Off Topic - The 2025-26 Oregon/Oregon State Thread

[JasonStern]

College football almost upon us. So, Ducks and Beavers fans - how are we feeling?

As a Ducks fan, I'm thinking 10-2. State Penn I am penciling in a loss, as I feel they have that game circled, wanting revenge after losing the B1G championship last year. Same as how I know Oregon will have tOSU circled the next time they face them. I see them going undefeated at Autzen, which if you have attended any games there, you should understand. I wish the sports books had prop bets for undefeated at home, as I'd hit that. But, with Evan Stewart out, I imagine that they drop either the Iowa or Warshington game. I hate to say it, but probably the Lossington one. At 10-1 with a playoff berth locked up, I can see them not bringing their A-game, similar to what happened to tOSU against Michigan last year. I can see 10-2 being enough to tie for a B1G championship appearance, but losing the tie-breaker due to losing to State Penn and not facing tOSU. Since I don't see Oregon getting a bye in the playoffs, the hope is that we get a high enough seeding to play the first playoff game at Autzen, as I love our chances against most teams at home. Pretender - not a contender. But, should be a fun season.

Oregon State is a bit more volatile. They have some easy, cannot lose games against App State, Sam Houston, Tulsa, and Lafayette. Then you have some feeler games that can get them bowl eligible against Cal, Fresno State, Houston, and Woke Forest. Wazzu a wild card, but I slightly favor them. But they play twice, and it's hard to beat the same team twice in the same season. Texas Tech is a loss - too much NIL money to go against. Not even going to disrespect Beaver fans by commenting on their chances at Autzen. Split the toss-ups, and I have them at 6-6 making them bowl eligible - presuming the Las Vegas Bowl given existing contracts, which could be a fun trip.

[JasonStern]

Well, this thread is depressing.

Oregon looked good against Montana State. FCS competition, but they were still ranked #2 in FCS pre-season. That Taco guy on their team is a stud that should be playing FBS level - just a suggestion, Oregon State. They really need to ban FBS/FCS games. Or, ideally, make those the spring games as exhibition games that don't count for anything. Get a chance for a real game instead of splitting the teams randomly in half. There are plenty of non-P4 teams that you could replace the FCS game with that would be more interesting from a fan standpoint. Or, at least make Portland State a recurring FCS opponent. Annual locked-in games against Oregon State, Washington, and Portland State would be regionally cool. At least cooler than playing Montana State, which has zero history with Oregon football before last week.

The Beavers? Eh. Cal game was not encouraging. They really need the Fresno State win, as it's a home game. And pulling off upsets against Oregon and Texas Tech are unlikely. And being 0-4 taking on Houston can't be good for morale. Jonathan Smith was kind of a bitch for bailing on Oregon State during conference realignment, but I think it's safe to say he is a better coach than Trent Bray. Hopefully that works out and we don't see Neil Olshey being hired as the athletic director.

[Wizenheimer]

I can't figure out why, but I'm not as high on Oregon this season as I was last season, and last season I never expected them to go undefeated and win the Big-10. I think they have better depth this year, maybe, but not quite the high end talent

as for the Beavers, they are already feeling the impact of being a G6 team. The gap between the haves and the have nots in college football has become an unbridgeable gap. At first, when the Pac-12 broke up, I had a little sympathy for the Beavers. But as Beaver fans, the OSU president, and the OSU AD all sang from the same book that it was all Oregon's fault, and OSU tried to get the legislature to stop Oregon moving to the Big-10, and when that failed, tried to make the legislature take money from Oregon and give to OSU, any sympathy I had for OSU died. I was just fine with Cal curb-stomping them last weekend. The funny thing is that OSU was already mired in mediocrity when the Pac-12 died.

[DusterBuster]

I can't figure out why, but I'm not as high on Oregon this season as I was last season, and last season I never expected them to go undefeated and win the Big-10. I think they have better depth this year, maybe, but not quite the high end talent

Man, how you still feeling about that take?

