noDucknewby

I guess we've all got pretty high expectations? I don't remember the last time a conference win on the road by 3 TDs could even be considered "unsatisfying". Yet here we are and I do feel a bit that way. This thing should have been over at halftime 35-3. That pick-6 was a huge deflation that killed our momentum going into the second half. Still, the defense played solidly and we can nit-pick about the UCLA third down conversions, but the bottom line is that the D kept them out of the end zone on their home turf. That will get you a win just about every time. Certainly a "tale of two halfs", which has kind of become trite at this point in the season. Gawd that second half was ugly on offense. What I will say is that our ability to run the ball in the 4th quarter to strangle the last bit of life out of UCLA shouldn't be understated. They knew exactly what we were doing, put everything they had into stopping it and we just forced our will on them.

Agree. If cooler heads prevailed this would have made sense, but the P-2 weren't giving up their ill-gotten booty and the MWC (especially the commissioner that doesn't want to be unemployed) wasn't willing to dissolve. IMHO some kind of merger agreement could have been figured out, but the P-2 struck the first blow and there's no going back from there. The only real winner here is the broadcast/broadband industry, because IMHO when the dust settles there's going to be one less TV contract to pay out. There's no way they're going to pay twice for essentially the same product as the former MWC. Regardless, I'm finding this all quite entertaining in a very schadenfreude kind of way.

No question the Civil War means a lot less at this juncture, but giving Beavis a good butt-whupping never gets old in my book. College football is a completely different sport than it was just 5 years ago and traditional rivalries are being replaced by new ones, all part of the New World Order. That said, the Civil War (or whatever it's called) will always matter to me and a lot of other Oregonians and I hope it continues.

Great memories for sure! I have a couple of personal favorites: 2009 the Civil War for the Roses, winner take all. With a 4-point lead Chip masterfully runs the last 9 or so minutes off the clock culminating in a fourth down conversion where Masoli absolutely levels the rodent safety to ice it. Sitting in the stands with my brother, just watching the clock tick off those final seconds as the crowd goes nuts. Still gives me goose bumps. 2010 top-ten matchup against Stanford, down 21-3 in the first half. Oregon gets a TD then Chip goes for the onside kick and gets another to close the gap at halftime. In the second half LaMike pulls off a 76-yard TD to turn the game into a blowout. Doubly good day, we caught two steelhead that morning in the Willamette, one right underneath the Autzen footbridge. If that's not a sign then I don't what is! And yes Fright Night was amazing too as others have said. Damn the stadium felt like it was going into orbit there was so much energy.

Personally I don't take issue with what they're doing, i.e. looking out for their own best interests. After the SoCal exodus the remaining P-12 members would have had zero qualms about raiding another conference, even if it caused it's ultimate demise. That's how the game is being played now. I don't like it, but that doesn't change the state of affairs. Crap rolls down hill, B1G>P-12>MWC>Big Sky; SEC>Big-12>AAC>Sun Belt/Conference USA. There's no way all the existing conferences survive and the broadcast giants probably don't want them to (same teams, fewer broadcast deals). As for the P-?/New MWC they've got a decent shot at solid G-5 status and access to the 12-team playoff (unless of course the SEC and the B1G change the rules again, which is certainly possible). The MWC not so much. They've lost their best brands and any replacements would be of lesser caliber. We're getting down to the bottom of the barrel here. Another point, there's no way Stanford and Cal come back to the Pac. They snubbed the Big-12 for the academic status of the ACC, there's no way they affiate with a bunch of cow colleges. Clearly this is an extremely volatile situation. I'm content to sit back with my popcorn and watch the show. Yep the Pig-2 pilfered a whole bunch of $ they weren't entitled to, but who ever said the legal system is fair? I'm over it, we'll be just fine, lack of resources isn't one of our problems.

Control what you can control. September polls don't mean much. Last week's #9 ranking was a bit generous if you ask me after the way we looked against Idaho and BSU. Kind of sucks to get leap-frogged by Miami, but in all honesty they've played much better as a whole than we have up to now. IF (and it's a big if) we are 6-0 after tOSU game then we'll be back in the top 5 for sure, probably top 3. Even if we lose to tOSU (unless it's a blow-out) we're still probably top 10 and favored to win every game on the rest of our schedule except maybe Michigan in the Big House. I guess my point is that whether we're #3 or #9 after week 3 just doesn't matter much. If we're out of the top 10, then that's another matter.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about the defense in the first half. If I remember correctly the bark rats were 6 of 9 on third downs and conseqently we couldn't end their long drives. That said, the second half was just about perfect on both sides of the ball. The defense completely shut down the rodents and our offense wore them down to the point where we could pretty much score at will. Probably could have scored on that last drive with Moore if we wanted to as well. This second half is what the team is capable of and is now the standard going forward IMHO.

Agree there is a need for 7:00 inventory, but why would they cut deals for both the P-? and the MWC? I'm betting they play hardball as they have done in the past with only one of the conferences getting a heavily discounted deal and the other just SOL.

Okay I'll also point out the obvious that none of this matters without a TV deal and who is even willing to explore a new contract until the P-? comes up with the minimum number of members. And why would any carrier be in a hurry? They had no problem sitting back and watching the P-12 die. One less conference for them to pay for, why would you think ESPN or Fox would throw the new P-? a lifeline when they wouldn't do it for the P-12? The carriers have all the advantage and no sense of urgency. This just seems like a losing proposition to me. Apple or CW maybe. Everyone else has already staked out their share.

