July 1Jul 1 Moderator No. Thank you, Sir Smith, for posting this article under B1G Info, Predictions, etc.Here's a chance for other Forum Friends to chime in with likely far more salient and articulate comments than what follows."A coach is only as good as his players and his schedule." Pepper Rodgers (RIP)Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Ducks’ Big Ten Schedule Ranking Comes With A WarningThe Oregon Ducks are heading into their third season as a member of the Big Ten conference. How does their 2026 schedule stack up against the rest of the leaguThe opponents' names do not tell the entire story about the difficulty of the Ducks' 2026 schedule.Success against Ohio State? Oregon is 2-10 all-time against the Buckeyes. Ohio State returns a Heisman finalist at QB, the best WR in CFB, and an attitude after going 0-2 in the 2026 postseason.Ryan Day is 47-0 vs. the Big Ten, 2-4 against Michigan, and 1-1 vs. Dan Lanning.Oregon is at Ohio State on November 11th, Week 10, CFB's 2026 premiere Saturday -https://www.elevenwarriors.com/college-football/2026/05/162525/November-7-might-break-college-footballOn the 11th, Miami and Notre Dame kick off at 7:30 Eastern on NBC. There will be one or more impactful SEC games kicking off at 3:30 or 7:30 Eastern. This means a likely 9 AM body-clock game time in Columbus with kickoff at Noon Eastern on Fox.The good news is that Oregon will travel to Columbus after a home game against Northwestern, while Ohio State will return home after a game at USC, which is likely to kick off at 10:30 PM Eastern.OBD does not have an easy opening game. Boise State has had more than modest success vs. Oregon. The Broncos are 3-1 against the Ducks. Boise State is the top preseason-ranked G6 team in almost every preseason poll.Boise will be coming to Autzen with its hair on fire. The game, with a 12:30 PM Pacific kickoff on CBS, is Boise's Super Bowl. A chance to prove it is a playoff-worthy team in 2026.With OBD breaking in a new O-line, it's unfortunate that Oregon is opening the season against the Broncos, and not the Portland State Vikings, a team that Oregon will play at home in Week 3. The one layup on the schedule.After opening the season at nearby Tulsa, the Week 2 game at Oklahoma State is the Cowboys' home opener. Like Autzen, the noise at T. Boone Pickens Stadium exceeds the number of fans in the stands, with seats that are right on top of the visiting team's sideline.OK State is a far different team than last season's Mullet-Mess that OBD spanked 69-3 in Autzen.OK State's QB Drew Mestermaker led the FBS last season in passing yards, 4379, and 34 TDs. Also joining new coach Eric Morris in moving from North Texas to Stillwater, OK, are the American Conference's 2025 leading rusher, Caleb Hawkins, 1804 rush yards and 29 total TDs, and the American Conference's 2025 leading WR, Wyatt Young, with 1264 receiving yards, 3rd in FBS and 13 TDs.This game will be broadcast on ESPN. Kickoff is at 11 AM Central, 9 AM Pacific body clock time.After playing a road game at what will be an undefeated and ranked USC in Week 4, Oregon is off on 10/3/26 before playing eight Big Ten games in a row.This gauntlet begins with a new and improved UCLA at home on 10/10 and finishes in Autzen with a game against UW on 11/28.The good news is that Oregon does play five B1G opponents in Autzen. The bad news is that Oregon plays the most difficult schedule in CFB in November, especially when considering the travel demands.November 7th at Ohio State. November 14 vs. Michigan, Friday night; November 20th, 8 PM Eastern kickoff at Michigan State; November 28th vs. Washington.This is cruel and unusual scheduling. The second time in three seasons that B1G HQ has OBD playing eight games straight against Power 2 competition. Ohio State, Michigan, and UW are odds-on to be ranked in the top 25 when they play Oregon.(Northwestern plays 11 straight games (!), but the P4 gauntlet is broken up with a game against G6 Ball State in Evanston on October 10th.)To win a CFB championship today means playing 16 or 17 football games. Knock on a wooden duck decoy that the rigors of the schedule do not visit devastating injuries on OBD.So, eight straight, including a Week 8 road game at Illinois, with the Illini coming off a bye, at least one and quite likely two 9 AM body clock kickoff times, two trips to the Eastern time zone in November when the weather is likely to be cold, windy, with a good chance of snow, and a roster on both sides of the ball not likely to feature all of the players who start on September 5, 2026.WHEW!But it is what it is: BEAT BOISE!
