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There were simply too many "play it safe, Brock can't make that throw" calls the first three quarters. Though I don't think this is a great offensive line, when the QB is a threat to throw the ball down field and you have the receivers our Ducks have it opens up better lanes for running also. It's hard for the O-line to look any good at all when there is zero threat to stretch the field because the QB can't make that throw. A constant diet of bubble screens, five yard outs and flair passes allows the defense to d exactly what Nebraska did early last night, throw 7-9 players in the box to stop the run and dare you t win on Brock Thomas' arm. Oregon didn't take the dare.

Thomas can be a good back up QB when he is playing with an O-line that's going to make holes for running backs and set up play action to get receivers open enough for him to hit them. I agree with you totally he is in over his head vs. top 25 or close to that competition. Even with his performance vs UCLA, I'd go with Raiola and then Smith. The likelihood of this team making the play offs now is slim and these guys need to be ready to be #s 1 and 2 next year. I also think we have a better chance of winning this year with them.

Thanks Jon. The Ducks defense looked like what we were expecting, against what has been a pretty explosive Husker offense. Hopefully Raiola can play like he did vs his old team, in the upcoming weeks. You beat Ohio State, and you are back in playoff contention. Florida might be able to play spoiler against Georgia, and yes Kentucky. That would help clear the way.

With "I have no idea", thought I was a sure winner this week.

I say start whoever and expect to finish with the other one. I also say prep Akili Smith with a solid third and long package and bring him on the field in those situations. Give him some RPOs and let's just see what happens. Can it really be any worse than 2 first downs and 50 yards in a half bad?

We don't. The Oregon Ducks at Illinois college football game kicks off on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 12:00 PM PT (2:00 PM CT / 3:00 PM ET). [1, 2, 3] Date: October 24, 2026 Time: 12:00 PM PT / 2:00 PM CT Location: Gies Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) TV/Network: Big Ten Network [1, 2, 3]

Coach Lanning has said that playing a game at a different time zone than you are used to can have more of an impact than the travel itself. It probably didn’t help Nebraska on Saturday and I don’t love that the Ducks will have a 9:00 AM PT game on Saturday.

“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.