Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted August 16 It is from The Athletic, and thus cannot copy the article, but below are some tidbits that raise some eyebrows... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Big Ten got a lot bigger. I don’t know that it will actually be better, though, in 2024. Ohio State may be the national title co-favorite, and Oregon is on the cusp of contention. B1G Prediction: Ohio State 12-0 and Oregon 9-3 Ohio State: The Buckeyes are loaded, and there’s not a close second in the conference. An offense with TreVeyon Henderson and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins in the backfield and Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith on the outside seems unfair. An Oct. 12 trip to Oregon figures to be the big test, but I don’t see the two on the same level. Oregon: Don’t expect much of a drop-off from Bo Nix to Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel, who could have a field day throwing to Tez Johnson and Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart. He’ll benefit from an offensive line that allowed just five sacks last season. The defense needs to take a step up for the Ducks to win the conference. Dan Lanning made some nice adds in the portal. Mr. FishDuck: Recent preseason AA teams have put a chunk of the Buckeye defense on it. They truly are loaded, and I did not realize how much they are stacked this year. 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoutheastDuck No. 2 Share Posted August 16 The article I read had Oregon at 10-2? I assume that's two losses to Ohio State. Stewart Mandel’s Big Ten predictions: Ohio State is the clear favorite WWW.NYTIMES.COM The Big Ten is bigger, but is it better? Oregon should be very good, but not much is expected from the other newcomers this fall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 3 Share Posted August 16 Funny...how could I misread it! Wowsa...got get my eyes checked. Thanks for the correction. Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicroBurst61 No. 4 Share Posted August 16 (edited) Fair enough Opinion. The B1G has always believed, or at least strived to be, The Ground and Pound O VS the Big N Beefy Monsters of the D. "That Team Out West" has always been that flashy, speedy, quirky team that is good for wins against 90% of opponents, but fail when tasked with "larger" offensive and defensive teams. Well D. Lanning has addressed that "size" issue on both sides of the ball, and the B1G has rarely seen an offense as potentially prolific as what is coming their way this year. Honestly, we don't actually know how the new members of the B1G will compete in their new league. But, I do believe that with Oregon leading the way that the fundamental approach of the B1G will have to evolve. I'm two to three years this same "pundit" will very probably have an entirely different Opinion on the validity of the Oregon Ducks competitive abilities in the B1G, and the landscape of college football. At least this one "fan"atic truly Believes so! GO Ducks! Edited August 16 by MicroBurst61 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoutheastDuck No. 5 Share Posted August 16 What's encouraging about that prediction though, is Ohio State is the only obstacle. It's stupid how much talent Ohio State has amassed, Will Howard as their QB is the biggest X factor, he's good, but most don't consider him an elite QB talent. Is the immense depth on the rest of the team enough to make this irrelevant? It will be fun to watch. Oct 12th collision date. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 6 Share Posted August 16 On 8/16/2024 at 11:38 AM, SoutheastDuck said: The article I read had Oregon at 10-2? I assume that's two losses to Ohio State. Stewart Mandel’s Big Ten predictions: Ohio State is the clear favorite WWW.NYTIMES.COM The Big Ten is bigger, but is it better? Oregon should be very good, but not much is expected from the other newcomers this fall. He only looks at the regular season. So this would be a loss to Ohio State and one other team. With the schedule Oregon has, I can see one other loss, all other things being equal, but not 3 losses. Oregon has to go out and prove it to mainstream national media and 'traditional' B1G fans. FWIW, Mandel graduated from Northwestern. Mandel is missing two critical data points in his take, OBD has the better QB and O-line. BTW, Stewies predictions are most often bogus at season's end. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicroBurst61 No. 7 Share Posted August 16 On 8/16/2024 at 8:56 AM, SoutheastDuck said: It's stupid how much talent Ohio State has amassed Yup....but I hear the same thing being said by other "talking heads" about the Oregon program, so talent depth I think we compete well there also. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDuck Moderator No. 8 Share Posted August 16 On 8/16/2024 at 11:58 AM, Jon Joseph said: Mandel is missing two critical data points in his take, OBD has the better QB and O-line. BTW, Stewies predictions are most often bogus at season's end. Right on target Jon on both Ohio St. and Mandel. JD Pickell and Josh Pate has a different opinion on Oregon and their predictions show faith in this Oregon team and coach. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 9 Share Posted August 16 Mandel is being lit up on the Athletic's comment section for being a Paul Finebaum clone. He has it coming. His win totals would result in 5 SEC playoff teams and 2 B1G playoff teams. IF This happens, Petitti better make a B1G noise about all playoff contenders playing the same number of regular-season games. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckley Palace No. 10 Share Posted August 16 Mandel is the same guy who predicted the Big 12 would be gone by 2024. He mocked fans from Texas Tech for thinking they could believe the PAC would ever accept them. I get the feeling that his brother Howie might know more about CFB than Stewie. You can take Stewie, Cowherd, Rob Parker, Skip Bayless, Steven A Smith, and Finebaum and throw all their "analysis" in the garbage disposal. Rotten apples are worth more. