Last spring and summer--you read my words about how, if ANY team can get a great, experienced portal transfer quarterback...it is OREGON. We've proven how our coaching benefits them, and their experience gets us through the tough moments, and the tough games.

I thought it was dumb to NOT take an experienced portal quarterback. "There is no replacement for experience," I stated, and I could not understand why we would stand pat, when, as Indiana demonstrated....good, experienced QBs are out there, and can get you through the epic games.

Would we have lost that game with Bo Nix at QB? With Dillon Gabriel at QB? No. They would have been able to create more points because they have BEEN THERE before with Simulated Pressures coming at them.

But...as the season began, I began to believe Tez Johnson, and the quotes from coaches that surfaced in the telecasts of the first couple of games. But Saturday showed us..."there is no substitute for experience."

Dante Moore will grow and improve, but it will be at OUR expense, of losing games. This is what every QB goes through; there were times he rolled out too soon. Step up and lead your throw downfield to the receiver breaking open. Don't get happy-feet, and cut half the field off before you have to.

Yes, I know it is hard to recruit QBs to be back-ups, but this is a new era with NIL, and coaches must adapt. Last year's 12-0 regular season would have been 10-2 with a talented, but inexperienced quarterback, and Gabriel was the difference in a bunch of big moments. He had been there, and done that.

Of course Dante could grow into a superb QB by the end of the 2026 season, but how many games do we lose when an experienced QB would not have? This is an option teams did not have in CFB before, and Oregon should be capitalizing on it with no apologies, IMHO.

Regardless...we will still see a ton of WINNING Football.

Spot On, Charles. Then and now.

Today's CFB is all about roster management. Scoring with unproven high school talent still matters. But if you can find a quality, experienced QB in the portal, like Fernando Mendoza, John Mateer, or Carson Beck, sign them up!

In regard to yesterday, I watched 'Titanic' once, OK twice, which is enough.

Should OBD refuse to schedule Bye Weeks? 🤬

Remember...

Ohio State won a national championship last year and lost to Oregon and Michigan.

We still have everything to play for though the B1G title will require a little help along the way. So we may miss out on a conference title but the playoff is still very possible.

Moore will grow and the team should grow too.

I'm going to disagree. From what I have seen from Dante, I am confident that he is the guy.

This loss will help this team. They have tasted defeat and now they know it can happen to them.

Time to do what osu did last year after a surprising loss . . . run the table.

Massive teaching moment.

I'm still in the room for Dante Moore leading this team, but I have 1 foot out the door.

Why did UCLA Moore show up again? Was this the first time he's seen the same scenarios that he failed with at UCLA? Receivers not wide open, zone coverage, less than 5 seconds to throw? What was it exactly?

It's like good Bo, bad Bo, the Dante Moore version. The good news is the University of Oregon, it's fans and Stein were able to support Bo to be good Bo nearly all of the time, but the bad news is bad Bo still cost us a playoff spot against Washington in the Pac12 Champ game..

It's a fine line between success and failure.

I stand by my comments that Dante was the primary reason we lost this game, but he's our starting QB and has shown some growth. I certainly have hope he can learn to play better under these adverse conditions we are guaranteed to see in the playoffs.

Edited 20 hours ago20 hr by Solar

Dante was sacked by two players blitzing on the first play of the game. He was sacked five more times and Indiana players hit him, sometimes in a manner that should have drawn a flag for roughing the passer, several more times. He got up limping at least twice. Those sacks and hits came at him really fast. Somewhere in the preparation for this game our coaching staff let Dante down. Yes, game experience is important, but blitzing schemes can be duplicated in practice, probably are, but obviously our coaches either did not anticipate what Cig planned, or, on our defensive side, don't know enough to prepare properly.

1 hour ago, Grandpa Duck said:

Dante was sacked by two players blitzing on the first play of the game. He was sacked five more times and Indiana players hit him, sometimes in a manner that should have drawn a flag for roughing the passer, several more times. He got up limping at least twice. Those sacks and hits came at him really fast. Somewhere in the preparation for this game our coaching staff let Dante down. Yes, game experience is important, but blitzing schemes can be duplicated in practice, probably are, but obviously our coaches either did not anticipate what Cig planned, or, on our defensive side, don't know enough to prepare properly.

Agreed. I just created a new thread on this topic before reading your post.

At the same time for Moore, it sure seemed like that Mike Tyson quote: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."

It was like Dante Moore from UCLA was raised from the dead when he got up from that sack on the first play of the game.

I hope he can mature past that going forward.

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by Solar

3 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

Last spring and summer--you read my words about how, if ANY team can get a great, experienced portal transfer quarterback...it is OREGON. We've proven how our coaching benefits them, and their experience gets us through the tough moments, and the tough games.

