Wide receiver Troy Franklin's career-long 84-yard touchdown reception was the longest reception by a Duck since LaMichael James’84-yard score on Oct. 9, 2010. That was Franklin's sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season, tying an Oregon single-season record, and he now has 1,093 yards receiving this season, becoming the 12th Duck with a 1,000-yard season and first since Dillon Mitchell in 2018. That total is already the fourth-most receiving yards in a single season in Ducks history, 91 away from Mitchell’s single-season record of 1,184 (2018).

Quarterback Bo Nix is the second Duck in program history with three career 400-yard passing games (Akili Smith) and his 412 yards were the most passing yards ever by a Duck against USC. It was also his second straight game with four touchdown passes and has thrown multiple TDs in 12 straight games, going back to last season. His touchdown throws of 77 and 84 yards on his first two pass attempts of the game marked the two longest completions of his Ducks career, and he became the first FBS quarterback to throw touchdowns of at least 75 yards on first two pass attempts since at least 2012; only other player to throw 75-plus yards on first two attempts was Baylor’s Jacob Zeno in 2019 (did not start and one pass was not a touchdown).

Really good news for UO and UW. Even if they beat UW it wont hurt us too much.

Under 30 minutes to kick

For those at Autzen, are TheDucks in full strength? Any walking wounded? Is SUC all there? What is the entheusiasm on the side lines? Let us have some good news.

"Improving at the foul line and cutting down on turnovers are two of the areas Altman wants Oregon to improve in tonight (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network) against Montana at Matthew Knight Arena."

Jacob takes a closer look at the top storylines ahead of today's matchup for the Ducks against the Trojans.

Great stuff from Scott and Brandon as they look ahead to tonight's big game at Autzen.

I still doubt PSU will give them much trouble, but the UM players have every right to be ticked off. Ideally they loose tomorrow then beat tOSU to screw everything up.

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Showed some feel for it and confidence in what he was doing.. Some of us thought they might get a portal QB, and they might, but that was his best game that I can recall. He sure has thee physical tools. We might have a really good QB waiting n the wings. And he's still got 2 years, right?
Thoughts?

OK, now for the game everyone pointed to as crucial for the determining the conference champ. Well, it's crucial for the Ducks now, anyway. It is so crucial to the potential audience that the east coaster who still wants to see it will have to stay up until past 10:30 to see the opening kickoff and will have to stay awake until damned near Sunday to see the finish. I'll be him. When the clock runs out on the second half I'm hoping to still be awake to see 52-27 on the scoreboard with Oregon ahead. That's a prediction best avoided considering how I did last week.

Wasn't yesterday the first for them to sign. Unlike when I went to school in Eugene, it is not time to gladly shift our focus from the grid-iron to the hardwood, but does anyone know who is on board, so far?

I wonder if his Mommy is coming Sat. This guy has a point. As good as he is, will his team mates look up to him?


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I'm unsure if this idea would be a recruiting violation but if not, I think it dovetails into the Oregon Cinematic videos and could be fun for recruits. What if the Ducks were to provide an ear piece to each recruit so that they were able to listen to the coaches talking during the game? Makes me think of how NASCAR fans can pay extra to listen to the pit crews. If there was a concern about not giving away the ingredients to the secret sauce, maybe they only allow a few plays to be heard.

Imagine the impact to a recruit like Breland hearing the coaches send in a defensive call and saying something along the lines of "Dorlus is going to get him here" only to see it play out live and knowing that could be you next season.

Scott- very timely and well done Flock Talk. Much to contemplate beyond football in that article.

Thanks for reminding us of the importance of perspective.

Bo probably isn't the GOAT of all college QB's in history. Different circumstance factor into all the other stories, different philosophies, different rules, different opponents makes this a very subjective rating and I'm sure there are valid arguments against Bo being THE ONE.

BUT ... there is not another QB in the country I'd push him aside for this year. The Best in the conference is the best in the country. So why does Bo get the top spot in my eyes. Part of the reason is my love of Oregon football, which is not enough to win the argument hands down. There are other reasons. His competition is probably playing for USC or Washington. They are strong candidates but fall short.

Part of the reason Bo is better is the offensive line and his use of it, each making the other successful. Neither of his competitors has that going for them. Bo has been sacked, I believe, four times in the first nine games and at least one of those is his falling short of a gain by about a yard. There have not been bunches of full face meetings with defensive players with blood in their eyes. He doesn't have to panic often. Actually, I'm not sure he ever does. He knows when to get out of Dodge and does it under control. His sees his check downs or the sidelines while progressing through his reads and doesn't make the wild throws the other two do, sometimes successfully. Those last resort plays make highlight reel material, but not good strategies.

He runs as well as either of the others but doesn't do it more than is prudent, and when he does his carries are usually successful. I think he learned his lesson last season, or the coaches did. The scouts from the next level are not impressed by a QB featured as a runner, It won't be part of the program for whoever drafts one of them. I don't doubt them admiring his ability but am fairly sure they admire his restraint more. Penix seems to like to do the same thing but is forced do take off more often, a choice dictated by the unwanted company he has in the backfield. Williams is on the wrong side of the plan and is also at the mercy of the other teams in decision making.

He can make all of the throws but doesn't make the haymaker his weapon of choice thanks to a strong running game, something he can only hope play with in the NFL. His superlative completion rate, pushing 80% even with the drops all QB's face, is significantly better than the other choices. I'm a bit too lazy to hunt down the comparisons but I believe he leads the nation in that and is the all-time Oregon best. Most of his throws don't wind up in the hands of teams not wearing uniforms that match his. Both Penix and Williams fall short and have to make a lot of the long throws and they do it well. More often than he, they throw to wrong team or at least throw passes which can be intercepted. They also fumble, he doesn't.

Most of all, he is unflappable. His record number of starts have given him experience and the confidence he has. Perhaps, the start of the Cal game in the rain is the best example. Starting with a first and 15 followed soon after by an interception of a well thrown pass, muffed possibly because the ball was wet, to a player who would later be the leading receiver of the game, might have shaken younger less experienced young men. Not only did he shake it off and continue executing the game plan but he showed his receiver he still had confidence in him. He didn't turn to his leading receiver much because the defense was already doing so. Still, he found him from time to time, once in the end zone as the clock wound down on the first half.

Bo most consistently runs the machine without turning the ball over. He leads the machine efficiently, quickly when he needs to, eating up clock when that is the plan. I see him as an NFL guy playing against college teams. Always under control, even in the Washington game where clearly outplayed Penix and put Oregon into position to send the game into overtime, in an away game. On another alien turf where almost all other good teams fall to Utah, he made the game so one sided there was no crowd effect by half time. In fact, the only game Bo has lost aside from the trip to Seattle, while healthy for the entire game, was his first, against national champion Georgia on the east coast.

We can't know what Penix and Williams would do with advantage of the team and his coaches Nix plays with, but it is unimaginable they would be better. I'll stick with the known over the maybe.

Oregon track is getting their early signees. I’m sure that the AD will have a press release regarding the new Ducks, but I’m not sure when they’ll get the list up.

Dan said it was gonna be huge and I have read and heard some names, but nobody that I have seen has actually putting out a list. Not complaining cuz nobody seems to have done it. We do know a ton of the 24 guys will be here.