Cristobal gave an update after the game what the next few weeks look like for the program.

"The players will go home for about two and a half weeks. We spent the holidays in Eugene, so they never got a break. They're going to go home. Classes do kick in on Monday via remote. Then our freshmen, our newcomers, some are already in town, and the rest come in next week. And they will come in. They will isolate for about six, seven days, whatever it may be, test, then begin the off-season program -- which, again, is critical to our success going forward."

Moore signs long term big money extension in Dallas. Looks like Avalos is close to the drivers seat....

I'm kind of rooting for Alabama here just because it seems ND always gets into much better games than they deserve. I expect Bama to roll.

IF this is what gets egg on his face, then so be it. He's just a little too cocky on social justice and pandemic issues for my liking. In truth, he must not be that bright or have much inkling of science or history, for that matter. Should have gone to class, Dabo-- it's just not smart for college coaches to inject themselves into politics, especially when they obviously don't get it.

Never seen a Duck football team get that outcoached. I loved Moorhead all season, but based on todays game, I almost wish Avalos takes Moorhead with him. Don't put your 4th best back in on 4th and 1 and then run it up the middle! Pick a flippin QB and let him play! Zero for the game on third down conversions? Thats is incredible! The Ducks actually came close to doing something that is probably a college record. That is going 0 for the game on 3rd/4th down conversions while allowing the other team to make 100% of their 3rd/4th down conversions. Pretty sure that has never happened. It was on trrack tonight into the 3rd quarter.

Here is the mind blower.

Total number of 4/ 5 star players on each roster

Oregon - Five stars- 3 Four stars -44

Iowa St Five stars - 0 Four stars -3

Final star count- Oregon 47 Iowa state- 3

The Pac 12 is an embarrassment. The Oregon Ducks are an embarrassment. Did anyone see Ohio state play last night. Every season is different but where these teams stand now, Ohio state should be a 50 point favorite next season. 4-3 season. A mediocre program as we stand today. Not even close to being able to play with he big boys. Not even in the same arera code. Starting at QB. I backed Shough all season, but in his 7th game, he still throws to defenders standing directly in front of his receiver. I hope Ty Thompson can play

Best game I watched this "season." Close to the end, UNC is gonna be good for years, as is ATM, I guess. Prolly better than ND?

Difficult loss. (My actual internal prediction was originally 31-17, but I got more pessimistic about the offense as I looked at the Iowa State defense, so, I guess that is likely related to how much more Brown played and how effective he was for most of that time).

Ducks lose to Iowa State 34-17

The Duck offense is moving the ball at will. Take away the penalty and turnover and they were never stopped. On the other hand, the defense is a complete joke. One stop on 3rd/4th down the entire half.I like Avalos, but watching this pathetic effort, its not the end of the world that he is apparently on his way to Boise state. A lot of 4 star players on that defense getting an old fashioned ass kicking

Here is where the rubber hits the road. I think the Ducks win in a really good, close football game. I think Oregon on offense will struggle a little with reading the schemes of ISU, but that the difference will be the playmakers Oregon has with some explosive plays that the Cyclones won't have as many of. I expect the defense to be good again.

If the Ducks win the turnover battle they will win this game.

Oregon 32 - Iowa State 30

From Oregon Communications:

Playing its first game in 11 days after the holiday break, the Oregon women’s basketball used an impressive second quarter to pull away and open 2021 with a 92-69 New Year’s Day win over USC on Friday night in Matthew Knight Arena.

The No. 8 Ducks improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in Pac-12 play while extending their program record and the nation’s longest active winning streak to 27 straight games dating back to last season.

Oregon outscored USC (3-5, 1-5) 23-7 in the second quarter while going 10-of-18 (.556) from the floor to take a 43-19 lead into halftime. That proved to be the difference as the two teams were even with 50 points apiece throughout the second half.

“I was really pleased with how we played,” said head coach Kelly Graves. “I don’t know if you see this very often but we hold a team to 19 points in the first half and then 50 in the second half. Too bad our fans weren’t here; they would have loved to see a game like that.

