Post Boise State Game Discussion!

[Charles Fischer]

Who can sleep?  Good gosh...I can't!

 

Let’s get your thoughts here going…

 

[bbmichaels]

It's gonna be a long season.

[kirklandduck]

My own post game thoughts:

 

Positives

- Return game!  TWO returns for TDs?  I can't remember the last time that happened for OBD.

- Defense!  Despite being constantly put on the spot they put up a heck of a performance both at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary.

- Kickers!  Seems like we finally have a confident FG kicker that can perform with the game on the line consistently.

 

Negatives

- Offensive line.  I don't know what the heck is going on in that group but I'm starting to believe that the issues are deeper than just Bedford and Iuli being out.  

- Play calling.  There were some puzzling plays called by Will Stein that really made me scratch my head.

 

I firmly believe that Oregon has a defense, WRs, RBs, and QB that can compete with respective position groups on any other team in the country.  For that I have no doubt.  But the team will ultimately be held back by an offensive line group that struggles against even FCS teams.  Until there is a remedy provided by Coach Alique, Will Stein, or DL the season will not come anywhere close to what any of us expected.  Maybe things would improve slightly if Bedford and Iuli were back but I doubt it would be significant enough with stand up to teams like Penn State or Iowa.  Until that problem is fixed, I feel like this is an 8 win team right now.
 

[GeotechDuck]

Finally a win against Boise!  I’ll take it. 
 

I am confused though.  It looked like they pulled Pickard out, put Poncho at center and moved Harper over and that lineup played well during that series.  Then they went back to the lineup that was struggling.  Why?  Did I miss something??  

Edited September 8 by GeotechDuck

[kirklandduck]

On 9/7/2024 at 10:58 PM, GeotechDuck said:

Finally a win against Boise!  I’ll take it. 
 

I am confused though.  It looked like they pulled Pickard out, put Poncho at center and moved Harper over and that lineup played well during that series.  Then they went back to the lineup that was struggling.  Why?  Did I miss something??  

I think they were trying to figure out the best combination and balancing that against situation (maybe).  I'm really pulling for Pickard since he's a hometown kid and I'm sure he's worked his butt off but I don't think he has it.  It's a slightly better situation with Pancho center and whoever else they can find for the right guard spot.

[Steven A]

As the Giants broadcasters would say "What a laugher".

 

Two weeks in a row a W that in the past may have been Ls.

 

I don't care how we fall in the polls, just win baby win.  Especially next week. and the next etc.

[kirklandduck]

On 9/7/2024 at 10:55 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Who can sleep?

I certainly can't!  I'm literally walking on my treadmill right now to work off all the nervous energy 

[Maebee]

I thought Boise St coach was very generous in electing to throw instead of riding their all world rb on their last possession. I’m extremely grateful.

[30Duck]

Okay, thank goodness the Ducks won. Had the momentum, were about to go up by 14, then fumble, then fumble again. But somehow....and please what is the deal with letting the ball go early. Is it cool? No, it isn't! The defense was great, but there was a string of Boise State converting 3rd & longs that just about did me in. 

 But, finally beat Boise State!!!!

 

[GeotechDuck]

On 9/7/2024 at 11:03 PM, kirklandduck said:

I think they were trying to figure out the best combination and balancing that against situation (maybe).  I'm really pulling for Pickard since he's a hometown kid and I'm sure he's worked his butt off but I don't think he has it.  It's a slightly better situation with Pancho center and whoever else they can find for the right guard spot.

Yeah. I think they slid Harper over to RG and put Strother in on the left side. They looked to play a lot better with that lineup, then they went away from it.  Little bit of a head scratcher.  
 

I wish they would have stuck with that for a while.  We were ripping off some runs and had good protection. 

Edited September 8 by GeotechDuck

[kirklandduck]

On 9/7/2024 at 11:06 PM, 30Duck said:

But somehow....and please what is the deal with letting the ball go early. Is it cool? No, it isn't!

 

I saw that right away and was yelling at the TV for a teammate to pick the ball up!  Thankfully one did.

