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Don't want to go overboard on the comparison here, but I see a similarity between Brock Thomas and another Brock we'll all remember: Brock Purdy. Seems to me both guys lack the physical "tools" that lead high school and college QBs to be rated as top prospects--shorter than desired, not an exceptionally strong arm, not particularly fleet of foot. Yet, they somehow confound the "experts" and play winning football. What I suspect is the secret ingredient for both guys is the invisible skillset that resides between the ears. The game is too fast for some of the so-called five-star guys--some of whom have passed through the Ducks' program in recent years--but not for these two guys. (By the way, I think the kid who's now playing QB for the not-so-beloved Beavs is another one of those guys.) At this point, I'm just glad Brock Thomas decided to stick with his hometown Ducks as a backup with no guarantee of playing time with two five-star guys ahead of him on the depth chart.

Reporters asked Dan last year what he thought about Franklin and Gundy being fired, and his response was "We are all just a few games away from the same fate." He may have forgotten that in the off-season but I'd suspect he is very aware of it now, just like I'm sure he is aware that his approach to prioritizing recruiting chops and youthful ambition over experience and successful track record for his coaching staff has been a hubristic mistake. We'll all just have to see how things transpire over the rest of the season and off-season.

Can OBD improve on offensive enough to achieve a 9-3 season? Andrew Nemec's recent interpretation was interesting. He made very specific criticism of Mehringer: he has so many bright ideas that he establishes no "tendencies" that set up "sequential plays and possibly gives the OL too much to learn. That can be corrected without his dismissal. George Wrighster points out that good coaches make bad player evaluations. The evaluations underlying the OL decisions were undoubtedly wrong. That said, was the problem talent or development? If the latter, things can improve. George W. said that several of Mehringer's run plays vs. UCLA would have been long gains except for one missed or poorly executed assignment. The combination of Fox at LT and Gernorris at RT seemed to work better, at least according to my superficial observation. Oregon has a superb kicking game and the defense may be reaching the level we hoped. (Perich was much improved and impactful vs. UCLA.) If Brock can be an effective "game manager," that is, get the ball to Johnson, Hill and Dak Moore while avoiding turnovers, we may have enough to beat everyone on the schedule but the Buckeyes. Minus the TOs, OBD probably would have defeated UCLA. In addition, Brock's speed (10.8 in the 100 meters) possibly can be exploited with some play calls. For instance, the inside read option?

There have likely been many possibilities that to Dan Lanning were inconceivable over the past 6 weeks, but none worse than Dylan Raiola getting a QuarterBack Rating (QBR) of 2 the next game after getting a QBR of 97. It's easy to see in hindsight that Dan should have pulled Raiola sooner, but what are the odds he would continue to play so poorly after the previous game performance? It was reasonable to think at some point that it would start clicking again, but it never did. Some people consider Raiola's performance to be the worst by a starting power 5/4 QB since the turn of the millennium. It was simply a shockingly bad performance without precedent considering the prior game performance. It seems like a microcosm of how this season has gone compared to last season. For sure we are well into the most adversity Dan has ever experienced possibly at any point in his entire coaching career, and it will be interesting to see if he is truly capable of adapting not just his players and coaches, but himself to elim6the blind spots that has damaged such a promising season.

Oregon 28-13 2 1 313

"Oregon has 8 offensive linemen that could be starters and are playing above the line football." Ah yes, the good old days when Lanning believed what Terry was telling him.

OK! It couldn't get any worse....right? RIGHT?! 😥 OREGON at Home. 31-20. 1 T.O. 2 SKS 300 YDS PASS. LETS GO DUCKS!!!

I seem to remember that back in the spring there was great concern over the O-line.

Maybe Lanning is just holding stuff back so Ohio State doesn't know our full game plan?

Here are some of the things I heard coming out of fall camp before the start of the season: Drew Mehringer is a scientist. He is going to take college football by storm. Oregon has 8 offensive linemen that could be starters and are playing above the line football. Evan Stewart is unguardable. Akili Smith has improved drastically and is playing above the line football. Obviously, none of these things are close to being true. Should we believe anything that we hear from the coaches and/or players in fall camp? Or maybe we should just assume the opposite?

