Jon Joseph

On3's Andy Staples has the same question for Dan and Mike Elko. On3Dan Lanning and Mike Elko made huge coaching mistakes, ca...Mike Elko verbally stepped on a rake on Saturday and walked it back Monday. Dan Lanning said he didn’t owe anyone an explanation Monday and then went on

On3's Week 7 Top 10 Games. On3Top 10 games for Week 7 of the college football seasonIt’s going to be hard to find a better college football weekend than the one we just experienced. Georgia and Alabama played down to the wire, the No. 1

Entertaining? Yes. But I hope the Football gods deliver pleasing entertainment and not a horror show, especially against Chip on Halloween.

Great point. Today, FBS has 138 teams.

The day before Week 0 kicked off, what if I told you that heading into Week 7 of the 2026 college football (CFB) season, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, and Washington wouldn't be ranked, but Northwestern and UCLA would? Would you have recommended a good psychiatrist, or asked for some of whatever I was on? No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana have held serve, but the rest is a B1G mess. All times Pacific. AP Poll rankings. BTN = Big Ten Network. Off Week: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, USC FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16th - 3-3 Washington +3.5 at 3-3 Purdue - 5 PM - Fox - Relax, your eyesight is fine; coming into this game, UW is the Under-Husky. Purdue is 2-1 in the Big Ten and took No. 21 Wake Forest into double OT. The conference loss came against UCLA in Pasadena; the Boilermakers' offense put up 38 points on the Bruins' defense. Against UCLA, this is better than some B1G offenses have performed. 😧 In its seven conference games east of the Rockies, UW is 1-6. This season, Washington is 0-for-the-Power 4. QB Demond Williams is Questionable and not likely to play. However, Williams' play this season has been questionable at best. --- SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17th No. 4 Ohio State -3.5 at No. 5 Indiana - 9 AM Fox The B1Ggest game of the week kicks off at 11 AM in Bloomington, Indiana. Brilliant! In its long and sordid CFB history, the Indiana Hoosiers have defeated Ohio State twice in Bloomington. The last time was in 1988. The first time was in 1904, before the Forward Pass. Unfortunately for Indiana, this Ohio State team can throw the ball and has a pretty good WR in Jeremiah Smith. The Hoosiers counter with WRs Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh. Like the 2025 Big Ten championship game, I expect this game will be another close call, and too close to call. --- No. 25 4-1 Northwestern -10 at 2-4 Michigan State - 9 AM Peacock Chip brings the Wing T to East Lansing in a homecoming for NW QB Aiden Childs, and Michigan State HC Pat Fitzgerald will be going against his alma mater for the first time since he was wrongfully fired. I know the game is on The Bird, but I hope Fitz will not give The Bird to the Wildcats like in Week 6 when he flipped off Illinois. --- The Relegation Bowl - 1-4 Rutgers +4.5 at 2-4 Maryland - 9:30 AM BTN With JMU leaving for the American Conference, there's an opening in the Sun Belt; unfortunately, only one opening. --- The Weren't You Old Dudes Supposed to Fix Things Bowl - 3-3 Penn State +5.5 at 3-2 Michigan - 12:30 PM CBS Coach Whittingham is completely behind QB Underwood and OC Beck, like he left some team in Salt Lake City behind. On the way to breaking Little Game James' record, Coach Campbell is looking for his first P4 victory at PU, er, PSU. --- 5-1 No. 26 Wisconsin +3.5 at 5-0 No. 12 UCLA - 4:30 PM NBC Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell was finally handed a decent football budget, and he has turned back the clock to the Badgers' smash-mouth days under Barry Alvarez. On both sides of the ball. This is a homecoming game for QB Colton Joseph (😍), who grew up in Newport Beach and played ball at Newport Beach High School. Joseph was not offered