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Good call since prior to '93 we only had good wins, the L's were expected.

Good, another L for Riley in a game he is supposed to win. As you can tell, I am drinking heavily from my half full glass.

Reality check…at this point who are we better than on our schedule other than Portland State? Never thought I would ask that question.

My top 15 most disappointing/poorest performances in a loss 1993-2026 (I only go back to 1993 reliably). Not just toughest losses, but losses where things just were bad (or during the game went bad). Factoring in where Oregon was at as a program at the time, expectations against the opponent, the importance of the game, and so on (and not games like 1998 UCLA, 2010 Auburn, 2012 Stanford, 2022 Georgia, 2024 tOSU II, where it was either a competitive game that just didn't go the Duck's way, or just a very tough opponent). 15 Colorado (1995) Cotton Bowl (6-38): #7 Colorado (9-2) versus #12 Oregon (9-2). Coming off the Rose Bowl the year prior, Oregon had a shot at its first 10 win season and a first top 10 finish. Oregon brought a reported 14,000 fans to Colorado's 6,000 to a cold and rainy Dallas. With a 7-6 score in the second, Tony Graziani throws a pick returned 95 yards for a Colorado TD. Oregon goes on to commit 5 TOs. With 5 minutes to go leading 32-6 and running 7 straight times, on 4th down Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel calls a fake punt and pass for a 28 yards (Oregon fans not pleased). Included because it was just a huge letdown game for a success hungry program and fanbase, losing then its forth straight bowl game. It was a gloomy day (upper 30s with a cold drizzle) and the teams combined for 8 TOs. The game really turned on the pick 6 (going from going in for a go ahead score to suddenly down a score in an instant). Oregon once leading 6-0, was outscored 38-0. Yardage ends up being 313 to 267, with the fake punt being 28 of that. 14 OSU (2004: 21-50): Oregon and Oregon State enter the Civil War both 5-5 with probably a bowl game on the line. Derek Anderson throws for 351 yards and 4 TD plus a rushing TD, Mike Haas has 9/154 receiving and two TDs and Kellen Clemens is held to 126 yards passing and 3 picks in Corvallis. Oregon closes the game to within 6 in the third quarter, but momentum turns and OSU outscores Oregon 23-0 to finish the game. Oregon is outgained 455 to 235. Oregon ends up 5-6 in Bellotti's only losing season (and doesn't beat a team with a winning record that year). Included because it was a very rough ending to a very poor season, collapsing to the rival Beavs. It also was the end of the third season after finishing #2 in 2001, the Ducks going from 11-1 to 5-6 rather quickly and unceremoniously. 13 California (1993: 41-42): After an Independence Bowl loss the previous year, Oregon jumped out 3-0 and travelled to #17 Cal. It came out firing and built a big 30-0 lead. Cal then proceeded to perform the then 2nd greatest comeback in FBS football history. Cal scored the winning TD with 1:17 left with a 26 yard TD to Iheanyi Uwaezuoke then a 2 point coversion in the corner of the endzone by Mike Caldwell. Danny O'Neal for Oregon completed 17 passes for 313 yards and 3 TDs, Derrick Deadwiler caught 11 of those for 234 yards. Post game coach Brooks, "It's got to rank up there with one of the toughest defeats in my life." Included because expectations were very high at the time, the Brooks led Ducks were going to (again) turn that corner after a couple down season, starting 3-0 and coming out and jumping all over ranked Cal at their place. The game then just changed in then historic fasion. Oregon still has a late chance to salvage a win but allows the 2-point conversion in the corner of the endzone. Devastating loss at the time. 12 OSU 2022 (34-38): 34-17 Duck lead after a Duck FG to start the 4th quarter. OSU gets a long KO return then scores a TD on 3 runs. Oregon gets a decent KO return but a holding puts them back to their 8, they stall, the punter drops the punt and OSU recovers at the Duck 2 and in two more rushes scores again. Up 3, Oregon goes for it on 4th and 1 from their own 29 and gets stuffed and OSU takes over and scores in 4 rushes to lead 38-34. Oregon drives all the way to the OSU 5, then fails to score in 4 plays and OSU takes over on downs with 2:58 remaining. With 6 more rushes, OSU runs out the clock. 15 straight rushes by OSU to win it. Included because prior to yesterday, it was the worse loss of the Lanning era. Being unable to stop the Beavs when they weren't even trying to throw was particularly demoralizing. 11 UW (2002: 14-42): 14-14 at half, UW outscores Oregon (who was still rated #23 at kickoff) 28-0 in the second half and Neuheisel and his players dance at midfield on the O at Autzen. Cody Pickett throws for 316 yards and 4 TDs and Reggie Williams catches 3 TDs. Included because, at the time, Oregon had won 5 of 7 from UW, and 2002 had started off well, highly ranked and 6-0, then teams found out Oregon could not cover anyone. The UW game in the middle of losing 6 of final 7, dancing on the O was pretty exasperating. 10 Stanford (2013: 20-26): Under Helfrich, Oregon had started 8-0 and and was averaging 55.5 points per game. Stanford was 7-1 and #5. In the 4th quarter, Stanford led 26-0. With the offense sputtering all night, Mariota, nursing a sore knee, attempted a bit of a late comeback (aided by an onside kick recovery and a 40 yard FG blocked and returned for a TD by Rodney Hardrick); but, ultimately were held to 312 yards of offense and just 20 points. Included because jumping out 8-0 post Chip Kelly and putting up 56 a game came crashing unceremoniosly to a hault. Through 3 quarters Oregon's explosive offense had been held to 0 points and about 175 yards. It had 6 drives only to that point, 3 ending in punts, one on a missed 4th and goal at the Stanford 4, and two with fumbles. 