[kirklandduck]

On 9/7/2024 at 11:11 PM, GeotechDuck said:

Yeah. I think Strother was in there as well during that series.  They looked to play a lot better with that lineup, then they went away from it.  Little bit of a head scratcher.  

They'll go into the video room to analyze everything and probably come to that conclusion if that's really the case.  Nishad Strother is likely 3rd string behind Bedford and Iuli but it's probably better to have him as the weakest link instead of Pickard and Pancho struggling in tandem.  No excuses for Josh Connerly and Ajani Cornelius though, they should be threatened with benching if they don't wake up.

[Jon Joseph]

 

Never A Doubt! Right? 

 

Whoa, Nellie! Mike West gets the dough and I get the gas. Meanwhile, Wazzu blew out Texas Tech. 

 

Could be worse. I could a Notre Dame fan.

[kirklandduck]

Instant Takeaways from Oregon's come-from-behind win over Boise State

247SPORTS.COM

---

The instant takeaways from Oregon's come-from-behind win against Boise State.

 

Per the instant takeaways article:

 

Quote

On Oregon's third possession of the game, the Ducks made a change in the offensive line. The Ducks inserted Nishad Strother to left guard, moved Marcus Harper to right guard, and then placed Iapani Laloulu to center. Starting center Charlie Pickard came off the field with the move. The Ducks threw a deep shot to Evan Stewart for 67 yards on the drive's first play, getting to the Boise State five. Two plays later, Dillon Gabriel ran a QB keeper for the score.

 

 

[WaterPoloDuck]

It was Jayden Limar who picked it up! I hope he gets more opportunities to run the ball!

[AllOregon]

Broad team focus, penalties, Offensive Play calling per situation, and OLine: D+
Defense: B (everyone in the building knew who was going to get the ball)

Getting the Boise monkey off of the back and being 2-0: A

Edited September 8 by AllOregon

[PDuck96]

A'lique Terry should be replaced this week. There are plenty of older OL Line coaches hanging around that will jump at the chance to coach and correct this group. Watch.

[Duckley Palace]

Struggling and making questionable decisions along with turnovers while still going 2-0 isn't ideal. But it sure beats 1-1. Everything is still in front of this squad, but of all the West coast B1G members, it isn't Oregon that looks like it's built for the coming physicality.

 

Look at the bright side though, B1G Oregon is undefeated against Boise. I trust DL and DG will clean up with more game time reps. Oregon hasn't played it's B level game yet and the talent has shown flashes. Imagine being a FSU fan right now. So those thoughts will put me at ease.

[Drake]

Just got home from game…ughhh

 

We are not top ten material. 

 

The home crowd was loud and fired up. They never gave up hope. However, definitely had some boos from the crowd on the choice of plays when we ran the ball into a brick wall on third and forever near our own end zone. 

 

OL is in disarray, which means our running game is non existent. Pickard might be a good story, but I don’t think his leadership at center is working. 
 

We need solutions to the OL problems. Otherwise, our defense will need to win games for us, because the offense is mediocre at best. 

[AnotherOD]

Who are currently the highest ranked G5 teams right now? Boise State, Liberty, Appalachian State, Tulane? If Boise State ends up getting that G5 spot, this is a win against a playoff team, I'm just saying...

 

Idaho beat Wyoming, at Wyoming, 17-13, holding Wyoming to 270 yards of total offense, just saying ...

 

Narrowly resisted the temptation to buy a month of Peacock and found a way to watch the game anyway, so this new, greedy college football tv set-up, wasn't able to hold me hostage and get that $8 for a month of Peacock I otherwise did not want, so there is that too ...

 

Edited September 8 by AnotherOD

[30Duck]

On 9/7/2024 at 10:57 PM, kirklandduck said:

Defense!  Despite being constantly put on the spot they put up a heck of a performance both at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary.

I give a game ball to that always nice to say, Once a Husky, Now a Duck! Jabbar Muhammad. Don't have the stats in front of me, but it looks like he's another in the long line of lock down corner's.