“We did some good things defensively. I thought in that first half we had them completely out of sync. I was really impressed with our effort and execution in the first half.”

How it Happened: Jaz Shelley opened the scoring with a triple after a slow start by both teams, and Te-Hina Paopao followed with back-to-back lay-ins to give Oregon a 7-0 lead and force an early USC timeout. A couple baskets by Nyara Sabally made it 13-4, but USC (3-5, 1-5) fought back and trailed by just seven through the first 10 minutes.

The Ducks went on a 19-2 run early in the second quarter to take their biggest lead of the first half at 38-14. Baskets by Lydia Giomi, Maddie Scherr, Taylor Mikesell and Kylee Watson fueled nine straight Oregon points before USC answered with a bucket, but Sabally and Erin Boley got right back to work for the Ducks with five points apiece in a 10-0 run. USC made it a 21-point game before Boley hit a turnaround jumper as time expired to send the Ducks into the locker room up by 23 points.

Paopao opened the third quarter with a triple to give Oregon its largest lead of the game at 26 points, but the Ducks were unable to string multiple baskets together for much of the period as USC brought the deficit back down to less than 20 points. Back-to-back baskets by Mikesell and Kylee Watson made it a 24-point lead at the 2:49 mark, and Boley brought it back to that margin entering the fourth quarter with a three-pointer after a Watson steal.

USC got to within 16 points in the fourth quarter before six straight Oregon points – four by Shelley and two by Giomi – brought the Ducks’ lead back to 22. Watson scored a pair of baskets in the final minute to secure Oregon’s seventh win this season of 20 points or more.

Who Stood Out: Despite playing without Sedona Prince and Sydney Parrish due to injury and Taylor Chavez because of a family matter, the Ducks had a season-high six different players score in double figures. Mikesell led the way with 16 points, Sabally finished with 15, Paopao had 14, Boley and Shelley each recorded 13 apiece and Watson finished with a career-high 11 points, becoming the 10th different Duck already this season to score in double digits. Freshman Angela Dugalic led the team with nine rebounds to match her season-high.

What it Means: Oregon is 8-0 overall for just the third time in program history while starting 6-0 in Pac-12 play for the third time in the last four seasons. In addition to extending the nation’s longest win streak, the Ducks also won their 24th straight regular-season conference game and 22nd consecutive home game, improving to 53-2 inside Matthew Knight Arena since the start of the 2017-18 season.

Notable: The Ducks beat USC for the ninth straight time and 10th in the last 11 meetings … Oregon has had at least three players score in double figures in all eight games this season … UO did not trail at any point in the game for the seventh time in eight games … Click here for full postgame notes.

Up Next: Oregon will face its second top-15 opponent of the season when No. 11 UCLA visits Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday (1 PM PT, Pac-12 Network).

Coach Cristobal was asked today about the availability of some guys who were questionable, CJ Verdell, Sala, Adrian Jackson and Dontae Manning.

COACH CRISTOBAL: They have all traveled, and they have all been practicing. So we're hopeful that they will play. It will be a game-time decision maybe before that, but I feel like they do have a chance to play.

I will not participate on the prediction thread this time. I am a die hard Duck fan and all I can say is, Lets Go Ducks!
Bring it! Bring it! Bring it! Bring it!

...P-Rabbit

They show some of the plays 3-4 times so it looks like he had 30, lol. Pushes off on Sabonis and they called Sabonis for a foul.

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I asked both head coaches what stands out to them preparing their offenses for the Fiesta Bowl.

Q. Looking at this matchup in the Fiesta Bowl tomorrow, your two defenses very strong but in different ways. When you're preparing your offenses to face these defenses, what has stood out to you?

COACH CAMPBELL: From my end, I think when you look at this defense that we're about to play, I think the physicality, the length, and the explosion of the secondary in terms of their ability to break on balls and their ability to make plays on balls, I think, are really evident.

