Here is our look. After the first two drives, Oregon looked elite on defense for most of the rest of the game and the offense was efficient for all of the second and third quarters and showed a lot of things to like. Obviously two really bad throws sort of temper the performance, but it was really solid all around after that slow start.

Here is this weeks Fifth Quarter:

is it too much to ask for faster starts and to learn how to close out games w/o us old farts having to massage our hearts back to pumping again....LOL.

Other than the slow start and the last two drives I liked most everything that happened. A great game plan against what UCLA was defending against, AB executing well, great pass blocking, as always great blocking by the receivers (JIII is an animal) and great in the red zone. The last two drives almost blew an overall great performance offensively.

Defensively our line was fantastic, they really plugged up the running lanes and had a good pass rush nearly every time. Noah was causing havic also. My only "ugh" defensively continues to be the soft cushions we give, primarily on the 3rd and 4th downs yesterday. I thought the in game adjustments defensively after that first drive were good and I do have to give DTR props on those 4th downs, he was clutch and made some great runs when it looked like we had him.

Overall I liked some of the major improvement but whatever Mario is saying pre game needs some work cuz' we just don't look ready to play most games. And please learn to close out games........

We are going to be favored from here on out as long as we keep winning. I had us for a loss yesterday (glad I was wrong) and still not confident we run the table but that was a huge first step....GO DUCKS!

.....then I don't wanna be right.

Down 3-0 in thr 3rd to 0-6 Arizona, aaahahahahaaa.


32 yards of total offense so far. Morris 1-9.

I will get this prediction party started with a forecast calling for a nail-biting Duck win.

Although AB did not seem on top of his game against Cal, PFF thought he graded out great. They did not grade the OL very well. They need to get their act together up front, and having Alex Forsyth 100% and getting a couple of the younger guys on the OL back should help quite a bit.

Defensively, they are going down to LA as healthy as they have been all season.

Will the Ducks be outcoached on game day? Maybe. But I still like the Ducks for the win.

Oregon 37 - UCLA 34

According to a well informed poster on an Oregon track website, Isaiah will not be enrolling at Oregon this spring. He was injured last year and it kept him from doing much in track. So, Isaiah wants to run high school track this spring in order to set school, and state records.

This poster shed some light on the Sategna story which I want to share with my friends on DSA. Isaiah is an exceptional track athlete, but he hasn’t been elite in any one event. Isaiah’s father was the head track coach at Texas. He moved to Arkansas in order to coach the multi event athletes at the University of Arkansas. Isaiah’s mother was also a college D1 track athlete …read somewhere that she is also a coach and a former Olympian, but don’t hold me to that.

In my opinion, should Isaiah decide to be a decathlete then he will ultimately need to choose between the two sports. Top multi track and field event athletes have a demanding year round workout schedule. I can’t imagine an athlete of his ability and family background settling for being just a “good” decathlete. Track is not a hobby sport for him.

If Isaiah has a break through spring in a singular event event like the 110 hurdles or the long jump, then it could mean that, like Devon Allen , Adore Jackson, or Mel Renfro, he might decide to pursue both sports. However, the before mentioned poster on Trackducks, thinks that he will ultimately have to decide between track and football. I might not agree with him, but a dual sport commitment will require cooperation between both sports’ head coaches. From what I’ve seen in the case of Robby Ashford, Mario is cooperative. Robert Johnson has always been cooperative, as well.

This is going to be an interesting story to follow. I imagine that Isaiah is thrilled to be coming to Oregon, no matter which sport takes top priority. I look forward to seeing his marks this spring in high school track.

WOULD HE START OVER BROWN?

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon football team moved up three spots to No. 7 in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll released on Sunday morning. The Ducks are also up two spots to No. 8 in the new AFCA Coaches poll.

The lone Pac-12 team to be ranked in either poll, Oregon is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play following a big 34-31 win against UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

The Ducks have now been ranked in the top 10 of both polls for seven consecutive weeks, earning their highest ranking in either poll since coming in at No. 3 in both on Sept. 26.

