OregonDucks

Great to see Brooks and Bellotti around the program that they both built.

Bo also followed his fantastic pooch punt with what looked like a golf swing. Like he stopped a wedge on a dime.

That play happened right in front of us. I was shocked that the WSU defensive player just stopped playing. It was like he either thought that the play was over or was distracted by something (e.g., something or someone on the sidelines or stands). He paid the price because #88 didn't stop playing... Cam Ward also had a strange play, where he just stopped, like he thought the whistle blew. Very strange plays.

"I think in the second half it (the WSU pass protection) started to get a little bit leaky, he did more of those scramble plays. We (Cam) were off target and timing was a little bit. Give credit to them. like I said, they roll in 18 guys up front, they keep attacking you. We were ok in some off-script plays, and did an average job of establishing the run when we did run the football. I think the bigger moments is they won some key four, and we had some opportunities late in the second half. Credit to them, but I like where we were offensively, had some explosive plays, but they kept us off balance up front in the second half.” It seems as though Oregon is wearing opposing teams down in the second half of games. I love the hockey style defensive line changes to keep players fresh and allow them to go 100% all game. It must be EXHAUSTING for the offensive linemen! If I were an opposing OC, I would think twice about substituting players because it allows Oregon to make these substitutions.

The announcers were saying how much trouble ASU has had in field goal attempts this season. Perhaps Dilly does not have confidence in his field goal kicker and that is why he went for it on 4th down.

Bo's interview after the tough loss in Seattle, showed his character better than any other interview I've seen. It showed how mature he was and that he realized that there is more to life than football.

I can't believe that the refs picked up the PI flag. It was one of the most blatant PIs that you'll ever see with the CB pulling on the WR's jersey not once but twice, while the ball was in the air.

It's always been tough to win games on the road in college football, especially against evenly matched teams.

If you take out the Portland State game, the per game scoring average decreases to 41.3 and in conference games Oregon has averaged 38.8 ppg. That's still good but we also have the most experienced QB in the history of college football and a Heisman contender running the offense this year. How much is that due to Bo Nix vs. Will Stein? Will Stein is a good offensive coordinator but hasn't blown me away with his play calling abilities. Oregon's offense seems to come out at the start of games flat. Does he script plays for the first drive? I like what I've seen with the development of the backup QBs so I'm excited about his player development but he can definitely improve his play design and play calling, IMHO.

While I agree with you on this particular play, I'd love for someone to take a look at the other two failed 4th down attempts. IMHO, Stein was relying too much on Bo to pass for the three fourth down attempts. With Oregon's running game, a mobile QB and Washington defense's weakness against the run (i.e., strength against weakness), I am shocked that Oregon didn't try at least one running play on the three attempts. I don't have the heart to go back and watch the game but SI mentioned that Oregon didn't attempt any runs on 1st and goal at the end of the half. That makes no sense, unless Oregon didn't have any timeouts remaining. The last fourth down attempt, looked like a poor play design. Our receivers were running 10 yard routes, when we only needed 3 and the two on the left side were in the same area of the field. It's like Stein ran out of short yardage plays, so he just picked another play.

Thank you for your in-depth look into this particular play. As you pointed out, it seems that Bo should have recognized that there was tight coverage on Franklin before the snap and shifted his focus to the crossing routes. I can understand why Bo trusts Franklin in a big situation but you have to take what the defense gives you. I hope that Bo learns from this and doesn’t repeat the same mistake this season.

Oregon surrounded by a bunch of top SEC programs and Ohio State. It’s like Dan Lanning knows what he’s doing…

I haven’t been able to.

I was hoping that they were saving these unis for the Oregon State game, since it could be the last Civil War for awhile.

The offensive line was one of the question marks coming into the season, given the number of new starters, and the only question mark on offense, which returned its QB and most of its skilled positions from last year. They have exceeded all expectations and I'm happy that they are getting national recognition.

“I think we’re able to recruit at a high level because people see the direction we’re headed and what this program is really all about when they get to see us on center stage,” Lanning said This is precisely why Oregon could not afford to accept the Pac-12's Apple streaming-only media option, IMO. We would no longer have the opportunity to be on "center stage" unless we were playing a big OOC opponent or in the post season. The majority of people, including recruits and voters, would only see Oregon highlights during the regular season.

Colin Cowherd is such a USC/LA honk. I can't listen to him anymore. Hope he didn't break his leg jumping off of the USC bandwagon...

He’d be a great coach, after his NFL playing days are over. Perhaps here at Oregon for Coach Dan Lanning after our program has won multiple B1G and national championships…

Josh Pate had a good point on his Oregon/Washington post-game podcast. First time head coaches used to start at smaller programs, outside of the national spotlight (e.g., Nick Saban at Toledo, Urban Meyer at Bowling Green), where they could make mistakes and learn from them, away from the national spotlight. Many of the top coaches would slowly step their way up to elite programs over a number of years. Now big time programs are hiring first time head coaches (e.g., Kirby Smart at Georgia, Ryan Day at Ohio State, Dan Lanning at Oregon). These first time coaches are bound to make mistakes early in their careers but the difference now is that they are doing so on national television with millions watching. Anyway, I thought that it was an interesting take. The great ones will learn from their mistakes and grow.

I love the 12:30pm kickoffs! It's how college football used to be before they added all of these cable (and now streaming) sports channels that need to fill content from 9am to 11:30pm Pacific.

There were reports that the B1G originally wanted Oregon and USC but FOX wanted UCLA and the LA television market. Kevin Warren was in favor of adding Oregon and Washington sooner but most in the B1G didn't want to be the ones that were viewed as blowing up the Pac-12 (even though they were directly responsible for the first dominoes).

Oregon State could give Washington all they can handle (same with Utah), especially since it's in Corvallas. Both those teams play tough defense and run the ball.

I think that Johnathan Smith, as a OSU alumni and legend, will be loyal to Oregon State for at least a couple of years. Perhaps they should look northward to Seattle for their next head coach…

LOL. I was thinking the same thing!

Phil Knight (PK) is highly competitive, fully vested in the success of the University of Oregon and did not build a Fortune 100 company from nothing with passive leadership (I highly recommend reading “Shoe Dog”). For example, Nike hired an outside CEO, after PK retired, and quickly made a change when it was apparent that the new CEO did not fit the company’s culture. Please note, I am not suggesting that Phil does not have full faith in Dan Lanning and the direction that the program is headed. However, like others, he may be a little disappointed that Dan Lanning did not seem to learn from his in-game management mistakes, which arguably cost Oregon 2 games last season, to our most hated rivals. Depending on his relationship with Lanning, he could offer a subtle hint/suggestion or speak with Rob Mullens about his concerns. Mullens sits down with each of the Oregon head coaches after the season. This is how you mentor and develop a young leader. Lanning preaches a growth mindset (i.e., the 1%). We will likely never know what happens but I hope that Dan Lanning at least has a small group of trusted mentors that he goes to for feedback and advice. In terms of the playoffs, the loss eliminated any margin of error from now to the Pac-12 Championship Game, and Oregon may need some of the other one loss and undefeated teams to lose another game or two to pave a playoff path for Oregon. There are some big time programs, with national championships, right in front and behind Oregon in the polls today (e.g., Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, Bama, Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State). As an Oregon football fan, I am hoping for pandemonium the rest of the season!