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Yahoo Sports picks Sayin and Dante as Week 1 winners - AMEN! https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/college-football-week-1-winners-and-losers-the-year-of-the-quarterback-has-gotten-off-to-a-stellar-start-010035468.html

Too many passes behind the line of scrimmage. Opponents know they are coming. There has to be other ways to get the WRs in space. OL needs to jell quickly. REALLY disappointed in the defense. With the talent returning, I expected the defense to throttle the BSU offense. Alas no.

Big Ten HQ released a statement and a video that shows Michigan deserved the one second. A Western Michigan defender came from out of bounds and made contact with the ball with one second left. Western Michigan's response? In OOC games, refs from another conference should be brought in to eliminate bias. Apparently, W. MI. poohbahs did not watch the Oregon game.🤪

I didn't notice the long snapper. They must be good!

They hit pay dirt in the portal, turned around their tackling issues, and Madsen has made a step up in his play. They should win the Pac easy and likely will be ranked in the top 15 by playoff time, which should be enough to be the G6 playoff representative.

They hit pay dirt in the portal, turned around their tackling issues and Madsen has made a step up in his play. They should win the Pac easy and likely will be ranked in the top 15 by playoff time, which should be enough to be the G6 champ.

Cheer Up! We could be fans of a team located in Pisscastaway, NJ. When you are favored by 29.5 points and lose to the team ranked 138th out of 138 FBS teams, you know that the shine is off Schiano, who is no longer welcome at Soprano family get-togethers. --- Or how about the team located in We Used to Be Clemson, South Cackalacky? Dabo's 2026 debut: 54 total yards on offense in the first half. A new low after the team finished 2025 with nine draft picks and seven wins. It was upsetting to see Dabo come out for the 2nd half. And how about Gaming Guru Stanford Steve, who had Clemson covering 10 points instead of scoring 10 in the 51-10 loss against LSU and not NFLSU? Did Steve go to Stanford, or Scamford? --- 91 newbies in Stillwater = a 10 to 24 loss at Tulsa. The first back-to-back wins over the Cowboys since Tulsa's victories in 1951 and 1952. Please, Cowpokes, whatever you do, do not wake up for Week 2.

Agreed. Our biggest losses last year were special teams, but hopefully this 1st game is representative of how they will play the rest of the season. Also the new long snapper is pretty good too!

I totally agree with your take on the linebackers. Jackson had five tackles and Mixon had four. Good enough for seventh and eighth for the game. The top six tacklers were DB’s and DL. Don’t even get me started on Mixon’s effort on the Sire Gaines TD after the fumbled punt return. I trust that Dan Lanning reminded him that the armless tackle is a very low percentage defensive play.

Nothing better than having cordinators going through on the job training. One would think this program could bring in experienced coaches.

Like most of you...I was crossing my fingers thinking about our new kicker and punter. But the opening kickoff by Gage Hurych revealed a leg I've never seen so strong, as he did not just put it deep in the end zone; it was not lofted, but nearly a line drive. Huge leg. The real test is kicking to the other end zone, on the side of the Mo Center, yet his KOs went deep in the end zone as well. His KOs were superb, and even the novice fans around me noticed as well. He was perfect yesterday; he did not start his season the way Atticus did last year. He nailed both FGs, (one a 44 yarder) and his PATs in a close game. And he's an Oregon-Boy from West Linn! The punter, Bailey Ettridge, was clutch, as he hit huge punts deep when we needed it, and even with a short field to punt to on occasion...his average was 48 yards a punt! I cannot remember a better first game for new specialists!

I remember some stuff coming out of fall camp that Davison was a little dinged up. The rumor was that be broke something but that turned out false ... But dinged up for sure. So I think the plan may have been to play Davison sparringly. He was more effective on his carries though as it kind feels like Hill, a back who thrives in space, is being used between the tackles that game ... Can't have him exclusively be the edges guy or the defense will ignore the middle but I feel he wasn't being used to his full potential. I also think the line is a bit dinged up as well. Iuli was also supposedly injured (minor) in camp and didn't participate as much as you would have wanted .... Again I think the goal was to keep him out for the game but they did end up putting him in later. The offensive line wasn't bad but it wasn't good either.

Michigan won but lost. A win for Boise State. 🤬The Broncos did exactly what they had to do. I was in the Big House with my daughter, a junior at Colorado, for the Kordell Stewart Hail Mary. For this reason, I extend the Wolverines greater grace. Lane gets a nice first-game ROI. Dabo? https://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/cfb_week_1_winners_losers_lsu_dominates_in_lane_kiffins_debut_controversial_michigan_win_causes_uproar/s1_13132_44263705?utm_source=mb&utm_medium=email&mb_editi

For this Duck grey beard it is way to early to make an assessment. Solar, i agree with JJ that your observations were very good. However, there will be solid improvement going forward. Boise State could very well make the playoffs. Thats a darn good, well coached football team. Time will tell. Also, the Offense kept the scheme very simple. No reason to reveal anything for USC to plan for, at this point. The Ducks started slow and allowed the Broncos to gain MO and quiet the Duck crowd. Don't see that happening again. Also, starting with the last drive of the first half, the Duck O scored points on 5 straight possessions. They were trying to run out the clock on the 6th possession. Thats pretty darn good. If the Ducks improve in your areas of concern, then this will be a season to remember. Go Ducks...beat OSU.