Oregon will return home this Saturday to host Colorado in Autzen Stadium. The game is scheduled for a 12:35 p.m. PT kickoff on FOX, with Aaron Goldsmith (play-by-play) and Brock Huard (analyst) on the call.

“What the f*** happened to the Duck fans I used to know? Where’s the spirit? Where’s the guts, huh?”

You guys have quit on the team, and some of you are even booing them at Autzen. You’re bowing to a mediocre UCLA team with limited talent, questionable depth, and a bad quarterback, while trashing our players. You’re abandoning the guy who led us to our best regular season win ever, giving up on warriors like Noah Sewell, Travis Dye, Alex Forsyth, Verone McKinley, and KT. Turning your backs on the coaches who have brought us a collection of talent beyond our wildest dreams.

Yes, the team has performed poorly, unwatchably so, even, but it’s also shown what it can do. Why expect the worst? Why adopt the little old Ore-a-gone mentality? It wasn’t over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor, and it’s not over now.

My hope is that the players and coaches have more guts and determination than the fans. Maybe we will find out today.

Great shots from Tom Corno as always.

OPENING STATEMENT

CRISTOBAL: A great college football game, really hard fought. There were big plays all over the place. Some really gutsy performances because a lot of guys were banged up and going down, finding ways back in. Some guys didn’t come back and other guys stepped up in their place and found a way to get it done.

Just all in all, a great team victory against a great football team. They’re really talented. To go on the road and get this thing done, get us to 6-1, I can’t tell you how proud I am of those guys in there.

Q. On facing adversity and injuries all season…

CRISTOBAL: Well, it wasn’t a lot of fun in pregame when we were getting ready and Alex Forsyth went down. We thought we would have him for today, but it’s been the theme for the year. Hopefully we’re putting a stop to it after this game. And some guys did come back.

It’s just this team - its leaders, its players - they’re a special, special bunch. They’re just resilient. They just keep coming. They truly believe there is no play, no circumstance, no bad call, no injury that we can’t overcome.

Q. On his reaction to the criticism of Anthony Brown…

CRISTOBAL: To me, watch the tape. Watch all the big plays he made. Watch all the right situations he put us in. Watch how much our offense was effective as he was just out there putting it all on the line all the time and having the support of our entire locker room. Look, this industry comes with its ups and downs, highs and lows. It’s chatter and it’s noise. And quite honestly, the only chatter we’re interested in is what we do every day together. We want to make our community proud, our university proud, but when it comes down to it we’re up there at 5 a.m. or until midnight doing whatever it takes so I’m really proud of these guys and proud of our quarterback.

Q. On Travis Dye’s toughness and performance with four touchdowns…

CRISTOBAL: What he had pregame is a migraine, and whoever’s had that before knows that can knock you out for a little bit. So when the trainer taps on your shoulder pregame and says, ‘Travis has a migraine,’ I was waiting for what went with that. He took his time and felt a heck of a lot better and was able to be ready to go. He went out there for the rest of warmups and did a great job. Those guys rallied around each other and continued to show belief and trust in each other and that’s the result of the game.

Q. On the fourth quarter defense, specifically DJ James...

CRISTOBAL: Our defense just keeps finding a way. Offensively we put them in a tough situation. Back-to-back situations where we just have to execute better. People want to say there was a throw but there are a lot of things that go into a pass play. Guys have to run the right routes, there’s got to be communication so it’s not a quarterback issue. But the defense in the second quarter and third quarter were telling each other ‘this is a fourth-quarter rep.’ You know, we’re a fourth-quarter team and we’re going to treat everything like the fourth quarter. Certainly, DJ stepped up and the guys up front put constant pressure on the quarterback. They got to him, whether they got him on the ground or affected him, it certainly made a tremendous impact. Then finally when they had to bring in their second quarterback and he was forced into a tough situation, DJ stepped up, read it perfectly, broke on the ball, made a big play, game over.

