FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted August 29, 2023 2023 is it, if you didn’t hear. It’s time for the Super League of college football to begin. Oregon’s officially headed to the Big Ten in 2024, and this may be the end of the PAC-12 altogether. With that said, Oregon’s in for a huge year to take the PAC-12 Championship in the last season it may exist at all. ... Oregon Ducks Football: The Season for ALL the Marbles FISHDUCK.COM 2023 is it, if you didn't hear. It's time for the Super League of college football to begin. Oregon's officially headed to the Big Ten in 2024, and this... 1 1 1 1 Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 2 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Alex, thanks for the article. Actual thoughts and comments on the upcoming season are refreshing. As, i read and reread the article, I became excited and confident that this can be OBD's year to win the PAC and head to the CFP. However, this is a team game. The Duck O should average north of 40 points. North of 45 would be better. The talent is on the roster, with a 5th year starter at QB the new O line must gel and be cohesive. When they do, we should see a few games with over 50 points scored. Special teams must improve. They have been disappointing for a number of years now........ In order for the Ducks to win the PAC the D needs to step up and cause chaos and turnovers. Its been beat to death in this Forum but getting off the field on 3rd and 4th downs is crtical. What happened against the huskies and beavers is inexcusable. NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. .. .. One or two stops will make the difference against the huskies, trojans, utes, cougars and beavers. It appears DL and staff brought the freaks in thru the portal. Now lets see if they can coach them up and make better in game adjustments. Since the Ducks left the field after the 2014 Natty loss, only the 2019 D has played at a CFP level. Its time for the Duck D to make a difference, dominate and win games. Go Ducks...... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 3 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Thank you, Alex. If wishes were horses ... You make an excellent case for the Ducks in 2023. Spot on in regard to injury but for those of us who played the game (in my case before the World Wide Net showed up) if you play to avoid injury you are most likely to get hurt. DL and company do have to be judicious in the use of Bo in the run game but I do not want to see a Mari(o) like blanket thrown over Bo like we witnessed in the case of Justin Herbert's senior year before the title game and kind of, in the Rose Bowl. I've often pondered whether Oregon have won at ASU and advanced to the Final 4 if Justin had been allowed to be more free-wheeling in Tempe. In the day and age of the portal and most schools having limited QB depth this is indeed a conundrum for any OC. This close, [ ] to kickoff. After the off-season of confusion and uncertainty, Let's Play Ball! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven A Moderator No. 4 Share Posted August 29, 2023 1) Where do you think they’ll finish the season? The same as the first season of the Pac 12, WINNERS! 2) What are Nix’s real odds of winning the Heisman? Gotta go with Dumb and Dumber here. 3) Becoming a first-round pick in the NFL Draft? See No. 2 above. 4) Do you see this defense stepping up their game? Hell yes. 5) Or, be a middling group in the last season of PAC-12 football? Hell no. Alex, thanks for asking. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 5 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Stevan A, a repeat of the first CBB tournament played 78 seasons ago would be nice. How about The Ducks with Web Foots, 'The Blur Firs,' defeat Ohio State for the Natty? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastBayDuckDad Moderator No. 6 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Excellent observations in the article, Alex. Avoiding injuries and a step up in defensive efficiency make every game in 2023 winnable. As far as USC goes, what I saw in their win over SJ State was that in spite of better personnel, their defense is still very vulnerable to a good rushing attack and a mobile QB. Oregon checks both of those boxes. Williams is dynamic with a big accurate arm but could be lulled into throwing picks against better competition. The Spartan coverage was very soft and he found wide open gaps most of the time but took some chances with the ball that Oregon can exploit if DB and safety play is solid. And Zachariah Branch is the real deal. The announcers gushed on him and crowned him the 2nd coming of Reggie Bush. He reminds me more of DAT as he goes down easy once corralled, but you've got to catch him first. Lanning and crew now have a heads up that he needs to be game planned for. Time for some football! