Nevada Dawg

I really like ex-Alabama QB Greg McElroy and his podcast Always College Football. The man lives the sport and is very knowledgeable. If you haven't ever listened, I invite you to do so, especially during the Spring when he dissects the major teams' strengths and weakness and starts making season predictions. But...I heard one of his recent podcasts today in which he did something he doesn't ordinarily do: Wear his crimson tinted glasses, I bring it up now because it is relevant to is thread. He argues, not at all convincingly from my perspective, why Kalen DeBoer was about the perfect coaching hire at Alabama. His argument centers around the fact that DeBoer has been amazingly successful everywhere. Yet he ignores, IMHO, his unfamiliarity with that region of the country and how things work there. He may pull it together and make me look foolish for posting this piece, but he's likely to take some real hits in the process. At this point, color me skeptical about this hire.

I still remember the day I heard of Bo's transfer to Oregon and sent Charles a clip of his highlights at Auburn. My message to y'all was if I was right and Bo had his helmet on straight, you are going to like this guy. I figured that if Dan Lanning wanted him as is QB he would succeed admirably in Eugene. Now my predictions, with a few notable exemptions, usually have some merit. But after 49-3 at the Benz in Atlanta, I suspected to hear some flack on Bo. And I wasn't wrong as several of you were expressing some doubts about Bo and Dan Lanning. I remember jumping on the forum urging patience and caution about being too critical--several times that first week, saying that Rome wasn't built in a day and expressing the belief that ultimately you would feel much more positive about your QB, your Coach, and the direction in which your program was moving. Seeing the way that Duck partisans feel about Bo, Lanning, and the Duck program now, I feel good about my earlier predictions. Hey fellow Duck fans, here's my latest prediction: The best is yet to come!

I am told that DeBoer's biggest mistake was not immediately offering Alabama assistant coach Travaris Robinson the Defensive Coordinator's job upon landing in Tuscaloosa. Trob was immensely popular with the Tide players and noting his availability, Kirby Smart immediately snapped him up. This was a real donnybrook. After Trob accepted the Georgia job, Deboer suddenly offered the full DC position at Bama (he was only offered co-DC duties in Athens, Robinson went back to Bama, listened intently to Deboer's vision, and returned to Athens to take up residence, turning down the Bama offer. This is already having consequences in Tuscaloosa. Several of Bama's younger players, and very talented ones at that, have jumped into the portal, and some are strongly considering the Dawgs at this point. Saban's retirement is probably the major impetus for this, but Trob's association with Georgia is a strong pull for at least 2-3 portal entries to Athens. Nothing has happened yet, so we'll see how important the coaching connection proves to be. My first impression is that DeBoer is making some of the same mistakes Brian Harsin did upon moving from Boise St. To Auburn. Harsin brought his entire staff with him as has DeBoer. None of these guys have much knowledge of the SEC or in-roads with the high school coaches in the region, nor do they have much in the way of recruiting chops in the Southeast. This lack of familiarity and knowledge killed Harsin who insisted this stuff wasn't all that important. It was, and there were many around the Auburn program who wanted to "cut bait" with the man after one year. I know DeBoer is a very good football coach, but he'd better wise up lest he suffer the same fate as Harsin. And Bama partisans, if anything, may be less patient than Auburn's. Which brings me back to Trob who knows the South well and is a superstar recruiter. The list of guys he recruited to Tuscaloosa looks like it could be a group of future candidates down the road for the college football Hall of Fame. Not getting this guy to stay in town was, in my opinion, Deboer's biggest flub thus far and a real boon for Kirby Smart. The man has his work cut out for him and I wish him well.

Good luck on this one. Ducks could use a shut-down corner. Is there any positive feedback stemming from his visit? If so after visiting a rival, that may portend very well for the decision.

So can I David, and for all the reasons mentioned above by spartan 2785. What's more, as a former close rival and occasional pain in the Ducks tailfeathers, he would give us Duck fans one more reason to despise the fuskies.

Two observations today re. Lanning (and the decision to stay in Eugene): Guys on the Dawgnation Daily podcast also see Lanning as having an immediate impact on the B1G next year and expect the Ducks to become a powerhouse in that league (I concur) Former Tide QB Greg McElroy, who is well connected to the Bama program confirmed that DL was contacted first in their coaching search and backed off for two reasons, Lanning's interest in finishing the job he had started in Eugene AND the fact that his buyout for leaving was 20 million dollars. But I think the first of those reasons was the more important in my mind.

