risk/reward) and chances are you can get that same player in a couple of years, if you still want them.

I don’t think you are giving Texas Tech’s defense enough credit. That might be the best front 7 in college football this season, with future high NFL draft picks scattered throughout. Oregon could have scored more but to say we should have put up that many points? I personally believe that Oregon OL is a bit overrated and they struggle with more talented/athletic defensive lineman.

I finally had an opportunity to rewatch the second half and below are my observations: Oregon's defense was obviously dominant. The telecast said it was Oregon's first bowl shutout since the early 1900's Rose Bowl against Penn (1917?). Someone on a podcast said that there are 8+ dudes on Oregon's starting defense who will likely be playing on Sundays and that to win a national championship, we might need to rely on our defense and have our offense manage the game/avoid mistakes. This is the complete opposite of what we've done in past national championship games but is what Coach Lanning has been building towards since he got to Oregon. Dante Moore managed the game well and avoided mistakes (note: the interception was on 4th down and we would have turned the ball over anyway - perhaps he could have shown more patience). He needs to improve his field vision, as he is missing seeing open receivers down the field (e.g., Sadiq had two steps on the defender on a post route on 4th down and it would have been a TD, if Dante could have hit him but for some reason he hesitated/didn't see him). I'm not sure what was up with Oregon's play calling, especially in the second half. Why continue to try to pound the ball between the tackles, when Texas Tech was consistently stopping us for 2 yards? Why continue to call designed QB runs when the first two were stuffed, putting Dante at risk? I would bet that 80% of Oregon's running yards against Texas Tech were to the outside. You have to maintain some balance/threat to run up the middle (perhaps a draw?) but it seemed like we went to inside runs too frequently. I also don't understand why Coach Stein doesn't have WR bubble screen counters or is willing to move the pocket, especially when Dante throws very well on the move. A former Oregon OC (Helfrich?) would fake the bubble screen, with a QB pump fake, and then have the WR run a go route, when defenders were playing aggressive against the play. Not Coach Stein's best game and I hope he gets dialed in before the next game, like Tosh did in the Orange Bowl (as Oregon will need all 3 phases firing against Indiana to win). I understand that Coach Lanning wants to be aggressive but I did not understand the decision to go for it on 4th down at midfield. I believe that Oregon was up 13-0, at the time, and it was clear that: (a) Oregon's defense was dominating Texas Tech's offense and (b) Texas Tech's defense was more than capable of stopping Oregon's offense on a short yardage situation as they had multiple times in the game. In that situation, we should have punted the ball and tried to pin Texas Tech's offense deep in their territory. People will point to "advanced statistics" but those stats are against all teams/defenses, not against a top 10 defense with one, if not the best front sevens in college football who stopped you multiple times in that game already. Brandon Finney, Jr. is an elite cornerback and he is a true freshman. The second interception was an NFL cornerback type of play - recognizing that the receiver that you are covering is not the primary receiver, handing him off to another defender in the area and then dropping back to make a jumping interception in the end zone on someone else's responsibility who was beat - outstanding! Finney also came up in run support and stuffed a RB for a short gain. He is going to be a first round NFL selection and the best corner to have ever played at Oregon. Can you imaging how good he will be in 2 years if Brandon continues to work?! With Ohio State and Georgia loosing this playoff feels wide open. I know that Indiana has an incredible team and Oregon will need to play it's A game but if they can get by the Hoosiers...

While I agree that Dante could use another year (although I would still advise him to enter the draft if he’s going to be a top 5 pick), I disagree with the author’s reasons. Dante is a very good game manager, which is even more important in the NFL than in college. He was almost certainly asked to protect the football against Texas Tech and take what the defense gave him. He is more than capable of making all the throws including into tight windows. Did the author not see the pass to our TE on a clutch play with the defender in his back pocket? Comparing him to Cam Ward? He’s the last QB I would want to be compared to. Sure he made spectacular plays and could put up points but he always seemed to turn the ball over, at the end of the game, in a crucial situation. Dante does not do that.

“The transfer portal opening today is my only worry for prep this upcoming week. I hope Tosh and Will can stay on the same page with Dan, keeping this squad locked in for their last two games of the year.” =============== I wonder if there is a bit less work for our coaches than there would be for other opponents since we’ve already faced Indiana once? I’m sure that the Oregon coaches looked back on that first game and thought what they would have done differently (e.g., stick with the ground game). Now they are going to have their opportunity. Coach Lanning, Stein and Tupoi were out coached by Indiana’s more experienced coaching staff last game, as they were in last year’s Rose Bowl game. Let’s hope they have the best games of their careers because Indiana might be the best team remaining in the playoffs.

Updated after the second round of the playoffs: AMERICAN 4-3 .571 ACC 6-4 .600 BIG 12 4-2 .667 BIG TEN 9-4 .692 CONFERENCE USA 4-3 .571 INDEPENDENTS 0-1 .000 MAC 2-3 .400 MOUNTAIN WEST 2-5 .286 PAC-12 1-0 1.000 SEC 4-8 .333 SUN BELT 3-6 .333

Hey CalBear. Long time. Congrats on hiring Tosh. As you know, he’s a tremendous recruiter and it’ll be interesting to see how he adapts to being the headman. I hope we schedule some OOC games in the future with our former PAC-10 foes.

Now it’s 99.0% since Vandy didn’t have a big return.

With that field goal, Iowa has a 97.8% probability of winning this game, per ESPN.

I agree with him but the TV viewership does not.

Transfer portal player rankings: https://247sports.com/season/2026-football/transferportaltop/

I think it’s funny and telling that his DC bailed on him for another conference team. Can the B1G get a refund? Perhaps give Oregon the full media share and take it from the LA schools…