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 7 Share Posted August 29, 2023 On 8/29/2023 at 1:10 PM, EastBayDuckDad said: Excellent observations in the article, Alex. Avoiding injuries and a step up in defensive efficiency make every game in 2023 winnable. As far as USC goes, what I saw in their win over SJ State was that in spite of better personnel, their defense is still very vulnerable to a good rushing attack and a mobile QB. Oregon checks both of those boxes. Williams is dynamic with a big accurate arm but could be lulled into throwing picks against better competition. The Spartan coverage was very soft and he found wide open gaps most of the time but took some chances with the ball that Oregon can exploit if DB and safety play is solid. And Zachariah Branch is the real deal. The announcers gushed on him and crowned him the 2nd coming of Reggie Bush. He reminds me more of DAT as he goes down easy once corralled, but you've got to catch him first. Lanning and crew now have a heads up that he needs to be game planned for. Time for some football! Great take. But in 2022, Williams in 500 attempts only threw 5 picks. 2 of the picks bounced off of his receiver's hands. Not an easy guy to fluster and for the most part Williams is very accurate. If you all out-rush and don't contain the edges this guy will kill you on roll-out passes and running the ball. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cacker Guy No. 8 Share Posted August 29, 2023 On 8/29/2023 at 8:07 AM, HappyToBeADuck said: One or two stops will make the difference against the huskies, trojans, utes, cougars and beavers. And turnovers and special teams play Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckhart No. 9 Share Posted August 29, 2023 The USC game is huge for the Ducks. We owe Willams one as he picked us apart in 21. Im predicting we lose 1 of USC,Utah,OSU & WA with just one loss for the season. Dont want the 1 loss to be against Riley and Williams. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 10 Share Posted August 29, 2023 What specifically means who specifically to me. I say it will come down to leadership questions. First off is Dan Lanning the real deal on the sideline. He made some mistakes last season, and can he turn those into golden decisions this season. Will Dan Lanning prove himself as the guy we all think he is. That is the first question we need an answer for. I think so, but he will still be the aggressive guy and with that the ball will bounce like the oblong shape it is. Next can the assistants really elevate the performance of so many talented athletes. One of the big differences between the great, and the elite is talent development, and use of skills. Can the coaches inspire and require the extra effort needed to win at the top level. This will be the second question I will look for an answer on. Lastly who on the field will be the difference makers? I am not talking about making the expected plays, but who is going to fire up the team to get the opposing team off the field on critical 3rd and 4th downs, or make the 1st downs. Are we going to have a guy or guys on the field who will accept nothing less, and players willing to be inspired? I think it comes down to leadership and better finding out just what kind of leadership this program has for the long haul, and short term. For me it will come down to what is this defense made of. We should see that in week 2, but it will need to grow as the season goes along. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuck No. 11 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Might have to beat USuC twice...once in Vegas. Could be our D slowing them just enough for our O to score more. I am thinking the Stein offense will be prolific, their D not quite that great. So fully agree, pass rush will be so huge this year, up the pressure, and turnovers are always important. Pass rush will improve the number of off throws we can pick. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 12 Share Posted August 29, 2023 On 8/29/2023 at 2:35 PM, Duckhart said: The USC game is huge for the Ducks. We owe Willams one as he picked us apart in 21. Im predicting we lose 1 of USC,Utah,OSU & WA with just one loss for the season. Dont want the 1 loss to be against Riley and Williams. Duckhart, Oregon did not play SC in 2021. The last time Oregon played SC was in the conference champ game in 2020. OR met SC in the conference champ game as UW due to COVID could not participate. Oregon won 31-24 to win the Pac-12 championship. Then face-planted in the Fiesta Bowl vs. Iowa State. The score was 34-17 in favor of the Cyclones. Williams transferred to SC in 2022. Oregon has yet to face Williams. Thank you, Cali scheduling agreement. It is ironic that Oregon will most likely play SC more often in the B1G than in the Pac-12. With the all-time record of 38-21-2, the Ducks do owe the Trojans nevertheless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastBayDuckDad Moderator No. 13 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Jon, Duckhart is right. Oregon faced Williams and Oklahoma in the 2021 Alamo Bowl. He threw for 242 yds and 3 TDs. Cristobal had given Oregon the big middle finger on his way to Miami and acting HC Joe Moorhead finally opened up the offense and let A. Brown chuck the ball down the field. Too little too late, though. So, yeah, the Ducks have seen Williams before. Beating him, 'Check Out My Crib' Riley and the entitled Spoiled Children at Autzen would be sweet. And here's to being a thorn in U$C's side for years to come in the B1G. