AnotherOD

I don't get it either. It certainly understand it is pretty tough for Oregon State (and WSU) dropping to the G6; but, you know, here we are. Top programs really aren't passing on one extra home game's worth of revenue to play a 1-for-1s or even a 2-for-1s with G6 teams anymore. Ohio State isn't signing up for 1-for-1 with a MAC team, Alabama isn't signing up for a 1-for-1 with a Sun Belt team. The last 25 seasons, I don't think Georgia has played a single OOC road game against a G6 opponent. I think Ohio State has had one, a weird 1-for-1 with Navy (and the Navy home game was played in Baltimore's NFL stadium). Alabama has had one, a weird 2-for-1 with South Florida (and the USF home game was played in Tampa Bay's NFL home stadium). Michigan has had one, a weird 1-1 with UConn (where they tried to move the UConn home portion to MetLife or Gillette and UConn refused). Texas used to sign a bunch of 2-for-1s and 1-for-1s but stopped about 15 years ago when they got tired of return games in the likes of Laramie (Wyoming), El Paso (UTEP), and New Orleans (Tulane) for a one time OOC home game. Since the 2009 game in Laramie, I think Texas has only had one G6 OOC road game, and that was a 2-for-1 with BYU (if being Independent back then counted as G6). If Oregon State returns to the P4, I could possibly see an argument (not unlike Georgia-Georgia Tech or Florida State-Florida). Until then, going 1-for-1 with the G6 isn't thinking like the rest of the programs you aspire to keep pace with (Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, and so on). LSU? One OOC G6 road game since 2001 (Tulane in 2007 as part of a 3-for-1).

Makes you wonder where the AD has been? Seems like as an AD you have to be either all-in or all-out with your football/basketball HC? If there is money for a basketball GM, if you are Altman, why would you turn down the help? Odd.

It will be interesting to see. I've been thinking about it and I think it comes down a bit to Dan, at his core, being a (relatively) conservative coach on both sides of the ball (not unlike Kirby). I think Dan being young, coming from that 2021 Georgia team with its dominant high havoc/pressure rate defense, and going for it on 4th down a lot early at Oregon has led, in part, to a greater perception of Dan as a risk-taker. Instead, the "Oregon Offense" Mehringer references is largely an efficiency offense that runs the ball, distributes the ball to its players in space, tries to limit TOs, and tries to beat people with overall talent. Dan still does the 4th down thing a fair amount; but, I've always though it was more about a calculation of which side of the ball he trusts more, than a desire to play risky. Early on, he trusted his offense more than his defense and probably felt getting 2 yards on 4th down was a better bet than his defense holding up. Against Texas Tech, maybe it was more the opposite, he saw he could trust his defense enough that going for it to land the knockout score wasn't really a huge risk. I'm yelling at the TV "punt the damn ball they obviously aren't driving 80 yards for a score today" while Dan is thinking, if I go for it and score, the game is going to be out of reach, so the rest won't matter, and if we fail, our defense still is likely to hold. The defense IMO has always been heavily "bend-but-don't-break", five DBs, mixing cover 2 and cover 3, 6 man boxes, limited traditional blitzing. That 2021 Georgia defense was just so loaded with guys beating people up one-on-one with superior talent, it looked like the product of an aggressive scheme when it was at its core a pretty safe scheme with a bunch of future NFL guys winning their battles. With the talent at QB and WR, there is almost no way there won't be more explosives from the passing game. I think it likely won't be scheme change but having a bunch of future NFL guys making more plays in the passing game than abandoning the base philosophy. Plus, I think deep down Dante's wired with a bit of that gunslinger in him. It's interesting to see how Indiana does this year because I see Cignetti as a bit more of a calculated risk taker. Compared to the early 2010s, I think overall college football coaching is back to being more conservative (so Dan isn't alone).

This breakdown of Tommy Tofi's Spring game I thought was very encouraging. (Not sure if link is working. It comes up if one searches YouTube for Landon Tengwall)

257 players drafted. P4 schools: 239 players G6 schools: 13 players FCS: 4 players International: 1 player

I think the two misses were both from over 50 yards, he was good from 35 and 45. I think Hurych is thought to have a bit more leg than Sappington, today might have been the staff examining/testing that out? I think Sappington was only the third UO kicker to finish his career with an 80%+ career FG percentage in the last 50 years, so back-to-back would be a nice step.

