I don't see a dedicated thread for discussing the game Friday so I'm starting a new thread.

I think there is broad consensus that we have to play a complete game for the first time all season to win.

Our coaches need to game plan for the Indiana that played Thursday, not the Indiana that we played earlier in the year. The good news is I'm pretty sure the Rose Bowl last year taught the coaches this lesson. Also DL isn't foolish enough to believe "it's hard to beat the same team twice" having lost to UW twice in 2023. I expect full effort this week from the analysts, coordinators, and DL.

It's a neutral site in the same time zone we played this week and the game time is evening and being played in a dome, so there should be little circumstantial issues for us to worry about.

Edited Saturday at 03:59 PM1 day by Solar

The Most Exciting PO to Date? SI guy says, 'Yes.'

Oregon Ducks On SI

Why This Year's College Football Playoff Is The Most Exci...

After an exciting quarterfinal round filled with upsets and thrilling finishes, the College Football Playoff Semifinals are officially set, and the No. 5 Oregon

Both teams are now better versions of themselves when compared to the October version.

In common opponents (PSU, Iowa and Whisky) the outcomes were hard fought wins. IU beat PSU on an amazing game winning drive and OBD's last minute game winning drive against Iowa was amazing.

Both Defense are outstanding and can be dominant.

IU's offense is more consistent than OBD's. However, strong Defenses (Iowa and tOSU) held IU 's offense in check. Both teams had a chance to win against IU

The Duck D is for real and capable of holding IU's offense under 20 points.

The question remains; can the Duck O stop shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and mistakes. OBD's offense kept TT in this game thru 3 quarters. Ducks should have scored 35-42 points against TT. At times the best defense on the field was the Duck offense.

This will not work against IU. They have an offense that will make you pay for your mistakes. Keep IU offense off the field. Sustain long time consuming drives that end in TOUCHDOWNS!

This should be a great game that OBD's can and should win. All 3 phases show up and play clean and Ducks win 27-24.

Go Ducks!

In the Orange Bowl, I think we saw a snapshot of what the plan will be with Indiana.

Now, I am not saying that TT was a squad DL used for practice, but it was a great way to see a game plan against a very good defense.

There were not many long shots taken against TT. There were shorter, quicker passes that provided 5-10 yards and allowed OBD to control the game.

The FGs from the TTu game have to be TDs against Indiana, but the shorter, quicker throws will be how OBD beats Indiana. We simply have too many elite weapons for them to cover thoroughly. Dante completed passes to 11 different folks. That will need to continue.

Finally, IF the OL can play at peak, OBD will win this game. It isn't just about about keeping Dante clean, although it starts there. Penalties will crush a drive against Indiana. Holding calls and false starts need to be absent.

It's gonna be a good one!

Yes, I think playing TT was a great warm-up as their front 7 is as good as there is.

Just go to the doctor this week and clean up what ails.

Also, if the DTs are making headways like TT, then Dante needs a less deep pocket and stay under the end rushes.

2 hours ago, HappyToBeADuck said:

Ducks should have scored 35-42 points against TT. At times the best defense on the field was the Duck offense.

I don’t think you are giving Texas Tech’s defense enough credit. That might be the best front 7 in college football this season, with future high NFL draft picks scattered throughout. Oregon could have scored more but to say we should have put up that many points?

I personally believe that Oregon OL is a bit overrated and they struggle with more talented/athletic defensive lineman.

Edited Saturday at 07:10 PM1 day by OregonDucks

Here's an excellent look at the semifinals from Saturdays Down South, Connor O'Gara.

Note- Broyles finalists, Indiana DC Bryant Haines, and Miami DC Corey Heatherman, both worked for Curt Cignetti at JMU.

Mario's hire of Hetherman from Minnesota was one of this season's best. I've dumped on Cristobal, whose game management is still suspect, but he has stopped micro-managing and is giving his coordinators more leeway.

Somehow, someway, Trinidad Chambliss must be related to Houdini.

Saturday Down South

Early thoughts on 2 improbable College Football Playoff s...

With an extremely unique field left, the College Football Playoff semifinals are loaded with intriguing storylines.

This is a chart of the Indiana two-deep. Note the number of redshirt Juniors and Seniors. They are playing with a LOT of guys who are in their fourth or fifth year.

https://www.ourlads.com/ncaa-football-depth-charts/depth-chart/indiana/90728

7 minutes ago, HDuck said:

This is a chart of the Indiana two-deep. Note the number of redshirt Juniors and Seniors. They are playing with a LOT of guys who are in their fourth or fifth year.

https://www.ourlads.com/ncaa-football-depth-charts/depth-chart/indiana/90728

Experience is the only thing that counters raw talent.

Let's hope that our roster has enough experience to overcome their experience now.

5 minutes ago, David Marsh said:

Experience is the only thing that counters raw talent.

That and coaching.

I still believe that Coach Lanning and company were outcoached the first game by a much more experienced Indiana coaching staff.

It definitely feels like the outcome will be decided based on how well Oregon plays, since Indiana is so consistently good and mistaken free.

I agree with the above post that both teams are better than at the beginning of the season.