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartm25 No. 11 Share Posted August 16 This transition to the B1G is going to be a challenge for me. tOSU has been my most hated team due to the roadblock they've been for the Ducks over the years: - Loss in Rose Bowl - Loss in CFP But I take refuge in the fact that a Mari Cristbal-led team, with a sub-par QB, marched into the shoe and whipped the buckeyes. Hoping the Ducks give them a shellacking in Autzen Stadium!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckFan93 No. 12 Share Posted August 16 On 8/16/2024 at 1:04 PM, cartm25 said: tOSU has been my most hated team due to the roadblock they've been for the Ducks over the years: - Loss in Rose Bowl - Loss in CFP But I take refuge in the fact that a Mari Cristbal-led team, with a sub-par QB, marched into the shoe and whipped the buckeyes. LOL, whatever team you were referring to, they are so tiny, OBD will stomp all over them with our giant duck feet! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBrooks No. 13 Share Posted August 17 I may tend to be overly cautious about the Ohio State game, but I am waiting to see how much of an x-factor Chip Kelly will be. Has anyone seen him as an OC since he left OBD? We've played when he was on our side, not against him; plus he is coaching for a guy he coached. A few too many things to take for granted until we see some of his more current work. GO DUCKS! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Ducker1 No. 14 Share Posted August 17 (edited) It happens at the line of scrimnage. This is why Oregon beats tOsu in Eugene. Edited August 17 by 1Ducker1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 15 Share Posted August 17 On 8/16/2024 at 12:16 PM, Duckley Palace said: Mandel is the same guy who predicted the Big 12 would be gone by 2024. He mocked fans from Texas Tech for thinking they could believe the PAC would ever accept them. I get the feeling that his brother Howie might know more about CFB than Stewie. You can take Stewie, Cowherd, Rob Parker, Skip Bayless, Steven A Smith, and Finebaum and throw all their "analysis" in the garbage disposal. Rotten apples are worth more. The Big 12 should be dead. The pac-12 should have grabbed any of the reasonably valuable pieces and been done with it. Granted there weren't any considerably good pieces in it. The Big 12 is a conference of leftovers. It's a shadow of its former self no matter how they brand it. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckley Palace No. 16 Share Posted August 17 On 8/16/2024 at 6:17 PM, David Marsh said: The Big 12 should be dead. The pac-12 should have grabbed any of the reasonably valuable pieces and been done with it. Granted there weren't any considerably good pieces in it. The Big 12 is a conference of leftovers. It's a shadow of its former self no matter how they brand it. Nobody thinks the Big 12 is on par with the B1G or SEC. It never has been, it was some mutated form of the SWC and Big 8 when it was formed. So yeah it's not even at that level anymore after losing it's two anchors. But it's still a P4 league, it's more stable than the ACC. Sure they have no huge brands, but if you don't have the credentials to get into the B1G or SEC, the Big 12 is the best fallback. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevada Dawg No. 17 Share Posted August 18 On 8/16/2024 at 9:04 AM, MicroBurst61 said: Yup....but I hear the same thing being said by other "talking heads" about the Oregon program, so talent depth I think we compete well there also. Front-line talent is top notch IMHO. It is the talent "depth" on a young roster that I most worry about at the end of a grueling season. How far the Ducks go may depend very critically on how healthy they remain, although that is true of everyone, and is were quality depth becomes most apparent. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 18 Share Posted August 18 (edited) On 8/16/2024 at 5:44 PM, MrBrooks said: I may tend to be overly cautious about the Ohio State game, but I am waiting to see how much of an x-factor Chip Kelly will be. Has anyone seen him as an OC since he left OBD? We've played when he was on our side, not against him; plus he is coaching for a guy he coached. A few too many things to take for granted until we see some of his more current work. GO DUCKS! Having watched Will Howard play the RPO/option at KState, with OSU's RB talent, I would not be surprised one bit to see a near copy of the Offense Chip ran with Mariota. It makes too much sense. Edited August 18 by Solar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven A Moderator No. 19 Share Posted August 18 On 8/16/2024 at 12:16 PM, Duckley Palace said: Steven A Smith Hey, watch the personal attacks. His name is Stephen A. Smith! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven A Moderator No. 20 Share Posted August 18 On 8/16/2024 at 12:16 PM, Duckley Palace said: Mandel is the same guy who predicted the Big 12 would be gone by 2024 Give the guy a break, he was only off by three letters. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckley Palace No. 21 Share Posted August 19 On 8/18/2024 at 12:35 PM, Steven A said: Give the guy a break, he was only off by three letters. But the PAC lives on, they had a media day and everything. Forget the fact that there's only two teams. The B1G hasn't had ten members for thirty years now. Most of us knows what happens when you give a mouse a cookie. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckley Palace No. 22 Share Posted August 19 On 8/18/2024 at 12:34 PM, Steven A said: Hey, watch the personal attacks. His name is Stephen A. Smith! My apologies to all those Stephens out there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
