Jon Joseph

Brother, can you spare me a dime? Will Fisch stay on the UW line? The administration was not happy that Fisch blamed the 2026 football woes on the budget. https://uwhuskieswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/huskies/football/2026/10/26/uw-football-washington-huskies-jedd-fisch-danny-sprinkle-uw-mens-basketball-big-ten-pat-chun/92427988007/

It starts by defeating No. 21 and woefully under-ranked Northwestern on Halloween. Ohio State is at USC this week, 4:30 PM NBC, and the probable one-loss Buckeyes will be ranked in the top 5 when OBD visits Columbus in Week 10. Upset Ohio State before coming home to shred brand-name Michigan, stomp Michigan State in East Lansing, return home, and lay waste to Washington. [BTW- On many sites, Riley is listed as a candidate for the open Baylor job. 🤪] And hope for utter chaos, including Notre Dame losing to Miami and SMU, and many 4-loss SEC teams. OK, I'm ready to wake up now. 🤪 But going on a five-game run with wins against ranked NW and Ohio State and a beatdown of Michigan would help hold the recruiting class together and hang on to the players Oregon wants to keep. Finishing in the PO committee's top 15 or so would encourage players in the portal to pick Oregon. There is still a lot to play for, not least of which is pride in yourself and in the program.

I know. I grew up in Boston. With a few guys named O'Leary. 😁 The reference was tongue-in-cheek. Good call, and Erin Go Bragh!

Get some O. Hire Luke Getsy! 🤪 I think he's the OC at Northeastern? 😁

Good take. But "he's bought a little bit of time". Hmmmm? Has any Oregon coach had a better record in his first four seasons than DL, now 2-2 in the two seasons of a 12-team PO? Kirby Smart is 0-2. Disappointing? Heck yes. But Dan is 4-3 playing a schedule that, by every metric, is ranked in the 20 most difficult in 2026. Playing with a backup QB instead of a preseason top-5 QB at the wheel. I don't care who is calling the plays; Oregon wins on Saturday with a healthy Dante Moore. Oregon is 1-2 vs. the top-25 and should be 2-2. 6-2 SC lost on the road to a team now ranked No. 25 and dropped from 16 to 31. Ridiculous. What coach would be better than DL? He screwed up. He lost the offseason. Fortunately, in today's portal-picking world, and after encouraging dead weight to transfer out, Dan has the resources and recruiting skills to get Oregon back in the PO hunt next season. Miami, which has played a lightweight schedule, is No. 1. 2021 was the last time Miami was on top of CFB. It's a disappointing season. It happens to every program.

Terrific post, Mike, thanks. Miami's O has played extremely well against nothing-burger competition. No. 14 (?) Wake Forest that won in double OT at Purdue shut down the Miami O in the 2nd half of the game in Winston-Salem. Miami's D was shredded by FSU and former Stanford and Auburn QB Ashton Daniels. A terrible holding call against FSU prevented the game from going into the 3rd OT. Phil Steele ranks Miami's SOS as the 61st most 'difficult' in the nation. Steele ranks Oregon's SOS the 20th most difficult. With Miami's schedule, I think Oregon would still be in the PO hunt. Very few people thought Oregon's schedule would be difficult before playing at Ohio State. Wrong. No. 21 Northwestern's SOS is ranked 14th by Steele. No team is being screwed over by the coaches and the AP voters more than NW. Six 2-loss SEC teams with 'worse losses' than NW's loss at No. 4 Indiana by two points are ranked ahead of 1-loss Northwestern. The AP Poll is ridiculously SEC-centric. USC loses to No. 25 Wisconsin on the road and drops from 16 to 31. Iowa loses a rivalry game on the road to a 2-loss Minnesota team and drops from 15 to 26. Roster rankings are based on recruiting and portal rankings that are a best guess. Texas WR Cam Coleman, with Archie throwing to him, was going to replace J. Smith as the best WR in CFB, right? This was the same guy who dropped close to 10% of the passes thrown to him while playing for Auburn. CFB SOS varies significantly nationally and within P4 conferences and is not properly calculated; ditto for roster rankings. I see no viable coaching candidate who, in his first four seasons, would have won more games than Dan Lanning. Would have defeated Ohio State in Eugene in 2024 and kept the regular-season game against Indiana in 2025 within one TD. Oregon was blown out in the Rose Bowl and in the Peach Bowl by teams with better talent who were better prepared by more experienced head coaches. Ditto for the two losses to UW in 2023. Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi were on hand in 2024 and 2025. Thank you for making note of the roster rankings. Oregon has a talented roster but not on the level of Ohio State or Georgia. To be a CFB champ today, a team has to win 3 or 4 games in a row against top competition. The quality of contending teams' rosters and the depth of the rosters will be tested. I think Miami had a better roster, especially on defense last season, and lost two regular-season games. Perhaps Ryan Day should be fired? After winning a championship in 2024, before defeating Indiana by a foot in Week 7 of this season, Day was 0-3 in the last three games vs. ranked opponents. This is with better talent than Dan has on hand. Perhaps Mario would have brought similar talent to Eugene, but would he have won more games? In the ACC, Mario has a superior roster advantage. The kind of advantage Riley had at Oklahoma. Every person and every entity suffers misfortune. How you and they respond is what matters.