I can't blame Stewart too much on that muffed fair catch. The refs clearly missed the call of interference as the defender violated the 'unimpeded opportunity' rule when he did the equivalent of a Blue Angel fly by. Otherwise any defender could get away with rushing at the returner waving their arms to block his view without touching him. The 2 yard halo rule was discontinued in 2003 by the NCAA and it is now a ref judgement call. The CBS rules analyst, Gene Steratore I think, thought it was interference. It sure looked like it to me.

Terrific observations, Solar, but the team will improve; the O-line, in particular, will improve. Dante was poised and efficient, and his 378 passing yards and 3 TDs, with no interceptions, would have been better if 5* WRs, other than for the last TD by Dak, when two Boise DBs collided, had put up more RAC yards. The kicking game? Thanks for pointing out one of the highlights of the game. But the return game? I thought Perich would bring his return skills with him. I'm particularly interested in seeing Perich's PFF grades. I believe we will see an improved team next Saturday in Stillwater, even with a 9 AM body-time KO.

I project 11-1…some traditions with Duck fans seem to live on 😆 I think I can’t take this format anymore, was a good run y’all!

Thank you, Charles, for dropping a line (and a dime) on the Oh-Oh line. Two things about this great article that I loved: You were there! Even if you looked like "a muttering-mass-of-protoplasm!" 😁😎😍 Brilliant! Thank goodness for this detailed analysis. CBS never revealed the starting lineups for the Ducks or the Broncos. And nary a word about Oregon's musical chairs O-line. Oregon ran for 119 net yards. You mentioned Chip, so I note that yesterday Northwestern ran for 224 yards against a worthy FCS opponent, South Dakota State. Oline was the biggest question mark out of Fall camp, and it remains so. The defense was less than stellar, with missed assignments and missed tackles, but the D did hold Boise State to 99 net rushing yards. I also note that Tosh is now 0-2 at stopping Bob Chesney's offenses. In the one B1G Power 4 matchup of the Labor Day weekend to date, UCLA's O put up 277 rushing yards and shut out ACC conference member Cal 21 to 0 in the 4th quarter to seal the 45 to 24 victory. Chip and Bob both visit Autzen this season. 🤔 We can only hope the adage that a team improves the most between its first and second game rings true. At least Oregon defeated its Northwest nemesis yesterday. Oregon scheduling Boise State is akin to Superman scheduling Kryptonite. The players who came West with Chesney from JMU balled out yesterday. The No. Texas team that transferred to Oklahoma State lost at Tulsa, 10 to 24. Thanks again, Charles, for a terrific article. Lasso the Cowboys!

Agreed. That is why at first I was flustered, but after seeing the performance....I wrote about the high upside. They have talent, and with more games and coaching--will be great by the end of the season.

“Our strategic coaching philosophy DNA on offense is not aligned to the players on our roster, and is destined to fail against elite experienced (ie smart and disciplined) teams.” This is what I keep coming back to on my end. McLaughlin pointed out on his podcast the difference between Oregon and Indiana when they run RPOs. Most of the time, when Indiana pulls the ball, that throw goes out in front of a receiver that is running downfield. Frequently, a quick slant. They put their talented skill position players in a much better position to make a big play because their back is not to the defense when they catch the ball. When Oregon runs an RPO, frequently the ball this thrown sideways into the flat to a receiver or running back that has his back to the defense. This requires that player to try to turn first before attempting to make a defensive player miss that is running downhill towards the play. As you might guess, this has a low success rate of significant yards after the catch. The end result, as the poster above noted, is 7 negative yard pass plays and two failed 4th down conversions against an G6 school. Why is Oregon so scared of the middle of the field? And how do you not take a deep shot almost every time when you have 1:1 man coverage with these receivers? And more importantly, does anyone think this kind of playcalling will work against USC? Oregon needed complete mismanagement of the clock by Boise at the end of the first half and an incredible play by D. Moore to win that game. Honestly, I’ll go 9-3 as my prediction for this year. I don’t have confidence that Oregon can call winning, aggressive plays on offense. I do think the defense will get cleaned up, so I am not focusing as much on that.

Whether W Mich got hosed or not with the 0:00.0 vs 0:00.2 decision is one thing but letting the biggest target on the field stand at the goal line unguarded is inexcusable. One defensive breakdown in an otherwise spectacular overall defensive performance is a tough way to go down.