Im far from a die-heard NCAAF fan, but I've followed the Ducks a bit over the past 15 years since they've been a perennial Top 10 program. It's one game, it was personal due to some comments pre-game... but that might have been the most impressive win I've ever seen a Oregon team have. Long season, but that team reminded me of the time of team that always eventually kills the Ducks in the final championship, Rose Bowl or semi-final game playoff game. That defensive dominance and the seemingly unlimited attack routes are what I remember seeing from like Alabama or Ohio in the gaems where really great Duck teams just get made to look a fool under the biggest of lights.

[JasonStern]

Ducks game was closer than I was hoping. They got shut out in the 4th quarter. Can't have that happen against better teams and expect to win. But I trust Lanning to sort things out. As for Wizenheimer not being hyped, sure - they probably don't have a Heisman finalist QB this year like the last 2 seasons. But the team plays hard. Not sure what more you could expect from them.

The Beavers, though? Ouch! They'll be 0-4. And then likely underdogs against Houston. Scary chance of losing the team if that happens. I get the "haves" and "have nots" argument. But Oregon State should still be able to beat a mediocre G6 team like Fresno State. It's not like they are flooded with NIL money. Wazzu is undefeated against what should be inferior opponents, so the Pac collapse just feels like an excuse. There is still plenty of FCS and JuCo talent that could transfer. So, it really feels like some combination of a lack of recruiting, player development, and/or play calling. Hopefully they turn it around in the second half of the season.

[SweaterBae]

Ducks game was closer than I was hoping. They got shut out in the 4th quarter. Can't have that happen against better teams and expect to win. But I trust Lanning to sort things out. As for Wizenheimer not being hyped, sure - they probably don't have a Heisman finalist QB this year like the last 2 seasons. But the team plays hard. Not sure what more you could expect from them.

I'm going to trust the process here that this is all sarcasm and perhaps in response to some dynamic with Wiz that I have missed over the years.

[Wizenheimer]

Ducks game was closer than I was hoping. They got shut out in the 4th quarter. Can't have that happen against better teams and expect to win. But I trust Lanning to sort things out. As for Wizenheimer not being hyped, sure - they probably don't have a Heisman finalist QB this year like the last 2 seasons. But the team plays hard. Not sure what more you could expect from them.

I'm going to trust the process here that this is all sarcasm and perhaps in response to some dynamic with Wiz that I have missed over the years.

he's usually drunk....when I'm not....

[JasonStern]

Ducks game was closer than I was hoping. They got shut out in the 4th quarter. Can't have that happen against better teams and expect to win. But I trust Lanning to sort things out. As for Wizenheimer not being hyped, sure - they probably don't have a Heisman finalist QB this year like the last 2 seasons. But the team plays hard. Not sure what more you could expect from them.

I'm going to trust the process here that this is all sarcasm and perhaps in response to some dynamic with Wiz that I have missed over the years.

he's usually drunk....when I'm not....

"Everyone dies. Not everyone lives."
- Some dead dude.. probably SoCrates or something

Wizenheimer is only sober because it's the off-season. Give Chauncey a few regular season games...

Apparently Gary Payton tried to start a NIL collective for men's basketball (only), and Oregon State told him no. Not sure what the athletic director is doing at all. If I was the athletic director-

Everyone: You'd fire the special teams coach.

Yeah. But I was going to say that I'd give out a ton of tickets for every home game to Corvallis elementary schools. Reward for good students. Solid P.R. An unsold seat is still a slight cost hit. But, if one parent buys an overpriced soda or an ice cream, you're in the green. And you're hopefully building brand loyalty that might pay off down the line.

Everyone: Oregon doesn't give away free tickets!

Yeah. Because they sell out. And have you seen what tickets are going for?

[SweaterBae]

I met Gary Payton when he played at OSU, some deal through the boys and girls club. We all crashed in to this tiny upstairs gym and lined up to get his autograph. I got shoved in the back and like stepped forward in the line and he said "wait your turn lil cracker". I went home and asked my mom what a cracker was. I also witnessed him being unloaded from the back of a patrol car onto Ralph Miller's doorstep the week before the NCAA tourney in whatever year they lost to Ball State. Nobody believes me though.


