A lot of good points here. I certainly hope the Ducks' playing and play calling improve.

But I just read that University of Iowa marching band member Derek Phillips died on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, after suffering a heat stroke and sudden cardiac arrest during the Hawkeyes' season-opening football game against Northern Illinois.

Kind of puts things in perspective for me.

During Fall camp Lanning periodically mentioned this team is becoming more player led. I can see how this might tie into changing coordinators and continuity of x's & o's. Might the uninspired play be linked to lack of focused leadership and inspiration in the locker room, sideline and game? Go Ducks!!

That was one of the most surprising and disappointing performances by our OBD. After the BSU game I expected them to bounce back with a competitive fire for redemption looking like a top 10 team. Instead, our OBD looked flat and not playing cohesively.

Dan Lanning has recruited talented players. I just did not see much play calling that was built around our players skills to move the ball downfield or stall the opponent's offense. I have to think that our Offensive and Defensive Coordinators are in over their heads calling effective plays.

I went with many that said "In Lanning I trust" when Lanning hired from within and he didn't look outside for experienced coordinators. I am beginning to think that the common denominator for the disappointing last two games is our OC and DC. Unless they can figure things out quickly, Lanning needs to think about making some coordinator changes.

"Not as Good as Hoped for"

When have I also felt this way? Quite a few times, actually. (going by memory, might be wrong on some details)

2011 vs LSU

Last two losses in playoff games

that bad loss in late 2019 which kept Ducks out of playoffs (they could have done something in playoffs that year)

first two Boise St losses, especially with the Legarrette Blount meltdown.

the loss to the beavs a few years ago

And probably the biggest one: Lanning's first game vs Georgia

---

Flip the script, what about unexpected wins that pumped us up?

Oklahoma 2006

USC 2008?

Ohio St when CJ Verdell broke free on that long TD run

---

But this loss feels worse in one special way.

With the others, it was just one thing to fix like we need better linemen, or stop playing down to inferior talent, get the players motivated and up for the game, or stop calling bad plays, etc.

This one feels 'unexplainable'. How did this team with same coach and such great recruiting go from a powerhouse to mediocre so fast? So I think it feels worse than most of the others. They outgained Boise St but made mistakes and won. OK, they fix the mistakes and all should be well. Ok st made the mistakes this time that kept Oregon in the game. Ok st drastically outgained and handled the Ducks. Ok st is Colorado 2.0 with all the transfers. How did a team with a new coach and all new players have it together so much better than Oregon with all its returning talent? This makes it kind of tough to deal with. I am still optimistic that Oregon will eventually recover and climb back on top and be a top 10 or top 5 team again. But it might take some time. I have seen Oregon recover from the bottom of the pit so many times that I have to believe it will happen again.

I thought these kinds of games were over when Cristobal left.

This game is kind of like when USC lost to the beavs in the 2 thousands. It should not have happened.

I'm going to spout off my 'wild theory here'. Dan Lanning is too loyal to his players. When they are not playing great, he stays with them. If this is indeed true, I hope that situation changes. Perhaps he could have been too loyal to his coaching staff as well? And is Lanning too loyal to his schemes when college football changes each and every day?

Yeah we have huge guys on the o line but they have been slow.

The d line imo, has been overrated for a few years.

On 9/12/2026 at 5:31 PM, jrw said:

Lanning's got some 'splainin to do. His first real and total face plant. Let's see how he handles it.

Did you not see the loss to Ohio State 2 years ago? Or last season's 2nd loss to Indiana?

Definitely more disappointed than sad. After all, we have multiple millionaire "students athletes" playing ball, just killing time like a typical NFL game. This wasn't and won't be first such performance, unfortunately. College football is dead as we knew it. ☹️

It was actually much more entertaining watching the Beavers trying to beat No. 13 team and almost did it. Can't believe it, but I was actually rooting for the Beavis!