How he can be so bad, and so good....is amazing. If he had played half as well before--we would have beaten UCLA and Illinois.

Jekyll and Hyde.

Actually, he reminds me a little of Dave Kreig, former Seahawk.

Best 'worst' qb in football. 😉😂😳

Perhaps the offensive plan and calls finally played to his strengths?

Yes, I have. OBs in general look much better without the pass rush eating them up.

We chipped, kept backs in to pick up LB blitz and did max protect with the RB and TE in, he didn't have dudes in his face. He had time for his WR to run deeper routes and being the dudes they are they won on those deeper routes, and he made the throws.

Johnson did well with his game plane and scheme.

Finally had a mature performance from his OC, game plan made sense, they limited the dumb plays, and in general the line played much better, also helps that I don't think NW had a very good game defensively, but the Ducks contributed to that.

3 minutes ago, dazednconfused said:

Yes, I have. OBs in general look much better without the pass rush eating them up.

We chipped, kept backs in to pick up LB blitz and did max protect with the RB and TE in, he didn't have dudes in his face. He had time for his WR to run deeper routes and being the dudes they are they won on those deeper routes, and he made the throws.

Johnson did well with his game plane and scheme.

I agree. He was able to get comfortable and get into a bit of a rhythm, something Mehringer and the OL would let him do against UCLA or Illinois.

I’m very thankful Raiola did not turn the ball over today. Much better and a great win.

However, Raiola’s footwork and unwillingness to drive the football will continue to cost the team. The same types of throws that sealed the game to JJ will also hurt us against Ohio State.

Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by mikethehiker

I believe a lesson can be learned about giving a QB time to evaluate instead of react to pressure constantly. Even Dante Moore was dealing with that problem. Julian Sayin has been criticized about his play at Ohio State, but his replacement struggled all game under the duress. He continually left fundamentals behind-throwing off his back foot, drifting away from the line of scrimmage, failed to follow through on passes because his footwork was sloppy. Something Sayin and Dante Moore have struggled with against really damn good defenses. Constant pressure in their faces, less time to process information and making decisions on a quicker clock. Raiola has faced it all year as well.

Going Max Protect-a simple solution to a serious problem we have had against elite defenses (and this year not very good defenses) is an option that limits the offense in ways that coordinators are loathe to implement. The guy the entire football world claimed was a terrible play caller installed a simple solution to a serious problem and voila! Raiola was a brand new QB.

The other, just as risky proposition, is to develop routes that require the kind of precision that even NFL QBs struggle with-throwing the WR open (before he makes a break on his route-hoping he gets to the window that is open for barely a second). That should be a staple of a system if and only if QBs and WRs practice that constantly. Back Shoulder throws like Michael Penix and Fernando Mendoza executed damn near flawlessly come to mind. It requires constant calibrating and a hell of a lot of trust.

Play caller Johnson drilled the max protect, diagnosed the kinds of routes Stewart and Moore would excel at and went to work on a defense less capable of putting pressure on Raiola. It will work to a degree next week, but other tactics may assist: rolling the pocket, going under center and running more bootleg pass schemes, screens, quick fade routes, and yes, patterns that offer quick windows Raiola can throw to before the receivers break down and make their cut.

Lanning actually mentioned they were working on these things without saying it. He specifically said they were working on processes that offer opportunities and it looked good, but they weren't sure how soon they would get results. Plenty of fans called that word salad. Saw it on Facebook, X (twitter) and other platforms. It seems the only time Duck Nation has faith in Lanning is when his players execute. For instance-you don't coach botched snaps, fumbles and other drive killers. That is called poor execution. In Duck Nation (and I am sure Buckeye nation tonight among other fan bases) that is the coach's fault.

Scott Reed over at Duck Sports Central directly addressed this issue just a couple of days ago. He mentioned having high standards and patience aren't mutually exclusive things. A lesson Duck Nation and other fan bases could use to improve their piece of mind. The future is now. Not tomorrow. Not in an hour. Right now. My mom used to tell me the past is the present in the future. I hated that phrase. But it is handy when you are stressing your butt off about things you can't necessarily control.

The reason I believe sports has overtaken all other television and some other forms of entertainment is because the drama is real. If you watched the Indiana, Minnesota game at all-nobody had an idea how that game would end. It was stressful for both fan bases. But it was real. The only thing both could do was let it play out the way it was going to play out.