I thought it was dumb to NOT take an experienced portal quarterback. "There is no replacement for experience," I stated, and I could not understand why we would stand pat, when, as Indiana demonstrated....good, experienced QBs are out there, and can get you through the epic games.

Would we have lost that game with Bo Nix at QB? With Dillon Gabriel at QB? No. They would have been able to create more points because they have BEEN THERE before with Simulated Pressures coming at them.

But...as the season began, I began to believe Tez Johnson, and the quotes from coaches that surfaced in the telecasts of the first couple of games. But Saturday showed us..."there is no substitute for experience."

Dante Moore will grow and improve, but it will be at OUR expense, of losing games. This is what every QB goes through; there were times he rolled out too soon. Step up and lead your throw downfield to the receiver breaking open. Don't get happy-feet, and cut half the field off before you have to.

Yes, I know it is hard to recruit QBs to be back-ups, but this is a new era with NIL, and coaches must adapt. Last year's 12-0 regular season would have been 10-2 with a talented, but inexperienced quarterback, and Gabriel was the difference in a bunch of big moments. He had been there, and done that.

Of course Dante could grow into a superb QB by the end of the 2026 season, but how many games do we lose when an experienced QB would not have? This is an option teams did not have in CFB before, and Oregon should be capitalizing on it with no apologies, IMHO.

Regardless...we will still see a ton of WINNING Football.

Of course Nix and Gabriel were were essential to our success the last two years. But I don't see seeking to grab a high level transfer every year as a formula for success at the blue blood, win national championships level. Great programs rely more on bringing top talent five stars and DEVELOPING them into great college QBs. Not sure how much Lanning's staff developed Nix and Gabriel. They both came in with experiences from multiple offenses and were superior mental processors. This staff had a year and a half to develop Dante. If we are now complaining about his inability to see the field, has poor footwork, and nervous feet when he's blitzed; this is a lack of developmental coaching. Always seeking to bring in high level transfer QBs would certainly negatively impact recruiting. Both Dante and Sayin were redshirts on the bench last year. Sayin has extremely good mechanics, footwork, throwing motion, field vision and processing skills. Some came naturally, but others have come through developmental coaching. Lanning is a great motivational and recruiting coach. But just like his team he is young. Why was he feeding his QB rat poison by telling the world Dante was the best QB in America? Lanning needs to learn there are more important tasks than making a splash.

4 hours ago, Tony said:

Why was he feeding his QB rat poison by telling the world Dante was the best QB in America? Lanning needs to learn there are more important tasks than making a splash.

Perhaps Coach Lanning was trying to build up Dante’s confidence. You could see how much the Penn State victory meant to him - he broke down in tears after the game in Coach Stein’s arms. I think UCLA completely broke him and our coaches have been trying to build him back up.

Couple quick comments:

The UCLA Moore showed up because he had the UCLA O-line leaking like a seave! Six Sacks! Who saw that coming?

This is NOT on Moore. This was a TEAM loss. They were lethargic all afternoon. They were out played and even got out-shouted by the opposition between the 3rd and 4th quarters.

For whatever reason (over confidence, reading their own hype, trap game let down, bye week blues) OBD did not show up on Saturday 10/11/2025.

Charles I humbly disagree with you. At some point a young qb is going to get overwhelmed. Trying to guess who is going to be successful out of the portal isn’t sustainable imho. Who remember Dakota Prukop?

Hythloday at addicted to quack has been screaming since Pregnon transferred in that every team that has started three transfer linemen has seen significant drop off in their line play.

Isiah World hasn’t been getting it done since Northwestern. Yes Dante had his issues, but if he had 1.5 more seconds to set his feet, or if the outside run game was just a little more consistent. We are having a much different conversation.

Go back and watch the film of our tackles, especially against Penn State. It might change your perspective, it certainly changed mine. I know coach Terry can get em improved going forward.

It just cost us one game. Those are the breaks.

Here’s hoping the picture clears on what this team is and isn’t. I’m happy to be wrong, this is only my opinion. Go Ducks!!!

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by Gizmoduck

Former Duck and NFL OL Geoff Schwartz has said his review of the film doesn't show the giant mess on the OL that many people have purported (throw me in there too). I don't know anyone I've regularly read more qualified to break down OL film than Geoff (and while I like some of their stuff, that definitely includes Addicted to Quack).

Sort of contributes a bit to a different narrative; but, it overall should be taken as a positive moving forward (and I can spoil the ending now, in a couple days ATQ will report huge error rates for the OL and pats on their backs about their "transfer portal OL effect". Obviously playing 3 younger OL who the coaches have barely trusted to put on the field this year was the stronger play). 🙄

From Schwartz:

-Moore was routinely fooled by where the sim pressure was coming from. If he thought it was coming from the right it came from the left. Indiana was able to isolate their LBs on RBs in pass pro and it worked well. In previous games Moore/Stein adjusted protections but yesterday they did none of that.

