After beating weaker opponents to go 4-0, the Ducks now face what could be their toughest game of the year at Penn State. Some keys: Defense As we painfully remember, Oregon’s defense was far from championship caliber in their final two games last season, the Rose Bowl and B1G Championship Game. Ohio State did anything they wanted offensively against the ...

Time to Wipe Out the White Out

There should be a ton of momentum swings (both ways) have to respond to the punches every single time. Go Ducks!!! Get me to Saturday

Darren, thank you for the article! This Duck fan agrees that the Duck D needs to play much better (as a unit) than they did in the BIG Title Game and the Rose Bowl.

Of course that was last years unit! This White Out game affords this years D unit their opportunity to make a big statement!

This may be an unfair statement and OBDF members please don't take this wrong because I think DL is great and we are fortunate to have him. However, I am still waiting for that real statement game by a DL defense on the biggest stage!

This could be the game? PSU does not have a vaunted passing attack and the secondary has the pieces to force PSU offense to be one dimensional. Put 8 in the box, mix up your sets and schemes and get PSU in 3rd and long. The Ducks have 2 fire eating EDGE rushers that should be sack happy by games end.

If the D does not dominate then the game may very well be a shootout. Thus it falls to the O Line and Dante Moore. Give Dante protection and I expect the Ducks highly talented skill players to overwhelm the PSU Defense. Dante has spent his football life preparing for big games on the biggest stage! This is a big game.......

Special teams may help decide this game. No mistakes are a must. However, the Ducks must play clean, crisp and aggressive in all 3 phases to stamp out the white out.

I feel confident the Ducks can win this game.

Go Ducks......

Good gosh Darren....what a great title!

The more I watch analysis videos of this game...the less I am sold on Allar, the 'Lion QB. Pack the box and make him perform, and while they will get some explosion plays--it will not be enough to outscore Our Beloved Ducks, IMHO.

The tactic would not work against Ohio State, or Indiana...but it could against Penn State. Our offense has to be sharp!

Thank you, Darren. Your article hit all the key (not all the Keystone State keys, I hope) notes for a win in Beaver Stadium.

Blue Chip Roster teams are a different animal, no doubt. In this case, a group of Nittany Lions, desperate for a significant victory, from the head coach on down. Shutting down Wisconsin in Madison last season on the road and playing in the 8th straight game against Big Ten opponents in front of a raucous crowd was noteworthy. However, was there a single player on that Badgers roster who would have started for OBD?

Saturday is a Prove It game for both teams. Dan et al know that the Rose Bowl performance earned a solid 'F.' As you noted, a Prove It game for Dante Moore.

Dante in today's world of CFB is a different animal. How many young players, two seasons removed from high school, would have chosen to sit behind an experienced QB and learn for a season? Not many.

I don't believe there is a D in CFB that can shut down the OBD and PSU offenses. I watched Georgia's D lit up in Knoxville, Tennessee. Georgia, behind gutsy QB play, fought back, got the break it needed when a walk-off FG was missed, and the Dawgs escaped, as Kirby Smart admitted, with a lucky victory. Lucky or not, A W is a W. It's hard to win football games, especially on the road.

OBD's schedule to date has been perfect for breaking in a new starter, at QB and 17 other positions. 18 new starters and OBD is 4-0. This is great coaching that is so easy to take for granted when your team has a significant roster advantage over the opponents.

It's Blue Chip vs. Blue Chip. IMO, this game will come down to TOs, the same thing that happened last December in Indianapolis. I like our QB compared to their QB. I see OBD winning the turnover battle and winning a close game with at least 60 + cumulative points scored.

Thanks again, Darren.

Green Out the White Out! The grass is damn green in Eugene; it will not be whitewashed! 😍