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Good Gosh....I hope you can hear this!

Thanks Charles. It's always fun to play. Even though I'm a season ticket holder since 1995, I'm probably the least knowledgeable fan on this forum. I'm also not inherently lucky, so I can't explain it. This is my third prediction win in four years. Thanks again.

I'm sorry Steven, I completely disagree. If there EVER was a defining moment-it was those very decisions he made. And I recall very intently how much the entire football world jumped on Lanning after that game. Duck Nation had a virtual meltdown. This forum literally had a post questioning Dan Lanning as a Head Coach (not to criticize or put anyone down-but that is a concrete fact-we as a group went literally nuclear because of those decisions). Let me explain again why I felt Lanning's decisions were not only spot on, but demonstrated some coaching chops people ignored at the time. The first thing Lanning said after the game when questioned was this "we were very prepared to call those plays in that situation". I will explain in as few words as I can why that was extremely significant. People discount the fact the Kalen DeBoer has ten years experience on Dan Lanning as a Head Coach. Two of the three plays were WIDE OPEN. Let me say that again- on one of the plays, a lessor elite player raised his hands just before running into the end zone with nobody near him for almost ten yards. Bo Nix threw his pass to a guy he knew and favored as a target. He locked in on the guy he wanted instead of reading the play. On the second play TWO WRs were open. This one was to seal the victory. Again, Nix looked exclusively to his left and neglected both receivers that were open at two separate times on the play. That is called POOR EXECUTION. It goes further than that. Though Will Stein said he got out coached, he did not. Nobody on God's Green Earth contemplated that the more experienced Kalen DeBoer also planned for those very situations. Both coaches absolutely knew the game in Seattle was going to come down to plays that had to be converted in order to win. I have not seen one expert, coach, fan or even the angels mention that fact. But it is a substantial fact. The implications of that fact demonstrated Dan Lanning and Will Stein called plays that countered exactly what they believed DeBoer and his staff were going to throw at them in defense of those plays. Lanning and Stein won both of those battles. In fact, they went 2-1 in those key situations despite having ten years less experience. So while everyone lost their minds and experts, pundits and former coaches loudly questioned Lanning's decision making, I was sitting there thinking "this guy is miles ahead as a coach". He just outcoached a guy that has ten years on him. His players failed to execute. And if they had, Lanning would have been called a genius, well ahead of his time (another fact nobody can seriously refute). Furthermore, Lanning also pointed out the decisions didn't effect the game in the manner people believed it did. He is correct. Because quite frankly, had he converted any of those first two, the complexion of the game would have changed. Losing by 3 points didn't happen because Dan Lanning chose two 4th down calls instead of earning 6 points. Both DeBoer and Lanning would have called every single play after both of those Non-decisions completely differently had he even kicked one of those field goals. Again, not one soul mentioned or acknowledged that-and that is another fact people overlooked. Dan Lanning CLEARLY has proven that those decisions that day was a pretty damn good indication of the type of coach he is. I know Millions will disagree. But I not only believed that, I said it at the time. In that very thread that questioned Lanning's decision making ability and his future as a coach. Given how successful Lanning has been, I have even been surprised. The guy finds ways to win. He gets the most out of a group that does outlandish things to lose, and often enough is not as "talented" as we consider them (in my eyes performance is a key indication of talent-execution is a demonstration of talent as much as the capacity of the players playing the game). That sounds like an oxymoron, but let me tell you, Lanning hasn't had one linebacker half as "talented" at Oregon that he had at Georgia. NOT ONE. And he still wins. I could go on, but let me conclude with this-Lanning takes risks. Not in ways we prefer, but he is aggressive. He is unapologetic about it. And he has delivered. And he delivered again-and trust me-I had my doubts yesterday. Dan Lanning proved in that loss he was a very elite coach. And just about EVERYBODY MISSED IT.

Ouch!

I am NOT related to this guy...but I agree with him!

Boo!

USC fans are also not happy?

Did you hear that the Huskies lost to the Row-the-Boaters from Minneapolis 27-24? The day just got better-and-better!

The photo up there now is Jordon Davison falling into the end zone for the second-to-last touchdown scored on Saturday. Our photographer, Rebecca Villagracia, captured others as well where the subject of the photo is on the side, (by design) so that when we place ads in the middle--we still see the action. She did a superb job on the sidelines, and as a smaller forum...we were damn lucky to get a media/photo pass to be on the sideline. This is part of the extensive work done in the background of the forum to provide a fun experience for all of us. I hope you enjoy the photo background as much as I do. I cannot see the photo background on my iPhone 17 Pro, but I can on both my home and office desktop. I hope you can see them too! Our profound thanks again to Rebecca for her wonderful skills in capturing images like these for our benefit.

Well put Solar. A great emotional win. Smart recruits will know where to go. Lanning and company at their best!

When USC was lined up to come out of the tunnel their fans coaches and players were chanting "Overrated". They couldn't be bothered to cheer about themselves in that moment, being so focused on us, but in hindsight that's exactly what they were doing cheering about themselves.

I think there is an argument to be made this was Dan Lanning's finest win as Head Coach of OBD. Better than the Ohio State and Penn State wins. The sheer level of adversity seen so far this year, then the adversity he dealt with in real time with Dante being brutally injured, by taking charge of the players, getting his players focused, ensuring all the assistant coaches and players do their job at a high level against Riley's best team at USC by a significant margin. Dan Lanning is a winner. Our Ducks program is a winner. People love to hate on us, but we had class and resilience that is undeniable and will earn respect especially from recruits they may have been considering OBD and USC Riley and USC are losers and their own fans are disgusted with EVERYTHING they saw. They had the talent to compete, the wind at their back at home playing their A game in weather more to their liking, against a backup QB and still got beat bad enough to give up in the end.

I think they meant it was Oregon's first time beating USC 5 straight.

I wonder if Riley's heated seat also has a cooling feature? (snicker)

I wonder how many, if any teams have won a D1 natty with a QB who started the season as a backup.

lol. Go get em Dan! 10 years in a row!

The way the players responded to Dante's injury, speaks well of coaches and team culture. Was a good win. Raiola's composure was evident of experience. His passes could be a bit more decisive, less soft. A long season, more growth needed.

I do feel relieved after obsessing all week about what a second loss in September would do to the Ducks' chances of reaching the CFP, WHEW for now!

I think the Oregon D stiffened up knowing that it was all going to pretty much be passing plays and they were unlikely to get the plays that were murdering them... the quick dump offs behind the LoS. Those dump offs were absolutely the thing keeping USC going.