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatOrlando No. 14 Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) Fortunately I've gotten to watch more PAC games the last decade since I've moved to Arizona. While the fan support isn't anything close to what I grew up with, I have met some really friendly fans. The year ASU won the South, a random guy at a gas station got so excited that he gave me a very random high five. Paid for the drink I was holding. I was in Anaheim in 2019 and the media was all about the Lakers and Clippers playing an opening season game, or preseason. It was October. So it's very hit and miss. The Rams Super Bowl parade proved that L.A fans have a'lot more interests than their sports teams. The media market in Phoenix is very Suns, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, golf, flower planting, Martha Stewart cooking, ASU and Coyotes oriented. In that order. A'lot of dislike for Michael Crow and Ray Anderson for making ASU athletics an afterthought. Crow is a much more academic oriented leader and he's done a good job raising that profile. Being an FSU alum, I can say ASU was thought of an awesome party school very similar to FSU(very well deserved btw). Crow has changed that perception, he should be commended for that. Anderson on the other hand is just tone deaf. Herm Edwards was paid very well for what he did, which was nothing but gaffe after gaffe. Never creating a pipeline to any local high schools, recruiting violations during covid, practice infractions during covid, current bowl ban. Anderson finally fired him after four years of mistakes, two years too late. Then Anderson falls into the same trap of saying stupid things and making questionable hires. He has no pulse on how to run a college athletics program. He just says stupid things. Then he tries to make it seem like it was just a joke. See his comments on traveling to West Virginia right after joining the Big 12. He said he would never make a trip to Morgantown when asked how he felt about new traveling locations for his sports programs. He would gladly go to Texas, Utah, Colorado etc.. His underlings would go to coaltown USA-(He didn't say the Coaltown part). Crow later posted a photo of him as a track star at ISU, Anderson later posted that he and Wren Baker (WVU AD.) Had a good talk, a good way to curtail the anger of his joking I guess. Oh well. In short I would say as a non PAC fan living in the footprint, that this is the most interesting year to me. Not just because of the chaos, but because I can see several teams winning the conference. Great QB play as well. So I'm gonna enjoy watching the season unfold, I have no rooting interest. I can just enjoy the fun. Outside of Saturday at Utah, I really don't care which team wins on a week to week schedule. May the best team win. Edited August 30, 2023 by GatOrlando 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 15 Share Posted August 30, 2023 On 8/30/2023 at 3:20 AM, GatOrlando said: In short I would say as a non PAC fan living in the footprint, that this is the most interesting year to me. And you sir, are a great CFB fan who is welcome to post often here, as you give us well written thoughts and perspectives that are enjoyable to read. Please continue, and good luck with your team's season! 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckhart No. 16 Share Posted August 30, 2023 On 8/29/2023 at 3:26 PM, Jon Joseph said: Duckhart, Oregon did not play SC in 2021. The last time Oregon played SC was in the conference champ game in 2020. OR met SC in the conference champ game as UW due to COVID could not participate. Oregon won 31-24 to win the Pac-12 championship. Then face-planted in the Fiesta Bowl vs. Iowa State. The score was 34-17 in favor of the Cyclones. Williams transferred to SC in 2022. Oregon has yet to face Williams. Thank you, Cali scheduling agreement. It is ironic that Oregon will most likely play SC more often in the B1G than in the Pac-12. With the all-time record of 38-21-2, the Ducks do owe the Trojans nevertheless. Faced & lost to him in 2021 as a Sooner. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