People on the Beaver boards and call in shows are complaining that there's no OSU day at Mariner's games when there is for UW, UO, WSU and...Idaho. But not OSU. And the associate athletic director said they hadn't been contacted by the Mariners.

...

So pick up the **** phone?

[JasonStern]

Glad the UO/OSU series got renewed. But in classic J form, I'm still pissed off. There is no reason not to play in 2026. Portland State could be bought out easily. Or, in my ideal fan world, the FCS game becomes a scrimmage replacing the spring game. And then, due to conference realignment, you make Oregon State the opener indefinitely. And you end the season every year with Lossington indefinitely. Warshington and Oregon State aren't cry babies like USC. There's still ten games to schedule as seen fit. Seems like all fans would be in agreement as opposed to postponing or cancelling rivalries. It seems like a huge weight off both athletic directors shoulders. Mullens can figure out a Texas Tech game in 2033, but not a way to keep the Civil War alive? Hell, Oklahoma State next year would probably be okay with just walking away without an exit fee. Seems like easily fixable problems.

[Wizenheimer]

Glad the UO/OSU series got renewed. But in classic J form, I'm still pissed off. There is no reason not to play in 2026. Portland State could be bought out easily. Or, in my ideal fan world, the FCS game becomes a scrimmage replacing the spring game. And then, due to conference realignment, you make Oregon State the opener indefinitely. And you end the season every year with Lossington indefinitely. Warshington and Oregon State aren't cry babies like USC. There's still ten games to schedule as seen fit. Seems like all fans would be in agreement as opposed to postponing or cancelling rivalries. It seems like a huge weight off both athletic directors shoulders. Mullens can figure out a Texas Tech game in 2033, but not a way to keep the Civil War alive? Hell, Oklahoma State next year would probably be okay with just walking away without an exit fee. Seems like easily fixable problems.

I've heard a little bit of scuttlebutt on this: that being that there were a lot of people in the Oregon power structure quite willing and almost eager to let the series die. For a lot of reasons, but mainly, that most believed, as do I, that a top P4 program should NEVER schedule a road game at a Group of 6 school. None of the elite schools would ever consider it. But for Oregon to actually schedule 3 road games at a G6 school in 6 years was kind of insane

unfortunately, or I guess fortunately if you wanted the series to continue, there was one Duck alum who wanted the series and that was the guy that started Nike. Hard for Oregon to say no to him

[JasonStern]

Oregon at State Penn was an instant classic. Even had Oregon lost, it was probably the best game I would watch this season. College football has so many mismatched rosters talent and coaching wise, that it's a rare treat to see two evenly matched teams face off.

Beavers need a coaching change badly. Bringing Mike Riley back would be cool, but he's way too old. Still a cool idea as a interim coach until the season ends and a new coach is hired.

I've heard a little bit of scuttlebutt on this: that being that there were a lot of people in the Oregon power structure quite willing and almost eager to let the series die. For a lot of reasons, but mainly, that most believed, as do I, that a top P4 program should NEVER schedule a road game at a Group of 6 school. None of the elite schools would ever consider it. But for Oregon to actually schedule 3 road games at a G6 school in 6 years was kind of insane

unfortunately, or I guess fortunately if you wanted the series to continue, there was one Duck alum who wanted the series and that was the guy that started Nike. Hard for Oregon to say no to him

No idea how true the people with "sources" are. Clownzano, Wilmer, forum conspiracy theorists that totally know someone that knows Tinker Hatfield that knows Uncle Phil and Rob Mullens, so this is all totally legit. Doesn't really matter at this point.

But allegedly Yormark, who has done so much more for the Big 12 than Larry Scott did for the Pac-12, had outstanding offers for an Oregon+Oregon State realignment (and less relevant to my interests, a Lossington+Wazzu realignment). But Oregon and Warshington both realized that college football was going towards an NFL inspired Power 2 model (B1G and SEC, obviously), and took B1G invites at a reduced revenue share to ensure a seat at the table. And that's what soured relations between instate rivalries there.