Early line? Combat Ducks: -3.5 🙂

Lists at 5-11 and 180, about the same size as Jadon Canady (5-11 and 185)? Some similarities between Stanford's recruiting profile and Canady's draft profile. Nickel CB? Stanford: • Plays physical with wiry strength above listed size • Displays sudden acceleration in a variety of situations, pairing that with high-level awareness and anticipatory skill • Also shows quick-twitch redirection, whether running routes or breaking on throws • Boasts strong track numbers in the 60, 100, and 200 meter sprints: 10.71/22.06 Canady: • Twitch for short-area corrections to smother routes, sticky man coverage corner • Speed to deter throws over the top, speed in his backpedal and half-turn... quick to trigger and close on routes breaking in front, closing burst • Falls below most traditional size thresholds... Canady makes up for those shortcomings with his twitch, which allows him to stay sticky • All-State performer in track and field. He finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles at the 3A state track meet in the 300-meter hurdles in 2019

I was thinking about that 2022 Oregon-Georgia game because, at the time, by typical "roster composition" measures, the teams didn't appear to be miles apart. Georgia was #2 and Oregon was #7. Maybe a belief Cristobal had closed the gap in recruiting and 51 overall blue chips to 68 didn't seem like a huge gap? After the blowout, a deeper dive showed, while Cristobal had improved recruiting, it still wasn't a lot of top 50 recruits. It also wasn't a lot of top 100 recruits. It was more a lot of guys ranked around 150-380 boosting the grade. Georgia in 2022 was a different story. At kickoff: Georgia: Top 50 recruits: 20 Top 100 recruits: 33 Their top 50 guys ranked: #1, #4, #4, #5, #8, #11, #17, #18, #19, #23, #24, #26, #27, #28, #33, #35, #36, #38, #45, and #46. Oregon: Top 50 recruits: 7 Top 100 recruits: 12 Their top 50 guys ranked: #6, #13, #16, #31, #33, #40, and #41 Today, Oregon has 19 top 50 recruits and 27 top 100 recruits (in this new era where stockpiling and stashing talent arguably has become more difficult).

Added to the group Texas, Alabama, and LSU. Based on most likely suggested fall two deeps, I've got the 6 highest rated two-deep rosters: Georgia: 9 five star, 20 top 100, 38 blue chips Oregon: 9 five stars, 18 top 100, 37 blue chips Texas: 11 five stars, 17 top 100, 31 blue chips Ohio State: 6 five stars, 17 top 100, 39 blue chips Alabama: 8 five star, 16 top 100, 35 blue chips LSU: 6 five stars, 11 top 100, 32 blue chips TEXAS: QB: Manning (#1) / Lacey (#156) RB: Brown (#42) / Smothers (#379) WR: Coleman (#5) / Lockett (#18) WR: Wingo (#39) / Berkhalter (UR) WR: Mosley (#500) / McCutcheon (#103) TE: Masunas (#1053) / Townsend (#90) OL: Goosby (#414) / Chatman (#194) OL: Seymore (#183) / Sikorski (#1391) OL: Robertson (#601) / Christian (#606) OL: Baker (#32) / Cajoe (#824) OL: Siani (UR) / Coleman (#750) DE: Jackson (#21) / Terry (#12) DT: Terry (#129) / Johnson (#104) DT: Watson (#1220) / Sharma (#218) DE: Simmons (#18) / Orogbo (#104) LB: T.Smith (#350) / Atkinson (#30) LB: Biles (#922) / Cryar (#1014) CB: Mascoe (#846) / Roberson (#257) CB: Phillips (#27) / Black (#34) S: D.Williams (#49) / Filsaime (#37) S: McDonald (#70) / Johnson-Ruboll (#206) S: Littleton (#65) / Mack (#149) ALABAMA: QB: Russell (#3) / Mack (#73) RB: Hill (#121) / Riley (#136) WR: Williams (#8) / Scott (#303) WR: Morgan (#43) / Meadows (#126) WR: Brooks (#185) / Rogers (#54) TE: Pritchett (#286) / Edwards (#163) OL: Carroll (#12) / Miller (#16JC) OL: Sanders (#313) / Fields (#1097) OL: Delgatty (#2179) / Strayhorn (#519) OL: James (#2319) / Waldrep Jr (#365) OL: Lloyd (#45) / Brooks (#239) DE: Thompkins (#636) / Umeozulu (#146) DT: Green (#254) / Bingley-Jones (#152) DE: Simmons (#514) / E.Hill (#192) ED: Pierre (#31) / J.Hill (#60) LB: Reese (#841) / Metz (#288) LB: Woodson (#922) / Jones (#272) CB: Brown (#30) / Edmonds (#28) CB: Sabb (#96) / Taylor (#62) S: Hubbard (#316) / Miney (#27) S: Lee (#14) / McDonald (#51) S: Morgan (#294) / Kirkpatric Jr (#866) LSU: QB: Leavitt (#313) / Longstreet (#25) RB: Berry (#15) / Durham (#88) WR: Wilson (#109) / Watkins (#167) WR: Harris (#695) / Holloway (UR) WR: JBrown (#1403) / TBrown (#89JC) TE: Green (#105) / M.Thomas (#1591) OL: Seaton (#13) / Thomas (#41) OL: Bah (#353) / Thompkins (#627) OL: Moore (#748) / Satterwhite (#211) OL: Harper (#131) / Strey (#449) OL: Davis (#111) / Jones (#115JC) DE: Umanmielen (#218) / Ross (#22) DT: Green (#115) / Woods (#1749) DT: McKinley (#14) / Blocton (#434) DE: Reliford (#224) / J.Brown (#282) LB: Weeks (#154) / Keys (#402) LB: Dottery (#227) / Singleton (#151) CB: Pickett (#11) / J.Jackson (#56) CB: Woodland (#506) / Turner (#392) S: Cooley (#990) / Delane (#55) S: Spears (#96) / Jimcoily (#388) S: Benefield (#982) / Thomas (#355)

