OregonDucks

Great article. I feel the same way. I realize that the PAC-12 was a “dead man walkin’” and that Oregon had to make a change to survive as a perennial national title contender. However, I don’t understand why the Pac (the only major conference West of the Rockies) could not survive. I miss playing at Stanford and at the Arizona schools (hopefully we can start scheduling these teams OOC). I still find myself rooting for our old PAC-12 conference foes (except for Oregon State or Colorado). The ironic thing is, if the LA schools invested in and had more success on the football field, I believe that the TV money would have been there (perhaps not quite at the B1G or SEC levels but enough). Instead they took their underperforming program and the LA media market to the B1G for the payday. Now they are just part of the mediocre group that you mentioned in your article.

I’ll never forget Cristobal’s reaction to the Kris Hutson penalty. As an Oregon fan/alumni, I was embarrassed at the time by our head coach’s behavior and would not want my kid playing for him.

Just like the game, this episode was boring. No behind the scenes from meetings and practices. No message of the week from Coach Lanning. Pretty much just Oregon game highlights with some audio from the coaches sprinkled in. More like a Greatful Dead music video with Oregon football highlights. Worst Ducks vs. Them episode that I’ve seen.

Don’t focus on the years or dollars always look at the buyout. Matt Rhule’s reported buyout is only $15M. Does anyone think that will prevent a school that just paid $50M from hiring him? Same with Cig.

I completely disagree. Ohio State is the best team in college football and the question is who deserves to be #2. Oregon better bring their A game or they will lose to a good Iowa team.

I hear you but with Helfrich I think it was a deeper feeling that the program was regressing and there was little change of a turnaround under his “leadership.” Recruiting was in the toilet, IIRC. It was evident that Helfrich was a great evaluator of QBs and a good offensive mind but he was not head coach material. There is nothing wrong with that and he seems to be doing well now on TV.

With NIL, the big dawgs are just mad that Oregon can now pay as much or more than they do, which has leveled the playing field.

Hopefully Oregon remembers its past and never becomes like those programs. I would hope that a coach would always have the opportunity to turn it around at Oregon (like Coach Bellotti was able to do) before being shown the door. Commitment is a two way street.

I agree and I would argue that the UCLA did more harm than good for his confidence and development. However, I wonder if Oregon would have brought Dillon Gabriel in last year, if we had Dante and whether Dante would have transferred elsewhere if we did…

I predicted that Oregon would go 10-2 this year with a floor of 8-4 (worst case) and a ceiling of 11-1. After the dominant early season victories and the upset at Penn State (who was one of my predicted losses), I admittedly became overly optimistic and was guilty in thinking that Oregon was ahead of schedule. The Indiana game brought me back down to earth with a thud and really exposed the Ducks’ flaws (credit to the experienced Hoosier coaching staff). At this point, our offensive line is not as good as last year’s, IMHO, particularly at the tackles. Our young, inexperienced QB is confused by late shifts/changes and simulated pressure and not as adept as adjusting pass pro, as his very experienced predecessors were (I’ve never seen anyone do it better in college than Bo Nix did). Dante will learn but hopefully Coach Stein can make adjustments during the bye week to help him and the offense. I’m still not a huge fan our our linebackers and our defensive line is talented but not consistent. The DL, particularly the DTs, absolutely dominated Penn State but perhaps that’s more a reflection of PSU’s O-line? On the positive, our secondary has been fantastic. It’s shocking considering our #1 corner is a true freshman and the other corner is a redshirt freshman/sophomore! Our wide receiver core is also a lot better than I expected, post the Evan Stewart injury. Our running back room is very deep and the freshman appear to be the most talented of the group. As we’ve beaten to death; hopefully, they get more carries the rest of the season. I have personally reset my expectations for the rest of the season. This team is capable of making the playoffs and winning a game or two but I would be surprised if they won the national championship, unless we see drastic improvements in our weaknesses. If we couldn’t handle Indiana’s defense, how the heck do we deal with Ohio State’s (probably the best college football defense since Dan Lanning’s Georgia unit)? The positive is that there really isn’t a dominant team this year, as every team has holes. I still think our real window begins next year but am looking forward to seeing how this year plays out. BTW, another loss could eliminate Oregon from the playoffs. We will not have the best resume (thanks Penn State) and some crazy things could happen with the Big-12 and ACC conference championship auto qualifiers. You would also have to compete with whomever we lost to (Iowa, Washington, USC) and Notre Dame for that playoff spot.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

Is there a team in college football this year that cannot be defeated? I look around college football and don’t see a Nick Saban Alabama or Pete Carroll USC team. Heck, even those teams lost big games during their runs.

I’m not a coaching guru but that 99 yard drive and subsequent drives it sure felt like Davison was the spark. NW was consistently getting dropped at the LOS until that drive. NW’s runs up to that 99 yard drive (1.5 YPC): 5 yards 2 yards 2 yards 2 yards 0 yards -2 yards Then Davison finally gets some carries during Oregon’s final possession of the first half and averaged 5.75 YPC (excl. the 3 yard TD carry): 2 yards 2 yards 7 yards 11 yards 11 yards 6 yards 4 yards 3 yards 3 yard TD Perhaps Oregon’s offense made an adjustment, as you suggested, or Davison is just a more consistent every down back and a better fit for our offensive line’s strength. Davison came in and provided our offense with a spark.