The Pac-X is rebuilding as the Mountain West with makeup on. But it's still a proposed 7 or 8 team league. Thus, the Civil War was renewed on Oregon State's side to help ensure a 12 game schedule. Smug **** warning - I don't see why lil bro doesn't just agree to play always at Autzen. Collect a paycheck, maybe pull off an occasional epic win. I speculate that this was discussed and pride played a factor.

Penny Knight is a Beaver alumni, so I imagine that there is some friendly jabbing during the Civil War. But I never heard anything about Uncle Phil being involved.

[JasonStern]

Oh, Oregon State. Should have scheduled Penn State.
I get not firing the coach in-season. Not really fair to the players. And Lafayette and Sam Houston are still winnable games. But you have to be shopping around, right? The Fresno State and Appalachian State games were Helfrich level of incompetence.

Oregon moneyline is free money. They aren't losing at Autzen this year. Which sets us up for a B1G championship against Ohio State, which will rip my heart out again. Fortunately, years of being a Blazers fan has me desensitized.

[PDXKnight]

Oh, Oregon State. Should have scheduled Penn State.
I get not firing the coach in-season. Not really fair to the players. And Lafayette and Sam Houston are still winnable games. But you have to be shopping around, right? The Fresno State and Appalachian State games were Helfrich level of incompetence.

Oregon moneyline is free money. They aren't losing at Autzen this year. Which sets us up for a B1G championship against Ohio State, which will rip my heart out again. Fortunately, years of being a Blazers fan has me desensitized.

Lol good one on penn state bht yeah osu is a mess. Trent bray needs to go and honestly in season would be fair if theyre 0-9. Not sure who theyd hire but it cant get any worse. Theyre undisciplined and its about like Mario cristobal without the recruiting


Indiana game should be winnable who knows what happens as that team has looked pretty good. I feel good going into it but its college football even at home we gotta show up which we always seem to do with lanning. Autzen is what should give us the edge if we dont beat ourselves, beaver stadium is easier to play in than autzen and any oregon fan knows that. Though i think penn state was demotivated from the oregon loss and playing in a white out game was still a great test for this team. Penn state is better than what they showed against ucla obviously.

Indiana feels like a huge game for the program as if we take this and go 12-0 or 11-1 we really cement ourselves long term with ohio state and Michigan as the frontrunners in the conference. Id rather be looking down at Indiana and Penn state than saying we are at a level playing field as at that point we are looking up at Michigan and Ohio state only dreaming

Honestly in terms of championship ambitions I wouldn't mind losing to ohio state and being 12-1 or even 11-2. Hopefully we just keep it close. Being a top 4 seed feels like a curse id like to see what we do with a warmup game maybe it actually helps us as the top 4 seeds last year looked like the time off was a detriment. Its about time to go to 16 and just make it even

[JasonStern]

Indiana game should be winnable who knows what happens as that team has looked pretty good. I feel good going into it but its college football even at home we gotta show up which we always seem to do with lanning. Autzen is what should give us the edge if we dont beat ourselves, beaver stadium is easier to play in than autzen and any oregon fan knows that. Though i think penn state was demotivated from the oregon loss and playing in a white out game was still a great test for this team. Penn state is better than what they showed against ucla obviously.

Indiana feels like a huge game for the program as if we take this and go 12-0 or 11-1 we really cement ourselves long term with ohio state and Michigan as the frontrunners in the conference. Id rather be looking down at Indiana and Penn state than saying we are at a level playing field as at that point we are looking up at Michigan and Ohio state only dreaming

Honestly in terms of championship ambitions I wouldn't mind losing to ohio state and being 12-1 or even 11-2. Hopefully we just keep it close. Being a top 4 seed feels like a curse id like to see what we do with a warmup game maybe it actually helps us as the top 4 seeds last year looked like the time off was a detriment. Its about time to go to 16 and just make it even

Oregon isn't losing at Autzen. Especially coming off a bye and with Game Day present. That's a given. This isn't negotiable. If this game was at Indiana, I'd be a bit worried.