The Nick Saban I knew some 50 years ago as a player and college student in my class was actually a quiet, humble, and reflective guy who would not inject himself into another's business unless his advice and council was solicited. Whether he is anything close to that guy after 7 national titles and achieving the designation as GOAT of college football coaches is another matter, but we psychologists know that fundamental aspects of ''core personality don't change radically over the years for most people. Thus, I suspect that Saban would meet with the new coach, impress upon him that this program was now his to run, and stress that he would not be expressing any opinions unless they were requested. Still, it will be hard for the new guy not to think about who he is replacing and not have this knowledge affect him in some way. Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to be that guy, but if I were, you can bet that I would soak up every bit of knowledge that I could from the guy.

The biggest issue on Stewart I'm told, one that caused the Dawgs not to pursue him, was his self-admitted mental issues. I have absolutely no idea what these issues are, but I certainly hope he can pull himself together and start to play somewhere close to his potential for the Ducks. Sorry to be a bit of a Debbie Downer here, but one should not always rely on high school recruiting rankings as a predictor of success for a third-year college player.

As i said last night, this reputed move to Tuscaloosa made no sense to me for several reasoons. Later, I lesrned of 20 million reasons to add to my meager list---the buyout. Lanning's story about staying in Eugene was the lead story on the Dawgnation daily platform this morning. Dawg fans generally admire the man and follow his career closely.

DL can certainly be impulsive at times. Hopefully, this is not one of them. If it were three years from now and Oregon had won a natty, one might argue (and I am not one of those ones) that Dan might jump at the chance to go to Tuscaloosa, which ain't all that cool a town. Making the jump at this point would be a serious error in judgment IMHO. I have the feeling that Kirby Smart knew that the Saban retirement was coming at the SEC Championship game. When the two men met at midfield after the game, Kirby allegedly said something like You have been a great coach Nick (note the past tense), and Saban allegedly replied I'm too old for this sh-t. My Bama buddy tells me that Saban has been very critical of the NIL culture and having to re-recruit his roster and coaching staff every year. And who can blame him. It is really much easier these days to be a Pro coach than a College head man.

It is great to see the Ducks so high on the pecking order. Always better to be noticed than overlooked. But, as I have said many times, ratings are largely meaningless except for seeding purposes at the end of the season. What goes on between the lines is what matters and always will be.

Charles, I went through a divorce from a wonderful and talented woman some 35+ years ago. We just grew apart and, thankfully, had no children to complicate matters. We remained friends, babysat each others' dogs for many years, and drifted apart once she'd gone into academic administration and landed high powered jobs elsewhere. She is a University President today and is busy as hell, so we don't have much direct contact any more. Maybe that will change a bit as she is 10 years my junior and is creeping up on retirement age. All this is, of course, tangential to your case, but I just want to add that, though things may be a bit (or a lot) unsettled at this juncture, it will all even out over time. And the great work you do on the forum will keep you focused on OBD and help to retain some consistency and sanity in the months ahead. Best of luck my friend.

Bo has already put up so much film in the last 6 years that the pro scouts know what he is about. Having said this, he can still improve his draft stock a bit in the Senior Bowl by playing with poise and displaying his leadership skills. Good luck young man. The move to Eugene will probably pay dividends come draft day in April.

Great retention. Go Ducks!

I am not sure how my post just above got posted to this thread. I meant it to go to Charles' thread about rooting for the Huskies. Sorry fricken I somehow screwed up.

I've been a Pac Conference fan going all the way back to the old Pacific Coast Conference when Idaho (the Pac Vanderbilt) was in the conference. And my detestation of the Big 10 goes back equally far into that Paleozoic football era It is worse than my dislike for the fuskies and I have no choice but to root for them. The only team in the B1G that I dislike more than Michigan is Ohio State, so my choice is obvious (to me at least). I will still dislike the B1G, historically the most overrated conference in America. I will root for the Ducks there but for no one else as if next season.

I pretty much concur with every line of this post, especially with Penix and the Heisman. And Penix does have that full stable of quality wide receivers. As a group they are better, in my humble opinion, than the bunch in Columbus, OH and certainly better than any of the other playoff entrants.

Michigan's senior experience and leadership is the one factor that keeps me from placing a meaningful bet on the fuskies this week. Yet I still expect them to win. My comment about the South rising again was a bit tongue in cheek. But I will caution that simply adding more teams to a conference doesn't necessarily make that conference better, and that goes for all conferences in my opinion.

