OregonDucks

I thought the same thing would happen at USC under Pete Carroll when he would sign 5-star after 5-star (and Oregon was happy to get a few of those recruits, at the time, like DAT). The same could be said about Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State today. However, elite recruits usually have supreme confidence in their abilities (some may call it arrogance). These players have known nothing but success, dominated at every level and been told how amazing they are by family, friends, fans, recruiters, coaches, etc. They believe that they will be able win the starting job because they are different, faster, stronger, better, etc. than other players (past or present). As long as Oregon keeps winning on the field, creates a good environment for the athletes and sending players to the NFL, the high level recruits will keep coming.

Can someone please explain why it's against the rules to steel an opponent's signals? I understand why it might be considered unsportsmanlike but unless they were paying someone who is deemed to be an extra coach on staff up and beyond the NCAA limit, I don't understand the NCAA rules that Michigan broke. Of course if the person is hacking into computers then that would be against the law, and thus the FBI involvement. However, that person could have been doing that without the knowledge of Harbaugh or Michigan. Isn't it up to teams to better disguise and change their signals?

I also like how Lincoln Riley and USC are loading up on skill positions (mostly through the transfer portal) but Oregon continues to win the battles for blue chip offensive and defensive lineman. It doesn't matter how many skilled players you have, if Oregon is blowing up the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Lanning is building Oregon's roster for the long-term.

TT has looked much better this year. Hopefully, it has clicked for him and he can take full advantage of his natural talents. That said, elite teams constantly bring in elite talent to compete, at every position, year-after-year (e.g., USC under Pete Carroll, Bama under Nick Saban). Unless the coaches are 100% confident that TT is capable of leading Oregon to a national championship then you should bring in an experienced QB via the transfer portal and let them compete in spring and fall camp for the starting position. The same should be true for every other position...you have to win your job every year. Nothing is going to be handed to you based on your past success (look at Oregon's secondary this year, as an example).

LOL. I wouldn't count McAfee or the Utah guest picker, so it was 2-0 in favor of the Ducks! Desmond and Kirk have forgotten more about football than the other two know combined...

I think that 2007 team may have been Oregon's best team ever and would have won the National Championship, if Dennis Dixon stayed healthy. Loved those green O helmets and wish they would bring them back as part of the regular rotation.

I was hoping that Oregon would hire Whittingham before they hired Willie or Mario. He's a heck of a coach and just wins. Utah has represented the Pac-12 well and should dominate the Big XII.

I’m a big believer in attacking an opponent’s weaknesses until they prove that they can stop you. Strength against weakness = recipe for success.

I’ll admit, I smiled when I saw Bo Nix line up under center in the i-formation with Oregon’s throwback jerseys, near the goal line. Brought back some good memories…

I normally would agree but the big question will be “what will USC’s mindset be when they face Oregon?” They’ve lost 2 games in a row which eliminates them from the playoffs. How will they show up against a tough Cal defense? Then if they get rolled by UW the week before they play Oregon, will their players quit (it wouldn’t be the first time an LA team did)?

I don’t think it’ll necessarily be a conference title elimination game because the PAC-12 is going to be brutal down the stretch, and you could have a bunch of 2-loss teams, but it’s almost certainly a playoff elimination game.

Can the B1G revisit the LA schools’ media shares? Perhaps re-spread it to more deserving programs like Oregon and Washington?

Didn’t the football writers overwhelmingly pick USC to win the conference this season? Shows how much they know about the sport they cover…

I hope that the NFL scouts with top draft picks look at these stats. I always look to see how college players do against top competition because that is what they’ll be playing against every week at the next level.

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.