30Duck

Washington is tied for No. 8.

This is a big problem, that really showed up in the game against USC. The big problem the Ducks have is that, Duarte, up for an award for Shooting Guards, isn't a point guard either. Before his injury, Richardson was supposed to have been the PG, but I believe his absence, for most of the season, messed that up. I agree with your observations that the Ducks don't have an experienced player to "run" the offense, make sure the ball moves, the Trojans put on a "movement" clinic. In the end of the game wins for the Ducks this season, a lot of the points came by the D causing turnovers and creating points off of them.

I thought Washington always had the best quarterbacks? This is an interesting stat, an era with Dakota Prukop and Braxton Burmeister in it comes out on top?

I agree with your sentiment. The Tom Brady story is classic hero mythology. Lowly regarded out of college, 6th round draft pick, gets his chance when the starter is injured. The "tuck rule" in a snowstorm gets him and the Patriots to his first Super Bowl. "Deflate Gate". The filming violations. NFL quarterback is the pinnacle of success for am athlete in the United States, and more than anything else, Super Bowl wins separate the quarterbacks. Brady was far from the best player on the field for Tampa Bay in the win over Kansas City, but he was voted the MVP.

The article seems to have settled on Brown at QB, and that the Ducks just need to get it done. The confusing thought is that USC needs to bolster its passing game, not create a running game at all.

Back in the day, players wanted to, "be like Mike", in this article from NBC Sports Northwest, Justin Herbert explains why it just makes sense to use Tom Brady's career as an example to follow.

Can you say, Chuck Knoblauch?

I thought that the most informed comment in the article is that Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State can put the playoff on their schedule in ink, Notre Dame probably should use a pencil, but these 10 teams are maybe one player short of fighting it out for possibly one opening. Interesting that Cincy get's "Respect" as the missing element while Oregon definitely needs some,

They have both done well as OC's at Alabama, ignominious endings at USC as head coach, Kiffin let go at an airport, Sark had his publicized problems. One note about Sark is that the day he was announced as the coach at USC, he was expected to do his Coach's radio show in Seattle.

As bad as it looked, that is the thought i had when it was over as well. Typically, a big lead at the start of a basketball game is the most fragile in all sports. But this time, the Trojans were too hot, and the Ducks were just too bad, in everything, for it to be case in this game. The Ducks looked like they couldn't move. On defense, if the Trojans weren't hitting 3's, ball and player movement created shots at the rim, on the rare occasion a Trojan missed, a teammate was right there to put it back in. meanwhile, the Ducks showed little interest in scoring at all in the first half. In the second half, I think a lack of motivation for USC was part of it, but the Ducks did play better. I don't think this game will be of much use for film study by the Ducks, other than a warning that it can't happen again.

Remember reading all those stories about kids across the country saying that Ducks were their favorite players growing up? They're still saying that! In this article from NBC Sports Northwest read about Jaden Wayne.

That actually is a completely rational thought when it comes to USC. When they went, "Air Raid" they pretty much discarded the "Ground Attack" in their offense. This seems to be a big reason why so many of their games were toss ups.

The closest the Ducks could get in this one was 3-0. Recap from goducks.com

Yes, these games are very frustrating. At halftime the leading scorer for the Trojans had one point less than the Ducks had as a team. It took until the last 5 minutes, and I guess credit to the Ducks for hanging in there, to make the score somewhat reasonable, outscoring the Trojans by 7 in the second half.

"7 Win Sark" is looking to get rid of that moniker, and if he can inflict damage on the Pac-12, so much the better. He's got a nice pitch to make to QB recruits, and keeping the west coast talent home isn't going to get any easier. Oklahoma has had a stranglehold on the Big 12 since Mac Brown left Texas to get football going at UNC, Sark looks like he's got Texas headed in the right direction.

Pitching, defense, good job, Ducks!

Respect, acknowledgment that the team is young, and playing in the ultra-competitive Pac-12, Colorado beat Stanford. The win over USC was very impressive, coming on the heels of the pounding delivered by UCLA.

It will help a lot if Omoruyi doesn't foul out in his 3rd game in a row tonight against USC. Evan Mobley 7' center for the Trojans is the best player the Ducks will have faced this season, and the Ducks can't afford to have Omoruyi unavailable. For what it's worth, USC will be mad, having lost to Arizona in their last game. Perhaps they'll overreact and come out trying to win the game in the first 5 minutes, that would be nice. This Ducks team is coming together, the swarming D is causing turnovers, and they aren't turning it over themselves. The Ducks have also become very, "Clutch" at the end of games. Oregon has been the dominant team in the conference under Altman, this is unfamiliar for USC. Let's keep it that way.

A few weeks ago, I was certain that Thompson would be the QB in 2021, he looked that good in the highlights. But, then I sat back, read some other posts here, and paused, that perhaps throwing a true freshman in to the fire when there are more experienced quarterbacks available, might not be the best idea. The quarterback competition needs to be just that. Brown, Butterfield, Ashford, Thompson, will all have their chance to impress the coaches and the hierarchy set. I trust that whoever it is that emerges as the starting QB will give the Ducks their best shot at winning, at Ohio State, the Pac-12 championship for the 3rd year in a row, and maybe the playoff.