This is the most upsetting year in college football (CFB) since 2007. In addition to the 'ordinary chaos', the Big Ten has been bitten by the QB injury bug. Which teams in the SEC does ESPN's Bill Connelly trust? The Texas D, and that's it. Number 1 Miami has played against thin air and needed help from the refs to defeat FSU in OT. How did Notre Dame do when it played a ranked team in Provo? And how did the 2nd-ranked team from Provo do this week against a 3-3 unranked opponent? The team that should be righteously PO'd? How about Oregon's Week 9 opponent, Northwestern? Northwestern has one loss that came on the road against No. 4 Indiana by two points. Two-loss Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, LSU, Tennessee, and Florida are all ranked above Northwestern. It wasn't a great P4 opponent, but Northwestern did play Colorado out of conference. It's not a lot of fun being a Ducks fan this season, but Oregon fans are in bad company. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/50278475/connelly-college-football-week-8-texas

Here's an objective look at CFB to date in 2026. Many teams are not performing up to expectations. Talent has been spread out. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/50278475/connelly-college-football-week-8-texas

Come On, Man! It's a fracking game. Stuff happens. In a bad year after a bad offseason the team is 4-3. You do know that Bama sucked wind for decades, right? How long has it been since SC's blood has been blue? Wisconsin is now in the top 25, should Fickell have been fired? What kind of season are preseason ranked Michigan, Penn State, UW, and Texas A+M experiencing? What would Oregon's record be with Miami, Notre Dame's, or Texas Tech's schedule? Who in the last five seasons would have a better record at Oregon than Dan Lanning? Who else could bring talent as he has to Eugene? Rob Mullens and a football GM have to take control and fix this? Mullens promoted Helfrich and hired Slick. Of course, you are welcome to your POV, but I'm happy that we're not sharing a foxhole. Stuff happens.