9 Arizona (2013: 16-42): Eleven games into the Helfrich era, probably the first real game that showed there might be more serious problems post Chip Kelly. Oregon was behind 35-9 in the third. Ka'Deem Carey rushed a whopping 48 times for 206 yards and 4 TDs as UA rushed for 304 yards on the day. 9-1 Oregon commits 3 TOs in route to its second loss. Included because Oregon had survived the loss to what ended up being a good Stanford team but went down to unranked 6-4 Arizona and got throttled. Could not stop the run and also Arizona QB (BJ Denker) goes 19-22 for 178 and 2 TDs. 8 Wake Forest (2002) Seattle Bowl (17-38): Coming off a #2 finish in 2001 and once ranked #6 in the nation, Oregon finishes the season losing its 6 out of last 7. Fife starts the game 1-10 passing and is replaced by FR Kellen Clemens. Wake Forest, making its 6th ever program bowl game appearance, jumps out 21-3, Oregon closes within 7 in the 3rd, then is outscored 14-0. Oregon is outgained 497 to 290 on the day. Included because it was a tough ending to a very rough season. Game known most for college football discovering Seattle was probably not a successful location for a bowl game (lasted two years after which no one wanted to finance a 3rd); and, a large turnout of Husky fans who showed up to cheer for Wake Forest. 7 Indiana (2004): 24-30 #23 Oregon outgains Indiana 495-198 but commits 7 TOs to snap Oregon's 21-game home OOC and 11-game home opener win streaks. Indiana goes on to win just one more game the rest of the season. Included because #24 Oregon loses an opener at Autzen with 7 TOs, despite going up and down the field on Indiana. It ends Oregon's home winning streaks and Oregon ends up not beating a team with a winning record that season, finishing 5-6. 6 UW (2016: 21-70): Maybe the game that ultimately ended the Helfrich era. Second most points allowed in Oregon history (it gave up 71 at Texas in 1941). Jake Browning threw for 6 TDs and ran for 2 more. Myles Gaskin rushed for 197 yards and a TD. Washington piles up 682 yards of offense with 378 rushing yards. Included because it was just rough to watch. Washington appears to be happy to make it convincing for its out-for-blood fans (after Oregon winning 17 of the last 21 over UW), and Oregon seems pretty helpless under Helfrich to stop them. Jake Browning's "point" at Jimmie Swain remains part of the rivalry lore. 5 Utah II (2021: 10-38): The Mario foot out the door Pac-12 Championship game. Even with losing the first matchup, Oregon was still ranked #10 and Utah #17. For a second game, Oregon is essentially uncompetitve falling behind 23-0 at half and 38-3 in the 4th. Oregon only manages 221 yards of offense (and really doesn't seem to change much from the loss 20 days prior). Included in part just because it felt like a near repeat of the 7-38 game 20 days prior. Mario is announced to Miami 3 days after the game and fans are left with the feeling the coaching staff (and possibly some of the players who had the idea) sort of mailed it in (while the fans still very much cared). 4 BYU (2006: 8-38): BYU entered the game 9-2 and ranked #20 and Oregon was 7-5 and on a three game losing streak. However, BYU was Mountain West and Oregon Pac-10, and it was Oregon who got most of the attention in the game lead up (Bellotti I believe even got into a bit of hot water for some pregame comments about where BYU might slot if it was to play instead in the Pac-10). Oregon looked unmotivated and underprepared falling behind 31-0. Duck OL Geoff Schwartz later recalled: "While they're sleeping, we were partying." Included because coach Bellotti later called the game such a poor performance it became "program changing", as in so bad he felt it required a change and reset of where the program was at. 3 TCU (2015: 41-47 OT): #11 TCU versus #15 Oregon. TCU suspended its starting QB and Oregon and Vernon Adams jumped all over them 31-0 in the 1st half, outgaining them 376 yards to 142. Adams did collide helmets with a TCU LB and was out for the second half. TCU then outscored Oregon 31-0 in the second half to force OT. Oregon's second half offense was listed at 18 plays for 18 yards, while TCU had 356. TCU scores 6 in the 3rd OT while Oregon fumbles on 3rd and 2, forcing a 4th and 8 where Lockie misses Carrington ending the game. Included because one of the most shocking changes I have witnessed from one half to the next. Oregon looks absolutely dominate the first half under Adams and absolutely looks borderline inept without Adams in the second half (struggles to even snap the ball). 2 WSU (2003: 16-55): "Rich, Cool, 4-0" the previous week (beating #3 Michigan 31-27). The following week defending Pac-10 and #21 ranked WSU came to Autzen and were up 38-2 at half. After having no interceptions on the season, Clemens throws 4 picks and Fife throws 3 and Oregon fumbles twice for 9 turnovers. Oregon adds 12 penalties. WSU "only" needs 399 yards of offense to put up 55. Included because after #3 Michigan and rising to #10 nationally, there was a feeling 2002 had been a fluke and Oregon had returned to 2001 Fiesta Bowl form and were set to return to being a national player. One week later Oregon crashes back to ground and looks boarderline inept getting rolled at home by a very solid WSU team 1 Oklahoma State (2026: 39-31): After a supposed wake-up call last week, #6 Oregon loses to a team on a 21 game FBS losing streak, in a game that probably wasn't as close as the score indicates. Outgained 554-281, and 25 first downs to 12. I don't know where to start on the rest of this one.