I was rooting for Minnesota. It would have helped our cause. But I wasn't angry at Minnesota for the loss. It is what it is. OBD did their job this week. They got off the matt, kept plugging and turned things around. One play at a time. That is what this season is now. One play at a time. One play isn't a season, doesn't win or lose the game-a series of plays (decisions) do. I Let the game play out the way it is supposed to. One play at a time.

The more this season has played out, the more I have focused on that.

It seemed to me that rather suddenly in the second half, finally.. the light went on.

The players and coaches played to win (not so much in first half) the excitement and confidence grew

We start moving downfield instead of to the side or backwards

The defense locked in.

And the already loud crowd... suddenly amped up to the the decibels which I remember sitting next to the speaker at Who concerts in late 60s

It's all about energy and confidence sometimes.

Go Ducks.. I think this was a very important 4th quarter in our season and future!!!

53 minutes ago, Mike West said:

I believe a lesson can be learned about giving a QB time to evaluate instead of react to pressure constantly. Even Dante Moore was dealing with that problem. Julian Sayin has been criticized about his play at Ohio State, but his replacement struggled all game under the duress. He continually left fundamentals behind-throwing off his back foot, drifting away from the line of scrimmage, failed to follow through on passes because his footwork was sloppy. Something Sayin and Dante Moore have struggled with against really damn good defenses. Constant pressure in their faces, less time to process information and making decisions on a quicker clock. Raiola has faced it all year as well.

Going Max Protect-a simple solution to a serious problem we have had against elite defenses (and this year not very good defenses) is an option that limits the offense in ways that coordinators are loathe to implement. The guy the entire football world claimed was a terrible play caller installed a simple solution to a serious problem and voila! Raiola was a brand new QB.

The other, just as risky proposition, is to develop routes that require the kind of precision that even NFL QBs struggle with-throwing the WR open (before he makes a break on his route-hoping he gets to the window that is open for barely a second). That should be a staple of a system if and only if QBs and WRs practice that constantly. Back Shoulder throws like Michael Penix and Fernando Mendoza executed damn near flawlessly come to mind. It requires constant calibrating and a hell of a lot of trust.

Play caller Johnson drilled the max protect, diagnosed the kinds of routes Stewart and Moore would excel at and went to work on a defense less capable of putting pressure on Raiola. It will work to a degree next week, but other tactics may assist: rolling the pocket, going under center and running more bootleg pass schemes, screens, quick fade routes, and yes, patterns that offer quick windows Raiola can throw to before the receivers break down and make their cut.

Lanning actually mentioned they were working on these things without saying it. He specifically said they were working on processes that offer opportunities and it looked good, but they weren't sure how soon they would get results. Plenty of fans called that word salad. Saw it on Facebook, X (twitter) and other platforms. It seems the only time Duck Nation has faith in Lanning is when his players execute. For instance-you don't coach botched snaps, fumbles and other drive killers. That is called poor execution. In Duck Nation (and I am sure Buckeye nation tonight among other fan bases) that is the coach's fault.

Scott Reed over at Duck Sports Central directly addressed this issue just a couple of days ago. He mentioned having high standards and patience aren't mutually exclusive things. A lesson Duck Nation and other fan bases could use to improve their piece of mind. The future is now. Not tomorrow. Not in an hour. Right now. My mom used to tell me the past is the present in the future. I hated that phrase. But it is handy when you are stressing your butt off about things you can't necessarily control.

The reason I believe sports has overtaken all other television and some other forms of entertainment is because the drama is real. If you watched the Indiana, Minnesota game at all-nobody had an idea how that game would end. It was stressful for both fan bases. But it was real. The only thing both could do was let it play out the way it was going to play out.

I was rooting for Minnesota. It would have helped our cause. But I wasn't angry at Minnesota for the loss. It is what it is. OBD did their job this week. They got off the matt, kept plugging and turned things around. One play at a time. That is what this season is now. One play at a time. One play isn't a season, doesn't win or lose the game-a series of plays (decisions) do. I Let the game play out the way it is supposed to. One play at a time.

The more this season has played out, the more I have focused on that.

In addition to the play calling helping Raiola, it also helped the O line. The new OC seems to be focussing on what this offensive unit can deliver. I also like that the backup RBs got into the game.

Going to a yo-yo, everybody, Going to a yo-yo, come on now!☹️😍🤬❤️

Gimme 5 Takeaways from a great comeback win today.

https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/10/31/oregon-football-ducks-comeback-win-northwestern-takeaways/92542158007/

Raiola started playing well about the same time Brandon Smith entered the game and started making big runs. It’s amazing how a good running game can open up the passing game.