Their front seven, or front six at times, are just really impressive in terms of their ability to win at the point of attack and their ability to create pressure on the opposing offense. So really great challenge for our offensive football team and a lot of respect for what we see on the defensive side of the film.

COACH CRISTOBAL: Again, what stands out right away against Iowa State is physicality. They get to the ball in a hurry. They get there with bad intentions; and they force a lot of issues, negative plays, force the ball to come out. Very disciplined and not just with eye discipline, in terms of knowing where your help is. So when they get there, they get there in packs and in bunches.

They not only prevent explosive plays, they create explosive plays on their side. Again, forcing negative plays. You have a lot of power up front that collapses the pocket from the nose tackle. It's a different front. We don't face the odd front very often in our conference, not like this. And it's something that's very different for us.

But it works because it's coached really well and because of the explosive players. And up front, that front seven causes issues, because it closes the gaps. It knocks people back. Tremendous technique. Feet on the ground. Flat backs. Hands inside. Knocking people back. Again, collapsing the pocket. Those are things you have to be at your best against, and you have to play your best physical and have your best mental approach to have success.

We had 30 minutes with the two head coaches a few minutes ago. Here is the video with some interesting stuff.

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Tyler, thank you for joining us. Congratulations on the season and making an appearance in the 50th Anniversary of the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl, which we know is in your home state. Why don't you take us through as we get closer to game day and arriving here tomorrow.

TYLER SHOUGH: I'm excited. It's obviously a great blessing for me and this program just because we're going back to my home state and playing against a great competitor. It's an honor, and I'm really excited to be here.

Q. This Iowa State secondary has been leaky at times. They've given up a lot of big plays and a lot of good offense can exploit a leaky secondary. Do you believe that with the speed at wideout with Jaylon [Redd] and Johnny [Johnson] that you guys can create some big plays early and late?

TYLER SHOUGH: That's like any game. You have to create explosive plays and limit turnovers with whoever we're playing. They're a great secondary. Whatever coverage they're playing, they're going to mix it up. So we're going to have to find ways to get open and do the best that we can. There's no certain situation or time of the game where we're looking to create explosive plays. We're always looking for those as an offense. So we're just really excited to be down here and get that opportunity.

Q. I'm just curious if you might dive into this a little bit for us about going back home to Arizona. Maybe what kind of experience you've had just watching the Fiesta Bowl, and any thoughts of wanting to play in it when you were growing up or in high school?

TYLER SHOUGH: Yeah, I remember going to it as a kid when Oregon played Kansas State. I've always had that fantasy of playing in that stadium, and obviously getting the chance to go to the Fiesta Bowl would be huge. That didn't really become a reality until I got to college.

So this is an amazing opportunity. It's definitely something that I've been looking forward to since I was a kid just because we have that bowl game. We have a lot of prestigious games in the state of Arizona. So I got to watch those as a kid, and it was pretty amazing.

Q. You mentioned the game that you were at with Oregon and Kansas State. Even as a fan watching the game as a youngster on TV, any standout memories from the Fiesta Bowl history for you?

TYLER SHOUGH: I wouldn't say from watching TV, but I do remember -- I remember we were walking down the steps and we weren't even in our seats yet when De'Anthony [Thomas] took the kick back on the first play and we were all kind of freaking out because we thought something happened. It was pretty funny just because we finally got to our seats and we were already up 7-0. That was a great memory.

Just thinking back to all the Fiesta Bowls, it's just a great bowl and it's a great memory just from being able to go to it as a kid and then watch it as an Arizonan on TV.

Q. When I was taking a look at the Iowa State defense, I was thinking of actually you and all the tough reads you're going to have to make on Saturday. So talk about what challenges all the fitting and all the different angles they're taking pre and post-snap will present for you.

TYLER SHOUGH: Yeah, they present a lot of angles. They present a lot of coverages, and they fit in different ways. So we're just going to have to execute our offense and execute what we do and then adjust accordingly to what they're doing. So we feel confident in our game plan, and we're going to attack it and play accordingly.