Honestly, at Washington scares the hell out of me the most. Oregon could be 11-0 going into that game with a B1G championship and playoff appearances locks, and just sleepwalk into a much more competent than people give credit for progrum. And then there's the rivalry part. See tosu against Michigan last year.

Top football stadiums:
1. LSU's Tiger Stadium
2. Haven't been
3. Autzen
4. Haven't been
5. Lossington's Husky Stadium
...
131: Stanford Stadium
Not eligible for consideration: Boise State's Albertson's stadium, as it's a f'ing community college facility.

Now, if you're single, college age, and don't really care about football that much, ASU's Mountain America Stadium enters the conversation. Not that I know.

Also, Sabrina Ionescu as the guest picker again. Seems kind of lazy, but she's awesome so I can't be mad about it. Actually would have loved it if they brought in Corso. Duck his favorite mascot, coached at Indiana. Might have been the last chance to do something like that. Failing that, Harrington hasn't hosted. That would be cool.

[PDXKnight]

Indiana game should be winnable who knows what happens as that team has looked pretty good. I feel good going into it but its college football even at home we gotta show up which we always seem to do with lanning. Autzen is what should give us the edge if we dont beat ourselves, beaver stadium is easier to play in than autzen and any oregon fan knows that. Though i think penn state was demotivated from the oregon loss and playing in a white out game was still a great test for this team. Penn state is better than what they showed against ucla obviously.

Indiana feels like a huge game for the program as if we take this and go 12-0 or 11-1 we really cement ourselves long term with ohio state and Michigan as the frontrunners in the conference. Id rather be looking down at Indiana and Penn state than saying we are at a level playing field as at that point we are looking up at Michigan and Ohio state only dreaming

Honestly in terms of championship ambitions I wouldn't mind losing to ohio state and being 12-1 or even 11-2. Hopefully we just keep it close. Being a top 4 seed feels like a curse id like to see what we do with a warmup game maybe it actually helps us as the top 4 seeds last year looked like the time off was a detriment. Its about time to go to 16 and just make it even

Oregon isn't losing at Autzen. Especially coming off a bye and with Game Day present. That's a given. This isn't negotiable. If this game was at Indiana, I'd be a bit worried.

Honestly, at Washington scares the hell out of me the most. Oregon could be 11-0 going into that game with a B1G championship and playoff appearances locks, and just sleepwalk into a much more competent than people give credit for progrum. And then there's the rivalry part. See tosu against Michigan last year.

Top football stadiums:
1. LSU's Tiger Stadium
2. Haven't been
3. Autzen
4. Haven't been
5. Lossington's Husky Stadium
...
131: Stanford Stadium
Not eligible for consideration: Boise State's Albertson's stadium, as it's a f'ing community college facility.

Now, if you're single, college age, and don't really care about football that much, ASU's Mountain America Stadium enters the conversation. Not that I know.

Also, Sabrina Ionescu as the guest picker again. Seems kind of lazy, but she's awesome so I can't be mad about it. Actually would have loved it if they brought in Corso. Duck his favorite mascot, coached at Indiana. Might have been the last chance to do something like that. Failing that, Harrington hasn't hosted. That would be cool.

Oregon doesnt go to many games unprepared under lanning and id be surprised if we came unprepared the uw game given the history. That said i agree the uw game is a bit scary as that team has the talent and that home field is tough. Id put iowa up there too as thats a well coached school that tends to show up for big games. If oregon plays to their talent they should win out but talent doesn't always win. We couldve easily lost to Wisconsin last year and maybe Iowa or uw comes down to a field goal or a 4th and 1 on either side. Once you play teams too close on the road and get your opponent and the crowd into it all hell can break loose quickly in college football.

For the sake of a cfp if we take a loss in the regular season id hope we lose to Iowa rather than uw, the sooner the better typically.. Either way i think 11-2 with one of the losses being to ohio state in the conference title is enough to get to the cfp.