Smith has the best vision out of all the RB’s on the team and he needs more playing time. I imagine if Davison and Hill’s injuries are serious then he will be RB1 and we could see some transfers this Spring.

This was the best I've seen the offensive line play. Maybe it just took them a little time to gel together. In any case Raiola is not a create on the run, the pressure doesn't bother me kind of QB.

The game plan was to keep the pressure away from him and it worked. He responded.

The first 3/8 of the game they looked like UCLA/ILL the next 5/8 they looked like the team we expected before the season began.

Can they be that 5/8 of the game team 8/8 of the game from here on out. If so, we can escape this season with only one more loss. I don't dare say we can beat OSU yet.

We know what Raiola can do when comfortable and not pressured constantly. If this continues, you build next year's offense to that strength.

48 minutes ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Raiola started playing well about the same time Brandon Smith entered the game and started making big runs. It’s amazing how a good running game can open up the passing game.

Smith has the best vision out of all the RB’s on the team and he needs more playing time. I imagine if Davison and Hill’s injuries are serious then he will be RB1 and we could see some transfers this Spring.

He also made some great blocks picking up blitzing line backers!

1 hour ago, OhioDuck said:

He also made some great blocks picking up blitzing line backers!

I saw that too. The only thing he lacks is breakaway speed, he is really slow, but he's got everything else you look for.

I think Hill and Davison's running style are too similar, one cut straight ahead. Some games that will work great, but other games you need the extra lateral agility and vision.

Verdell and Dye were an underrated RB duo for that reason that their styles were so different. If one was struggling the other would have success depending on the chemistry between the defensive scheme and the offensive blocking.

13 hours ago, mikethehiker said:

I’m very thankful Raiola did not turn the ball over today. Much better and a great win.

However, Raiola’s footwork and unwillingness to drive the football will continue to cost the team. The same types of throws that sealed the game to JJ will also hurt us against Ohio State.

I agree. He has issues and he is not eilte. I'm not saying the kid is bad, he threw great fades and with protection had some good down field throws.

He can make off platform throws, like dropping down side-arm, and back foot with a dude in his face. But I think it has made him lazy with this footwork. Mahomes makes a lot of those same throws, but when he has time, he gets his feet right and rips it. Raiola, I see too often being lazy with his feet when he should be set up and driving the ball. He also seems to throw quite a bit of wobblers.

He football IQ needs work as well. Last week he threw into four defenders over three WR's trying to get Moore the ball, but he had better numbers on the other side. I get we were short on WR's and he wants to get Dak the ball, but he had the first down on the other side.

On the swinging gate play everyone hated, he had three defenders over five. We had four guys to block three and Dak behind them set up, instead he motioned Dak over into that run play where we had bad numbers. We'd caught them napping and we probably gave up a TD on that play; you don't get a better set up than that for Dak.

I've seen him miss wide open guys on his reads every game. He had JJ for a TD and missed him this game, wasn't even looking at him.

I think we need to go to the Portal and get another starting QB, if Raiola stays then they can compete for QB1 next year.

16 hours ago, lownslowav8r said:

Perhaps the offensive plan and calls finally played to his strengths?

I don't believe that Raiola's strengths are going through progressions and then finding the check down, if everyone is covered. To me, his strength is airing it out vertically. He is a gun slinger. A more simple offense, like a variation of Steve Spurrior's "fun n' gun" or the modern air raid offense (vs. a west-coast style offense).

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by OregonDucks

21 minutes ago, OregonDucks said:

I don't believe that Raiola's strengths are going through progressions and then finding the check down, if everyone is covered. To me, his strength is airing it out vertically. He is a gun slinger. A more simple offense, like a variation of Steve Spurrior's "fun n' gun" or the modern air raid offense (vs. a west-coast style offense).

I believe that is a fair assessment.

Below are examples of throwing a receiver open. It is difficult to execute because it requires precision, timing, trust and training (LOTS of training). But this is what it looks like when executed well.

https://youtu.be/OHuSOwHA-9Y

Here is another example...

https://youtu.be/0wDRelNH8kw

And here is one that is difficult to execute but displays why timing of the throw matters...

https://youtu.be/RQqgcTQ44B0

Again, I agree with you. Raiola's strengths are throwing fade routes and he is more confident throwing to wide open receivers. That last pass of his is his hero ball complex. He was feeling it, so he went for it. It was a good example of an ad lib going well.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Mike West

It probably didn't hurt that Oregon had only (1) 5 yard penalty vs NW, compared to a season average of 6+, for 54 yards per game.