Yesterday was completely expected and completely unexpected at the same time. Boise State has our number, and their isn't a high enough ceiling in the world for us to blow them out. But here are my takeaways. At a high level: Despite our returning production there is still a world where we are this year's Penn State. Not that I expect a complete implosion, but that sometimes returning production isn't enough to overcome a few key losses and a different slate of competitors. But the most likely scenario is we just played the G6 representative for this years playoff, and will probably experience the most improvement from game 1 to the end of the regular season than any other top 15 team. Positive takeaways from the game: The OL has a higher ceiling than last year's team Davon Benjamin is a stud only a half notch down from Finney who will give us an all American DB for years that can play nickel and any other position in the secondary Dante Moore will be improved in being an on-field OC. There was one audible he made that game us a 50 yard play. Expect more of that. Mathew Johnson may be better than Amauri Washington on the DL before the end of the season. Kicking was excellent. Kickoffs never resulted in anything past the 25, punts were effective despite lack of hang time, and field goal kicking was good, every PAT split the uprights and contact on the field goal was solid even if the direction wasn't perfect. Negative takeaways from the game: The most annoying traits of our offense and defense are Dan Lanning's not the coordinators and they aren't going away- A DL that plays containment over disruption, with an overall defense that bends through 3rd downs and breaks in the red zone, and an offense that prefers high completion ratio passes to players in space, even thoough Bo Nix and Tez Johnson are long gone. 7 passes behind the line of scrimmage for a loss and Dan Lanning said after the game, the play calling was good, it was just a player execution issue. News flash, bubble screens, reverses and passes to the flat to RBs don't work against experienced and determined DBs which Boise State's portal DBs showed. Making Hill RB1 when Davison is our most effective runner is not an improvement. We seriously are going to miss Bryce Boetcher -Jerry Mixon just doesn't have the hyper aggressive physical mindset needed to dominate between the tackles. If the RBs aren't stuffed by the DL or a nickel in run support it's 4-10 yards before they are brought down. Things I Don't Think are long term issues: Run blocking wasn't good but will get cleaned up. Stupid penalties will get cleaned up. Muffed punts will get cleaned up How we compare against fellow National Championship hopeful Peers: Having watched USC, Miami, Indiana and even some other not top 10 teams play, I can say We aren't going to win a natty. Why? Our QB is not an instinctual baller, our strategic coaching philosophy DNA on offense is not aligned to the players on our roster, and is destined to fail against elite experienced (ie smart and disciplined) teams and our LBs aren't able to keep a strong rushing attack off schedule consistently. Let's just enjoy the wins this season, but an NC or bust mentality is a guaranteed recipe for disappointment.

Charles, thank you for giving us your observations of the Oline combinations and which positions the players played. The CBS announcing crew rarely, if ever mentioned the names of the Oline. I have rewatched the game twice and have not seen an early game listing of either teams starters. Poor effort by the CBS team. The Oline was pretty soft on opening holes for the running game. I look to see a big improvement against OSU. More playing time will bring improvements. Did the Oline have any holding penalties? Pass protection was good. They gave Dante time in the pocket to go thru the progressions and make some great throws. Dante had a few throw aways and he was sacked just once. You dont get 380 yards passing without the time needed to hit the open receiver. The Oline play should and will improve each week. Boise State put on a clinic in clean, precise open field tackling or the Ducks would have racked up more passing yards and points. I read a number of Duck fans complaints about too many passes behind the line of scrimmage. Those type of plays set up those crossing patterns and slants that produced chunk plays and touchdowns later in the game. On the one 4th and short play, in the first half, if the BSU player had not made a great open field tackle, Dak would have taken it to the house. The formation and play call took the linebackers and DB's away from the play. What coach would not want Dak Moore isolated in space? Glad for the win! So much upside and room for growth. No Ducks on offense played to their ceiling, except maybe Dante. The future looks great. Go Ducks! Get after OSU.

Great breakdown Charles. I always love your OL observations. I think before we panic too much we need to better grasp what Boise St really is. I think for the last twenty years or so, BSU has been a place that 2/3 stars rated guys with 3/4 star talent gather together to unleash collective vengeance on the football world that snubbed them. I think BSU also can acquire the highest level coaching staff at the G5 level because they can bring in the highest level of talent in the G5. In short they are consistently under rated and deadly team year after year. They will rarely make mistakes that beat themselves and any victory against them has to be earned. Penn St found that out in the playoffs a couple years ago. With that said, playing so many young and inexperienced OL players against such a formidable first game opponent was bound to expose a steep on the fly learning curve. They were shaky but solid enough to put up 34 points and out score a legit team. As usual, I expect to see dramatic improvement game to game until they reach their elite potential.