Desert Duck No. 1 Share Posted November 5, 2023 Sorry as this is an ESPN pay article, and I don't pay for ESPN articles. However, I was just glad to see ESPN ask the question in a headline Sunday article, as we were pretty much ignored by ESPN yesterday (not that this surprises anyone around here). Obviously, we all now know that even with 1 loss, that the Ducks are a Top-4 team right now. And if our boys continue doing what they have since they shifted, at times, into 5th gear a few weeks ago (against Utah, they definitely spent most of the day in 5th gear), we will absolutely end up in the playoffs. Now mind you, regarding what I am about to say, I am definitely open to the fact that for the first time in about a decade, that I may have possibly dipped my duck-fan-chalice into the proverbial Kool-Aid. However, and this may be the Kool-Aid part talking: I believe these Ducks just might have an untouched 6th gear that is sitting out there on the lower right side of their gear box, waiting for them... if they want it bad enough. But the really amazing part for me is that I think that the Duck 5th gear alone is more than enough to win the National Championship. Okay... now fellow Duck friends, please talk me down if you think I've need to lay off the Kool-Aid sauce and seek professional help. And I thank you. NCAA on ESPN - College Football Scores, Stats and Highlights WWW.ESPN.COM Visit ESPN for NCAA live scores, video highlights and latest news. Stream exclusive college football games on ESPN+ and play College Pick'em. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anyotherduck No. 2 Share Posted November 5, 2023 The top eight teams in the College Football Playoff rankings all won, albeit with varying ease and against opponents of varying strength. That means the eye test comes into play in terms of trying to figure out what four teams will make the playoff and who solidified their standing for a New Year's Six game. What wins were the most impressive? Georgia hanging on at home to beat Missouri? Alabama winning at home over LSU? Washington's wild win over Caleb Williams and USC? Michigan and Oregon rolling over Purdue and Cal, respectively All times Eastern College Football Playoff CFP National Championship presented by AT&T NRG Stadium (Houston) Monday, Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Georgia vs. Michigan Schlabach: Georgia vs. Michigan CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) Monday, Jan. 1, 5 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Michigan vs. Florida State Schlabach: Michigan vs. Oregon CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) Monday, Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Georgia vs. Washington Schlabach: Georgia vs. Florida State CFP breakdown Bonagura: After the first College Football Playoff rankings were released last week, it was tempting to adjust the bowl projections using that information. However, it's still worth noting that these are mostly an attempt at projecting what things will look like at the end of the season, while the rankings represent how the committee evaluated the teams to this point. So, even though Ohio State topped the first rankings, the Buckeyes continue to be on the outside looking in for my projections. Setting aside the objectively hilarious (for unaffected parties) sign-stealing scandal going on in Ann Arbor, Michigan has been the most dominant team this season. And from a playoff perspective, the most likely scenario is that it's either the Wolverines or Ohio State getting in from the Big Ten -- though you could drum up a set of circumstances where both get in. From there, it's pretty simple. Georgia is still the obvious choice from the SEC, and the same goes for Florida State from the ACC. From the Pac-12, undefeated Washington is in the same boat, but one-loss Oregon would nearly be assured of a playoff spot if it wins out and avenges its loss to UW in the conference title game. play Schlabach: I made one notable change to my top four, replacing Washington with Oregon, even though the Huskies defeated the Ducks 36-33 at home Oct. 14. I think Oregon has looked like the more complete team since then, and it might be more equipped to handle the stretch run because of its defense. Two-time defending national champion Georgia remains No. 1, followed by Michigan, Oregon and Florida State. Washington has looked only so-so the past three games with closer-than-expected victories over Arizona State (15-7) and Stanford (42-33) and a track meet win at USC (52-42). The Huskies surrendered 515 yards to the Trojans. I don't know if Washington is good enough on defense to remain unbeaten in its three-game finish to the regular season: home against No. 18 Utah, at No. 16 Oregon State and home against rival Washington State in the Apple Cup. Oregon's regular-season finish is a little more manageable: home against USC, at Arizona State and home against rival Oregon State. Georgia won the first game of its three-game SEC gauntlet, posting its 26th consecutive victory, 30-21 over No. 12 Missouri. Up next is another home game, against No. 10 Ole Miss, followed by road contests at No. 17 Tennessee and surging Georgia Tech. Florida State didn't look great without its star receivers, but it pulled away from Pittsburgh for a 24-7 win on the road. Michigan gave up more than 10 points for the first time this season but still walloped Purdue, 41-13. Ohio State might be the No. 1 team in the CFP selection committee's rankings, but I have them at No. 5. I just don't think the Buckeyes are good enough to defeat the Wolverines at the Big House in their regular-season finale. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrw Moderator No. 3 Share Posted November 5, 2023 On 11/5/2023 at 12:05 PM, Desert Duck said: for the first time in about a decade, that I may have possibly dipped my duck-fan-chalice into the proverbial Kool-Aid. Desert Duck, I am with you once again. During the 1st quarter of the Cal game, I was sensing the type of contest that would have unwound previous Ducks' teams: freak turnovers, rain, uncharacteristic errors, penalties. I thought it could be one of those heart-breaking games we've gotten used to. But, no way. The players and coaches seemed to simply put all that aside; they maintained their confidence, shrugged off all the distractions did what they knew they could do. It was all business, with no shakiness to be seen. So now, I'm sipping the Kool Aid, not yet guzzling it. I'll save that for after a PAC championship. 