Desert Duck

Horrid. One of the cheapest shots I have ever seen. A shot like that could cause serious neurological damage. This is how a brain bleeds happen. Just an absolute stomach turning shot. And the USC ghetto rat is literally smiling on the sideline and proud of himself.

On track for about 100 yards in penalties in the first half.

Gotta say that if we can't handle 85°, we're in deep do-do.

A good article about not writing off a team because of one bad early season loss. My favorite line in this article is: "September tells us plenty of lies." If we win today, we'll have just received a complete reset after an incredibly rough start to the season. What a great opportunity. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/gamedaykickoff092426/2026-gameday-kickoff-week-4-preview-top-games-usc-oregon-alabama

Ducks 38-34 2 2 294

100% spot on, nailed it. We deserve, and frankly have earned, pretty much every ounce of crap that we've been given since our complete implosion against OSU. Right now, to the college football world, we look a lot like a decent sized dog that does a lot of yappin', but simply cannot deliver the big bite. We are being laughed at... right now. However, we also have a golden opportunity to shove it all down their throats. The recipe and solution is 100% in our control. IMHO, It's time to put up, or shut up. Winning is our only pathway to redemption. As the late great Al Davis said: "Just win, Baby!!" Saturday will tell us much. OBD can choose to come together and kick some USC as, or roll over and prove our detractors correct. I'm betting on OBD... 38-34.

That's all awesome news. And hopefully he will live up to his 5 star rating, and #1 QB ranking in his class. I'll know for sure when I get to see him play against a real football program. I'm looking forward to it.

There are people who I am more than glad to see create and obtain serious money. I would absolutely put the Knight's on this list. This single donation doubles their total approximate donations to the University of Oregon -- now at about $2.2 Billion. This comes immediately on the heels from less than 2 weeks ago of their amazing $1.1 billion dollar donation to Providence Health System for Women's Health & Cardiac Services. And it's not like they waited until their Nike stock value was at a high. 2 years ago, when Nike stock was high, it looks like the Knight's net worth was about $40 billion dollars. Today, it's about $25 billion. So, and in the course of just the last couple weeks, they have committed to giving roughly nearly 10% of their current net worth away. And this is certainly not the only money they are giving away. Thank you, Phil & Penny Knight, for modeling how it should, and can be, done.

After OSU, Oregon needed every rep it could get. Plus there's the fact that Lanning generously offered run with 10 minute quarters in the second half... which was promptly rejected by PSU. But I suppose to be nice, Lanning could have pulled out some trick plays and punted on first or second down... you know, just to mix it up a bit. But I'm a big fan of Pop Warner football... for young kids.

For a backup QB, playing against an exceptionally weak and sub-par team, coming into the game in the second half when we were up by 49... I think Raiola performed well. But if the question is what does his performance in this game tell me about him, I'd have to say, very little. But his performance certainly was not discouraging. So, that's good.

Right now, nobody knows what kind of team we've actually got. So, yeah... #20 seems about right to me.

Great story, Charles. Thanks so much for sharing. I'll also say to anyone who has not read Shoe Dog, it is a wonderful book. Only made better because Phil actually wrote it himself... no ghost writer.

We needed this scrimmage game tonight.

I guess my sarcastic prediction of Oregon 34-31 isn't going to hold up tonight. So that's good.

Charles - For the NFL prospects, I think you make very good point that I hadn't thought of yet. And for the guys who are non-starters, hopefully, they see the poor performance last week as an opportunity for them to work even harder for a shot at maybe moving up in the depth chart. I also just can't imagine what it's like for these kids who are playing positions such as safety, edge, wide receiver, DT, & corner, who are suddenly getting paid $1M to $4M on an annual basis, to manage that instant wealth. To from $0 to $2M+ overnight (and that's just for 1 year) without any stipulations or protections on that money, can be a challenge regardless of age, but only more so when your brain is 18 or 19 years old. I'm guessing many of them had to open a bank account for the first time so the check could be deposited. And I'm guessing that most of them are having a lot of fun with that money as well, which is a huge distraction. Not to mention all of the family members and long lost cousins, aunts and uncles, suddenly hitting them up for money. It is a hell of a lot of responsibility, and distraction, for anybody, let alone a teenager.

Oregon 34-31 2 2 222

Don't get me wrong, win the next two games, and all will be forgiven. Start playing like crap and losing after that, and I'll likely be raining down law and judgement.

Win the next two games and all will be forgiven.

Lanning has an incredibly golden opportunity to show all of us, and the entire college football nation, what he is made of. I would not bet against Lanning in the situation.

I'm so impressed with how prepared Oklahoma State was for our Ducks. Especially after they came off such an embarrassing open season loss to Tulsa. That's just an exceptional 7-Day turnaround. Hopefully, we do the same thing.

I haven't read anybody saying that they don't agree with scientific facts. Yes, it was hot and humid. Nobody I've seen is attempting to argue this fact. Like Oregon, Oklahoma State has athletes from all over the United States. Some from cooler climates, some from warmer climates. For 4 hours, most kids who hydrate well, are able to suck it up. We have played both Arizona schools down here when the temp has been 105 or hotter (150° or more on the field), and kicked their butts. So yes, I'm quite certain we all agree, weather has an impact. But it doesn't destroy and embarrass a Top-10 team.

Excellent comment.

Obviously, it's not like Dan woke up Saturday morning and suddenly sucked at coaching college football. So far in Dan's career, he's had quite the storied coaching success, progression, and history ---- which includes having coached on 2 national championship teams. He then stepped into his first HC role at Oregon and into a program that, by all accounts, was primed and ready for him -- I mean specifically for Lanning. And right now he is sitting on an Oregon winning record of 84% -- which I'm pretty sure gives him the #2 winning percentage record at Oregon for coaches with 3+ seasons. And the good news is that although we've embarrassingly had the crap kicked out of us over the past few years in some massively huge games, Lanning is only 40. Meaning, not only is he still learning, but I'm quite confident that he wants to continue learning (especially regarding when not to go for it on 4th down). I'm hopeful our coach is able to put his ego aside a tad bit and be coached himself. Nearly 100% of great leaders have a coach/mentor (Mr. Saban, any chance you could swing by Eugene for a little while?). One of the absolute most important things I'm looking for in any person I'm considering hiring, regardless of how accomplished they may be, is are they coachable. If I don't believe they coachable, the discussion is over. I'm not sure there has ever been a college football coach who has been provided more incredible talent, resources, and effectively the keys to a Hummer that has the equivalent of a 1587+ horsepower Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300 engine under the hood. And now that Dan Lanning is standing very close to the fire, the guy has an absolutely incredible golden opportunity to discover what kind of football coach he really is. Fire is an incredible refiner of gold. "Pressure and hardship do not define a man's worth; it reveals it. Fire, at the right temperature, burns away what is false, tests what is true, and leaves behind something much stronger and more valuable." However, the irony is, if the heat is too hot, gold turns into vapor and the precious resource is destroyed. We walk such a fine line. Great leaders thrive under heat and pressure. Many live for it. Now is the time, with all eyes on him, that we get to see the football stuff that Coach Lanning is truly made of. I’m not much of a betting man, but if I were, I’d put good money on Coach Lanning.

Exactly.

Was it also the hot & humid conditions in Autzen the week before that caused us to play so poorly? Or maybe it was the refs.