The last two seasons have been brutal with injuries! It’s a shame that we can’t see how good this Niners team is because the stars can’t stay on the field.

To Gat’s defense, I do believe that the SEC is more balanced, so week-in and week-out it’s more of a slog and teams will beat up on one another. The B1G is top heavy and its teams might be the best this year (we’ll see in the playoffs). I wouldn’t bet Oregon straight up on a neutral field this year against Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss or Texas A&M. Oregon has not beaten a ranked team, yet, and we are midway through the season. What’s our best win to date - Northwestern or Montana State?

“Noah Whittington ended up having a pretty good game with 97 yards, and even had a better yards per carry stat than Davison at 6.9 yards per carry” Great article. As I mentioned in my post below, 9 of Whittington’s 14 carries against Wisconsin were 2 yards or fewer. His averages are misleading because he’ll break a long run to improve his YPC. I’d rather have a RB who consistently gets 4-6 yards a carry. The offense will be playing ahead of the chains, most of the time. Davison appears to be the only RB on Oregon’s roster capable of that against better defenses, IMO. I would prefer to see Oregon rely on the ground game with Davison and then use play action off of it. I’m a Niners fan and Coach Stein should learn from Coach Shannahan. He is a master.

Great post. There is too much money floating around and no patience. Can you imagine where Oregon would be if it fired Coach Brooks before the Rose Bowl? What about Coach Bellotti after a few of his “down” years, instead of showing patience and a commitment to someone who reportedly turned down more attractive head coaching jobs to stay at Oregon? Brian Kelly and James Franklin were considered two of the top coaches in college football. Who are these programs going to get that’s a clear upgrade, worth spending $50M to part ways with those coaches, plus whatever they are going to have to spend on the new coach? Is Nick Saban, Urban Meyer or even Chris Peterson going to give up their low pressure gigs to get back in the game? Are those programs as elite as their boosters, fans and administrations believe they are? How many teams can realistically compete for a national championship every year? Hopefully the top coaching prospects see how their peers were treated by these programs. It’s not like they need the money and do they need the unrealistic expectations and pressure, on top of starting over?

I’m sorry but that is no longer the world we live in. With the transfer portal, once a QB gets beat out they are going to transfer. The best you can hope for is for your backup QB to be serviceable if your starter is injured (which Brock was) and beat some average or below teams.

Maybe the Browns should have kept Sanders activated. Today would be a good day to see how he does in a regular season game.

We are not even sure if Oregon’s #1 QB can win a game against a “top-tier opponent.” LOL. I don’t know if Northwestern or Montana State is Oregon’s best win to date.

How many teams can expect their backup QB to win a game against a top-tier opponent?

True freshman Jordon Davison is the best all around running back on Oregon’s roster. He should be starting and getting 20+ carries a game. I don’t know what the coaches are seeing. Whittington’s stats are misleading because he’ll have a bunch of runs less than 2 yards and then break a few to improve his YPC average. Last night, 9 of Whittington’s 14 carries were 2 yards or less (64%). That inconsistency puts an offense behind the chains and kills drives. Davison, on the other hand, might not break a 60+ yarder but consistently gashes a defense for 6-8 yard runs. Even when he is bottled up he seems to fall forward for a few yards. He grinds down a defense the more carries he gets. All of Whittington’s bigger runs came after that drive that our OL and Davison imposed their will and ran the ball right down Wisconsin’s throat, if I recall correctly. Unlike in nature, the thunder has to come before (and in greater quantities) than the lightning. Right now Oregon’s coaches have that backwards. I hope a reporter asks our coaches why Davison isn’t getting more carries based on his in game production. Oregon Ducks On SIThe Freshman Who Made A Case As Oregon's Best Running Bac...EUGENE – The No. 6 Oregon Ducks had a slow start on offense against the Wisconsin Badgers at Autzen Stadium. After going scoreless in the first quarter, the Duc Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Offensive Playmaker Earns MVP In 21-7 Win Over Wi...The No. 6 Oregon Ducks defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 21-7 in week nine of the college football season. The Ducks offense took a bit to warm up, and Wisconsin k

At 0:15 in the below video Akili Smith, Jr. shows off his wheels/athleticism. He is certainly faster and more athletic than Dante Moore. Very similar to Justin Herbert, IMO. Hopefully our coaches take advantage of his full skillset, like we did with Herbert in the Rose Bowl Game, especially if he’s up to 220/230, as reported. With that frame, he can absorb hits and dish out sole punishment himself. Akili Smith, Jr.’s upside is off the charts.

I hope our coaches design the offense to let Smith, Jr. use his legs as a weapon, when he gets an opportunity. He is quick and with that size, he will also truck defensive backs.