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Penalties were huge, great point! Next week if the penalties aren't cleaned up, I'm really going to start getting worried. Also: redzone was great with the tight end group early in the season. Want to see more of that moving forward.

I don't know if it was just a part of my class, but I never rooted for the Beavs. Maybe I'll grow and find a way to do so later. But until then, it's Ducks or nothing.

Can confirm. As a Ducks alumni, I'd rather turn green from head to toe than root for the Beavers. Would save me money on the face paint.

Poor 'ol Buffalos.

A week removed from watching Stanford, I totally forgot about the ridiculous amount of penalties. If it happens again this weekend (which I don't think it will), I'll address it in next week's articles. But like you said: we won't find out for a bit. Let's clean up the laundry on the field and do some thumping ourselves.

Debbie! Let's not be too hasty here, lol. I'll go have a talk with Lanning just for you. Make something work.

Huge aspirations! Love the matchup you pointed out with AZ's receivers. Should be a huge confidence boost for our secondary, showing the PAC-12 our top recruits and transfer cornerbacks came to play. As for grit, you're 100% on the money. Even the weaker teams are getting mopped by Oregon, and our Ducks aren't playing down to competition anymore. Let's see more of the same tomorrow.

Would love to see the big bodies get more endzone targets as well. I don't want Dilly to have a reason to have to stop using the tight ends so much (if it ever stops working this season), but if it does, I think that's the perfect alternative set of playmakers to go to. Thornton has been on my radar the last eight games or so of Ducks football and I'd love to see him emerge.

Thanks Charles! Can't imagine the team looking any better than they have the last couple of weeks either. Really have enjoyed getting to watch Our Beloved Ducks perform at a high level again. Maybe we see more from Franklin this weekend in the red zone with all that tight end emphasis for the Cougs' defense.

Great point about running for their life. Many quarterbacks on both levels will run out of necessity, and while all-time great head coaches like Sean Payton may think they have the same risk of injury as a guy in the pocket, I think the "purposeful running" side of it is what makes him most effective. Let's hope you're right about the learning curve. I really want to see this offense get more balanced with the passing game, but like I said in the article, "feeding the hot hand" I'll never have a problem with. I agree, this just feels like the breakout game for some of our emerging stars. I'm curious to see who will step up big time.

Great stuff all around, Jester! some of your points on the DAT comparison I couldn't have said better myself. It also strikes me as odd that I've grown so accustomed to not expecting explosion plays from Oregon after some thrilling seasons of old. Thanks for reminding me of that (or the lack of) explosive component we desperately need. Let's hope that when that defense is called upon and we need some big-time stops against BYU and beyond, someone steps up defensively. I don't care if it's a DB, an edge, or one of our inside backers. SOMEBODY MAKE A PLAY. ...Please? Enjoy the game tomorrow!

Love to see how they're producing at the next level today! Yeah, small and fast is the new wave of that 250 or so speed rusher (ex. Thibs, Brian Burns, etc.)

Boy would I love to see Buckner and Armstead together again! Thibs was a highlight and is dearly missed this season. Love the rushing component you brought up! Can't have him feeling comfortable at all this weekend. Keep him and the offense on their toes as much as possible.

I really have missed being away from Autzen this year after I graduated and started working down in LA. Has Autzen been any different? Does it feel like the advantage of home field is being neutralized on a home site? I hope we can keep the Cougars rattled as long as possible but I haven't seen the crowd in-person now since last season.

This is a great point to bring up. It's hard to get high-volume touches on such a loaded team. I just want to see if he can be a contributor or not, and I need to see opportunities for him to make the tough catch in moments that really matter. This BYU team should be a tough out so I hope we see some more creativity from the offensive staff with Seven (and Sean Dollars, for that matter).

Yeah, to beat USC and Utah I would doubt as you said this was an "experimental" season. Let's hope we can get the ship right entering PAC-12 play quickly.

Glad to have you checking out the Ducks this season! Pass rush is definitely the key, and your take on his size is interesting. I really hope that isn't the case, as we've all seen little shifty backs get it done in years past (ex. De'Anthony Thomas). But if you're right, that would worry me for the future of our recruiting and our offense. Love being able to use those smaller guys who can get open in space.

I love the new product analogy, we are definitely in the early testing faze. I just need to see some major growth from the team tomorrow, particularly (as we've been harping on) defensively. Cougar offense struggled as you noted so let's force the issue with turnovers quickly.

Awesome to hear! Glad you're joining the club- a huge misconception people fall into is that you can't start an instrument late! Never too late to try, and good on you for sticking with it. I've actually been playing for 12 years now and it took me almost two years to really enjoy the guitar. Now I couldn't imagine a day without it, and listening to my favorites (Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, and the late Eddie Van Halen). Rock on and Go Ducks!

I hope to do the same; can't figure out how I get coaxed into it time and time again. Maybe I should try fishing or something.

Great point to add! Love to see him reaching it today, even if it's with the Chargers instead of the Ducks. Ashford would have been a great deal of fun and may be one of those "what could have beens" in a few years...

Glad you touched on this. Something I've been harping on and pounding my desk for the last few months. Just let them fall on their face. There is no other way to become great at something. I'd rather suck for a year with a chance to be all-time great than be average every year with a chance to become goodish.

Guess it's just the nature of the position. Would love to see him thrive here, we'll see how realistic that is within the coming weeks. Still not overly concerned about him, but let's hope Oregon can someday do exactly that with developing a QB from scratch. Would love to see this gen's Mariota!

FINALLY. Someone said it. I can't help but despise fantasy football, and yet I get roped into it every year. By week three, I'm so overly competitive and analyzing tape on the 3rd receiver for the Jets that I have lost my joy for watching the games. I can't express how much I relate to the software department line, LOL. Love the line about the QB position as well. Good stuff Jester.

Brutally honest. I think Bo's going to have his fair share of struggles for sure. It's never easy coming in as the starter for a new program, especially as you siad if he has poor read instincts already engrained in his mind. Maybe BYU turns into an open door for TT or JB