a scholarship by UCLA or any other P4 program and transferred to Wisconsin from Old Dominion, where he was the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. Joseph is averaging 5.1 yards per carry, a terrific average in CFB, where sack yardage is subtracted from a QB's rushing output. UCLA Nico Iamaleava went down in the first half of the Oregon game. Under Bob Chesney's run-first offense, Nico's passing stats were not impressive, but he did contribute to the run game. I think the winner of this game will contend for a spot in the 2026 CFB Playoffs. UCLA has an out-of-conference Power 4 win on the road at Cal. Wisconsin gave No. 2-ranked Notre Dame a battle in the first half, before the game turned on a bad review call, as later admitted by Big Ten HQ, that gave the Irish the ball deep in Wisconsin territory. A two-loss Bruins or Badgers team is odds-on to receive a Playoff invitation. After this game, UCLA has one Top-25-ranked team left on its schedule: No. 19 USC plays UCLA in Pasadena in the final week of the regular season. Wisconsin has two ranked teams left; next week USC visits Madison and the following week, the Badgers travel to No. 17 Iowa. In a close game, I think Bucky Badger upsets the Bruins. --- 5-1 No. 29 Nebraska +7.5 at No. 27 3-2 Oregon - 8 PM Fox The Fox broadcast day starts at 11 AM in Bloomington and concludes at 11 PM Eastern, 10 PM Wisconsin body-clock time. At 7:30 PM Eastern, Fox is broadcasting the OK State at Houston game. OK, both OK State and Houston are ranked in the top 25, but the broadcast times for Ohio State at Indiana and a should-be-ranked Nebraska at Oregon game mean millions fewer CFB fans will not be watching Big Ten football in Week 7. Unless Oregon defeats undefeated Ohio State in Columbus in Week 10, this is a 2026 Playoff elimination game for what would be a 3-loss OBD. Nebraska has not defeated a ranked opponent in the last 31 games. The last win against a ranked team was in 2016, when Nebraska upset No. 22 Oregon in Lincoln, 35 to 32. Like the Indiana loss in Lincoln last week, many games have been oh so close. Win this game, and the Cornhuskers will be 9-1 heading into a Week 12 game against Ohio State and a Week 13 game at Iowa. Sadly, win or lose, this game is not against a ranked Oregon team. For more on the game, check out the Forum. --- No. 2 6-0 Notre Dame -11.5 at 5-0 No. 8 BYU - 4:30 PM ABC Notre Dame is 0-9 in the last nine games a Top 10 Irish team has played a Top 10 opponent on the road. After this game, I see this record being 1-9. For the Cougars, I think this is 2025 BYU vs. Texas Tech, when BYU was blown away in two games against the Red Raiders, with one of the games played in Provo. There is no reason whatsoever for BYU to be ranked in the Top 10. And Notre Dame being ranked 2nd is based solely on the Eye Test. Man, I hope my prediction is wrong. --- No. 6 5-1 Alabama -6.5 at No. 14 5-1 Tennessee - 12:30 PM ABC I'm shocked! No. 6 Alabama lost a home game to No. 1 Georgia and remains ranked 6th. Cigars all around for the winner. --- No. 9 4-1 Ole Miss -6.5 (Of course, being Swamped by the unranked Gators doesn't count, right?) vs. No. 13 5-1 Missouri - 12:30 PM SEC Network --- No. 18 4-1 Oklahoma State +3.5 at No. 20 5-1 Houston - 4:30 PM Fox Come On Cowboys! --- No. 15 5-1 Kentucky +6.5 at 3-2 Oklahoma - 4:30 PM SEC Network Will the oddsmakers ever start believing in Will? --- No. 21 5-1 Wake Forest -7.5 at 3-3 Cal - 4:30 PM ESPN 2 After being concussed in the loss at UNLV, JK Sagapolutele was out vs. VA Tech and is questionable for this game. Backup QB Jackson Brousseau, who transferred in from Colorado State, led Cal to a 25 - 20 defeat of favored VA Tech, throwing for 321 yards and a TD. I hope Cal defeats Wake. Why Wake and SMU are ranked and not Nebraska and Wisconsin is the reason why Tony P insisted upon a 24-team PO field. --- Here's hoping Week 7 will be lucky for OBD and that Oregon will not roll craps in back-to-back home games. Husk the Huskers!