Yay, we're now underdogs playing USC. So it's not as big of a deal losing to them? 🤔

Difficult questions, and they give rise to more. As the traditional college game continues to give way to NFL-lite $$ball, what now motivates players to compete at the highest level if the money alone doesn’t? As Mike points out, other high NIL budget programs are not currently faltering in the way we are. Of the top 10 NIL spenders, only Oregon has not won a national championship. Is Oregon dealing with a program legacy deficit that affects motivation in a way it does not for the other nine? Do players here not feel the same expectation of excellence they do at these other programs to, “win one for the gripper”? Without a a proud tradition, can money alone win championships? Those who were there during the Brooks/Bellotti eras that set the tone for Oregon’s development into a nationally recognized program will recall that emergence of what would become ‘Oregon football’ under Chip Kelly and beyond. It felt like we knew where we were going, and players were excited and proud to be a part of it. Now, it feels like money’s shadow has fallen over that emerging legacy, and stalled its growth. Lost in the woods. Since money is not going away, we need to find what it takes to rekindle the excitement and pride of those emerging days that defined what Oregon football could become: our legacy. Money alone will not get us there.

Definitely more disappointed than sad. After all, we have multiple millionaire "students athletes" playing ball, just killing time like a typical NFL game. This wasn't and won't be first such performance, unfortunately. College football is dead as we knew it. ☹️ It was actually much more entertaining watching the Beavers trying to beat No. 13 team and almost did it. Can't believe it, but I was actually rooting for the Beavis!

