At this point due to my life schedule (and an absolutely awful weekend) I am just moving my featured article to Tuesday. So Marsh Duck Tuesday.... doesn't sound as good as Monday but it's what I can do right now.

Pre-Season Concerns Still Haunt the Ducks in Mid October

It’s strange in a season when there are a few concerns during the off season and those become the concerns during the season.

Good read David. I understand very much about life issues. I can't do a quarter of the things I planned to do this year.

I think the past 24 hours might explain some of what has been happening all year. This team is not focused. Maybe I'm way off base, but the unfortunate news yesterday feels like a microcosm of the year.

I shared your same preseason concerns outside of special teams. You even summarized it better than I could say in an entire article LOL. One concern I briefly brought up was our fan base. I saw rumblings of the same sentiment that got Penn State in the very situation they currently face.

While I don't think the team is fine, I'm not nearly as concerned as our entire fan base is. It is what it is at this point. And the disappointment the entire fanbase has expressed is more disappointing the the performance on the field.

We're not going to the playoffs. That's less of a concern to me than what Lanning has been doing. I give him a A+. I've never seen Lanning look so worried all year. And he has shown remarkable poise as every one else has been screaming the sky is falling.

I've got to hand it to our media though. They've been far more professional about the chagrin they've faced along with us. The way they've been asking questions we've all been talking about is as impressive as he's been.

I look forward to the rest of the season. Enthusiastically. I'm more tuned in than when we were riding the coattails of our semifinal appearance.

Monday, Monday, can't trust that day. Thank you for the Tuesday Take.

Forum Friends are happy that you can find the time to contribute your thoughts. Your articles are enjoyable and on target.

I recall after Spring Ball how many Oregon fans were concerned about the kicking game. And were confident the inexperienced O-line players would come through. Whoops!

The Massey Ratings, like the Rivals site, was purchased by On3. Massey strength of schedule (SOS) rankings are used below. Recall that there are 68 Power 4 teams, including Notre Dame.

4-2 Oregon is ranked 27th in the latest AP Poll.

Through Week 7, Oregon's SOS is ranked 16th; the remaining schedule is ranked 20th.

6-0 Texas Tech is ranked 8th in the AP Poll. SOS 71. Future SOS 57.

6-0 No. 1 Miami SOS to date is 65. Future SOS 57.

Yes, the 2026 schedule has been more difficult than many expected. Human voters and the PO committee continue to pay lip service to SOS.

Oregon is ranked 10th by FPI; 11th by SP+; and 17th by Massey.

Today, according to the human voters, No. 16 USC and No. 21 Boise State would be included in a 24-team PO field. Oregon and No. 25 5-2 Oklahoma State would be left out.

Four two-loss SEC teams would be among the nine SEC teams in the field. Once again in 2026, we see that a loss by an SEC team to another SEC team is forgiven in the AP and Coaches polls.

I get it, you have to play the schedule you are dealt. But it is far from a fair fight, especially when the rankings are mostly based on the Eye Test.

My preseason concerns about a sneaky difficult schedule and four new O-line starters, with only an FCS athlete brought in from the portal, have unfortunately been met.

My concerns about the kicking game? Not warranted.

My thinking was that the defense would play from the start, as it has in the last two games. HMMMMMMMM.

Thanks again, David, for making the effort to make such a significant contribution to the Forum.

While frustrating and rarely rewarding, I believe the woes we have been experiencing, notably on the offensive side of the ball is exactly the kind of humbling experience Dan Lanning needs to reach the next level. He has now seen the risk that can come with promoting close associates vs. a proper vetting process.

That's not to say that there isn't a place for it on a staff. I said in an earlier post that promoting from within can absolutely work well; but it should come with the same scrutiny that a national coaching search would. If I am Dan Lanning I'm looking at the prospective coach's prior body of work, the development of players in the program, his natural trajectory in the program and whether it looks like he truly is the next best option in line.

I'd also, honestly, take into to consideration whether or not he has, or is currently, receiving job offers elsewhere for the position in question. Are other teams seeing the value in this person as a play-caller or player developer? Do they think he has the talent to elevate their team? If Lanning has questions on any of these given variables then the right call would be to conduct a national coaching search and include this person. Can he measure up to rest of the candidate pool? Or is he maybe best suited to remain in his current position for a bit longer?

I do think DL will learn from this; heck, he is still is learning on the job. I believe these are the sort of hiccups that can help a coach see the big picture and allow him to elevate his team moving forward.

Oregon is ranked 22nd in On3's Week 7-8 BCS Formula Rankings.

On3

BCS formula Top 25 makes widespread changes after Week 7...

With a few weeks left until the CFP Selection Committee meets for the first time and decides how to rank the top contenders, BCSKnowHow has run the early

In the Misery Loves Company category, heading into Week 6, Texas was No. 1.

Since then, the Longhorns set a CFB record by being the first No. 1-ranked team to lose to unranked teams back-to-back. No. 7 Ole Miss visits in Week 8. 😁

It's a toss-up between Texas and LSU for CFB's most expensive roster.

The following stats are courtesy of ESPN's Bill Connelly:

Texas is 104th in yards gained per play: 5.4. 134st in Tackles for Loss Allowed: 43. 122nd in 3-and-out: 34.3%. 126th in percentage of plays gaining 20 yards or more: 4.3%.

Does this make me feel better? No. 😒