He matriculated in 2023, so pursuant to the NCAA 5-and-5 eligibility rules, he has another year if he wants to use it. It's the Class of 2022 athletes who are seeking another year of eligibility.

More on Dante and the NFL Draft. https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/dante-moores-nfl-draft-stock-is-suddenly-clouded-by-more-than-a-concussion-153741911.html

Dante returns in 2026 for his 5th year?

Reading Charles' post on Bailey Ettridge winning the weekly Ray Guy Award, how about punting on first down and hoping for a Pick 6 or a fumble return for a TD?

Only 189? Wow! Perhaps Dan should hire her as an analyst! Great stuff and I hope you are feeling better. At my age, I think I'm feeling better but I can't remeber how I felt the day before. 🤪

No football or basketball player who signed with a pro team is eligible to participate in the Big Ten. Ditto, the SEC. This is a portal transfer well after the portal has closed and gives Michigan a roster upgrade that other B1G teams are not allowed. These two guys, on their own, decided to transfer to Michigan after the semester started and brought suit so they would be eligible? This wasn't orchestrated by Michigan? BTW, what about the 2 guys who will have to be kicked off the roster and the two guys on the roster who will no longer be traveling with the team? This is simply slimy.

Terrific article, thank you. I'm with Charles. What happens when you unleash players who don't need a leash to begin with? Are there dogs on the roster ready to be slipped? Crucial helmet-on-helmet run straight at 'em plays were stuffed by UCLA last Saturday. And have been repeatedly stuffed by every opponent except Portland State. The two tackles on the 2025 team and a starting guard are on NFL Rosters. Poncho's play will lead to him being drafted. With their PFF grades to date, other O-line starters, if draft-eligible, would be fortunate to sign free agent deals. Out of the portal, Dan signed one O-lineman, a young man who played FCS football. Perhaps the money wasn't available, but if available, Dan and the other coaches overvalued returning players. Oregon can't run the ball. I'm not convinced that a change to a smash-mouth system with the same personnel will improve OL play. Based on what I have seen to date, Oregon must find ways to get the ball to its explosive playmakers in space. Move players around to get them in space. This worked at SC with short passes to Hill that led to big gains and opened up passing lanes downfield. And Jeremiah Johnson has to be targeted more than twice in a game. Thanks for the post and welcome back.

It appears the PO expansion to 24 is near. Hats off to Tony Petitti, who speaks quietly but carries a B1G stick. On3College Football Playoff nearing deal to expand to 24 teamsThe College Football Playoff is expanding once again. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, a deal is being neared to expand to 24 teams. The format is

If the Price is Right for the Extra PO Games, the PO will expand to 24 teams. On3Can Greg Sankey's proposed College Football Playoff sched...From SEC basketball media days on Wednesday, commissioner Greg Sankey expressed perhaps his most optimistic public views of an expanded 24-team College

Is this Ann Arbor, Baton Rouge, or perhaps Coral Gables? Michigan coach? Whit, Mario, or Lane Kiffin? A local judge deciding that these two players are eligible does not mean Michigan should allow them to play. I'd love to review the two transcripts of these student-athletes to see if they meet the standard of other transfer students Michigan accepts. Are other students allowed to transfer to Michigan when a semester has started? Where is Tony Petitti? This Male Bovine Excrement should not pass the B1G's smell test. What say you, Forum Friends? I won't be happy if these two guys are playing for the Wolverines in Autzen on 11/14. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-alex-bauman-jeremiah-earby-transfer-portal/?ftag=SNL-04-10aaa0b&ET_CID=591520&ET_RID=52482716

