Haywarduck

For the record Oregon is 15-11 when they are part of college game day. UCLA is 3-6 when on college game day, and predictably just can't handle the pressure. UCLA also hasn't won in Eugene since 2004 when we were under Helfrich. This will be another massive test for Lanning, win game day! I think it will be an even bigger test for UCLA, and they won't know what hit them, crowd, weather, and the Dan Lanning led Ducks. 'It was like there was 12 guys on the field every play, and I couldn't hear myself think!'

And like the article said, the Pac-12 will smile when Utah and Oregon play for the Pac-10 Championship, with the socal schools watching from home. I did listen to Lincoln Riley post game interview and the guy fits right in with the sc culture. He said, I'll paraphrase, they almost blew out Utah on several occasions and the refs blew it for us. I thought I didn't like sc and Riley before the interview. He couldn't just say Utah was a great team and it was a hard fought game, the definition of a putz. I will say the sc passing game is effective, the transfer machine worked for their passing attack. Their running game wasn't so effective against Utah. Utah is a good team and showed how hard it is to win on the road in the Pac-12, and I suppose in the SEC, right Alabama?

I won't answer directly, but you get the idea.

I think Belushi said it best when thinking about the socal fanbase. Socal fanbase on the left, Oregon fanbase on the right.

Name two ranked programs with as pathetic attendance as these two LA schools. I am sure they will sellout out for their Rutgers games in the future, good riddance!

It comes down to red zone performance, one position. Can the Ducks slam the door in the red zone, or only gives up field goals? Can the Ducks finish off drives with TD's and not settle for field goals. We will be looking at a top recruit from 2018 and 2019 from each program battling it out. They will be going at it for dominance in the Pac-12. DTR and Bo were both elite qb's coming out of high school, and were given plenty of chances to lead a program to the playoffs. This game will show which one, or maybe both will come of age on the football field, and show they are ready for the next level. DTR needs to keep being the passing leader. Bo will have to, again, lead with his feet when the opportunity is there. I think the difference will be can Bo lead with his arm more this game, and put on an arial show? Both qb's are experienced leaders, with plenty of game. I hope it doesn't come down to mistakes by the qb's, but that might be one of the answers. Which qb throws the pics, fumbles, or gets rattled by the opposing defense? It might just be one qb hits a defense he can't crack. Or he cracks under something he hasn't seen. I think what we will see is a qb performance we could only dream about since Justin willed his way to wins at the end of his senior year. Bo will put up a performance like Justin did, winning with his arm and legs. His passing will have to step up and there will have to be a few runs where the sideline isn't the goal, only the pylon. Whatever happens I think this will be a Pac-12 game the rest of the nation should pay attention to because offense will be back. We will have Chip leading an elite offense again at Autzen. The difference this time, he just might be overmatched by the Ducks new offensive leader, and our new head coach. Oh the drama, it will be everywhere!

Great idea, but what a support staff! That was a lot of work putting all that on, and it looked like it went off without a hitch. Good food, and great fun, well done! I also love seeing Lanning in jeans, and a t-shirt, nothing too fancy, just one of the guys.

Agree with Nix, but the Runningback room has been a pleasant surprise. I thought we would have a drop off after losing Verdell. Not sure if anyone else has flashbacks of LaMike when these new guys are running through the defenses. I have to check to see if it is 21 back on the field running for us sometimes.

Sailer's top rating is for sale. You have to attend the camps to get the rating. I hate to say it, but lazy programs recruit from these rating services. I hope the program went more in depth than relying on the Sailer rating, bet they did. Agree there are too many failures from these rating services to provide a scholarship to a prospective student athlete. Have a competition every year and provide a scholarship to the kid who proves himself. One of my favorites was Henry Katleman who left for a scholarship after proving himself at Oregon.

