Ktmguy2018 No. 1 Share Posted October 30, 2022 (edited) As I write this I am listening to College Sports Sunday on ESPN-U radio. Tom Luginbill and Barrett Sallee LOVE the SEC. But, they are talking up Oregon as a tremendous program, defense is playing lights out and Bo Nix is having the season of his life! The phrase "a really, REALLY dangerous football team" was used to describe the current state of the Ducks program. Great praise from the SEC guys. The general sense is that Oregon is the class of the Pac-12. A couple other programs WANT to be at the top, but all roads go through Autzen at this point. THE GOOD Oregon - Cal Game I listened to the Oregon - Cal game on radio due to a prior commitment but went back and watched the national broadcast from the DVR. Nobody can argue that Oregon did NOT take advantage of all the opportunities that they had. A lot of points were left on the field and the score could EASILY have been in the 50's for Oregon. Having said that, great teams overcome self-inflicted mistakes and create wins. This was a game that never felt in doubt to me and there was just this sense that Oregon was going to fine tune itself and that Cal was on borrowed time. That is a such a great feeling to have...it hasn't always been that way (I still can't watch the second half of the 2016 Alamo Bowl). Oregon is getting a LOT of love from the national media right now. Spencer Tillman is absolutely a fan of Bo Nix and the Oregon offense. But the defense is also getting love. The amount of gushing over Dorlus, Johnson, Sewell, and Flowe was great to hear. It is becoming clear to the national folks that yes, Oregon can hang some points on the coat hooks but Oregon is not just all points. The defense can shut another team down like a farmer standing in front of his daughter with a 12 gauge. Yeah, Cal scored some points. But there was never a feeling of "Uh-Oh, Cal is gonna climb back into this". The Oregon defense harassed Plummer all game and eventually forced him to retire to the sidelines. UCLA - Stanford Admittedly, I did not watch this ENTIRE game. But, in watching the highlights, it brought to my mind how good Oregon's defense really is. Zach Charbonnet DESTROYED the Stanford defense. He was absolutely unstoppable and looked like a guy who dropped down from the NFL to play a college game. I was taken back to last weekend when Oregon dismantled UCLA at Autzen. Yeah, Charbonnet got his yards but he was not the game-wrecker that he was showed yesterday against Stanford. Oregon's defense once again showed that they are in a different tier than other teams in the Pac-12. The national attention that UCLA gets/is getting only helps the Ducks on their quest to reach a potential spot in the CFP. When people talk about Charbonnet, Chip, and DTR; they talk about what a great season they are having EXCEPT for that carnage at Autzen. Keep it up UCLA!! Utah - Washingon State The Palouse is a tough place. Oregon escaped with a win early this year. For a while, the outcome of this game was unclear especially with Utah not have having Rising for the game. But, on a nationally televised Thursday night game; Utah showed why they are one of the top teams in the Pac-12. I found myself wondering how Oregon would have fared playing Wazzu with TT in and not Bo. I have a feeling the result may have been different. It certainly speaks to Whittingham's coaching chops that he had his 2nd string QB prepped to go. Having said that, I want Utah at FULL strength in three weeks when they come to Autzen so there are NO excuses as to why the Ducks beat the Utes!! MEH USC - Arizona For some reason, USC still has to play their games instead of just receiving the Pac-12 crown like the media wanted to give them at the start of the season. USC is NOT the cream of this conference. They have an offense that can be potent, but their defense is very suspect. I actually think that Arizona SHOULD have won this game. USC escaped with a win. Caleb Williams put up good numbers, but he HAD to in order to win this game. USC's defense is not good enough to win a game if the offense is struggling. Dating Your Sister ASU - Colorado ASU won. Colorado did make it interesting late but couldn't overcome ASU's 557 yards of offense in a game that I am sure someone cared about. Those are my thoughts on the PAC-12 from yesterday. On Tuesday we will see what the CFP committee thinks of Oregon as the first rankings come out. Having said that, I am more anxious to hear how Cota is. Go Ducks! Edited October 30, 2022 by Ktmguy2018 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 2 Share Posted October 30, 2022 On 10/30/2022 at 10:44 AM, Ktmguy2018 said: Tom Luginbill and Barrett Sallee LOVE the SEC. But, they are talking up Oregon as a tremendous program, defense is playing lights out and Bo Nix is having the season of his life! The phrase "a really, REALLY dangerous football team" was used to describe the current state of the Ducks program. Great praise from the SEC guys. The general sense is that Oregon is the class of the Pac-12. Really great to see that, as the Oregon Brand is BACK BABY! Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