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

The ESPN Gamecast credited Jayden Limar with a “0 Yard KO Return”.

[WaterPoloDuck]

On 9/8/2024 at 6:15 AM, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

The ESPN Gamecast credited Jayden Limar with a “0 Yard KO Return”.

That's a funny stat to see. I hope Noah has to run sprints all of the first practice after this game. Specifically sprints holding the football where he hands the ball off to someone in each end zone.

[Gotcha]

On 9/8/2024 at 5:53 AM, 30Duck said:

I give a game ball to that always nice to say, Once a Husky, Now a Duck! Jabbar Muhammad. Don't have the stats in front of me, but it looks like he's another in the long line of lock down corner's.

I saw at lest two plays that Jabbar Muhammad was at least two steps behind the receiver, one was a touchdown, but he did make several good plays.

 

The Peacock game coverage was poor. Several times, the down and yards to go was not updated until after the next play. Sometimes is just said 2nd down and not how many yards to go. On one touchdown, the down and yards to go were not updated until the PAT was happening. Not to mention in the 4th quarter when the game went off the air with the Ducks on about their 35-yard line and when it came back on they were at the BSU 22. wth! Terrible coverage and updating.

[Solar]

On 9/8/2024 at 7:17 AM, Gotcha said:

I saw at lest two plays that Jabbar Muhammad was at least two steps behind the receiver, one was a touchdown, but he did make several good plays.

 

The Peacock game coverage was poor. Several times, the down and yards to go was not updated until after the next play. Sometimes is just said 2nd down and not how many yards to go. On one touchdown, the down and yards to go were not updated until the PAT was happening. Not to mention in the 4th quarter when the game went off the air with the Ducks on about their 35-yard line and when it came back on they were at the BSU 22. wth! Terrible coverage and updating.

They also messed up the timeout bars at the end when BSU was burning them. Very stressful when watching a bootlegged version with no audio.

[Mike West]

I refused to watch the game.  First minute of the game confirmed my suspicions.

 

Watched the progress on ESPN Gamecast though.

 

This team does not have an identity yet.  

 

Since the OL issues seem to be a fundamental flaw, I hope Stein starts using checkdowns and designed passes for the RBs - they need the touches and they're too talented to waste on a porous OL.

 

I still don't like the defensive formation.  It doesn't suit the talent in my very "HACK" opinion.  They are going to be the unit that wins games this year. Besides, our guys don't physically look like the Georgias and Ohio States of the world ( and don't play like them either). 

 

This seems like a watered down version of the 2022 offense with a hybrid 23' and 24 defense.

 

We have a damn good coach.  I'm concerned recruiting will suffer based on this performance to date.  We desperately need Bubbas on the OL and DL to deal with the elite. 

 

The Elite are going to sell the bad location with the narrative that Oregon is hype, not substance in my opinion. Winning ten would diffuse some of that, but it's an issue until it isn't.

 

We are a similar version of Penn State at present.

 

And guess what: we won't be laughing at UW and USC anymore.  They may end up laughing at us.  Again, we had it coming.  

 

I believe -especially the grey beards- that we should ALWAYS remember we used to be Oregon State caliber.  We've been very fortunate.  We take that for granted way too much 

 

I certainly hope we are patient with Lanning like we were with Rich Brooks.  I think Lanning will evolve into developing the low four stars into a pesky team the elite will always have to watch out for.  We're a Tier TWO program until we win a Natty.  That's how the college football world is going to look at us moving forward.

 

I hope everyone loves OBD as much as I do and sees this through.  We are a pretty good program.  We will have to fight like our life depends on it to grow into an elite program.  Love the journey.  It's a process that makes it worth the pursuit of excellence. 

 

Boy ..I sure can preach and babble!!!

[Solar]

I'm torn with this game. On one hand the OLine blocked significantly better in the second half.

 

God bless Charlie Pickard but I don't want to see him on the field outside of garbage time. He is not him as my son would say.