Q. What did it mean to you to be able to celebrate with the fans in LA?

CRISTOBAL: I would like for all attention and all narrative to be around our players, because there’s a lot of noise that surrounded this game that had to do with everything except our players and these are the guys that went out there and laid it on the line again and again and again. With guys down, hurt, banged up and found a way to get it done on the road after going through a lot. To me it’s all about them. Really grateful for our fans showing up and showing support. We fully expect that kind of support when we’re in Autzen Stadium next Saturday. A ton of noise, the great positive juice we’re known for at Autzen Stadium to get that game going the right way.

Q. On being one of the teams in the national discussion about the CFP…

CRISTOBAL: Honestly, I think we’re over that stuff. I’m completely being 100% transparent and honest. Our guys have a good grasp on knowing it's about today. It’s about the next item on the agenda. It’s about the play that they’re playing. We realize that [process] works for us. When we get away from that process we create our own issues. That’s a big moment when, as a team, you can recognize that. Now we always have to remind ourselves and when we hop off the plane I walk by 400 people on my way over here and all 400 had this thing [held up phone in his hand] in their face because that’s the world we live in - and that’s okay, that’s part of it. I guess what I’m saying is that we’re very real. And there’s noise. That’s okay. That’s what makes college football awesome: the enthusiasm, the pageantry, But for the Ducks, it’s back to work: heal up, watch the film, get better, support each other, lift each other up and get ready for our next 1-0.

Q. On the passing game that included three players with at least 45 yards…

CRISTOBAL: It set the tone, especially in the middle eight and the third quarter when things really changed. We swung the momentum of the game. We were able to hang onto it at the end. Great job by the defense. In the third quarter they gave up seven yards or 11 yards - I could be off on that stat - but it wasn’t much. They ran the ball really well, we controlled the line of scrimmage. Anthony did a great job dissecting their coverages. The O-Line held up. We mixed and matched some guys and he made some unbelievable throws. Guys made some big catches. We put one on the ground we’d like to have back, but aside from that there’s a lot of positive progress in the passing game. We know because we see in practice every day how dangerous we can be in the passing game, so this is a great step in that direction and we expect to take another step this week in practice.

Q. On his vision for the passing game and sustaining this success…

CRISTOBAL: Number one, we want to make sure our best players have the best chance to make plays. Number two is what they play. They are a very complex defense. You saw they play trap coverage, a ton of zero, they’ll play some post safety cloud. I mean every single snap is something different and you’ve got to get them to tell you what they’re doing with their shifts, motions and alignments and whatnot. That’s where I think out quarterback today really excelled and took advantage – when I say advantage, it’s making plays that you need to make against tough looks in tough situations. We were really close on some other ones. Real, real close. I think we’re just scratching the surface on the passing game. Hopefully we’ll get healed up front so we can continue progressing both the running game and passing game and take another step as on offense.

Q. On containing the UCLA running backs…

CRISTOBAL: I really don’t think that there’s – sky is the limit for these guys, this team and this defense. Those guys just rose to the occasion. They knew they were going to have to strike blockers, get off blocks and make plays. And our guys did it again, again and again. I didn’t realize those were the numbers. That’s outstanding. That’s off the charts. It shows the capabilities of our team when our team is on point. Just super proud of that type of performance. That’s awesome.

Threw together some post game thoughts in our 3-2-1 format:

If that same play happened in the pac12 the refs would said forward progress was stopped and given the ball to Kansas… in the big12 they make sure their top team stays unblemished…

You got Ok, Penn State, and Cincinnati that all played “nobody” teams and barely won or lost.
The pollsters have punished the DUCKS for not playing well & blowing out lesser opponents. Let’s see if they treat everyone the same....I don’t think so!!!

Kayvon Thibodeaux is considered by many to be the best player in the nation this year.

IF, he play up to his All-American potential, DUCKS WIN! Our defense is the key to this game.

Ducks win by 4.

That’s it. That’s all I’m saying.