The Week 8-9 AP Poll is out. Oregon is not among the Others Receiving Votes (ORV). Five Big Ten teams are ranked. B1G teams among ORV: 2-loss Iowa No. 26, 2-loss Minnesota No. 31, and 2-loss USC. With a loss at No. 25 Wisconsin, the Trojans drop from 16th to 31st. Absurd! No. 15 Iowa loses a rivalry game on the road to 2-loss Minnesota by three points and drops out of the Top 25. B1G losses count. Six B12 teams are ranked. Texas Tech has a sorry strength-of-schedule (SOS), lost at unranked Cincinnati, and only drops to 13th. If you want to see what a mobile, athletic QB can do, try to watch the play of No. 6 Utah QB Devon Dampier in last night's win in Salt Lake City against No. 18 Houston. Yes, Dampier threw two picks, but he was the first B12 QB since Vince Young in the 2006 Rose Bowl victory against No. 1 USC to pass for 150+ yards and run for 150+ yards. In today's CFB, where better than average O-line play is sorely lacking, having a dual-threat QB helps the cause. Nine SEC teams are ranked. 2-loss Texas and 2-loss Ole Miss are ranked in the top 12. Five 2-loss SEC teams are ranked above 1-loss Northwestern. NW's sole loss came against No. 4 Indiana by two points in Bloomington. Texas lost a neutral-site game to unranked Oklahoma and at home to 2-loss Florida. So what? After some scary games are played on Halloween in Week 9, the Playoff Committee's first Top-25 ranking of the 2026 season will be revealed on Tuesday, November 3rd. Will SOS matter? Will losses in the SEC count? Make no mistake, based on its out-of-conference record, the SEC deserves polling love, but not this kind of unconditional love. Based on this week's AP Poll, Ohio State, Indiana, and UCLA would be in the playoff field. Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, and Texas would be in. No. 12 Ole Miss would be knocked out by G6 No. 20 Boise State; 1-loss Boise State is also ranked above 1-loss Northwestern. Boise State's loss to Oregon is forgiven; USC's loss to Oregon is not. SSecDD. On3College Football Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 after Week 8 re....

AI needs help. Today, Andy K is the OC at Kansas. The way Penn State played in 2025 when Andy was there, I don't think K is Special. 😁 Auditor: One who counts the bodies after the battle. This relegation is a predictable move that comes too late. DUH! Maryland fired its DC the week before the head coach was fired after losing to Rutgers the following week. Accountability starts at the top; I think Dan knows this. Bad coaching on many fronts in 2026. But can good coaching overcome bad talent evaluation? Many 4* recruits on the field cannot block. What is of paramount importance now is inviting the players who aren't cutting it to transfer out and keeping quality recruits committed; the vultures are circling. This team has to be rebuilt via the portal. A one-year regression is understandable. But Clemsoning is not. In CFB, if you are not competing for championships, you are ignored. OT, but it truly ticks me off. Saturday's game being broadcast on Peacock means a less-than-robust viewing audience. This will be NW's 3rd appearance on the Bird this season. Absurd for a Top 25 NW football team that has lost one game by two points at Indiana and should be ranked in the teens and not the twenties.

Spot on post. I don't think Dan is unaware of the very valid points you made. In today's world of CFB you cannot lose the off-season. Texas A&M's Mike Elko is in the same boat as Dan. And Elko doesn't have his 1st string QB out for a significant part of the season. But under a new OC, A&M QB Marcel Reese's play has regressed. Like Oregon, A&M is getting a terrible ROI from one of the most expensive rosters in CFB. There is nowhere to hide in the Power 2. The B1G, of course, has a few bottom feeders, but it is very difficult to win games, especially on the road. Unlike the SEC, Big Ten conference losses matter. Will anyone be surprised if Texas returns to the top 10 and Ole Miss stays there? Yesterday, Wisconsin upset USC and, in Iowa's case, a Minnesota defense that was carved up at Purdue shut down the Hawkeyes. In today's world of CFB, you cannot stock a roster, and you better have a top-drawer strength and conditioning program to minimize injuries. In terms of underperforming offenses, Oregon has B1G company. Michigan, UW, Penn State, Indiana, and even Ohio State are not running the ball at historic levels. O-line recruiting, development, and portal picking are at a premium. The marketing of the Oregon program has been extraordinary. But I think it's time for the Japan stuff and the other fluff to take a back seat to returning to the basics: blocking, tackling, and hitting the other guy in the face. Make Kelly Smelly!

Good call. But with any kind of offense, the D has played well enough to win the last three games.

The defense has played well enough to win the last three games. As to coaching, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken spit. 🤮 I should have turned the game off in the 1st Q when Johnson strolled out of bounds instead of putting his head down and trying to make a 1st down. Have to cut Raiola and find an athletic QB who can make up for bad OL play.

RES IPSA LOQUITUR - 🤬🤬🤬 A waste of a good defense. For pity's sake, find an athletic, dual-threat QB.

