Haywarduck

The bottom of the depth chart at RB and QB are looking to the exits. I wouldn't be surprised to see Delgado head that way. If student athletes are not playing then many are seeing the portal light on. I hope we don't lose too many as we need a full roster for the long season ahead. I do wish them all the best of luck with where they end up, and don't forget about that ejukashun!

The difference, Bonds was a pompous, selfish, grade A, A..! I think Tosh made some mistakes, and is an effort grinder, fits right in.

Looks like the first head to head sc, Oregon recruiting battle for a SoCal product with the new head coaches. Let's go Coach Dan Lan!

Or a lesson from Notorious B.I.G.

What is this? Is FishDuck branching out in the offseason?

When too much money meets immaturity, nothing good

I would add acceptable, no actually.............. expected down south, for decades.

And our second game is against a team that waxed PSU last year. The schedule can be looked as favorable, but there aren't any Portland State type games until we play the dawgs in November. I will also say an embarrassing loss can't be looked upon as a good loss. The game against Georgia will be watched by many, and will begin to define the Lanning era. It is a chance to get off with a very good first step, but that isn't guaranteed, at all. I continue to wear my green glasses, but am trying to be as realistic as possible. We need have an upside to our expectations, says the 12-0 prediction guy!

Reflect on that one, your first game as a head coach, on the road, #1 team in the nation, your old team, with a team you have no connections with, and an all new coaching staff. Any of those variables would give anyone in Vegas caution, but many are thinking Lanning has a chance. I never pick against the Ducks, but I never bet. I hope we are understanding of Lanning's learning curve and the road ahead. I really wonder if anything is going to be huge for Oregon going forward. I tend to think there will a lot if incremental moves forward, and a few backward. I do think the program which has helped create multiple great coaches is still alive and well. The question I have is, do we have a fanbase which understand the process and will support it?

Both Oregon and SC need to put a compelling team on the field. Under Cristoball we were at risk of turning off the Oregon identity and brand, sc's was on life support. Georgia is all about their stifling defense. Alabama has become an offensive juggernaut, along with a compelling defense. The tosu program is just about having swagger, and it is a pretty good school. Oregon needs to create excitement about who they are going forward. Do student athletes want to be the next Anthony Brown, or really any of our players on offense? Same can be said about the sc offense, maybe a receiver for the trojans, but no longer do they have a top RB. I agree it is about recruiting and balancing the recruiting, but it is also about turning the lights back on with our program. If the light shines bright enough people will want to watch no matter what time the games are on. Lanning's job is to get the talent, and turn the power back on with the program with an exciting product. The rest will take care of itself, that is the Oregon way! The focus on recruiting is great, but turning the product on the field back into can't miss tv has to be job 1. Recruit, develop and create a compelling product on the field, and keep it growing!

It gives Dan Lanning a bit more validity. The next big step is to win as a head coach. There are two things you need to have, a story you can tell, and a bomb proof story no one can attack. Right now coaches can state the obvious, Lanning has never been a head coach. Saban and Smart are bomb proof, no one can attack them for their lack of winning or experience. I look forward to Dan Lanning's continued development as an extremely viable head coach. Being the DC of a National Champ is just one step. Congrats to Dan Lanning, now it is time to continue to be the hardest, and smartest working head coach we have ever had!

KT raises a great point about alumni hiring past college sports figures. It has been said many times it isn't the fact that you went to college, it is which college, and which connections you got while at college. Your network of friends, gained at this time, creates opportunities. I wouldn't doubt Nike would hire many Oregon athletes over other schools athletes if they had the same skillset, no doubt.