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Duck Author No. 4 Share Posted November 5, 2023 (edited) On 11/5/2023 at 1:41 PM, jrw said: So now, I'm sipping the Kool Aid, not yet guzzling it. I'll save that for after a PAC championship. There's a lot of wisdom in your approach. I like it! It was a bizarre game. I had a prior commitment and was only able to watch the second half live. I glanced at the score with 5 minutes to go in the second and we are only up 21-13. By the time I got in front of the TV for the start of the second half, we were somehow up 35 to 13. Then to start the second half, I'm there just in time to watch Cal march 75 yards for a touchdown through our defense that momentarily look like Swiss cheese. And then apparently our Ducks said, "that's enough of that," and went on to dismantle Cal by 44 (against a line that was 24). And the blowout was with Bo only playing slightly more than three quarters. It was great to see Thompson get some really decent quality minutes out there. Not to mention, our Defense was actually nails again giving up only 12 points. Edited November 5, 2023 by Desert Duck 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 5 Share Posted November 5, 2023 On 11/5/2023 at 12:41 PM, jrw said: The players and coaches seemed to simply put all that aside; they maintained their confidence, shrugged off all the distractions did what they knew they could do. It was all business, with no shakiness to be seen. For those of you at the game, did the weather (rain, wind) improve after the first quarter or first half? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Hilarius Moderator No. 6 Share Posted November 5, 2023 One thing I would like to note… If we were still in “divisions,” a 1-loss Ducks would _not_ make the P12 championship game against an undefeated UW. My guess is AZ would represent the South instead. So thanks Kliavkoff for at least one good decision by the league. This makes the Pac far more likely to make the CFP. 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Duck Author No. 7 Share Posted November 5, 2023 Wow... I had not even thought about that. Wouldn't that have been a tragedy if we were under the old, and stupid, Larry Scott system. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Eddy Green No. 8 Share Posted November 5, 2023 After the first shower it wasn't too bad. I didn't notice the wind and it just misted a couple of times. From my point of veiw the conditions didn't seem to affect the players too much. The reffs did good job keeping a dry ball in service and the players didn't seem to too be slipping on the field. I was cozy with my seat against the wall behind row 37 and my flask of Crown Royal that I have forsook the last few years but thought it might be a good idea Saturday. Of course my opinion of the weather is tempered of my memories of the Cal Monsoon 10 years ago. That was miserable. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin Vee No. 9 Share Posted November 5, 2023 On 11/5/2023 at 1:41 PM, jrw said: So now, I'm sipping the Kool Aid, not yet guzzling it. I'll save that for after a PAC championshi My beak is in 100% in gulp and guzzle mode. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Haulin No. 10 Share Posted November 5, 2023 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 11 Share Posted November 5, 2023 AP Poll and the Pac-12 on the Rodney Dangerfield scale. Washington is the lowest-ranked undefeated team with better wins than Michigan for certain. UW is behind Michigan, 111 SOS, before Michigan trips to Penn State on Saturday. The power of a Power 2 conference. No Respect! But respect, rightly or wrongly, is on the way. Top 1-loss, Oregon, and 2-loss Oregon State are the top-ranked teams in the poll. Respect. 2-loss Utah moves up to #13 which helps Oregon's SOS. Respect. LSU is the top-ranked 3-loss team but 3-loss Arizona (glad OREGON is playing at ASU and not AZ) shows a lot of Respect. Bad weekend for LA. 5 Pac-12 teams ranked and 6 SEC teams ranked, have me concerned if Bama defeats UGA in the SEC champ game and both finish 12-1, Ohio State/Michigan go 13-0. FSU in a bad conference goes 13-0, and Texas with the win over Bama in Tuscaloosa goes 12-1. If the above happens with the Ducks winning the Pac-12 and finishing 12-1 we'll see how much Respect is given to a conference that is going away. 'I looked up my family tree and saw three dogs using it.' Rodney. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 12 Share Posted November 5, 2023 On 11/5/2023 at 5:03 PM, Red Eddy Green said: After the first shower it wasn't too bad. I didn't notice the wind and it just misted a couple of times. From my point of veiw the conditions didn't seem to affect the players too much. The reffs did good job keeping a dry ball in service and the players didn't seem to too be slipping on the field. I was cozy with my seat against the wall behind row 37 and my flask of Crown Royal that I have forsook the last few years but thought it might be a good idea Saturday. Of course my opinion of the weather is tempered of my memories of the Cal Monsoon 10 years ago. That was miserable. Jared Goff salutes you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 13 Share Posted November 5, 2023 Desert Duck. Kind of like a perhaps not bowl-eligible team winning the 2023 B1G West? The B1G did a Larry-like muff not losing divisions in 2023. But keeping divisions could playoff help UGA and Bama. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennsylvania Duck Moderator No. 14 Share Posted November 9, 2023 The 5 Games That Will Decide The College Football Playoff We are a few weeks away from the four-team College Football Playoff field being set. The race for the Playoff is already shaping up, but we've still got a lot left to be decided on the field. Over the four weekends, there are going to be several games that decide which teams will be competing on Jan. 1 for a berth in the national title game. There are more than five games that will impact the CFP chase, but we're highlighting five of them here, starting with... This is a good article. To acess the details, click here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