I don't think Michigan's roster move should pass the Big Ten Male Bovine Excrement smell test. Is this Ann Arbor or Baton Rouge? I'd love to see these two players' transcripts; would they stand up to those of other students trying to transfer to Michigan? A local judge deciding these two can play despite the transfer portal being closed doesn't mean The Shysters, er Victors, should allow them to suit up. I thought Kyle Whittingham, and not Mario or Lame Kiffin, was the Michigan coach.🤬 https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-alex-bauman-jeremiah-earby-transfer-portal/?ftag=SNL-04-10aaa0b&ET_CID=591520&ET_RID=52482716

Game and Odds Info. Oregon Ducks On SIHow to Watch Oregon vs. Nebraska: Preview, TV Channel, Be...The Oregon Ducks face a critical test Saturday as the program welcomes Nebraska to Autzen Stadium for a nighttime matchup under the lights. After falling from t

Good observations, thanks. Dan was an assistant with Alabama when Kirby Smart was Saban's DC. Not much failure to deal with in this tour of duty. Dan was also an assistant at ASU, under Todd Graham, and at Memphis, under Mike Dorrell. ASU was not a world beater, and G5 Memphis was good but not Boise State-level good. Dan has dealt with losses in the SEC pressure cooker and elsewhere. And he and the team have bounced back from tough losses to Washington, Ohio State, and Indiana 3-2 after five games and no longer ranked is a new experience at Oregon for Dan and for younger fans. But I don't view this season to date as leading to a Clemson-like decline. Unlike Dabo, Dan knows how to play ball in today's world of CFB. Hopefully, the D will continue to play to its potential. The O-line? Will Dante Moore be able to play another game this season? The schedule has been more difficult than many expected. I believe Oregon is the only team to have played four ranked teams in the first five games. And three of the next four games are against 5-1 Nebraska that outplayed Indiana last week, a ranked Northwestern team, and at No. 4 Ohio State. And a road game at Illinois is not a layup. A lot of football remains to be played. Less than a handful of CFB teams do not experience a bump in the road from time to time. I don't see another coach out there who is a realistic candidate for the Oregon job that I'd rather have than Dan. I wholeheartedly agree that going for two was senseless.

A Battle of B1G Receivers when No. 4 Ohio State visits No. 5 Indiana. https://apnews.com/article/indiana-hoosiers-ohio-state-buckeyes-receivers-9b30bc19835557f3df359c3791ee83f1?user_email=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a485b&utm_

AMEN! Thanks, Another OD, for the detailed information. Many Oregon players making big money have not played to their potential in 2026. DUH! In today's CFB, success in roster building from season to season is the critical component. And loads of money does not necessarily equate to on-field success. In 2026, the play of many big-spending programs, including Oregon, has not ipso facto equaled success. So, Oregon, with a more difficult schedule than expected, is not alone with a bad roster ROI to date. LSU, with a $50 million-or-so roster, could finish 8-4. CFB is not a fair fight. Hand OBD Miami's or Notre Dame's schedule to date, and the Ducks would likely be undefeated. In addition to roster-building muffs, the schedule has not played out as expected. I believe Oregon is the only P4 team to have played four AP Poll-ranked teams. Heading into Week 7, who knew Oklahoma State and UCLA would be ranked? No Easy Day, so the SEALS say. Saturday's night game is against a 1-loss Nebraska team coming to Eugene with a resume that should have the Cornhuskers in the Top-25. Wake and SMU ranked, and not Nebraska? Ole Miss was destroyed by an unranked team and is ranked 9th. Nebraska lost to the defending champ and is ranked 29th. No one can predict the loss of a future NFL QB. But the evaluation of the O-line roster was way off the mark. Saturday night, I hope we see a fired-up Oregon team. Oregon's PO hopes rest on this game and every other game on the schedule. No margin for error. Shuck the Cornhuskers!