-Credit Indiana. Moore was never comfortable in the pocket even with plenty of clean pockets. Just never moved off his first read. Did not play well.

-Not as many open guys as I expected. A few times but this is an issue against good zone defenses spanning a few seasons now (Rose Bowl). Indiana was dialed in. -OL was fine.

-I know everyone is going to hate this but just the truth. Few individual breakdowns but 4 of the 6 sacks were on the RB/Moore. First play of the game OL didn't handle a twist + RT got beat late. Then on a designed rollout the RT got beat across his face. Plenty of clean pockets with chances for success.

(I'll take that analysis over OL "error rates" which either intentionally or unintentionally are subject to confirmation bias from the grader, who is also writing the article)

14 hours ago, Tony said:

Both Dante and Sayin were redshirts on the bench last year. Sayin has extremely good mechanics, footwork, throwing motion, field vision and processing skills. Some came naturally, but others have come through developmental coaching.

Yes, we can talk about Julian Sayin being "developed" by Ohio State, but how does that square with other recent highly rated tOSU QBs?

Julian Fleming (five star #4 nationally), Kyle McCord (four star #49 nationally), Devin Brown (four star #44 nationally), Lincoln Kienholz (four star #138 nationally), Air Noland (four star #61 nationally)?

If it is simply about coaching development, what went into deciding not to really develop these guys?

Fleming transferred out and hasn't played and now has some legal trouble, Kyle McCord was pretty much ran out of town, Brown transferred to Cal and almost immediately lost the starting role to JKS, Kienholz is burried behind Sayin and likely will be out in January (St. Clair stays), and Noland is sitting behind LaNorris Sellers (a sophomore) at South Carolina?

Shouldn't Fleming have been named starter at Penn State, McCord should never have left Ohio State, Brown should be starting at Cal, Noland at South Carolina (as Sellers is currently #48 in NCAA passing efficiency), and Kienholz really should be more "developed" than Sayin and thus their current starter?

Not that you still don't want the best prospect as possible at QB; but, generally I see the position as still largely a crapshoot.

With tOSU's defense looking dominant this year, Sayin may not be asked to do a lot most of the season. If indeed a game turns up where their offense needs some plays to win, I could see the possibility of of some freshman there. I guess we will see.

1 hour ago, AnotherOD said:

Former Duck and NFL OL Geoff Schwartz has said his review of the film doesn't show the giant mess on the OL that many people have purported (throw me in there too). I don't know anyone I've regularly read more qualified to break down OL film than Geoff (and while I like some of their stuff, that definitely includes Addicted to Quack).

Sort of contributes a bit to a different narrative; but, it overall should be taken as a positive moving forward (and I can spoil the ending now, in a couple days ATQ will report huge error rates for the OL and pats on their backs about their "transfer portal OL effect". Obviously playing 3 younger OL who the coaches have barely trusted to put on the field this year was the stronger play). 🙄

We were forced into taking transfer OL because we didn't recruit the position well enough or develop the talent we did have over the last 2-3 years. Big time programs don't rely on 3 transfers on the offensive line. If you need a guy to fill in a hole it's fine, but you have to develop the talent yourself if you want a dominant offensive line, the data back this up.

The question over transfer QBs is one where I wonder why any QB would come here if all we do is start transfer QBs, if we develop the rep that we only start transfer QBs, why would any incoming freshman come here? What would be the point?

Lanning believed in Moore, it's not a guarantee that Nix or Gabriel would have won that game, it's not a guarantee that either one would have beat Penn St.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by spartan2785

19 minutes ago, spartan2785 said:

We were forced into taking transfer OL because we didn't recruit the position well enough or develop the talent we did have over the last 2-3 years. Big time programs don't rely on 3 transfers on the offensive line. If you need a guy to fill in a hole it's fine, but you have to develop the talent yourself if you want a dominant offensive line, the data back this up.

I am going to climb out on a limb and suggest the Duck coaching staff knows this and have been trying to do it (Conerly Jr., Laloulu, maybe Luli). It just hasn't had the same success with OL as its had at other positions. It has filled in with some still reasonably rated talent but it appears the "hit rate" has been a bit low. It happens. I am pretty sure it would love it if guys like Wilson, Rogers, or Crader were so good they could play them meaningful rotation snaps right now.

I am going to go out on a limb and say it has nothing to do with not understanding how important the OL is, nor not grasping what "big time" programs do, nor not trying to develop guys.

To so many of you who disagree with me:

Good. I love to see other opinions, as we hash it out and all the feedback gives everyone a better perspective on the topic. I still believe in having an experienced portal QB, especially considering that moving that way would not be an experiment for Oregon. It has already been a proven strategy here and other places. How good would Indiana be if they had started a young QB who they had been developing?

Great discussion, and again--it is so nice to have a community where we give strident opinions, but not take shots at each other. Refreshing.