To date: • possible good news is Oregon is sitting with the current #7 portal in class • possible bad news is it lost the portal's #18 and #41 rated players and has replaced them with the #74 and #164 rated players (Dezdrick Lindsay and Pharaoh Compton both UR - 247 ratings)

I imagine most of us recall the post game after Dan Lanning's first game at Oregon on 9/3/2022, where Georgia whipped Oregon 49-3 and Kirby Smart remarked, "They'll bounce back from this, and he knows we have better players. He'll never say that, but he knows we've got better players." The thought at the time from Kirby for Oregon fans (I believe) was for them not to worry as Dan would eventually get his guys and close the talent gap (to be patient). So here we are on April 11, 2026, and I thought I would take a look and see where things stand? There of course are different ways to do this, such as blue-chip ratios and roster talent composition rankings; but, I was thinking about it and those usually use all commits (usually about 85 out of 105 which most schools seem to roughly be sticking to so far). Not a bad way, but really using 85 includes nearly 40 players (no kickers included) who likely mostly won't impact the upcoming season. A close look at talent composition that mostly impacts the season should probably be the 44 players in the two-deep. So, I took a look at rough best guesses for Oregon and Georgia, and threw in Ohio State for another comparison point. I think I have a pretty good best guess on Oregon. Ohio State I follow somewhat closely. Georgia not so much so I took a Spring two deep from a pretty good Georgia site and compared it to a second Georgia site (all 3 teams in a 5 DB base defense). What did I find? All 3 teams arguably are now nearly about even in talent, at least on paper. In each two-deeps: Oregon: 9 five stars 18 top 100 players 37 Blue Chips Ohio State: 6 five stars 17 top 100 players 39 Blue Chips Georgia: 9 five stars 20 top 100 players 38 Blue Chips The Spring rosters. Not the highest rated roster one could put together, but a best guess on the actual two-deep. National ranking 247 Composite. OREGON TWO DEEP QB: Moore (#4) / Raiola (#7) RB: Davison (#172) / Hill (#230) WR: Stewart (#6) / Bair (#27) WR: Moore (#9) / Lott (#33) WR: McClellen (#86) / Hooks (#1875) TE: Johnson (#190) / Dixon (#655) OL: Crader (#247) / Addison (#102) OL: Iuli (#191) / Rogers (#821) OC: Laloulu (#344) / Brooks (#445) OL: Utu (#161) / Iheanacho (#29) OL: Wilson (#388) / Ferguson (#962) DE: Uiagalelei (#47) / Rushing (#26) DL: Washington (#246) / Breland (#36) DL: Alexander (#101) / Robinson (#262) DE: Tuioti (#213) / Wyatt (#202) LB: Jackson (#109) ) Williams (#199) LB: Mixon (#718) / Platt (#178) CB: Finney (#47) / Offord (#17) CB: Iffy (#55) / Scott (#51) S: Perich (#72) / McNutt (#73) S: Flowers (#102) / Woodyard (#116) S: Williams (#600) / Brew (#98) OHIO STATE TWO DEEP QB: Sayin (#20) / St. Clair (#4) RB: Jackson (#213) / Rogers (#97) WR: Smith (#1) / Guilford (#75) WR: Innis (#35) / Parker (#53) WR: Henry (#24) / McCuin (#922) TE: Christian (#408) / Roberts (#203) OL: Sierveld (#300) / Lowe (#74) OL: Montgomery (#120) / Van Sickle (#283) OC: Hinzman (#188) / Cook (#378) OL: Daniels (#771) / Padilla (#228) OL: Moore (#168) / Armsteong (#388) DE: Jackson (#60) / Atkinson (#249) DT: Houston (#26) / Smith Jr. (#245) DT: Smith (#41) / Walker (#96) DE: Grady (#114) / Russaw (#64) LB: Pierce (#204) / Alliegro (#1271) LB: Pettijohn (#101) / Alford (#144) CB: Matthews Jr. (#148) / Calhoun (#397) CB: Sanchez (#5) / Kelly (#374) S: McClain (#375) / Rocker (#841) S: Moore (#1116) / Bing (#208) S: Little Jr. (#84) / Timmons (#47) GEORGIA TWO DEEP QB: Stockton (#124) / Puglisi (#114) RB: Frazier (#49) / Bowens (#225) WR: Canion (#194) / Wiley (#91) WR: Humphreys (#487) / Taylor (#20) WR: White-Helton (#444) / Roldan (#306) TE: Luckie (#145) / Williams (#455) OL: Greene (#45) / E.Oghoko (#72) OL: Uini (#94) / Calhoun (#113) OC: Bobo (#664) / Tolliver (#1102) OL: Glover (#321) / Short (#250) OL: Gaston (#52) / Jackson (#990) DE: Griffin (#3) / McLeod (#117) DT: Hall (#40) / N.Oghoko (#757) DT: Harris (#66) / Williams (#62) DE: Q.Johnson (#368) / Gibson (#9) LB: Williams (#5) / Kruah (#340) LB: Wilson (#28) / Cole (#29) CB: Robinson (#2) / Conley (#592) CB: D.Jones (#50) / Williams (#93) S: Bolden (#13) / Morgan (#274) S: K.Jones (#668) / Branch (#58) S: Dinkins (#363) / Barnes (#399)

