they aren't seriously an 8, are they? Their D-Line looked... average. Sorta

Their QB got a kiss on the lips early, and looked nothing but average the entire game.

Hmmmmm. I hope they are an 8 when we play them.

I'm just not drinking the Chris Petersen Kool-Aid. Besides their punt return guy, just not seeing the "wow" factor... not even close.

The three veterans took the podium together after the game.

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This deserves a mention.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/03/...nd&action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage

1st play of the Taggart era.

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Come join us live from Autzen. Kickoff is around 90 minutes away.

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The Ducks talk about their big ground game.

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On positives to take away from the game…

“I think our offense can move the ball. That’s a good defense, they’re not the Oregon defense that I think a lot of people expected them to be, they fly around and they’ve got some long athletes. They’ve got a bright future on defense. I’m excited about the offense moving the football.”

On injuries in the game…

“Hopefully we get [Kyle] Hanneman back. That’ll bring some energy to our defense. Losing Elijah [Holt] hurts, that was hard to deal with during the game. We’ll see how he’s doing and hopefully he comes back strong.

On the team after Elijah Holt’s injury…

“I’m proud of them, they came around and made sure he was alright. They loved him and it was a good moment to be the head coach of a team that cares about each other that much.”

On Oregon’s offense…

“[Tony-Brooks James] was a guy we were worried about besides Royce Freeman, he ran the first kickoff back and did a great job. They have a lot of skill players and a lot of athletes. I expected them to be a great offense. If they stay healthy they are going to be pretty good.”

My mother is an UNC alumnae, so this hurts. I've been worrried about Cal. Wilcox hired a great staff.

This is a pre game tweet in which each head coach of every Oregon team wish Willie Taggart luck in his Oregon coaching debut. Robert Johnson is in the steeple chase pond in an inflatable pool duck. ....He's so Robert!

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HAHAHAHAHA..........looks like it might not happen.......hahahaha.........

I am watching this game and there are a lot of Oregon targets. There is a linebacker on Mater Dei that is a 2019 guy by the name of Funa that is dominating. Solomon T doesn't look as good as this kid tonight. Funa is also an inside linebacker and he is an inch taller and 20 pounds heavier than Solomon. He has knocked down passes and sacked the QB as well as had a very nice TFL in the 15 minutes that I have been watching. Keep in mind that he is playing against Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the #2 team in the country. I hope the Ducks are aware of this kid. A lot of names in this game! A nice primer for tomorrow.

Only caveat is that you have to come my tailgate to claim them!

Here we go with the first game day of 2017. This one should not be too close but like the team, we need to sharpen ourselves with a warm-up predict-a-score before the big test next week.

The Ducks should win this handily as they out-man SU at pretty much every position. Hopefully lots of guys will see action. But that along with early season mistakes could keep the game closer than it would be.

Oregon 55 - Southern Utah 16

But scored anyway. Nope, they are calling it back....again, lol. From the announcers, it's like the 3d BS call. What a joke! Must be P12 Ref's.

Anyone else see that? Offensive interference and he did nothing. So they score again. Nope. "Hands to the face." What a joke. No way they will let CSU win this one. What does it cost to buy an officiating crew?

What do you think?
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Here is #9 overall dropping his top 7 list:

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Woodie is all business, a 3.6 student with good speed and athletic ability who will make a great college safety.

https://oregon.rivals.com/news/new-sheldon-star-woodie-has-eyes-wide-open-in-recruiting-chase

He'll make his own decision about recruiting, and he's not a lock to Oregon. His father played linebacker at USC. Woodie III grew up liking the Florida Gators. He's already a national recruit with a lot of offers from top schools. As yet, the Ducks haven't made an offer, which is curious. Scott or A.J. might know more about that.

He played QB his first two years and some sites have him rated as high as #8 as a dual-threat quarterback. Sheldon will use him as a slot receiver and DB this year, have him return kicks.

His time at QB and growing up around the game have made him an exceptionally smart football player, a great trait in a safety. He told Tyler Donahue of Landof10.com,

“My time at quarterback helps a lot because I know how to set [opposing quarterbacks] up by disguising coverages,” Woodie said. “When you can cause confusion, that creates opportunities for interceptions."