July 1Jul 1 Author Moderator No. 5 B1G and Tough Schedules - On3Ranking the Big Ten's five toughest schedules for the 202...A look at the five Big Ten teams that face the toughest schedule during the 2026 college football season.
July 1Jul 1 Author Moderator No. A Nod to the 'Loyal Opposition.' Texas also has a November it may not want to remember.On3Ranking the SEC's five toughest schedules for the 2026 se...A look at the five SEC teams that face the toughest schedule during the 2026 college football season.
July 2Jul 2 Author Moderator No. Road Warriors. I like the squad in 2nd place, but 1st place 🤬?SuperWest SportsAway Winning % in Last 20 Years for CFB Programs in WestVictories, defeats, and win percentages over the past 20 seasons, from 2006 to 2025.
July 2Jul 2 Author Moderator No. Coming to Eugene Citay on 11/14/26 -Maize n Brew5 Michigan Football players who will live up to the hype...Michigan Football enters 2026 with plenty of offseason hype to go around. Here are 5 Wolverines who look primed to deliver on their hype this year:
July 2Jul 2 Author Moderator No. Michigan Blog Maize and Brew (😁) Ranks Brandon Finney as the No. 1 CB in the Big Ten -Maize n BrewRanking the Top 5 Big Ten cornerbacks for 2026 football s...Today, we continue our ranking of the best players in the Big Ten at each position ahead of the 2026 college football season. Here are our Top 5 cornerbacks:
July 2Jul 2 Author Moderator No. The Oregon game gives OK State one of the more difficult B12 schedules.On3Ranking the Big 12's five toughest schedules for the 2026...A look at the Big 12 teams facing the toughest schedules for the 2026 college football season.
July 2Jul 2 Author Moderator No. A Rivals take on Boise State -On3'It's the wiring': How Boise State finds success in recru...Boise State general manager Brandon Jones and his team do a thorough job in recruiting top prospects and one thing is a deal-breaker.
July 3Jul 3 No. I've always had the impression that Boise recruited talented football players who felt they were ranked lower than they should be and who came in and worked their butts off to prove that the analysts had dun em wrong. I still remember the kickoff classic game when the Broncos came to Atlanta and embarrassed my highly ranked Dawgs. They were clearly the better team on that particular night and I was quick to acknowledge that to my ex-college roomie who was an insufferable Broncos fan who had missed the game while on an Elk hunting trip in the Idaho Rockies.
July 3Jul 3 No. 11 hours ago, Nevada Dawg said:I've always had the impression that Boise recruited talented football players who felt they were ranked lower than they should be and who came in and worked their butts off to prove that the analysts had dun em wrong. I still remember the kickoff classic game when the Broncos came to Atlanta and embarrassed my highly ranked Dawgs. They were clearly the better team on that particular night and I was quick to acknowledge that to my ex-college roomie who was an insufferable Broncos fan who had missed the game while on an Elk hunting trip in the Idaho Rockies.Pretty spot on.As someone that had worked at their traditional rival for 10 years (Idaho) and a life long Duck fan, I know more about Boise than I should.They on average will have a recruiting class rated in the 60s overall, pretty much like any other top-10 G6, but have been great at identifying QB prospects that start early and stick with the program. Throw in the occasional hit on a great WR and HB, playing in a pretty easy conference, and then having one early season big game to get up for where the opponent overlooks them and you have their magic recipe.They’ve made this approach work with an amazing streak of coaching hires…I’m definitely bias, but it feels like the run has come to an end, maybe 😆As they say in Moscow ID - Who do we hate? Boise State! Edited July 3Jul 3 by JabbaNoBargain
July 3Jul 3 Author Moderator No. Seems like everything in South Central is just Ducky 😁https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2026/07/03/oregon-kendre-harrison-expected-challenge-usc-defense/90779149007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_camhttps://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2026/07/03/usc-elijah-paige-tested-oregon-teitum-tuioti/90766541007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SMGIs there anything better than Troy Quacking Up? 🤪
July 3Jul 3 Author Moderator No. An in-depth review of Kyle Whittingham's coaching career -Maize n BrewMichigan Football Coaching Spotlight: Kyle WhittinghamAfter 32 season at Utah, 21 as HC, Kyle Whittingham is set for Year 1 with Michigan. Here’s his coaching spotlight:
July 7Jul 7 No. I've always liked CKW and wish him buen suerte in Ann Arbor (except when facing he Ducks, that is).