 

We still only put up 3 touchdowns and a field goal on offense. Our pass defense was great, but they still put up 34 points.

 

Boise State's secondary was trash in coverage, yet we barely were able to take advantage of it.

 

Dillon Gabriel had another great game despite the circumstances. Unlike hopeless Michigan, we have a QB.

 

We just need to play our best disciplined ball. Hopefully we can get there over the next few games.

[Duckhart2]

Since we've gotten bigger up front on O&D along with new players, it going to take a bit to calibrate communication and cohesiveness. The last two teams we played reminded me of some of the teams under MB, not as big across but quick with decent scheme. When we start league play I believe we will see more big/moderately quick, against big/moderately quick lines.

[Duckhart2]

Will is tryin g to establish a run game he can count on before league play. He will open up the play book more against the beavers with more passing. Once league play begins there will be a better balance.

[Duckman60]

My take, the Offensive line improved once we got Poncho back at center.

 

Now I may get some not so positive feedback on this one, but Gabriel is nowhere close to Nix.  He does not seem to read pre snap defenses like Nix could.

 

Some of those sacks were because he did not adjust pre snap, maybe he did not place the RB in the correct spot or did not change the play to roll away from the pressure that should have been easily seen (How many of you screamed at the TV "He is coming from the left side!" before the snap? 

 

BSU also loaded the box to stop the run. We had receivers open, but he did not always have time, he seems to me that we had more designed roll outs last year and less pocket passing. 

 

Now on defense what killed us was our inability to properly play the back side. He seems many of BSU running plays were predicated on creating a cut back lane.  A number of big runs were because our end players (they used to be called Defensive Ends) on the back side did not funnel the play toward the middle of the field where the help is. 

 

The Oregon player would get caught inside of the TE instead of playing off the outside shoulder, so he was sealed off.  This seems to me as basic football and shows a lack of discipline and not trusting your teammates to be in their proper place. 

 

Now the good news is that trust with each other can come in time and they looked much better in the 2nd half.  This is my observation from my extensive 2-year high school football career and learning from other FishDuck members.

Quote

 

[The Kamikaze Kid]

Offense vs defense: BSU 34 UO 23

 

Special teams: UO 14 BSU 0

 

What a head scratching team. One drive they look legit top ten. The next they look bottom ten. They struggle to keep up with BSU, take control of the game only to give it away with turn overs and costly penalties then steal it back late with a kick off return TD. Right now watching this team is like watching baby Godzilla. They look young and inexperienced yet flash dangerous potential.

 

They have three more games to bumble around and go through growing pains until they have a showdown with King Kong. Will they grow up in time for the battle royale, or get squashed like a banana vs tOSU? So far my eyes have me concerned they won't grow up in time but the potential is there that they do.

[Steven A]

Glad to see this from Lanning's post-game comments.  

 

 

Q: Just walk us through the execution on the last drive. What point did you decide to go for a field goal?

Lanning: "Once it got inside a minute, there were moments where we went back and forth from what we call barrier type play, where we get the ball the way down to the one or two and not score. And then it got to a point where we were comfortable also with getting the score once we were inside a certain frame. But more important than anything, possession of the ball. Felt like we got to a point where we were really comfortable making the kick, really high batting percentage for us with those kicks. So it kind of transitioned throughout the series. Started off as, you know, two minute go score, and then transition as the time went down, and once they utilized their timeouts to really back it off into more of what we call barrier situation, to not score and make sure they don't have any time on the clock for them to have that opportunity."

 

The decision seems to have evolved play by play.

[tee duke]

I was unable to watch the game and hearing it online sucked so all I could do was watch the game thread comments and follow along. Not a very good substitute.

 

But from what I saw last week and read yesterday I'd say we are facing a legitimate test of coaching ability. Does DL have what it takes to straighten out what is an underperforming team, with obvious weaknesses in the OL and what appear to be play calling issues?