I think the biggest surprise is the lack of surprises after most fans went into the season so hopeful. When you have a coach who has never been a head coach, other than a 3rd grade basketball team while in high school, you really don't know how all the dynamics are going to work out. Notre Dame hired a coach much like Lanning, no head coaching experience. They lost their first two games, the second against Marshall, at home. I think they have struggled to win the games they have won. This was the kind of start I thought we might see, some struggles. Instead we have seen every assistant make their position group better each week. We have seen a coach on the sideline cool as iced tea on a hot day. There certainly have been little things to complain about, but they have been little. Recruiting has been next level too. His transfers and recruits are working out. I personally have been surprised we haven't seen more weaknesses in Dan Lanning's preseason persona. The guy really is the real deal! The next question is what will his kryptonite going to be. Will there be a program he struggles against, one coach? Will there be a character issues he can't control, penalties, some student athletes losing their edge? Right now I am still waiting to see anything which is a flaw which can't be improved upon or, really is a flaw. That surprises me more than anything.

Bluto, if my Animal House trivia is correct, wasted 7 years because he had no credits, and a 0.00 grade point average. I doubt if Popo has no credits or a 0.00 grade point average. I don't see that he has a degree yet, so maybe he is going to outdo Bluto in all three areas? But if he is even close to Bluto's record we must remember this famous line from Bluto himself, (some questionable language, listener discretion advised!)

UCLA is 1-9 in the last ten games against the Ducks. Chip Kelly has never beaten the Ducks. How big do you think this game is to Chip Kelly? I would say this is a massive game for a guy who has the ego Chip has. Nothing could be bigger than going to Autzen and beating the Ducks, especially now. The guys team is ranked 10th. He is finally getting some respect again, and his old program could knock him off that pedestal. Last time he fell off, or jumped off the pedestal, drunk from success. 10 years ago he chose to leave Oregon close to the top of the college football world with the intention of continuing that success in the NFL. He was fired, fired again, and has struggled for the last 4 years. He has 8 awards for coaching, all of them came while he was at Oregon. The guy who wants to win this game more than anyone on either sideline is none other than Chip Kelly. Ironically the guy who will probably win this game is just focused on winning the day.

The first sentence got me, 'he would bring a tough, innovative offense after shaping Justin Herbert' WHAT!!!!!!??????

I think validation is an interesting term to use at this stage of Dan Lanning's tenure. I would use the term affirmation to describe what a win would mean for Lanning and his fans. It seems like every move Lanning makes is an affirmation of just how amazing he is seen by his fans and players. I was cautious about just how excited the fanbase was about what the new staff was going to bring. So far there has been one bump, one that should've been expected. The term redemption is, I think, an extremely accurate term when describing what a win would mean to Chip. He has been destroyed by many fans for his moves up to this point. A win would help him restore some of his prowess he once had as the Oregon Head Coach. My take is a loss won't lesson my conviction that in the end Lanning is the better coach. The road may seem short to where we want Lanning to take us, but I have a feeling there will be bumps, some unexpected. A win by Chip would be a statement, but not a validation. Proof of product is done over time, and Mr. Lanning has plenty of time to prove he is directing this program in the right direction, with the Oregon offense, and defense back to where we want, expect it. Go Ducks!

You don't sell it, you install it. It is your family and what is acceptable to you is what counts. Reminds me of what my son said one time, ok maybe a few times, 'when I'm dad I'm going to do things different.' My reply, 'I look forward to seeing that happen.' I also don't mean to minimize the difficulty of what you do. Like a parent, the tough stuff isn't often seen by those affected. You have a huge impact, positive impact on this community. The choices are yours and I will support whatever you come up with, and for the record, I wouldn't do anything different!

Player and coaches are like family, sometimes they need some tough love, but you keep it constructive. Players, coaches: The way I look at it is players and coaches are, again, like family. Would you call family, your son for example, Turnover Johnny Junior? Would you say please never play my son again? Would you use an uzi, bullets and a target when trying to describe your son, well maybe some fans, but it isn't necessary. For ex coaches: Now if family leaves, divorces your sister, all gloves are off for the buffoon, who you only use to criticize in private. As far as the McCoys from across the way who keep trying to steal your property, and offend you with everything they do, gloves are always off. We should keep it constructive, but a good laugh at the neighbors expense is all in good fun. Crazy day, just my two cents.