Best Record Since Covid Season (2020) • Georgia 65-7 (90.3) • Ohio State 59-10 (85.5) • Oregon 58-12 (82.9) • Michigan 57-12 (82.6) • Notre Dame 54-13 (80.6) • Alabama 56-14 (80.0) • USC 39-26 (60.0) Losses to Teams that Finished with Less than 10 Wins Since Covid Season (2020) • Oregon 1 • Georgia 1 • Ohio State 1 • Michigan 2 • Notre Dame 4 • Alabama 5 • USC 13 [ Oregon @ Stanford (3-9) 24-31 OT ] [ 2021 ]

Ok, more from SI. Maybe some missing context here? • The article uses "flipped" but I don't recall any indication Oregon ever really clearly was in the lead for Lang? In college football not getting a kid a program never really led for is pretty common. • Regardless USC has always recruited nearby Mater Dei well. They had 3 commits from there just last year. Since 2001, Mater Dei has produced something like 80 FBS players, somewhere around 57 being "power four". USC doesn't recruit them all. However, out of Mater Dei's 25 highest rated recruits 14 have picked USC. USC getting a kid from Mater Dei is about as shocking a headline as "Oregon lands recruit from Sheldon High". • Out of those nearly 60 power five kids since 2001, Oregon has gotten 5. Out of the 25 highest ranked players, Oregon has gotten 2, Aydin Breland (20) and Mase Funa (22). The other three being Lipe Moala (35), Austin Faoliu (39), and Jack Ressler (40). In 25 seasons what is that, one every five years? Getting Lang always was going to be a bit more of an upset for Oregon, while the article (and the USC tweet) sure seem to imply it being some kind of recruiting coup? [ Small edit: I did just realize Jordan Davison or Nassir Wyatt are missing. I believe the list used did not include 2025 Mater Dei recruits ] • Lanning and Riley both have been recruiting at their schools since 2002. So far, Oregon has ranked 6.6 in the 247 Composite and USC 22. Throw out the first class (where Oregon was 13 and USC had a small class rated 70); and, it is still Oregon ranked #5 and USC #10. Overall, Lanning's recruits have averaged 92.2 and USC 91.2. That matches 247's overall roster composition at kickoff last season of Oregon at 91.1 rated #5 and USC 89.7 rated #17. • Checking a USC board I sometimes lurk, consensus is USC was initially slow putting together NIL for high school recruits and didn't necessarily have a local emphasis. That has changed since GM Chad Bowden was hired. Now it is paying up and emphasizing local recruits (5/6 of their commits so far are from California). Pete Nacos of On3 stated (2/4/26) that USC was the top spender in NIL last year, noting overall #42 nationally rated TE Mark Bowman getting $5 to 6.5 million over his first 3 year. If mostly accurate, Lang to USC should not really be seen as any sort of big surprise.

Agreed. I know there are some issues relating to the company named in the letter (Charlie Health) and the Oregon Health Authority over the renewal of their COA to operate in Oregon; but, if Dante's experiences help bring more awareness to the bigger issues, it seems like a big plus.