Just stop it. You can't play the victim while gobbling up another conference, possibly causing its demise. Conference realignment is all about the bottom line, plain and simple. Nobody involved gets to claim the moral high ground so just stop pretending.

Thee who is without sin cast the first toke! 😙

The conspiracist in me thinks this may have been the end game for the P-2 all along. We really don't know what went on behind closed doors in their negotiations. They may have taken a postion that the MWC couldn't possibly agree to (unequal revenue sharing?), then poached their four "best" teams on their way out the door. Pure speculation I know, but what evil lurks in the hearts of men (or women commissioners) . . .? Never a dull moment in the new world order of college football.

Point taken "certainly" may be somewhat overstated but in a matchup who are you going to bet your house on? I'll take LSU.

We're heavily benefitting from our #3 pre-season ranking. This doesn't look like a top-ten team to me (at least at to this point) and we're certainly not playing like one. USC looks for real, granted LSU may be mediocre but they're certainly better than BSU or Idaho. Per usual I'm cautiously optimistic, but at some point we HAVE to show improved play or it's going to be a long season.

The finish of the 2022 UCLA game was masterful, DL's best in-game coaching IMHO. Just going by memory here, but I believe we went into victory formation with over 2 minutes left on the clock. Sure another first down would have absolutely sealed it, but watching Bo's moon shot into the stands to use every last second and deny UCLA even one play was a thing of beauty.

I went through this crap with Charter and the P12 Network for years before they finally came to an agreement. I'd probably be a cable customer forever if they didn't keep jacking up my rates every other month. I guess the cable business model is to just screw their customers while they can before the medium becomes obsolete.

What an exciting game! How does Curry do that? Talk about having a hot hand when it counts. I love the Olympic format. Ten minute quarters and they don't call very many fouls. The game really moves, not drawn out like NBA games are.

Fair points Charles the injuries turned out to be a big factor. That said the game was still winnable and good coaches figure out a way to win the close ones. I'm not down on DL at all, but to my mind he still hasn't come up with that big win I know he's capable of. You got the last word if you want it and Go Ducks!

Agree to disagree Charles, the record is what it is. Injuries are a part of the game. Are those mitigating circumstances? Sure, but doesn't change the poor in-game decisions by DL. Even he admits he should have taken the field goal before halftime. LIke I said, I'm bullish on DL just not pollyannish (not accusing).

That's funny, I taught my daughter about life by overusing football metaphors, but dating metaphors for football?! That said I agree with the analysis, especially the big game wins. Look I'm bullish on Lanning, but at this point what is his signature win? Hell MC had 2 Pac-12 titles and a Rose Bowl win. If my quick Google skills are accurate, MC was 6-1 against Fuskies/Beavis (no Fusky game Covid year). So what is DL's signature win? Maybe 2022 vs UCLA or 2023 vs Colorado? Sure 2-0 in bowl games counts but Libery was hardly a worthy opponent and UNC barely had enough to field a team in the Holiday (big caveat here, Drake Maye wound up as the #3 overall pick in the NFL draft). But we also had Bo. Obviously 0-3 vs Fuskies is the worst, especially since two of those games were probably lost by the coaches. I grudgingly acknowledge they just plain beat us in the Pac-12 Championship this year. Not beating a dead horse here (well maybe a little) but in 2022 he couldn't coach us to a win against Beavis with a 21-point 4th quarter lead and a Pac-12 Championship berth at stake. This past year he couldn't beat the Fuskies on a neutral field with a playoff berth on the line. Again, I remain bullish on Lanning but do I love our chances at a natty this year? Not really, but we've definitely got more than a fighters chance.

Forgive my colloquialism, but the NCAA is screwed, blued and tattooed. I agree with you Jon and you don't have to be a lawyer to know that any settlement that doesn't cap future damages would be disastrous in the long run. It's a new world order and college athletics (or at least the moneymaking portion) has to start with a clean slate by whatever means necessary. If that includes bankruptcy protection then so be it. I think most of us agree in principle that the athletes deserve compensation, but at some point you have to draw the line and move forward. Do we really need to compensate the estate of Knute Rockne for "The Gipper"?

I've said it before, but the north side of the stadium is stuck in the 70s. Rubber dogs and cold pizza woo hoo! Also the choke points on the north side need to be widened. Pretty much everything there needs to be redone (guess where my season tickets are!). And please, if I hear "Don't Stop Believing" one more time I'm going to puke😜!

Man this is turning out to be an expensive divorce. But you know why divorces are so expensive, right? They're worth it🤣!

Had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1, sheesh.

Yeah I figured this was coming. I'm not a big fan of night games, Friday games even less so (although I didn't mind the Civil War games the Friday after Thanksgiving). Many of us who travel for home games are forced to take time off work for a Friday game. I don't mind so much because I'm retired but the wifey is still working (bless her heart) so she won't be thrilled about this. That said, I agree it's a great showcase for the Ducks, but as usual it's a bit of a hardship for travelling fans. Ultimately I'm just hoping for fewer night games period.