 

With the self-induced optimism based on the recruiting success the Ducks have had, it surely hasn't translated into what all of us here expected of the team. As far as I'm concerned, that's on the head coach. He's the one collecting the big bucks and he's done a great job of selling us on the potential greatness of the team. But so far that has not translated into anything close to what we expected on the field. Blame it on the position coaches if you want to but from my perspective this is bigger than that. Dan has an opportunity, no, a responsibility, to fix this. And that had better happen fast. Or this season is going to look ugly.

 

[Annie]

Despite the ups and downs, I felt that the crowd was in it the entire game. It was so loud that my ears were ringing, and that's the kind of crowd atmosphere I like best.

[Desert Duck]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:14 AM, Annie said:

Despite the ups and downs, I felt that the crowd was in it the entire game. It was so loud that my ears were ringing, and that's the kind of crowd atmosphere I like best.

Agreed Annie... but I was so disappointed to hear the booing, even though I completely understand the frustration.

[HDuck]

I read on one analyst's Twitter posts that Oregon used 11 different combinations on the O-line during the game.   That's in just 57 plays.

 

As the old saying goes, "if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one."   It appears it may be the same for the O-line right now.

[Charles Fischer]

On 9/8/2024 at 8:18 AM, Duckman60 said:

The Oregon player would get caught inside of the TE instead of playing off the outside shoulder, so he was sealed off.

Great observation.  I was aghast at the weakness of the force defender on many plays. Hyped up guys who were not performing.

 

Setting the Edge in Oregon’s Lanning/Lupoi Defense | FishDuck

FISHDUCK.COM

---

You will often hear the phrase, “setting the edge” or a reference to the “force defender” when you watch television football games, and it makes sense to take a…

 

[David Marsh]

UPS and downs for sure. 

 

But flashes of what this team could be. 

 

We are currently not a top 25 team but if things settle we could be. 

[Annie]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:17 AM, Desert Duck said:

Agreed Annie... but I was so disappointed to hear the booing, even though I completely understand the frustration.

Though I figured the booing was aimed at the call playing, I never like booing. For one thing, not sure the players know at what the booing was directed, and, secondly, I just don't like any booing--except sometimes when it's directed toward the refs. The refs are fair game, IMHO.

[OregonDucks]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:17 AM, Gotcha said:

I saw at lest two plays that Jabbar Muhammad was at least two steps behind the receiver, one was a touchdown, but he did make several good plays.

 

I'm not sure if it's the same plays, but Jabbar got picked/rubbed on a few of the receptions with the receivers crossing (e.g., scissor route). Overall, Jabbar and the rest of the defense played really well in coverage and had a lot of batted down passes.  One of our strengths yesterday, along with special teams.

[The Kamikaze Kid]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:14 AM, Annie said:

Despite the ups and downs, I felt that the crowd was in it the entire game. It was so loud that my ears were ringing, and that's the kind of crowd atmosphere I like best.

The crowd was announced as 58,000+. It was rocking most of the night. I felt the boos after those three pathetic run calls on long downs were justified. I don't like booing our own players but I felt just like the Cal booing for Mario that this was directed at the coaching staff.

 

BSU put up around 200 yards of rushing against our supposedly top 10 defense with two starters out on their offensive line on the road in front of a hostile crowd. The UO has barely run for more than that in two games at home against Idaho and BSU.

 

Something is very very wrong.

[woundedknees]

On 9/8/2024 at 7:48 AM, Mike West said:

"I certainly hope we are patient with Lanning like we were with Rich Brooks." 

Lanning has already achieved more consistent success than Brooks did in his tenure at Oregon.

Patience is a virtue, but it's not easy.

[Solar]

On 9/8/2024 at 8:15 AM, Duckhart2 said:

Since we've gotten bigger up front on O&D along with new players, it going to take a bit to calibrate communication and cohesiveness. The last two teams we played reminded me of some of the teams under MB, not as big across but quick with decent scheme. When we start league play I believe we will see more big/moderately quick, against big/moderately quick lines.

Been thinking about this too. One of the reasons the Pac12 was so hard is you had to be really good teams with a wide variety of characteristics. You had to beat Stanford and Utah at bully ball, and also beat WSU and OSU with pint sized speedsters.