Not many high school juniors think like that, or can talk about those kind of concepts.

Anyone with a Twitter account check to see hoe he's doing? It's hard to imagine there's anyone who isn't impacted by this in Huston.

Okay, so, it was Wednesday. Got kinda busy at work today and did not post, but the war room was up like normal.

Here is the article: Wednesday War Room: Southern Utah

Now, in addition to the published article, I have some more in-depth thoughts/information. I don't like to use 'first person' narrative very much in articles; it seems bad form in some weird way. Published articles are not about me, but the topic at hand.

That being said, many times, this is a Paul Harvey situation with a 'rest of the story.'

Being a former Marine sometimes has an advantage. At The Opening Finals, I struck up a conversation with a young woman wearing a First Marine Division hat. We talked about her father, the former Marine she honored with the hat, we talked about Oregon, and we talked about football, Nike, the venue, etc. At the time, i had no clue who she was, I simply talked to her about life, etc. Well, she was a close relative of Brendan Radley-Hiles'

The family absolutely loved the event; they loved the state; and they really loved everything about the state. Oregon fans treated them well. But they were 100% on board with Nebraska. Radley-Hiles has been to three different high schools. He is looking for something that feels right and Nebraska was it.

The Oregon staff was interested in Radley-Hiles back then but felt sure that he was so solid to Nebraska that their efforts at the time were focused elsewhere. They loved hi splay, but felt there was absolutely no chance.

And then things changed. Radley-Hiles quietly talked to a few schools about visits. That quiet talk entered a version of a planning phase where he began to speak publicly about visiting schools other than Nebraska.

yes, Oregon is one of the schools he wants to visit. But hold up just a moment on the excitement. Of the potential 'flip' destinations, Oregon is not the leader; and they are not number two. So the chances are below slim. Radley-Hiles has a very, very good relationship with Florida LB coach Tim Skipper (whose brother I went to high school with). They are the 'likeliest' flip candidate. (If the duck can get him to Eugene, there is still a very slight maybe.

This was such a non-starter in terms of likelihood that it seemed not worth talking about; until it became a topic. So, that is 'the rest of the story' so to speak.

The 2017 season goes into full swing with a big slate of Thursday games, and it was fun to have some actual football instead of more rating, ranking, predicting and talking.

My two cents:

Ohio State wore down Indiana with too many athletes and too many big plays. The Hoosiers had a 21-20 lead before talent won out. tOSU got their running game going, got more pressure on the quarterback and made some big explosive plays, winning easily 49-21.

Utah got 10 receptions from Darren Carrington for 127 yards and a touchdown on the way to a 37-16 win over North Dakota (not North Dakota State). It was a little ragged for the Utes, who led just 17-9 at halftime but pulled away.

Carrington is easily the go-to target for new quarterback Tyler Huntley, who threw for 227 yards with one TD (an 18-yarder to Carrington) and 1 interception. Huntley was 23-32, throwing mostly short and intermediate. The Utes got 128 yards from tailback Zack Moss and totaled 499 yards of offense while allowing 238 to their FCS opponent.

Arizona State looked ragged and disorganized in a 37-31 win over New Mexico State, who is picked to finish 10th in the Sun Belt Conference. Manny Wilkins earned the starting quarterback job over Blake Barnett. The visiting Aggies rolled up 549 yards of offense, 398 of it through the air.

Wilkins looked solid as the starter, 22-27 passing for 300 yards and 2 TDs. He was not intercepted. Wonder where Barnett will transfer next.

Kalen Ballage had TD runs of 7 and 20 yards. Contain Ballage, and the Sun Devils will fold their sporks.

#10 Oklahoma State rolled to a big win over Tulsa.

P.J. Fleck's new squad at Minnesota held on for a 17-7 win over Buffalo. His offense looks predictable and over-scripted, but a win is a win. Five more to make a bowl. The Gophers travel to Oregon State in week two.

On Saturday, Wyoming opens at Iowa at 9 a.m., and Nebraska hosts Arkansas State at 5 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. Just so you know.

Tre' Shawn Harrison, and Garfield playing on Root. Harrison Scoring on 54 reception, and flashing the O ! 2nd half just beginning...