Great stats to substantiate your take! Dilly coached Bo when he had those stats. Bo would be clobbered on here with his freshman, sophomore stats. Is Ty just doing what Bo would have? Also agree it would be nice to see Butters get a shot. It might do both of the back-ups good. I will say I hope the fans don't crucify him if he doesn't look all world in garbage time. It is amazing when a starter struggles everyone loves the back-up. When the starter is good everyone worries about the back-up and no one measures up. Kind of predictable emotional response patterns. I just hope the coaches and the players keep their heads down while plowing ahead. We are lucky to have Bo, and we need to develop our back-ups.

I think the bruins kryptonite might be a big road game. The dawgs were shown to be a fraud once they hit the road, not a surprise. USC has struggled on the road. Utah also has had a hard time on the road. I would bet sc and ucla will struggle with their next games, on the road. I will guarantee Autzen won't be a fun place to play, and it won't be an empty stadium like they are use to. It will be loud, hostile, might even be cold, and yes, wet! I can hear the bruin players already, 'how can you play football with all that noise, and it is cold, this isn't fun!'

It is interesting we are crowning Bo with, he has 'it,' while he was told for years he didn't have it. We now are saying Ty doesn't have 'it' before he has even started a game. I think the staff is very wise to have a third year guy ready to go next year as very few freshman are ready to lead a program out of high school. If Bo doesn't come back do we chase off Ty and Butters and sign another transfer to help Moore? We don't hate you Charles, just disagree, and trust Lanning will have a plan that just might include Ty and Butters.

Just wait until he has his guys, and that stadium built only 9 miles away. Wait, they have to wait, they signed him for $80 million and 10 years.

Kellen Clemens looked like anything but a star when he stepped on the field. Dennis Dixon had one great year and looked mediocre the rest of the time. I will agree to disagree on this one. Ty has been sent in for clean up duty. DJU looked terrible last year, and is leading his team to the top of the rankings. Robby Ashford couldn't even break the top 4 within this group and has started for Auburn. I could go on. Also I trust these coaches more than the previous coaches and they are playing him. I love it when I disagree with Charles, because it seldom happens, but is a healthy sign.

I give Mario a lot of credit, and feel bad about being right up to this point. I am grateful for how he set up the program for the success we see now. I just know we wouldn't be seeing what we see now, and am grateful for that too! I am ready to move on from predictions of his demise. I am full of passion for the Ducks we have now. I suppose I was just pissed, and missed our Ducks of old and now we have them again. I am complete, once more!

Bo Nix is getting ready to lead a team to a win. The difference with Ty is he is getting ready to lead mop up time. I would agree he isn't getting up for that opportunity. I do wonder what Ty would look like if he was getting ready to start. I also wonder what Ty would be like if he was put in needing to perform to save a game. Right now I will agree he doesn't look good getting ready to lead mop up time. He needs to up his readiness for whatever comes his way, because he doesn't know what that will be. When he looks like he does I, like many, wonder what Butters might look like.

I would say Nix is a more skilled version of Tim Tebow. If Tebow can win the Heisman then there is no reason Bo can't. I will add there was no way Tebow wins if Dixon had stayed healthy!

The tough thing for a young team to do is stay in the top 10. There is something about young men reaching that level. This is why I think the game after UCLA may be the trap game. CAL, and playing at Berkley might be the trip point of the season. So far Coach Lanning has these young men building and getting better. The question is when and if they pause, ponder their greatness, and have somebody make their season with a win. Or can Dan Lanning pull off a miracle first season? I tend to think the whole ranking thing might just be, like the cover of SI, the kryptonite for this young team. High rankings get other teams to really shoot for you, and it sometimes sets up young athletes to finally let their guard down.