I believe it was playing in hell. I can be happy for my brother's wife who had a horrid year as a passionate OSU fan.

That twelve men on the field is a penalty we haven't achieved yet, although it is still early in the season.

ESuckingPN! Monopoly is never good.

At this point, I hate to admit, but Mario was probably the coach who could best get us that elusive natty. DL is good, but being too young limits his ceiling. He gambles too much, is not wise picking staff, fails at motivating players for big games (and small) or making halftime adjustments. It sucks that last week's USA Today piece was proven right...

Mike - Is this is what you were touching on? According to this, teams know exactly what Oregon is going to do before the ball is even snapped:

Truthfully I did not feel good about this year. There are teams that get close to the top but never seem to close the deal and they start to decline. We may be at that point for all the reasons discussed. Not that we can’t climb to the top but things just don’t feel right. We seem off. I will say Both Boise and Ok. State are far better than most would have thought. The biggest issue as far as just mot right is the DL play. All NFLers, over 5 mil in NIL and they have been a big zero thus far. I get the inexperience of the OL, but not the DL. Effort, coaching, scheme…who knows. At SC we either continue the spiral downward or we rise up and beat the daylights out of them. Hopefully Lanning has the ability to fix things.

With the game going so badly for the team, it took me quite a while to notice that the Ducks didn't suddenly switch to their skirt uniforms.

Did you not see the loss to Ohio State 2 years ago? Or last season's 2nd loss to Indiana?

Yeah, I would love to dream it into existence. I think the frustration is really comes from this program being the best program in America that has yet to win a national title, we've come so close...so many times...and every year the program hypes itself up, and then the fall flat on their face at some point. It doesn't help (at least for me) that Indiana just basically comes in and wins a title within 2 years of being relevant. Lanning's losses have been absolutely abysmal. Either he's getting blown out in games where he isn't even competitive, he's losing to a rival making bone headed coaching decisions, or now losing to a team that hasn't beaten a FBS team in 21 tries. There are ways to lose, and he's falling way short of them. I think the one loss where I felt okay was the Pac-12 championship game, at least there we showed some heart to try to come back, just got outplayed there. I appreciate the humor though Charles.

I think you're right about MC, but with Lanning I wonder how involved he is with the defense, how much is he controlling what the game plan is, how much input does he give for play calls on defense. The defense has been the weaker link in all his teams, it should be his trading card. I wonder if he should have more direct control over it. I'm a bit concerned as well that LBs which should be the position that Lanning knows the most about have consistently been our worst unit on the team each year, this year of course it looks like the O-line. Our LBs are not near what they need to be to play this type of defense, you look at the LBs at Georgia during their championship years and they were 1st round talent, we haven't come near a first round talent...basically ever.

Mike, you have company - Larry Brown SportsEveryone said the same thing about Dan Lanning after Oreg...The Oregon Ducks suffered the most shocking loss of the young college football season on Saturday, and the knives were out for coach Dan Lanning. Oregon

What was YOUR reaction to the title? A snort? A grumpf in disgust? A smile because you KNOW Mr. OBD? It was an attempt at humor to lighten this very heavy day of opinions and analysis by so many on this forum. Personally, I am still processing it all, because it was so opposite to what I expected. I understand the negative thoughts here, and I think there has been some superbly reasoned takes on our current state. This kind of discussion is what a forum is for… P.S. It is FINE to discuss player performance failures, just don’t go personal. Stick to their play, good-and-bad, and the same applies to coaching decisions.

With all the angst accumulation over the game results and the many problem it exposed, I'd just like to take a moment to recognize the greatness of Devon Jackson yesterday. A 75 yard run on the opening OSU play to the three was not a 78 yard touchdown because of his epic chase down tackle. The ensuing bullet dodging stop at the goal line should have been the wake up call the team needed. Nope. Another offensive three and out then a 70 yard OSU drive to the 10. Jackson then grabs a tipped ball, eludes a couple tacklers, gets to the sideline and was gone 95 yards! At that point the score was OSU 3 Jackson 7. The Ducks should have been down 0-14 but Jackson wasn't having it. At that point, overcoming the horrible start was quite possible. It's a shame the Ducks couldn't convert this source of great energy into a win. At least one guy deserved a W yesterday.

