Opening Statement:

“How about that crowd? Absolutely electric group. Made that really special. It was fun to sit out there and watch two elite quarterbacks battle it out. Obviously, we’ve got a really special one on our sideline. I think that’s a Heisman-worthy performance from Bo (Nix) and fun to do it in
front of the fifth-largest crowd ever here in Autzen Stadium. We knew that they were a talented team. We knew they were dangerous and had the ability to come back, so I don’t know if anybody ever felt relaxed. I’m disappointed a little with our finish because I think that we are a much better team than what we showed down the stretch, but we got some good experience for some guys. We got dinged up a little bit. The penalties are something I know you guys are going to ask questions about and we have to address it for us to be the team we want to be. We have to become more disciplined. I’m not sure that I agreed with every single one of them, but that being said, it is something we can certainly fix.

"Some of those are ones we can attack. I thought we were physical tonight. I thought that showed up consistently and we knew we had to eliminate some explosive plays, but we gave them life with a couple of those explosive plays they hit late.”

On how the defensive line played:

“I thought there were some really great moments. I think we’ll go back and look at some of the explosive plays and look at how we gave them a little more opportunity than we needed, but we have a defensive line that can create havoc. We’ve got some guys who are talented players. That was a good front, they have a good offensive line. I thought our guys were able to mess up some of the timing there on the back end because they have some really talented wideouts. Good job, but we have to eliminate the explosive plays.”

On being aggressive to start the game:

“We saw what we were capable of. It is still about players making plays. A guy made a great catch, broke a tackle, and turned it into a huge play. I think that’s what football really is about. We have to be a great tackling team. We have to be a great team at breaking tackles. We will go back and see some fundamentals that we could have done a lot better on tonight and that’s what practice is for. They did some things that we thought we could take advantage of. I thought our coaches did a good job of attacking that, but there are still some finishing pieces that we can certainly clean up.”

On the penalties:

“I couldn’t go through every single one of them right now. Part of it is that you need to watch the film before you can have a great assessment of exactly what happened. At the end of the day, the amount of penalties we had is too much and we’ve talked about it a couple of times up here before. We do different things at practice to try and attack it, but we have to make a decision of how good we really want to be. It hurts us and while it didn’t kill us tonight, there were some critical ones in there that certainly didn’t help.”

On Jordan Burch’s development:

“Week in and week out I think Jordan’s gotten better, he is a really talented player and I think the sky is the limit for this guy. He comes in, takes great notes and works hard to be a great player for his teammates and the people around him and he takes advantage of the plays that he gets an opportunity to make, and with that being said, Jordan is going to see some plays he wishes he could have made but he's been really good for us.”

On getting a fast start:

“There is a difference in the game when you are getting a fast start on offense, and we certainly had some success on offense, and I don’t think we punted in the first half. When you're able to move the ball, especially in the run game, it really opens some opportunities for us. Defensively we did a good job stopping the run at times for a team who has a really good running back. Overall, us being ahead of the chains certainly helped and I think we have got to work on having that killer instinct to finish down the stretch.”

On Bucky Irving and Jackson Powers-Johnson returning after injuries:

“They're tough guys, this is the time of year when people are dinged up. We have to go attack the training room and get healthy and put ourselves in a position where we can finish this thing the way we want to.”

On Franklin’s big night and what he sees from him on a weekly basis:

“Consistency. He’s able to make those same plays in practice and it shows up in the game. He’s been a trusted target for Bo. When you talk about having a great quarterback, that means he’s got great wide outs. Troy’s proven to be a guy that he can get the ball to, he’s going to make plays on the ball.”

On the difference in the game for Oregon:

“Our team, our DNA is something we thought would show up in the game. I think they did. There was never any panic, never any relax in our guys. When they are able to execute at the level we are able to perform at, I think we have a really, really special team. I think all those things showed up. It’s not about want to, it’s really about who’s willing to do more. Our guys were willing to do that little bit extra against a team that is really talented.”

On what stuck out about Bo’s performance:

“I’ll have to go back and watch the film, but just his consistency. To not punt the ball in the first half, I think speaks to his efficiency. Not all of that was necessarily throwing the ball, it was him getting us into the right run check. Checking us into proper place, just being efficient with the ball. I’ll have to go back and watch it to see if there were any plays that stuck out in particular.”

On the importance of the late-game drives:

“I think we could do a better job of that at times. There were some drives where we stalled out and didn’t use as much of the clock as we should’ve in situations. That is something that we’ll critique ourselves with on managing that a little better. We knew once we got to two minutes and ten seconds that we could kneel it out and that is what we were working to do. Wish we
could have done a little bit better job of that the series before.”

On making USC play one dimensionally:

“I thought we did a decent job of taking away the run. That being said they had some big runs in the red area where we can be better. We have to have some answers to be able to hit some explosive plays. They are a good offense. I think they score around 40 points or more against each opponent. I don’t think it had to finish at 27 for us, I think that could have looked different if we were able to handle it a little better down the stretch.”

On Rodrick Pleasant’s development:

“The guy takes a lot of pride in what he does. It means a lot to him and I love coaching guys it means a lot to. He had select snaps, didn’t have a ton of snaps, but we’ll go back and watch the snaps that he did have. I thought he got out there and got involved. I know he cares. I know it’s important to him and it was good to see him go out there and execute.”

On special teams’ success today:

“Yeah, it’s something we work [on] every single week and it doesn’t matter until it matters. Every Thursday we do daily skills with our special teams each day in practice, and that was a situation where it showed up. Zachariah (Branch) was a guy we definitely thought could change the game if he had the opportunity. Talk about a penalty that really hurt us was that penalty after a touchdown and then having a long kickoff, that’s one that’s going to go unheralded throughout the game. But Cam (Lewis) had a huge kick there, and then our coverage unit was able to pin them inside the 15, when we’re really kicking off 15 yards farther back, so really good job there. Didn’t let them get an opportunity in the punt return game which was big as well, with some good hang time kicks and good coverage. That was definitely the goal and that showed up tonight.”

On Caleb Williams:

“He’s special man, he special. He’s a really talented guy, obviously never out of the fight when you have a guy like that battling for you. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

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.