Some thoughts after the game. Enjoy!

Quick Quack: Oregon v USC

Some quick thoughts after the game.

Thanks, David, please forgive me while I -

QUACK UP!

Great effort from the entire team after the USC celebrated a cheap shot on Dante.

Stay classy, SC. 🤬

Week off to get ready for ... 4-0 UCLA 🥸.

No B1G easy day; ask the Penn State fans.

Does SC fold, or Fight On?

There were flashes at each level. Was nice to see the db lock down chunks of plays in the 4th. Also redzone D was much improved from last year.

I’d be interested in seeing the breakdown for LB snaps tonight. Seemed we had freshmen in for key stretches tonight which may cause growing pains but likely better for us as the season progresses.

My thoughts are that Raiola is a very fun QB to watch. He can move around, he is aggressive in his decision making, and he has a bit more swagger to his game. I think he's going to be very very successful, we'll see a few INTs occasionally, but we'll also see more big plays, I hate the decision that Lanning might have if Moore is able to come back at some point.

Mehringer called a better game today, some of that is simple improved play by the O-line in pass protect, but the timing of his screen game was better, he stuck to the run game just enough while not getting stubborn about it.

O-line will be a work in progress for the entire season, I don't think they'll ever get there to a point where it looks like a usual Oregon O-line, but they may improve to a point where they at least become competent enough to give us a chance.

I don't think the run game will ever get to the point where we run over teams. We may need to go to a 55 or 60 percent passing team, that's where our strength is.

Defense is still a disappointment, some of it is scheme, some of it is communication, some is talent, and some is effort (this is becoming less of an issue though).

We just can't seem to lock it in for other than a few plays. D-line isn't dominant, LBs are not 1st or 2nd day talents I think, and the DBs are good, but they aren't consistent all the time. Today it was as much Oregon as it was USC, Maiava is really really good, and their receivers are about the only thing that has been consistent over the last 10 or so years.

Praying for Dante

3 minutes ago, spartan2785 said:

Defense is still a disappointment, some of it is scheme, some of it is communication, some is talent, and some is effort (this is becoming less of an issue though).

The more I think about it and also the incredible points Mike West brought up earlier this week...

I think a change in scheme could fix a lot of these problems.

We saw some great flashes of player talent... We saw what happens when the Ducks rush 5! Good things generally happen is what!

Four rushing need to fight off too many bodies to get to the quarterback. The back end struggled to keep contain for so long... Speed up the quarterback and the back end has a chance.

Simplify some concepts and roles and make communication easier.

There are a lot of specialized pieces in this defense for sure.

I'm hoping the Moore family files a civil suit against Desmond Stephens and the Trojan team.

No place in sports for that type of celebration for an injury.

Maybe this will lead to the NCAA to make a few changes.

#8 for USuC should miss as many games as Dante.

4 minutes ago, Log Haulin said:

It's frightening to think about the possible outcomes for Dante. Watching that cheap shot is simply stomach turning to see.

Hoping and praying that Dante has a concussion without any permanent damage.

7 minutes ago, Desert Duck said:

It's frightening to think about the possible outcomes for Dante. Watching that cheap shot is simply stomach turning to see.

Hoping and praying that Dante has a concussion without any permanent damage.

Social Media is disgusting anyways, but it's always startling to see how many people on X would agree with Simms that it was somehow Moore's fault.

I think Moore slid a little late compared to most QB slides, but the USC defender one hundred percent knew what he was doing, the forearm to the head says it all, as well as the reaction.

3 minutes ago, spartan2785 said:

Social Media is disgusting anyways, but it's always startling to see how many people on X would agree with Simms that it was somehow Moore's fault.

I think Moore slid a little late compared to most QB slides, but the USC defender one hundred percent knew what he was doing, the forearm to the head says it all, as well as the reaction.

You take the hit as it was and subtract the post hit celebration and it's just a hard hitting targeting penalty. We'd still be talking about it but not as much.

It would be a "that's a brutal hit and it's football so that happens. Hope Dante is ok. That was clearly targeting"

And that would mostly be the end of it.

But with the celebration it also denotes some element of intent in the play. We still cannot prove it as I noted in my article... But the celebration towards the Oregon sideline, followed by the communal celebration on the Trojan sideline, I didn't see coaches talk to Stephens either but that comes down the cameras...

All of those celebrations make it feel like this was intentional. That the drive was to hit Dante and take him out of the game.

Hoping for the best for Dante.

It was simply an absolute horrific cheap shot with the intent to harm and damage Dante.

Did you see the other targeting hit on Dylan late in the game as well? It obviously wasn't as successful, but the attempt was clearly there.

Quite the culture they have down there in South Central.

Paid Assassins

This was a good USC team. Did you see their defensive tackles? They are beasts. And USC always has a good passing game.

I agree that the slide was late, but the defender accelerated through the play even after Dante was on the ground. It should have been some kind of hit on the ground, but not enough to send him to the hospital on an ambulance.

This was a quality win and one of their biggest recently. The O line and D line continue to get better. The Ducks still have some scheme and play calling issues, but it is getting better.

Dierre Hill had a much better game. He is now trying to do what he is capable of doing, which is finding open space and breaking arm tackles and NOT trying to outrun defenders or run them over.

We all thought we would know what kind of team the Ducks are when they play USC. Well we now know they are a team that can finish games vs competition. They are good enough to be a playoff team. They are good enough to challenge the best of the best and have a chance IF they play their best game. But at this point, I don't see them being better than the best teams in the SEC. But the Ducks are improving. They may keep improving each week and get to that level if all goes right.

USC is coming back to what it used to be. But they are not there yet. USC should win a lot of big10 games this year.

Finally, I am starting to think the Oregon linemen are not so bad after all, and scheme has a lot to do with it.

If the opposing D is loading the box, send the play somewhere else.

If the opposing O is max pass protect, then send more blitz packages.