"Not as Good as Hoped for" When have I also felt this way? Quite a few times, actually. (going by memory, might be wrong on some details) 2011 vs LSU Last two losses in playoff games that bad loss in late 2019 which kept Ducks out of playoffs (they could have done something in playoffs that year) first two Boise St losses, especially with the Legarrette Blount meltdown. the loss to the beavs a few years ago And probably the biggest one: Lanning's first game vs Georgia Flip the script, what about unexpected wins that pumped us up? Oklahoma 2006 USC 2008? Ohio St when CJ Verdell broke free on that long TD run But this loss feels worse in one special way. With the others, it was just one thing to fix like we need better linemen, or stop playing down to inferior talent, get the players motivated and up for the game, or stop calling bad plays, etc. This one feels 'unexplainable'. How did this team with same coach and such great recruiting go from a powerhouse to mediocre so fast? So I think it feels worse than most of the others. They outgained Boise St but made mistakes and won. OK, they fix the mistakes and all should be well. Ok st made the mistakes this time that kept Oregon in the game. Ok st drastically outgained and handled the Ducks. Ok st is Colorado 2.0 with all the transfers. How did a team with a new coach and all new players have it together so much better than Oregon with all its returning talent? This makes it kind of tough to deal with. I am still optimistic that Oregon will eventually recover and climb back on top and be a top 10 or top 5 team again. But it might take some time. I have seen Oregon recover from the bottom of the pit so many times that I have to believe it will happen again. I thought these kinds of games were over when Cristobal left. This game is kind of like when USC lost to the beavs in the 2 thousands. It should not have happened. I'm going to spout off my 'wild theory here'. Dan Lanning is too loyal to his players. When they are not playing great, he stays with them. If this is indeed true, I hope that situation changes. Perhaps he could have been too loyal to his coaching staff as well? And is Lanning too loyal to his schemes when college football changes each and every day?

AP Poll - 9 SEC/ 7 B1G/ 4 ACC/ 4 B12/ Notre Dame Other B1G teams receiving votes - 26 UW, 35 UCLA Boise State - 28; Oklahoma State 29 On3College Football Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 after Week 2 re...The latest AP Poll Top 25 rankings are here after Week 2 of college football and we had quite the scenes around the country.

About the defense, or lack thereof.... The inability to harass the QB despite the presumed high quality of Oregon's DL is concerning. My impression was that the Cowboys' receivers were getting open because they had so long to run their routes. (Nobody can cover forever.) I faintly recall thinking that they may have double-teaming Matayo, but I could be wrong. Perhaps the emphasis on "caging" rather than sacking the QB is part of what Happy's son thought was too predictable. I don't recall seeing Wyatt playing much. Admittedly, there is limit to how much I saw. I did not see any of the game after 4:00 EDT because ESPN decided to show women's tennis, which, come to think of it, may have been a blessing. Evaluations for high school seniors are interesting, but performance on the field is what counts. I am not here to call out individual players. Let us say for the sake of argument that Perich and Finney are all-star players. How confident are you in the coverage provided by the other three secondary spots? This may be too much inside baseball for some, but there are visitors to this site who could speak to this, and it may be relevant. I thought that in a MINT defense there are supposed to be three DLs playing no wider than the inside shoulder of the offensive tackles. The idea is supposed to be to force runs outside where the RBs will be dealt with my the new age LBs, or not old-style Dick Butkus run-stuffers but guys who can run like safeties, such as...Bassa and Boettcher. Yesterday, Oregon had four men at the line of scrimmage on all down except third and long. They do not seem to be positioned "tight" as in a MINT, unless I am missing something. Is Oregon still playing a MINT? If not, what? For what purpose? Is it working? If not, what are the alternatives with the personnel we have?

Would we have won if QB #2 played the second half, or even the 4th quarter? Seems like in the old days, a QB that was underperforming the way DM was yesterday would be pulled at least for a series to give him a chance to get a different perspective on leading the offense. DL seems too concerned about fragile egos to occasionally stir the pot.

And realize your poop smells just like the other teams.