OceaniaDuck

Lol! I hate to think that up to now, the U of O is probably still viewed as a "stepping stone" program. Yes, we were never considered a blue-blood either, but I guess there are no guarantees anymore as to whether we will see the kind of coaching stability/passing of the torch the U of O had starting with Rich Brooks and ending with Marc Helfrich's firing. I guess the motto of the day now is to enjoy the ride while you still can.

Let's say the worst does happen and DL bolts for aTm. Maybe promote Will Stein to HC if he doesn't follow Lanning? Offer Tosh Lupoi a better contract to entice him to stay? I think I'm done with the "hiring outside" thing lol.

On a previous list just posted, if aTm wants an almost sure guarantee that they'll be in CFP contention and possibly win a natty in the shortest period of time, Urban Meyer is probably the man for the job. Questionable character, but the guy can coach - at least at the college level.

As others have said, "here we go again". Looking at what happened with Willie Taggart and Mario Cristobal, the grass is not always greener on the other side. IIRC, Taggart in an article that I read did express some regret at leaving Oregon as the support system was actually there to help a HC be successful, which he didn't appreciate at the time. I was resisting the move at first, but now that Oregon is going to be in the B1G, I hope that would be an incentive among other things to remain at Oregon. Even Kalen DeBoer from "that school up north" has been announced as a possible candidate. Here's hoping that DL decides to stay at Oregon and finish what he started.

I really hope that the Big 12 has a change of heart and takes in both Oregon State and Washington State. Both schools belong in P5 (soon to be P4) programs IMHO.

I honestly never thought Lincoln Riley was ever a good fit at USC and just kind of cringed when the news came out that he was hired to be the next Trojans HC. As I've said before, prototypical USC football is a pro-style offense and a solid defense. Right now, USC is a glorified Texas Tech with blue-chip players IMHO. Sure, USC can replace the DC, but without Caleb Williams next season and no heir apparent in sight, I wouldn't be surprised if USC is a sub .500 team next season. Also, it's kinda funny how the two prized schools in the LA market that the B1G pursued just both fell out of the top 25, while the two schools that the conference was hesitant to add, "that school up north" and OBD, are in the top 10 and in line for CFP contention.

I'm a Miami fan this coming Saturday lol!

If Oregon goes up 42-6, I say put Ty Thompson in for the entire 4th quarter and see what he can do against a decent defense. Utes really missing Cam Rising, especially in high stakes games like this.

TD by Bucky Irving! Ducks still can't take their foot off the gas pedal. Utah is a very capable team.

Well, I just hope this game will be ugly in the way we want it to be ugly lol. One thing I hate about the PAC-12 but love too is that even the worst team in the conference is certainly capable of beating the best team on a good day.

I agree with Jon Wilner. If I was HC, I would've gone with the surer probabilities and kicked the FG's and punted the ball on 4th down especially given the position around midfield and game situation. Then try to rely on our D to stop the Washington offense. The 4th down conversions may have worked against the lesser talented teams we had played, but UW's D was at another level higher, and the probabilities of converting obviously would be lower. But of course I'm just giving my opinion as a naive spectator and Ducks fan lol.

It is true that there was a plethora of bad coaching decisions and bad breaks that put Cam in the pressure situation to tie up the game. Don't mean to be insensitive to the situation, but bad coaching decisions and bad breaks will happen but you have to convert regardless. Anyways, I'm sure Cam feels worse than any of us. Hope the kid recovers and regains his confidence.

USC is a typical Lincoln Riley coached team - all offense and no defense, and getting exposed by Notre Dame. I actually hope USC does pull out the win to help our SOS.

All disappointment aside, yes we should've taken the FG's when the opportunities presented themselves and also punted on 4th down, but also props to Kalen DeBoer - he is a darn good coach and a winner wherever he goes.

Well, I just remember Stanford vs Colorado. Looked like game was over at halftime and shut tv off, only to be shocked to find out later the Cardinal came back and won the game lol.

IMHO, If we had went for 3, we'd still be down only one score.

Well, we've been in this position several times before, I still have the faith.

I hope that missed opportunity to take the 3 before halftime doesn't become a factor later in the game - although it sure looks like it now. And to rub salt in the wound, both CB's are down. Come on Ducks!

Should've taken the 3. Unfortunately 4th down stop still keeps momentum with UW going into halftime.

Ducks need to definitely make adjustments in secondary. Two easy TD passes for Penix already.

Ducks should have won last year if not for a dirty play by a UW D-lineman injuring Bo Nix. I trust DL and Lupoi will come up with a scheme to slow down the Husky passing attack and put constant pressure on Penix. Still predict a very close one though, a FG or TD (at most) difference either way. Of course, I hope - no, actually I know - OBD will be on the right side of that. Go Ducks!

I think expectations were set too high for Colorado simply because of DS and many, including myself seem to forget that this is a rebuilding year for them. At least the Buffs are showing some fight on the field as compared to the past, where they were apparently just going through the motions. I would give DS probably another 2 years before he can realistically field a contender for a conference title or even the CFP. As an unfortunate caveat, Colorado has to win a couple or at least be very competitive against the better teams out there, or some of the luster may begin to tarnish. When Mike Leach was first hired at Wazzu, expectations were high also in his first year, and I myself thought he would turn Wazzu into an instant winner - Leach ended up going 3-9. It wasn't until maybe his 4th year at Wazzu that he started to field consistently good teams. I guess we all fall for a HC's reputation preceding them and forget that many times, their 1st year on the job is a rebuilding year lol. All that said, my pick is Kansas. Although the chance is remote, I do hope they upset Texas. Nice to see the Jayhawks football program on the rise again. The Jayhawks football program had been awful since Mangino was fired.

IMHO spread is a tad bit high. At most, I think the Ducks win by 10-13 points if they do get the victory. A lot of times, teams can get lulled into playing up or down, depending on who their competition is. For example, you see Georgia maybe just getting by Kent State 39-22, when you know on paper the Dawgs should have absolutely obliterated them, but at the same time the Dawgs demolish OBD 49-3, and I know OBD are much better than Kent State. It would seem that the Dawgs were hyped up to play OBD, while they were sleepwalking through the Kent State game. I think that's why DS says pretty much every game is "personal" - to get his team ready to play despite who the competition is. OBD are a high profile team that the Buffs would really love to beat, and thus CU will especially be hyped up for this game. The Ducks will have to earn this victory, again IMHO. I know OBD definitely have the talent and the coaching to defeat the Buffs, but this will be a hard fought game. I'm glad the game is taking place at Autzen as we need our 12th man - the fans - to help rally OBD to victory. Go Ducks! Of course, I hope I'm wrong and OBD cover the spread and then some.

Bottom line - don't underestimate the Buffs. As the old saying goes, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. Coach Prime is a master of hyping up his team. We want OBD to be the big dogs - both is size and fight.

Just thought about something. I think Prime with all of his attention grabbing hype and marketing would actually have been a great fit at USC - the LA and Hollywood glitz and glamour added to it would have just killed it when it comes to recruiting as well. At the same time, Lincoln Riley with his use of schematic offensive wizardry would have been a better fit at Colorado. IMHO, LR's brand of offense-focused football is not prototypical USC football, which is a Pro-style offense and solid defense (the jury is still out on USC's D). Just a thought lol.