And while i obviously would rather win than lose im not so sure going 12-1 or 11-2 is all that bad. It seemed like Ohio state used their losses as motivation Last year and maybe feeling 1-2 battle scars could help us win a title. It would suck in the moment no doubt but who knows maybe losing to Iowa and Ohio state gives us the fuel we need to win the cfp.

[Wizenheimer]

both Oregon and Oregon State have games at 12:30pm today. I-5 will be a mess, especially with slick roads

[JasonStern]

Well, I'll eat crow on that one. But to be fair, I took the under 10.5 wins, having Oregon go 10-2. I did massively overestimate State Penn while also massively underestimating Indiana. If you told me we were 5-1 right now, I'd be like "yeah". Oregon actually played a good game. Indiana just played a great game. Their pass coverage was the best I have seen since the tosu blowout. Kenyon Sadiq and DuckOregon Moore were under constant coverage. Benson and Bryant had okay games, but they're not the athletes and they were limited to those short yardage Will Stein check-downs and unable to break any tackles. That short yardage field goal miss brought back Maldanado vibes, and I'm sure affected the play calling late in the game. They could have made a field goal to end the game, but does losing by 7 versus 10 really make any difference? You still got your face punched in.

But copium. This is a young team. If Dante Moore comes back, and we get Evan Stewart comes back, we have a great chance to make a run next season. Goal now is to not blow winnable games and only drop either the USC or Lossington game. Make the playoffs as a lower tier team. Get the players meaningful experience. Then come back pissed off in 2026.

Oregon State, though. THANK YOU FOR FINALLY FIRING TRENT BAY! Lost season. That was getting to a point where it's like, maybe you just stop playing football entirely like Gonzaga? Focus on men's baseball and women's basketball. No shame in that. Hopefully this rallies the team. Lafayette and Sam Houston are still winnable games. Hate to see a winless season.

[JasonStern]

Oregon doesnt go to many games unprepared under lanning and id be surprised if we came unprepared the uw game given the history. That said i agree the uw game is a bit scary as that team has the talent and that home field is tough. Id put iowa up there too as thats a well coached school that tends to show up for big games. If oregon plays to their talent they should win out but talent doesn't always win. We couldve easily lost to Wisconsin last year and maybe Iowa or uw comes down to a field goal or a 4th and 1 on either side. Once you play teams too close on the road and get your opponent and the crowd into it all hell can break loose quickly in college football.

For the sake of a cfp if we take a loss in the regular season id hope we lose to Iowa rather than uw, the sooner the better typically.. Either way i think 11-2 with one of the losses being to ohio state in the conference title is enough to get to the cfp.

And while i obviously would rather win than lose im not so sure going 12-1 or 11-2 is all that bad. It seemed like Ohio state used their losses as motivation Last year and maybe feeling 1-2 battle scars could help us win a title. It would suck in the moment no doubt but who knows maybe losing to Iowa and Ohio state gives us the fuel we need to win the cfp.

Well, you jinxed that!
A 10-2 B1G team gets in the playoffs, just as a lower seed. I don't see tosu and Indiana slipping up, and Indiana has the tie breaker - meaning Oregon isn't competing for a conference championship this year.
Supposedly Evan Stewart is ahead of schedule on recovery and may come back in November. Could be huge.
Personally jinxing it, I think Oregon rolls USC. They are a much better program than recently. But Oregon has a lot of SoCal recruits that take that game personally. Many of them either didn't get offers or feel like they were priorities, and thus feel slighted. I've talked with several players and former players, and they view USC as the rival - not little bro or Lossington. But that's what makes me fear the Lossington game so much. Presuming Oregon is 10-1 going into it, it matters way more, in a road game, to them than it does Oregon.