In this season of the witch, what is going to go wrong next? From No. 2 to number 27. 🤮 If these guys are out with injuries, change the S&C guy and the program he is running. Too many Ducks are injured too often. If they are out because of behavioral issues, is there an adult in the room? Other than an FCS layup, every game has been a struggle. This is with a 247 Sports roster ranking of 2nd, behind only Georgia at No. 1. BRUTAL! However, before a 3rd loss, if it happens, I'm keeping the PO faith.

$54 million to get rid of Kelly. $90 million to bring in Lame. A roster payroll of $45 to $50 million. 4-2 and on the hunt for private equity funding. BRILLIANT!

With Bret Bielema as the head coach, Illinois is 7-2 coming off a bye. 🤔

Illinois under Bret Bielema is 7-2 coming off bye weeks. 🤔

ESPN's and SP+ Bill Connelly previews Week 8 - https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/50249679/connelly-week-8-preview-ole-miss-texas

Game kicks off at Noon Pacific. Announcer: Chris Vosters. Analyst: Jake (no ifs, ands, or) Butt. 24-20 Ducks 1 2 245 yards

Thank you, David. This is the first road trip outside the Pacific time zone since Dante went down. The journey to Champaign is one of the trips on the schedule that has OBD traveling East every other week before playing UW at home in Week 13. To the Central time zone this week, and then to the Eastern time zone in Week 10 and Week 12. Defense travels, right? Hopefully, as you noted, David, the Defense that showed up against UCLA and Nebraska, is the D we'll see on Saturday, absent a raucous Autzen crowd. In the other road game played in the Central time zone this season, with a 9 AM Pacific kickoff, the defense was MIA. Saturday's game kicks off at Noon Pacific. Illinois starting QB Katin Houser, who was having an excellent season in the midst of his team's struggles, is one of many B1G starting QBs injured and out. True freshman QB Michael Clayton gets the start. Clayton played well in relief of Houser on the road against Michigan State, leading the Illini to a victory in OT. Clayton and the team have had an extra week to prepare for this game. A scheduling quirk that should not happen to a team traveling two time zones to play a game. Saturday is Military Appreciation Day in Champaign. 3-3 Illinois is hoping for the eighth sellout in the last eleven games. It is difficult to win a conference game without a run game, especially a road game. Which version of Dylan Raiola will we see? If it's UCLA Dylan ... Gulp! I think Oregon wins but does not cover the 9.5 points. Thanks for your pregame thoughts. All time, Oregon is 1-1 at home vs. Illinois, 0-2 on the road. Oregon is 2-0 vs. Bielema, including the 2012 Rose Bowl win against Wisconsin. Can't catch him! Him being DAT. And Kiko Alonso played a great game. BEAT BIELEMA!

Who are these guys? Up the road apiece, they're having a heck of a season featuring an out-of-nowhere coach, QB, and WR. Do the Beavers have the money to keep these three in Corvallis? Last night, JMU lost to App State in OT. Oregon State's game at Boise State on 11/14 could decide the G6 PO representative. CFB-HQ On SICollege Football Freshman on Track to Surpass Jeremiah Sm...The 2026 college football season has had plenty of big moments and big players, but-- sorry, Jeremiah Smith-- is having a bigger season than a previously unknow

I respectfully disagree. Bryce is bringing down an estimated $3 million a year in direct revenue sharing and NIL deals. In 2026, his QBR rating is 53.3, 77th in the nation. In six games, he's thrown 5 TD passes and 6 interceptions. Michigan is 16th in the Big Ten in Points Per Game. What kind of pay cut is he willing to take? Which coach on Oregon's staff could coach him up to perform like the nation's best QB recruit? Does he have what it takes to play QB in the Power 2? I think this would be a B1G and a costly gamble. In 2027, Oregon has to find and pay talented O-line players and replace four starters on the D-line. If a team can't run the ball in the Power 2, no QB will make much of a difference. In 2027, Oregon plays Iowa, Ohio State, and Penn State at home. And plays five B1G games on the road: Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, and UW. Not the schedule you want for a QB to learn on the job.

The play in the SEC in 2026 to date justifies Greg Sankey's decision to back a 24-team playoff. You never know which team will show up. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/gamedaykickoff102226/week-8-top-games-upsets-preview