 

The more bias ourselves to compete with the B1G bullies, the less adept we are at beating the pint size teams.

 

That being said, I think the Beavers will be the worst team we've played so far. If our team can treat it like a business trip it could give us some confidence going into league play.

[Solar]

On 9/8/2024 at 10:38 AM, Annie said:

Though I figured the booing was aimed at the call playing, I never like booing. For one thing, not sure the players know at what the booing was directed, and, secondly, I just don't like any booing--except sometimes when it's directed toward the refs. The refs are fair game, IMHO.

We're playing at top 25 level with the mistakes against Boise State. Continued experience building and learning of all the new new players can get us into top ten, but potential is a four letter word. We somehow need to prove ourselves better in conference than one of OSU, Penn State, USC to make the dance.

[Mike West]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:50 AM, Charles Fischer said:

Great observation.  I was aghast at the weakness of the force defender on many plays. Hyped up guys who were not performing.

 

Setting the Edge in Oregon’s Lanning/Lupoi Defense | FishDuck

FISHDUCK.COM

---

You will often hear the phrase, “setting the edge” or a reference to...

 

I actually got to see some decent footage of the game.  I saw three plays that should have been forced inside but for the lack of discipline on sealing the edge ( priority number one in my book).  

 

Something that can be cleaned up.

 

Again, I saw my major pet peeve- I watched a safety run up to a receiver he let run by him, so he could watch the QB, and the QB threw the ball right behind that safety to convert a third down.  Inexcusable.  And it is a regular habit.  We're going to lose a game because of that habit.  Just on losing those situations alone.

 

I like what I saw on defense for the most part.  Not elite, but has the ability to dominate all but the elite.  Room for improvement, but they are much further ahead than the offense.

 

 

[Mike West]

On 9/8/2024 at 8:52 AM, The Kamikaze Kid said:

They have three more games to bumble around and go through growing pains until they have a showdown with King Kong. Will they grow up in time for the battle royale, or get squashed like a banana vs tOSU? So far my eyes have me concerned they won't grow up in time but the potential is there that they do.

King Kong .. I love it 

 

Let's hope we turn I to Godzilla!

[Solar]

On 9/8/2024 at 8:18 AM, Duckman60 said:

 I may get some not so positive feedback on this one, but Gabriel is nowhere close to Nix.  He does not seem to read pre snap defenses like Nix could.

 

Some of those sacks were because he did not adjust pre snap, maybe he did not place the RB in the correct spot or did not change the play to roll away from the pressure that should have been easily seen (How many of you screamed at the TV "He is coming from the left side!" before the snap? 

 

BSU also loaded the box to stop the run. We had receivers open, but he did not always have time, he seems to me that we had more designed roll outs last year and less pocket passing. 

 

Now on defense what killed us was our inability to properly play the back side. He seems many of BSU running plays were predicated on creating a cut back lane.  A number of big runs were because our end players (they used to be called Defensive Ends) on the back side did not funnel the play toward the middle of the field where the help is. 

 

The Oregon player would get caught inside of the TE instead of playing off the outside shoulder, so he was sealed off.  This seems to me as basic football and shows a lack of discipline and not trusting your teammates to be in their proper place. 

 

Now the good news is that trust with each other can come in time and they looked much better in the 2nd half.  This is my observation from my extensive 2-year high school football career and learning from other FishDuck members.

I think Dillon is close to where Bo was at this point in his Ducks career.

 

Another way to look at it is it's basically the ceiling of what's possible for a QB in a Dan Lanning high efficiency offense year 1.

[Dave23]

Finally got to watch the game, thanks Charles. This game could easily have been 14 to 48 had just a few things been cleaned up like dumb penalties and fumbles.

 

Sacks happen and the O line looked better, give DG A little more time and those down field throws will happen more often. 

 

Don't lose faith The team will be doing just fine if it can just clean up the dumb stuff.

Edited September 9 by Dave23
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