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“Passing the torch” rarely works in sport or business. There are more times that it has failed than worked out. Helfrich at Oregon is exhibit A. (and for those of you who will say, he got Oregon to the national championship game…no he didn’t, Marcus Mariota did and we saw what happened when we faced a much more talented roster.)

Let him have the first series. Raiola would technically be coming off the bench after that.

The simple truth is that Brock Thomas has no business being out on the field in a game like that, he doesn't have the arm, he doesn't have the athleticism, it's a nice idea that they local kid can play, but it's obvious that if you have a O-line like ours, you can't start a guy who can barely throw the ball 20 yards. Raiola isn't perfect, but he could at least zip the ball where it needed to go and the defense at least had to entertain the idea that he could legitimately throw the ball down the field without it wobbling. We should be playing Smith Jr. over Thomas, you have to go with upside considering this is no longer a season where we are going to the playoff, maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I don't see how we go undefeated the rest of the year with this offensive line and this OC.

If by "He" you mean Brock, I would argue that about 90 total yards of total offense through three quarters would suggest otherwise.

The announcers said that Nebraska prepared for Brock Thomas, and when Dylan Raiola came in they weren't ready for the change in play calling. If that is the case, we should name Akili Smith as the starter for next week's game!

Oregon won the 4th Q. It's clear the Ducks are fighting for their lives to get better. They aren't quiting. I have been harsh on the team and coaching staff. But I do respect them tremendously for fighting no matter what. Good on them.

He still needs to start the next game if Dante can’t play. Raiola is much better coming out of the bullpen.

The offense... and it's not even close. It's so atrocious that I don't even know where to begin. It's seriously so horrendous, on multiple levels that it's hard to know where to start. But one of the most amazing things I keep thinking about is Lanning calling those timeouts at the end of the second quarter, when we had 50 yards total offense and 0 points. What was the plan... to get ourselves pinned deep in our own territory off of a Nebraska punt, and suddenly, with the half winding down, Brock, who couldn't/hadn't hit the side of a barn, was miraculously going come out throwing like Bo Nix and take us 70 yards downfield for a TD? And obviously, leaving Brock in for 3 quarters is a mystery of mysteries. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

People have lamented Oregon's in-game adjustments. Nebraska's best defender thought Oregon did well in the adjustments it made: Benning said Nebraska didn't adjust well enough. "Ultimately as a team, and I'll speak as a defense, we didn't adjust to some of the adjustments they made," he said. "And at the end, the first three quarters really don't matter. In a ballgame like this in the Big Ten, the fourth quarter is what it's going to come down to. You've got to win the fourth quarter."

All of those OCs you mentioned are much better and had much better track records before becoming the OC than Mehringer. That's why he was such a horrible pick. If we're talking about a school like Minnesota, N.C State or another mid level Power 4 conference I could understand hiring Mehringer, but at Oregon you need to have a track record before you start calling plays. Dillingham and Stein we're young, but they at least had shown that they could run a successful attack, Drew had done none of that. I know you're emphasizing that Mehringer is a horrible hire, I'm just saying he's probably the worst OC hire Oregon has gone with ever when you think about how underprepared he is.

Bring in the best possible OC, regardless of system, and let him build his own staff. This is the way.

Not according to the experts. There are few rosters in college football as talented and deep as the Oregon Ducks, on paper. Most teams do have better coaching, talent development and execution though.

As I slowly drifted off to sleep last night, I had visions of Gary Crowton...and Scott Frost...and Joe Moorhead... Then, I woke up in a cold sweat. The Ducks' offense got better after each one of those guys left...right? (Yeah, Ludwig wasn't great. But, I think he was a small step up from Crowton.) I guess that doesn't do anything about this year, though, does it.

On the other hand, oftentimes talent and experience pay off.

Herbie, I agree. However, you may want to skip the Gameday visit to South Bend for the Miami game. 😁 https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/10/16/kirk-herbstreit-notre-dame-schedule-memorandum-understanding-cfp/92286964007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=em

Dylan Raiola puts up the winning points! https://apnews.com/article/brock-thomas-dylan-raiola-oregon-nebraska-football-47a0ce9eb5a55630baa03f7f39c828ef?user_email=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a

Tommy didn't let his grandfathers down. https://apnews.com/article/michigan-penn-state-score-fdd4ace1d1802d686ec198e84f59e12a?user_email=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a485b&utm_medium=Sports_wire&utm_source=Sailthru_

Watching the Duck finally getting to do push-ups.

Dan’s off-season coordinator and position coach choices were clearly based on passing the torch to the next guy up within the system. If it doesn’t appear broken, don’t fix it. In-house coaching continuity was a huge reason for Oregon success through the Brooks/Bellotti era, but doesn’t look to have worked as well for Lanning. It’s not easy to fully grasp a young head coach’s strengths and weaknesses, but I have to assume (like with anyone) he will have to learn from when he’s allowed his comfort zone to take precedence over learning to stretch beyond those limits. Recognizing that is what lets you grow. And, I’ve no doubt Dan is fully up to the task.