July 7Jul 7 No. An interesting piece (July 7) in The Athletic about the Oklahoma State rebuild....87 total new players. But, key ingredients transferred with the coach from North Texas including the nation's No. 1 passer last season. It will be the first home game for the new staff and players and they will not want to disappoint their fans. Parallels to Indiana and Colorado recent rebuilds. Interesting insights in the column about how Coach Morris has worked it.I recommend The Athletic for college football coverage. It has basically become the modern Sports Illustrated for those of us who can remember the halcyon days for SI.It was purchased by the NY Times so their writers often detour into political theatrics but generally speaking their college football writers avoid that, thankfully. And, you can subscribe/unsubscribe based on the college football calendar.
July 7Jul 7 Author Moderator No. 18 minutes ago, HDuck said:An interesting piece (July 7) in The Athletic about the Oklahoma State rebuild....87 total new players. But, key ingredients transferred with the coach from North Texas including the nation's No. 1 passer last season. It will be the first home game for the new staff and players and they will not want to disappoint their fans. Parallels to Indiana and Colorado recent rebuilds. Interesting insights in the column about how Coach Morris has worked it.I recommend The Athletic for college football coverage. It has basically become the modern Sports Illustrated for those of us who can remember the halcyon days for SI.It was purchased by the NY Times so their writers often detour into political theatrics but generally speaking their college football writers avoid that, thankfully. And, you can subscribe/unsubscribe based on the college football calendar.Thank you, H Duck. I too read the article on The Athletic. 87 new players on the OK State roster ties Prime Time at CU in 2023. This is a brand-new and far better team than the Mullet Mess that OBD blew out in Autzen last season.One item in the article I don't believe: the Tulsa World reports that North Texas QB transfer Drew Mestermaker signed a $7.5 million deal. $3.5M in 2026, and $4M in 2027. That's around what Darien Mensah is being paid by Mario and the Canes.In Week 1, OBD opens against the top-ranked G6 team. In Week 2, Oregon plays OK State in the Cowboys home opener with a 9 AM Pacific kickoff time. Why Mullens scheduled this series is beyond me. OBD could be playing at home vs. New Mexico State. At least Rob dumped the home-and-home series with Baylor.I won't ever bet against the Ducks, but Oregon -28.5 is a line begging to lay the points in favor of the Cowboys.Good call on The Athletic, but many of the best writers post the NY Times acquisition have migrated to On3, which also includes Rivals and Ken Massey Rankings sites.The first two weeks of the season will be tough games against motivated opponents.
July 7Jul 7 Author Moderator No. Athlon Sports on G6 to P4 QB Transfers starting with OK State Drew Mestermaker -https://athlonsports.com/college-football/group-of-6-power-4-transfer-quarterbacks-byrum-brown
July 7Jul 7 Moderator No. 3 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:The first two weeks of the season will be tough games against motivated opponents.I'm ok with that. Better evaluation than starting with Portland State which proves nothing.
July 7Jul 7 Author Moderator No. 13 minutes ago, Steven A said:I'm ok with that. Better evaluation than starting with Portland State which proves nothing.Good point.But opening with PSU would give a new O-line a chance to get a game under the belt before the tougher games. On the other hand, it's a quasi off week before playing at USC.
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