Q. I'm just curious a little bit more, has anyone from Hamilton (High School) or your alumni reached out to you about being able to come home and play here? And then a little bit more on your relationship with Brock [Purdy]. I know you guys have a bit of a history with each other.

TYLER SHOUGH: I really haven't reached out to a lot of my past high school teammates as much other than just communication. But I haven't been able to get to any of the games, obviously. But really just coming to the game is close family. And they're super excited because it's such a close drive.

And Brock and I are really good friends. We have been good friends for a while. We text from time to time throughout the season, when we're playing good, when we're playing bad, just to spin notes off each other. It's great to have an asset, especially in college football, and when you come in from the same town.

But we haven't talked much throughout the week, just because we know we're competing as competitors and preparing to play against each other. But I'm excited to go against him. We've had some great games in the past. I'm excited to get down to Arizona and just get back to the home stadium and get back to playing ball.

Q. You mentioned it in one of your answers a second ago, but how do you manage with the way that Iowa State buzzes different guys in the secondary? How do you manage what you see pre-snap, but also knowing that once you get the ball, things can change on the back end?

TYLER SHOUGH: Yeah, Coach [Joe] Moorhead, we talk about pre-snap tips and post-snap confirmations. So whatever you see pre-snap, then you're going to see the safeties getting off. You have to see that as you're catching the ball from the snap. There's a lot of stuff that goes into it. We're really trying to simplify reads, make it easy on us as an offense with all the different looks that they bring and trying to execute accordingly, just because sometimes you may not know they're coming, but you've got to roll with it and you've got to react and play football.

So you have a plan going up to the snap, and then sometimes things go haywire. And that's what playmakers are for. Johnny Johnson, Mycah Pittman, Jaylon Redd, Sean Dollars, and Travis Dye, they're just playmakers. Any way I can get the ball to them, that's the key.

Q. With all the success that you had at Hamilton High School, one of your opponents, Perry High School, was one that was difficult, as you lost four showdowns with Brock. Does that, by any chance, provide any extra motivation, knowing that you guys have had showdowns in the past and that you're kind of looking for a little bit of extra redemption here on your home soil?

TYLER SHOUGH: I don't think it provides any extra motivation; I think it's just another opportunity to go out there and play. And it's obviously against him, so it's going to be even more fun just because it's always great to play someone you know.

But it really doesn't matter. I'm not playing against him necessarily; I'm playing against the Iowa State defense. And like before, I played against the Perry defense. Whatever the case is, it's just going to be a lot of fun and it's going to be great, no matter what the situation was, just to go against another great team.

One idiot like me, one team, one conference .. none of those can move the jello that is the NCAA. What will it take for them to open the national championship to eight rather than four teams?

If I put the pros on one side of a piece of paper and negative on the other, I'm not sure I need the second column. About the only thing I've ever heard is that it would take the students away from their studies too long. Chuckle chuckle. It's a week longer, guys, for a couple of teams. Has a larger playoff ruined many (any?) of the FCS players' chances for a non football career following graduation?

Has the Basketball tournament become more or less interesting since they moved from 16 to 64 teams? Has the NCAA or have the schools lost money as it expanded?

In football the week before the New Years six would no longer be a bunch of games two cities or towns or in some cases two states and a collection of addled alumnae are interested in. Read that as more money coming in from four more bowls which would go to schools (who generally run a break-even operation in participation) conferences (who knows what they'd do ... maybe hire better commissioners) and the NCAA (I REALLY don't know what they do with their money). If it's a good thing, there will still plenty of bowls that lead to nothing but some hardware for the trophy case and probably some old age lies.

It would give a lot of schools that, even with a perfect record, are most likely going to be turned away at the door for a chance to win the big one and, once in a little longer than a blue moon, one would. How could that hurt the rep of the NCAA?
Maybe there's the negative, a dip in the sale of crying towels.

I get it. Once there are eight teams the demand for 16 will begin, then 32 and then 64 until we have February Freakout. Those are not going to happen but neither will a missed opportunity to crown the best team, at the end of the season, as long as we have eight teams.

Right now, we need to try eight ... dammit.