Unrelated, but crazy that Franklin got fired at State Penn. Figured they would have ran the season out, throwing feelers out for a replacement. Buyout was like $46M? Drops like $8-12M if you wait a few games. And yeah, he face planted this season. But 6 point loss to Oregon, 6 point loss to UCLA, 1 point loss to Northwestern. Just seems like the AD was a little trigger happy. But then I have no idea what goes on in the locker room. If he lost the players like Helfrich did, then it makes sense. No one will convince me that the Ducks didn't have the talent to take that team to 6-6 and play in the Pop Tart Bowl or whatever bowl game 6-6 teams play in.

[PDXKnight]

Oregon doesnt go to many games unprepared under lanning and id be surprised if we came unprepared the uw game given the history. That said i agree the uw game is a bit scary as that team has the talent and that home field is tough. Id put iowa up there too as thats a well coached school that tends to show up for big games. If oregon plays to their talent they should win out but talent doesn't always win. We couldve easily lost to Wisconsin last year and maybe Iowa or uw comes down to a field goal or a 4th and 1 on either side. Once you play teams too close on the road and get your opponent and the crowd into it all hell can break loose quickly in college football.

For the sake of a cfp if we take a loss in the regular season id hope we lose to Iowa rather than uw, the sooner the better typically.. Either way i think 11-2 with one of the losses being to ohio state in the conference title is enough to get to the cfp.

And while i obviously would rather win than lose im not so sure going 12-1 or 11-2 is all that bad. It seemed like Ohio state used their losses as motivation Last year and maybe feeling 1-2 battle scars could help us win a title. It would suck in the moment no doubt but who knows maybe losing to Iowa and Ohio state gives us the fuel we need to win the cfp.

Well, you jinxed that!
A 10-2 B1G team gets in the playoffs, just as a lower seed. I don't see tosu and Indiana slipping up, and Indiana has the tie breaker - meaning Oregon isn't competing for a conference championship this year.
Supposedly Evan Stewart is ahead of schedule on recovery and may come back in November. Could be huge.
Personally jinxing it, I think Oregon rolls USC. They are a much better program than recently. But Oregon has a lot of SoCal recruits that take that game personally. Many of them either didn't get offers or feel like they were priorities, and thus feel slighted. I've talked with several players and former players, and they view USC as the rival - not little bro or Lossington. But that's what makes me fear the Lossington game so much. Presuming Oregon is 10-1 going into it, it matters way more, in a road game, to them than it does Oregon.

Unrelated, but crazy that Franklin got fired at State Penn. Figured they would have ran the season out, throwing feelers out for a replacement. Buyout was like $46M? Drops like $8-12M if you wait a few games. And yeah, he face planted this season. But 6 point loss to Oregon, 6 point loss to UCLA, 1 point loss to Northwestern. Just seems like the AD was a little trigger happy. But then I have no idea what goes on in the locker room. If he lost the players like Helfrich did, then it makes sense. No one will convince me that the Ducks didn't have the talent to take that team to 6-6 and play in the Pop Tart Bowl or whatever bowl game 6-6 teams play in.

I stand by my statement I think 11-1 is a better position than 12-1 or 11-2 heading into the cfp. Not saying i like the loss or how we lost but I also think Indiana wins out besides maybe against Ohio state heading into the cfp so that makes it a "good loss" or at least negligible. Knowing lanning it probably lights a fire under their ass, Lanning and the team seem to play better motivated and now he will be motivated more than ever heading into the post season. But gotta take it 1 game at a time which they seem to do. Ill admit Dante moore is my biggest concern, he looked like the ucla version and if we dont get that fixed itll be a bad year. The oline didnt help...

I do think 10-2 is enough. If we lose another game I think its iowa or uw and if I had a choice obviously id take the earlier loss to Iowa since 1) its not uw and 2 we have time to recover. I do think if we take a loss to uw while we probably get in its possible the committee says "no quality wins Oregon is a fraud." 9 wins wont be enough with our sos id imagine 10 we are leaving it in their hands. Yes its probably still enough but I never love not controlling our own destiny

The franklin firing does seem odd at the surface. I wouldve thought with the relative success hes had despite the failure in big games maybe they wait the season out. I think the Helfrich situation is likely accurate unless a big donor offered to shell much of the buyout (or threatened to take money away?)