NFL-lite? The NFL has a cap, the college game has no cap. Most of these kids will never see money like they will make in the college game with the way this is set up. 7% of high school players make the jump to college and only 2% of those make the jump to the NFL. College football just made it legal for the professional ranks to grow exponentially. Most of the these 'student athletes' will be fat and broke by the time they leave college football, with few if any marketable skills. It isn't just the college game which will suffer. It is the college student athlete who will suffer the most. The Oregon Program would do well focusing on putting money toward the education and longterm success of these student athletes. High School kids who go to schools mainly because of the money undoubtedly won't have the outcomes they think they might. I have a feeling many of the college football programs will have the outcome of the 'jailblazers' most of us know too well. I at least look for programs to suffer greatly from this move. Texas A&M will be a case study the way it is plays out for now. Think back and imagine making lots of money while going to college, not a productive picture for most, myself included. A student athlete has to be extremely productive, so not a good recipe.

Great point, and while the end isn't here, I think we can see it from here. Saban has had a pretty amazing run, but his tree of coaches is catching up to him, as stated. The next branch is already hard at work, and may be the one to finally see it all come to an end. His legacy is good and strong. I think we saw a little window into how he wants to see it end.

Let the poaching continue, on, and off the field!

Saban speaking to about the journey rather than just the destination. It isn't just about the outcome of one game which defines an individual.

I think this is the first chapter of a new beginning. The combination of elite recruiting and top level coaching should be nice book to read when it is released in the fall. I'm looking for a storyline like a western, where the good guy comes to town, and makes it all good. There is hope in little old Eugene again!

12-0 until I see something to indicate otherwise!

Just start developing more Stetson Bennett type qbs who sticks it out through the competition, and can lead a team. So far we have a couple of those guys, and don't need another transfer. Not against Bo transferring or leading the team, but Oregon needs to support, develop and play some talent they recruit. Transfer are a great tool to bring in competition and upgrade the talent level, but can't be the new way to fill our positions.

The first head to head battle between the two, well done Dan!

And the nice thing is we won't mind if our head coach has a say in how the defense is run. This is a solid staff, and Oregon will continue it's rise to where it is destined to go. A pretty amazing hire, a defensive coordinator from national champ Alabama, who then went to the NFL, and came back to the college game at Oregon to be in the same position he had at Alabama. Let that sink in for a little while, simply a stunning hire!

That is a fascinating observation. As the 13th most populace state with a long border and interstate connecting us we only have 1 walk-on from Washington. If I had to choose, I suppose I would choose beating, actually dominating, the dawgs than having Washington talent on the team. If it is a choice then we have made the right one!

The important item is he will, undoubtedly, feel like he just moved from a JC program to a D1 program. I mean the dawgs lost to Montana, and if you follow the loss trail connects them to a loss to a team called the penguins. I mean who loses to the penguins, a bird which can't fly, and can barely walk. We welcome all extremely talented football players who have made such a mistake. We even welcomed DJ Johnson who mistakenly signed on to a team whose mascot is a weather pattern. He has done amazingly well in our conversion program. Welcome Taki, which means falling water. You find as much falling water, but at least you won't be part of a failing program anymore.

I would say everything is in a constant state of change. Where I live is changing and many want to leave. Can that be said of OBD? What I find interesting is Oregon is becoming what we, once, always battled against. Oregon is becoming elite, and that wasn't what Oregon was when I went to school there. I often find it more gratifying when WSU wins a game against the dawgs, then when Oregon beats them. Same with some of OSU's wins. Seeing an underdog beat a highly ranked team does something for my soul. I definitely didn't find it entertaining to see Oregon try and hold onto their high ranking. What I always enjoyed was the program growing and over achieving as the years past and each season went on. That is no longer the case, expectations are always high, and the oftentimes predictable letdown, less than filling. I don't know that collegiate sports is going away, just going another way.

Here is another way the Oregon Athletic Department should be leveraging the new Hayward Field. The basketball program should be looking for player with insane vertical leap and ability to high jump. There is nothing as intimidating or as entertaining as a shot blocker. This guy was lightly recruited out of high school. We all know the football program should be going after track speed. Is there another way the track program can help draw talent to other programs. The new Hayward Field should be drawing talent. The other programs should use this as an added advantage going forward.