Yeah I mentioned the same points in the thread about the game. And I didn't even know about the RB injury then which, of course, makes the clock mismanagement issue even worse for its consequences.

Interestingly, tonight's discussion of the Natty on the main Dawg site with all the coaches on it comes down fairly clear on the side of the Seattle Dawgs hoisting the trophy next Monday night. Michigan's defense is good, but the argument was that Alabama was by far the most offensively challenged team in the playoffs,. Michigan has not faced an offense, they say, even close to that of Washington, and that Penix and company are going to expose the Michigan secondary big time. They also have noted that the Washington offensive line is badly underrated (this coming from multiple sources who regularly break down film on trench monsters) and that Michigan will not be able to stunt and blitz like thy did against Alabama because Penix and the receivers will make them pay dearly if they do. Posters favoring Washington in this one also suspect that Deboer's defensive strategy will likely be to stack the box against the run and force J.J. McCarthy to beat them with his arm, which they don't believe McCarthy can do--at least not to the extent that Penix can put up points against the Wolverines. Having said this, I have to add that one of the posters whose comments I respect most also did say that he had expected Michigan to come up short a few times this year, either outright or against the spread, and been burned by a team that still has a zero in the loss column. So who knows. The bettors think they do, and so far the bigger bettors are going Huskies.

I fully understand SEC fatigue in other fan bases. Enjoy the down year but...the South will rise again...and often

The best player and the best WR. If I am a pro team drafting a WR, I take Odunze over Marvin Harrison Jr. Odunze has the better contested catch ratio (in the 60s somewhat compared to Harrison's figure in the 40s, and the latter quit on his team for the bowl game. Jusr my opinion perhaps,mbut quitting on the team does not sit right for me. Penix truly is a dart thrower who can drop perfectly thrown dimes fifty yards down field. Making player comparisons is always a bit risky, but he gives me Kenny Stabler vibes every time I watch him. I fully expect my Dawgs and Ducks to be entertaining us all in next year's playoffs. And yes, this was the most entertaining SET of semis in playoff history.

Well, decided to root for the Fuskies over Texas and about had a heart attack at the end of this one. SIAP but the Washington brain trust ought to be given the Mario Cristobal award for clock mismanagement at the end of the game. Had the Fuskies simply went into victory formation on that first and 10 in Texas territory, they could have nearly totally exhausted the clock and the game is over, But for some unknown reason, they kept snapping the ball and handing it off thereby risking a bad snap, a fumble, and posssibly leaving Texas ample time to come down the field. They managed to do so exactly that and are darn lucky they didn't lose the game. I thought DeBoar was smarter than that. As the /Fuskies hung on, it is cool that the Natty will be between the B1G and the Pac-12 in the last season of the Pac-12's existence. Next year the Fuskies will be in the B1G, but this year, they are the Pac12 Champions dammit!! And I need to eat some crow as promised. For the first year in BCS playoff history, I whiffed on my predictions for the semis.

At this point we are to the games that matter (except for the fan bases on the non playoff teams yet to play). So my plan is to watch the Duck game with interest as I am a Duck fan and to say nothing more about the semis, simply consuming them as an interested fan. I guess I have become a bit spoiled as it has been three years since the Dawgs were not in a semi. But hey, ya can't be there every year. At least my gut will not be churning this year wondering if my team wins it all--but to be honest, I miss the anticipation. And Go Ducks!!

Great take. Thanks. I have one slight disagreement. Georgia deserved to be in a playoff. Georgia did not deserve to be in a 4-team Invitational. With Bama, a team I assume would have be in as the SEC champ along with UGA, what team do you leave out? Jon the disagreement is not really a disagreement. While discussing the issue with my Duck buddy, he asked me who I would leave out in favor of the Dawgs. I told him nobody because I couldn't make a rational case against any of the four entrants, largely for the reasons you have mentioned. This was a rare year where there were more than four qualified entrants, and as I said above, I have no quarrel with any of the selected participants. Kirby Smart knows this as do his players. It is unfortunate that the Dawgs ended up not being able to defend their national titles for a third year--but hardly an injustice. And as Kirby always says, "Hey, we aren't going anywhere." The Dawgs may not earn a bye next year given the brutal road schedule they will play in the SEC and a neutral site game against Clemson, whom I expect to be improved a lot over the 2023 edition, But I'm pretty sure they will make the 12-team playoff and have the big trophy in their sights. And I still believe that the 2023 edition is one of the best four teams in the land.