My brother, in all things Ducks, I, without reservation, agree with and support your great takes 99% of the time. But when it comes to going for two far too early in the game vs. UCLA, I must demur. There isn't a metric between here and what used to be the planet Pluto that justifies going for two with a backup QB on the field playing behind a suspect O-line. Would 8 points instead of 7 have influenced the Bruins' game plan? NO! There is no way in Hades that the reward this early in the game justified the risk. This early rolling of the dice came up craps. Down 1 point in the 4th quarter, Oregon scores, kicks the extra point, and takes the game into OT. Oregon is odds-on to win the game in OT. Stop making in-game decisions on whimsy. 8 to nothing would have influenced the UCLA game plan more than 7 to nothing? Would it have improved Oregon's performance on offense? This team against decent defenses is not going to put up a plethora of points. Making strategic decisions based on former performance on offense is not prudent. I'm always happy to read your posts, and as noted above, I rarely disagree with your thoughts.

Radio OBD Eugene, where the hits just keep on coming in this season of discontent. BRUTAL!

I hear you. The QB play has been rank; no Oregon QB is ranked in the B1G's top 8. CFB-HQ On SIBig Ten QB Rankings Week 7: Sayin Holds No. 1 Ahead of Hi...Ohio State’s Julian Sayin holds No. 1 in the Big Ten quarterback rankings entering Week 7, and Saturday’s noon kickoff at Indiana puts him on the same field as

I believe these facts are telling and deserve their own post. The new myth circulating in the CFB world is that the Oregon O-line (OL) hasn't been the same since Mario went MIA. Six members of the OL who played for Mario were in the NFL before Dan arrived in Eugene. Inconvenient Fact: In 2024 and 2025, the Oregon OL was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award for the best OL in the nation. Three members of the 2025 OL, World, Pregnon, and Harkey, are on NFL rosters. These statistics from Tru-Media, as reported by The Athletic's Stewart Mandel today, tell the story to date in 2026. 87th in run Yards Before Contact (YBC): 1.63. 2025: 14th, 2.5. YBC was under 1.0 against USC and UCLA. Oregon ranks 95th in run-play contact behind the LOS: 44.6%. (The 2025 number was not provided, and I do not have access to Tru-Media statistics.) RT Fox Crader has allowed the most pressures in the Big Ten: 18 LT Ziyarre Addison is 4th in the B1G: 13 pressures allowed. Every statistic on offense is inflated from the scrimmage against Portland State. Without the PSU stats, the overall play of the team on both sides of the ball has been mediocre or worse. The PFF grades for OL run-blocking against UCLA were not good, especially for the two tackles. Oregon's OL is not the only group underperforming in 2026. Among the underachievers are Michigan, Washington, and Texas. Should Dan have added more OL players from the Portal? Possibly, but at what cost? Returning DL starters and Dante Moore are well paid, and even Mighty Oregon does not have an unlimited football budget. As Urban Meyer and many other commentators have pointed out, in today's CFB world, OL is the toughest position to recruit out of high school and from the portal. Against UCLA, Dylan Raiola's play was worse than the play around him. Pro Football Focus asks why the Oregon coaching staff waited so long to take Raiola out of the game. A reasonable question. Coaching concerns are understood and warranted. However, Crader and Fox are inexperienced, and it shows. Could any coach be doing a better job with the material at hand? Regarding Mario compared to Dan in 2026, if Oregon's first six games had been against the dreck Miami has played to date, the Ducks would be undefeated. Miami's win over No. 21 Wake Forest? It took the Demon Deacons two OTs to defeat Purdue. An inexperienced OL and games against four AP-ranked teams? And with the starting QB knocked out in LA and the backup returning to his mean? If a team cannot run the ball, it will not win many games against worthy opposition. Especially when the lack of the run game is made worse by seven turnovers. With this roster, and a future NFL QB hurt, 2-2 against the Top-25 is discouraging for the fans, but not a surprising result. The PFF stats below confirm that the defense played very well against UCLA. Suck it up, ball out, and don't give up; a spot in the 2026 playoff is still in sight. On3Stats, Snaps, and PFF Grades for Oregon & UCLAThe Oregon loss to UCLA was a shocker to watch. Who got snaps in this game? How did they grade on PFF? Let's dig into it.

Just North of California. 😁