No coincidence I felt like wearing black today, and not as a Duck color.

Crushing defeats are hard no matter what the circumstances or when it happens. But as Steven A. pointed out--we lost three times in two years, and all to the No. 1 team in the nation. No dishonor in that!

We were the No. 5 national seed, and beat the No. 4 seed 23-0, and thus confirmed Our Beloved Ducks as one of the best teams in the nation.

It was still an Outstanding Year...

Yep. Actually, went to a celebration of life today and it wasn't for OBD.

Reminded me "it was only a game" and the sun did come up today.

19 minutes ago, Charles Fischer said:

as Steven A. pointed out--we lost three times in two years, and all to the No. 1 team in the nation. No dishonor in that!

Absolutely true. The problem is, we’re all getting a bit tired of saying that.

I'm more in shock than mourning. I felt going in that if we brought our A game we may have a 40-45% chance of winning and was looking forward to a 4th quarter battle that could go our way with a history defining play. Instead we got a bad pick six on thirst play of the game. Then a few minutes later, we had yet another self induced backfield fumble and the game was over just like that.

As pointed out on another post. Indy only had to go 30 yards to collect 28 gift wrapped points. It was a complete and utter collapse. It's like stepping in to the ring against Tyson, tripping on the ropes, falling flat on your face and knocking yourself out. It wasn't that we lost it was in the unbelievable and continuous way that it happened.

2022: 10-3 Holiday Bowl champs (not bad considering first game against UGA).

2023: 12-2 Fiesta Bowl champs (lost to the NCG runner-up by a total of six points).

2024: 13-1 B1G champs (lost in quarterfinal to eventual national champion).

2025: 14-1 Orange Bowl champs (won 1st round and quarterfinal, but lost semifinal).

If I’m a CEO and Dan Lanning is my sales team lead he and his team are getting bonuses every year for constant improvement. The trophies he brought home may not be the right color right now, but he has added something to the trophy case every year he’s been in Eugene.

Keep in mind this year’s team returned one starter on offense (Pancho) and three starters on defense (Boettcher, Uiagalelei, Tuioti). Could Oregon regress next season? Sure, but I think the reason for that would be because of a change at QB and uncertainty with the new one.

Still too stunned to be in mourning. I was angry yesterday and cant really bargain, cause there is nothing to bargain with. I am getting past denial, and almost to acceptance. Then I will mourn.

Unless crying in my beer is mourning, then I mourned yesterday to drown my anger !

But I still love my Ducks!

1 hour ago, Charles Fischer said:

No coincidence I felt like wearing black today, and not as a Duck color.

Crushing defeats are hard no matter what the circumstances or when it happens. But as Steven A. pointed out--we lost three times in two years, and all to the No. 1 team in the nation. No dishonor in that!

We were the No. 5 national seed, and beat the No. 4 seed 23-0, and thus confirmed Our Beloved Ducks as one of the best teams in the nation.

It was still an Outstanding Year...

Just wanted to say a big thank you to you Charles, and to the moderator team and volunteer editors. You enhance my experience as a Duck obsessed fan and make me smarter with the commentary. Have a great off-season!

Many, many OBD Fans woke with Mourning Sickness this Mourning...

We'survive, but I'm more in shock at the beat down, than depressed to have fallen to the likely National Champions.

I believe it would have taken a team of that nature to stay on the field with OBD

Not too sad at all...

Dante had a Jeff Lockie bowl game kind of day. It doesn't mean the program is down the toilet. Just a missed opportunity.

Like soooooo many others: (if my memory is correct down below)

2001 (?) Ducks not chosen for championship game

2007 Dennis Dixon gets hurt

2010 Dyer was down!

2012 DeAnthony Thomas misses block that would have let Mariota score vs Stanford (and made playoffs)

2014 year Couldn't bring down T. Prior and stop him from running for first downs

2019 Mario lost that game to Az St which kept them out of playoffs (they had a very good team that year)

2023 Losing to Washington in pac12 championship game kept them out of playoffs

2024 Lost in playoffs to Ohio St - Oregon did not play well in any aspect of the game, well below talent level

2025 year All those mistakes vs Indiana in playoffs

By my count, that is 9 missed chances for a national championship in a quarter century.

And it is probably going to take a few more before they finally kick the door down and get one.