If I recall our only offensive touchdown was Benson getting behind the defense on a big throw, yet Stein or Moore never went back to it during to the perceived lack of time, but some of that is Moore trusting the time has actually has, trusting his eyes and delivering the ball to the open receivers. Moore has significantly improved his ability to read zone coverage since the first Indiana games. I'm worried about too much dink and dunk. It doesn't work against a disciplined 4-3 defense.

Indiana's only weakness is their athleticism. That's why we can run straight at them with success, and our WRs can get open. They kind of remind me of Stanford's best teams in the 2010s with their elite discipline and execution.

41 minutes ago, Solar said:

Indiana's only weakness is their athleticism. That's why we can run straight at them with success, and our WRs can get open. They kind of remind me of Stanford's best teams in the 2010s with their elite discipline and execution.

Now... Can Oregon scheme it up to take advantage of it all?

I think there is a good chance at it all. But we get to live in Indiana's shadow hopefully until late Friday night when we throw them down.

I think we need to find a way to keep Dante and offense cooking, starting with playcalling. When the passing game works, we should keep doing it until it doesn't, or at least prioritize it. Air Raid, anyone? I think Dante is perfect for it and we have the running game to sustain it. That may be the ticket against this tough IN defense.

Our D should be able to contain Mendoza better than Alabama and keep us in the game.

The other thing I have noticed is how cocky Mendoza and gang are becoming and how everyone is giving Indiana credit. Hopefully they reach a point of underestimating us right before the Peach Bowl game.

Edited yesterday at 12:19 AM1 day by DuckFan93

I truly felt that a large part of the slow start to the loss at Autzen was lack of focus following the PSU game.

If the Ducks hit the ground in a focused and disciplined manner, this game may be a toss-up, at worst.

2 hours ago, woundedknees said:

I truly felt that a large part of the slow start to the loss at Autzen was lack of focus following the PSU game.

If the Ducks hit the ground in a focused and disciplined manner, this game may be a toss-up, at worst.

Oregon was coming off a bye and I do think there was some lost focus in that week.

Indiana was also coming off a bye but Cignetti is older and a more expirenced head coach and based on the Rose Bowl as well was able to keep his team more focused. Also his team is mostly composed of juniors and seniors which is a huge help for the focus side of things. In short Cignetti's team was far better prepared.

Lanning I feel has done better with some bye weeks but on the whole I think that is one area he needs to improve upon. Last year the first bye came a week before playing game 4 against UCLA, who weren't good. Then the very last week before the final game against Washington was the next bye and we'll Washington wasn't all that good either. Then the next bye was a long one before the Rose Bowl and I don't need to get into that.

Lanning does a fantastic job getting his team ready on a week to week basis and at times keep his team going when they are tired and beaten up.the Wisconsin game last season is a fantastic example, it was the last game before that bye before Washington, and you could tell that team was exhausted. But Lanning kept them going.

So I'm hoping the fast turnaround before the next playoff game will have a far more focused Ducks team.

Even the time between first and second round was almost 2 weeks which doesn't play into Lanning's hand as well.

2 hours ago, DuckFan93 said:

I think we need to find a way to keep Dante and offense cooking, starting with playcalling. When the passing game works, we should keep doing it until it doesn't, or at least prioritize it. Air Raid, anyone?

I don’t think going with an entirely different offensive philosophy is feasible. Especially since Oregon relies on the running game so much. Stein got pass happy in the first matchup and that’s what got them beat. Dante saw ghosts and lost his poise in the pocket which led to him bailing as his receivers were coming open.

One thing that could be effective is to go no-huddle/high tempo. It would stop their defense from making audible adjustments and tire them out. Unfortunately, it would have to be done sparingly as this Duck team isn’t conditioned to keep this tempo for long periods of time. They’re not built for it.

McDonough and McElroy will be the broadcast team for ESPN.

McDonough:  https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/mcdonough_sean/

McElroy:  https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/greg-mcelroy/

This season, the pair handled the Miami at A&M first round game, then the Sugar Bowl matchup between Ole Miss and Georgia.

Anyone checked the weather forecast? I have heard some quarterbacks prefer not to play in the rain...weird for Ducks, I know!

But maybe they'll just close the roof 🤔

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by FanGirlDuck
More info

2 hours ago, FanGirlDuck said:

Anyone checked the weather forecast? I have heard some quarterbacks prefer not to play in the rain...weird for Ducks, I know!

But maybe they'll just close the roof 🤔

Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof closing -

Hopefully, OBD will drive off with a win over the Hoosiers and a 1-1 record in this stadium.

Dan's head coaching debut in MBS Smarted. 🤬

But it's better than the Canes 0-4 in the Fiesta Bowl. Mario, Give Me Five!

A Time-Lapse of the Roof Closing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium...

Atlanta, GA | Jul 27, 2017

21 hours ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

it would have to be done sparingly as this Duck team isn’t conditioned to keep this tempo for long periods of time. They’re not built for it.

I think the opposite.

15 minutes ago, 1Ducker1 said:

I think the opposite.

Remember, Chip’s teams were a lot smaller along the OL and DL. This team is a lot bigger and they’re likely not conditioned the way Rad used to condition Duck players.