The pick early in the game. That should have been the start of a route and getting the Ducks back in the playoff conversation. But it did not go that way. It did however, set the tone for the defense to dominate. If only this team had last year's O line and still had Will Stein. (and of course, Dante was still playing) They would or could be number one right now.

Please understand that I mean no offense. 🤪

It took ninety years to break a record set in 1936, the year of the first AP Poll rankings. CFB-HQ On SICollege Football Breaks Longstanding 90-Year Record After...College football’s Associated Press Top 25 broke a 90-year precedent in Week 7 when five of the poll’s top seven teams lost on the same Saturday, something that The Big winner of Week 7 was the B12. Three B12 teams are ranked in the Top-10, five overall, including No. 10 Utah that eked out a three-point win at CU. Morale of the story, as far as Texas Tech and Utah are concerned, you don't get dinged for playing against thin air. And getting a helping hand from the B12 review team also helps the cause. OBD won its game, barely, but lost an important win with OK State, which lost by three points on the road at No. 14 Houston, dropping out of the Top 25 and being ranked 26th. Two-loss ACC, B1G, and B12 teams do not get ranked. Turn those machines back on! What is up with this season and one second left in the game, or added to an already ended game? BYU defeated Notre Dame with one second left on the clock and Notre Dame at the BYU four-yard line. It appears that the Vatican will not file a protest. With a crummy schedule in 2026, the Domers had this coming. Speaking of crummy schedules. It took now No. 1 Miami two overtimes to defeat a beleaguered Mike Norvell and FSU. The Canes' best and only Top-25 win came against No. 17 Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons destroyed Cal on Saturday, 41-7. Tosh has removed the Cal OC from play-calling duties; is the DC next? Texas is the first team in AP Poll history to be ranked No.1 and then lose the next two games to unranked opponents. But No. 19 Texas, of course, remains in the Top 25, joined by No. 20 Florida. The Gators yo-yoed back into the Top 25. Yep, nine of the SEC's 16 teams remain ranked, including two-loss LSU, Texas, Florida, and Missouri. Six Big Ten teams are ranked. Michigan State gave Northwestern Fitz, but NW survived 24-21 and moved up one spot from 25 to 24. Coach Whit finally told Underwood to take a seat on the wood and let Tommy drive the Carr. One Carr brother won on Saturday, not you, CJ, with Michigan scoring 21 points in the second half to defeat Penn State 21-18 and keep Matt Campbell P-4 winless. Indiana was this close to winning its 23rd straight game, but last week's hero, WR Nick Marsh, was just out of bounds on the Hoosiers Hail Mary attempt. With its 17-7 win over Wisconsin, UCLA moved into the Top 10 at No. 9, the last Big Ten team to be undefeated. It would be nice if No. 27 Oregon could borrow a few UCLA O-line guys. UCLA changes O-line players like a hockey team. DEFENSE! It wasn't pretty, but the Ducks D has played the last two games at the level that was expected in the preseason. And Dylan Raiola goes from hero to goat (not GOAT) and back to hero with a late TD drive to defeat his former Nebraska playmates. A 5-1 Nebraska should have been ranked coming into Autzen and, as is the Cornhuskers' fate, has dropped its last two very winnable games. This has been a tough season for B1G QBs. Oregon, Iowa, UCLA, Washington, and Illinois have lost their starting QB. Ohio State's Julian Sayin was injured on Saturday and will miss three to four weeks, and Indiana's Josh Hoover had to leave the game against Ohio State before returning to toss the game-winning Hail Mar ... 3 million-a-year Wolverines QB Bryce Underwood has a reserved seat on the pine. A ticked-off Indiana team visits Ann Arbor in Week 8. Week 8: 4-2 Oregon travels to 3-3 Illinois, with the Illini coming off a bye. Illinois QB Kaden Houser is injured and out. Will Dante be able to play? Illinois will start Freshman Michael Clayton II at QB. Clayton is 6'4", 205 pounds. Clayton was a 3-Star recruit from Orlando, Florida, but played his senior season at Miami Edison High School. Clayton went 30-6 in high school and had more than 30 D1 offers. In 2025, he won the Elite 11 Accuracy Challenge. In his high school career, he passed for 6000 plus yards and threw 72 TDs. DEFENSE travels, right? I sure hope so. On3College Football Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 after Week 7 re...The latest AP Poll Top 25 rankings are here following a wild Week 7 of college football. This wasn’t just any ordinary regular season weekend though

Missing: Dante, McClellen, Stewart, Fergusen, 2 offensive tackles from portal, a RB like the one that Tennessee has, and some new plays that everyone on the planet doesn't already know. But we should all take this into consideration: every team they played is at least a good team except for Portland state. And, with the portal, the mediocre teams of the recent past are now competitive. Just ask Texas and Georgia. Given the challenges, I'll take the win yesterday and be happy about it. It was a great game ending drive.

Hire Mariota...

Dan Helfrich needs his Mariota