As long as Dan Lanning sticks around and Phil Knight stays alive, they are going to have more chances.

But lets be real for a moment. Were any of those Oregon teams I listed above the very best team in college football that year?

I don't think so. They were close. Yes, very close. But not the best.

When they do have the best team for a given year, it will happen. It takes players. A whole starting 22 of them plus backups.

Next year, a new QB, new O line, help at DT, new edge players and linebackers. A lot of those are on the team right now or are going to be come this fall.

Thanks for taking me down that sweet memory lane.

Damn.

No mourning with this old grey beard. Disappointed at the performance put forth in the Peach Bowl but not the actual loss.

In the preseason many on this Forum, including me, felt 10-2 and a CFP spot would be good for a rebuild year. 10-2 may not have gotten OBD a spot. But the team didn't risk it. They won 6 in a row to finish the regular season. It was a wild and exciting ride.

The Ducks demolished JMU and TT. Then in the 15th game of the season ( let that sink in) they lost to a team filled with 3rd, 4th and 5th year players. Average age 23. Their is a big difference between 18 and 19 year olds and 23 year olds.

Talent took this Duck team to 15 games in 2025. Much of that young talent will be back in 2026. Seasoned veterans.

For the 2nd year in a row, DL and his staff did not have the team prepared for the "biggest game"! We all know DL will learn and adjust.

Main point is that DL teams beat the teams they should beat. And get the Ducks in the CFP.......

Did the huskies get back to the CFP? Did PSU or Michigan? Did ND, ASU or BSU? NOPE. Just tOSU, IU and the Ducks. Darn good company!

The future is solid for the Ducks. Maybe next year we don't have our OC and DC pulling double duty! Or see your room mates, great friends entering the TP. Or the running back room talent get decimated with injuries and departures.

I cannot believe these situations were not distractions?

Go Ducks!

After attending the 2011 NCG and losing to Auburn in such a bizarre manner, I felt like I had been kicked in the nether region for about a week. Following this, I pretty much vowed to never allow that to happen again. To get so wrapped up into something I had less than zero control over made no sense. It was such a waste of personal & emotional resources.

And after being led to the water so many times, only to not be allowed to drink, changed things for me over time.

So, while I still love my Ducks, and I still get heavily wrapped up into the games, the hangover from getting our butts handed to us in the biggest games, just doesn't last for more than a few hours anymore, or at the most, a day.

Such great posts in this thread. Thank you.

For those that have ever been part of a losing team you can remember the joy there is in winning. Being able to enjoy winning over 90% of the time is a great situation to be in.

For those like me that wanted a playoff we have to keep in mind what that means. Every team in the playoffs finishes with a loss except the champions. 11 of the top 12 teams in the country finished their season with a disappointing loss.

Yeah the way we lost was a result of shooting ourselves in the foot, but we still lost to the better team.

Junior high teams don't beat high school teams because of the physical and mental differences that come with human development.

Keep in mind the brain doesn't finish development until roughly age 26. And the experience gained in any activity is invaluable to development. A 3 year age and experience gap is massive even at age 20ish.

Even physical development can still be huge at that age.

Then you add in the experience level of IU coaches, and the fact that most of the players had been been in that same system with those coaches for their college career back to JMU and it's just a massive advantage that won't persist.

I've pretty much decided to skip over mourning and jump ahead to looking forward to reading about spring practices, the spring game, and enjoying next season.

I think the most disappointing part of Friday was playing so far below the standard and getting steamrolled by a more mature roster and coaching staff. Hard to admit it, but I'm convinced after watching the game that even without the avalanche of OBD turnovers, coaching drama, RB injuries and transfers, Indiana likely would have won. They may not have "better" players, but they executed with near perfection and are the better team.

Looking at the IPA glass half full, Oregon will be fine going forward. I'm hopeful DM comes back as he remains the best option at QB. The raw talent is there and he only needs seasoning and a good OC and QB coach to thrive. Regardless of who returns, both sides of the ball should be ok. There is a lot of talent ready to step up and portal additions will fill in the gaps.

At the start of 2025, many were predicting a 10-2 or 9-3 regular season. Making the CFP was the goal. The Ducks exceeded those expectations. The focus was on 2026 and still should be.

Personally I'm going to let the sting subside and leave the wound to heal.