One can go from Indiana to Oregon to Clemson really quick. DL needs to understand that sustained success is never guaranteed, and the wrong coaching decisions can unravel a program faster than anyone expects. He has to get these hires right. Pure and simple.

Mehringer getting fired makes no sense to me. My money is on moving him back to where he fits best, coaching tight ends. Put Koa Ka’ai there with him as an assistant, especially since that’s a position he actually played. Then go make a killer hire at OC, someone who can work directly with the QBs and bring a fresh identity to this offense. Do that, and I think the offense can get right in a hurry. Defensively, year two under Hamp should bring improvement. The biggest thing there is consistency. We’ve seen flashes of what that defense can be. Now they need to play that way week in and week out.

The bummer with brain concussions, aka. brain damage, is that each concussion is not independent regarding damage to the brain... meaning that the damage is cumulative. There is no brain concussion reset button, so to speak. Following a concussion, the brain also becomes more susceptible to additional future concussions. There are reputable studies which show that people reporting three or more concussions had poorer cognitive performance which got progressively worse with each concussion. Concussions are also associated with a higher risk of lasting long term problems --- particularly for attention, memory, processing speed, and handling complex tasks. All items which are obviously rather critical for the QB. Hoping for the best for Dante.

If I was Dante, I wouldn’t even consider a return next season unless there was some reassurance that the OL issues would be fixed somehow. I honestly believe we have seen Dante take his last snap in an Oregon uniform. I don’t think Dante or Dan will be willing to risk it considering how the OL is playing and now that the playoffs are essentially off the table.

I asked that same question 3 weeks ago. Especially at this point today, if I'm Dante, and I wasn't sure when I'd be back to full strength, and given that we're 7 weeks into the season, it would certainly would be a question on the table for me at this point. Seven weeks ago, who would have thought our team would be in the situation we are now.

Will Stein making inroads for the #2 QB with his success at Kentucky. Autzen ZooWill Stein is trending toward stealing prized QB recruit...The Oregon Ducks are still looking to kick off the 2028 recruiting class with a commitment, as several weekends of gameday visits and relationships built during

It's a fantastic story. I did not intend to suggest anything else. I hope they make it into the playoffs. Frankly, I'm beginning to wonder if we need to start focusing more on the three star player market. 😉

Oregon 24-20 2 3 215

No doubting Thomas 😇

Well, it's really anybody's guess, isn't it? Neb 28 - 9 [that 9 is most likely the result of one FG and one TD with a missed 2PAT] 0 TO 1 Sack 107 YP It seems as though my prior loftier predictions somehow always seem to jinx the Ducks. So, I'm hoping for consistency in correctly predicting the outcomes for this game; and I jinx Nebraska this time.

That throw to DAK was a great throw into a pretty narrow window barely out of reach. They don't have a lot of practice time together. It was a very good throw.

20-17 OT Ducks 2 TO 2 Sacks 225 Pass

The Beavs are 4-0 in their weight class and have destroyed their G6 opponents, putting up an absurd number of points on offense and playing solid defense. The losses to No. 20 Houston and No. 10 Texas Tech could have gone either way. Oregon State is this season's best G6 story. OSU has a decent shot at winning at Fresno and at Boise, and if this happens, taking the G6 PO spot. A remarkable turnaround under a guy who has never been a head coach, a QB transfer from Mercer, and a 3-star frosh WR who, to date, has put up better stats than Mr. Jeremiah Smith. Wazzu is floundering, but this OSU team would have finished in the top 3rd of the B12. Next season's Civil War game could be very interesting.

Probably, but what an accomplishment. If Beavs make the PO this state would light up for sure.

You may have gotten your wish. Oregon to start Brock Thomas at QB: Ducks bench Dylan Raiola as CFP hopes hang in balance - CBS Sports