Yeah, I was uncomfortable with the score too John, and yet, Oregon didn’t try to run up the score, they simply played football. No trick plays…no bombs after the mid-2nd quarter. They needed to get better too and the only way was to let their guys play. I mean they didn’t even start all of their 1’s at the beginning of the game. They started their Oregonians as much as possible, even if they would t have normally started. I’m not accusing you of roasting the Ducks here, you’re not. This is just one of those things. Actually this wasn’t as bad as the Nevada game a few years ago, it just….was.
1. These "exhibitions" should not count towards any bowl ranking points at all.... 2. With a 30+ lead early in the second quarter. You could always quick kick on first down. have the QB throw with the off hand. Run your Def Nose Guard at FB. Line up Line backers at wide outs...Are you really getting 'reps' when you are lined up against a much inferior opponent? If there is no 'mercy' rule. What IS the point. It would have been much more interesting had Lanning played his 2s and 3s at the beginning of the game, gone down 3 touchdowns perhaps, and then seen if his 1's could win the game in the second half.
Totally agree. ten or more power teams crushed their opponents... not a competition. Why not call them what they are pre-season games. Imagine if the NFL, NBA, NHL counted those games? Ridiculous.
The Oregon AD initiates and schedules those FCS games. It is pretty pathetic a number of top ranked teams do the same to pad their year end stats and wins. Have some class Oregon, and quite scheduling teams you will whip no matter how you play.
How much would a top marketing / PR team cost Oregon State to build a brand for its athletics program? This will be the year to do it when the entire country feels terrible about what is happening to a Top 20 program (I have been reading articles saying as much from all over the country). This is much more important than a new weight room or fancier features on the stadium. If the Beavers had a national brand like the Ducks, they would not be in this situation. Could they get a great marketing team for $1M per year? Money well spent if they could. Use some of that PAC12 money to pay for it. Or ask those funding the NIL partnerships to fund it. Invest in the future.
Unfortunately, brands aren't built in 1-2 years. It takes many years, especially if you're tucked away in the Pacific Northwest. And by then, there will be a super conference and everyone else. Oregon State will be with "everyone else" such as Purdue, Iowa State, and Missouri.
I agree about how long it takes to build brand (I am in marketing / sales) but no time like the present to start. The Super Conference already exists on paper and the Beavers are no where near being included. Just look at the annual recruiting ranking for a clue to who is and isn't a Top 30 program. The Beavers run 40-50 now (were 60-70 before Smith). Oregon runs 10-20 and so will be part of a Super Conference if it includes 30 teams. But we don't really know the mechanics of such a league and I don't think it gets started until 2030-32 at the expiration of the current FOX and ESPN contracts. The Beavers won't have a chance if they don't get started now. Coach Smith has got them into the Top 20 with 50th talent by the recruiting services. What could he do with Top 20 talent?
I get it. Payday games have been around forever. If you were always an FCS team then maybe that is how you pay your bills. Sad for the players, however, since they want to compete and can't against an overwhelming foe (I never dreamt about my HS football team taking on an NFL team; maybe a nightmare, though). It seems there are better ways to share the pie so that smaller programs get a cut in a more civilized way. And I never want to see the Beavers taking payday games if the worse comes to pass, though that is what Ducks fans want to see and have said as much. They would love the Beavers taking payday games against the Ducks in a few years after recruiting dries up and the Smith coaching staff is gone
Do the hard thing and think beyond your sore feelings. Oregon’s non conference games have been hard matchups. Georgia, Ohio State, and even next weekends game against Texas Tech.
Unless you want the Oregon legislature to provide funding (from tax dollars) to PSU for their athletic department, they will have to continue to rely on paycheck games. Several years ago a couple of Oregon legislators even talked about passing a law that would require Oregon and Oregon State to schedule PSU, so there was a guarantee of financial support to the smaller in-state
This one good (??) thing this silly realignment mess has done is to speed up the timetable for what we all know is coming -- the eventual creation of the "The Super Conference" (TSC) with somewhere between 24 and 32 teams. (We can have fun speculating on which teams will be in it.)
When that happens, TSC teams should only play each other, except for one "tune up" game that won't count in the standings or be considered for anything else. That's what the Oregon-Portland State game was. That game foreshadows what games between TSC teams and even those other current FBS teams that don't make the cut, let alone FCS teams, will look like. The difference in resources will simply be too great for teams like an Arizona, or Cal, or NC State, or an Arkansas to be competitive..
That is exactly correct. There are limited funds for all the NIL and media contracts. Since the NCAA has not seen fit to regulate revenue sports, market forces will drive the outcome and then Super-League will drive towards the smallest size that generates the most global viewers with the most compelling competition, just like in pro sports. The NFL, NBA and MLB have demonstrated over the past 50-60 years that number to be around 32. Just like there is one AAA team behind each MLB team there will be one Super-League team behind each NFL team. They might even develop formal affiliations so that NFL teams draft HS players to the college team with which they affiliate. They can then allocate funding towards the NIL program. Baseball has been like this for decades, with cooperation between college baseball and the pros (rules around the draft with "slotted" contracts).
You hit the key element there there's running up the score because you out match them so much in talent that even when you put your Walk-Ons at 3rd stringers in they're still going to score up. Then there's the we're ahead by six touchdowns and we're going to throw post patterns all night. that's the Lavell Edwards close the gates of Mercy run up.
I was an assistant coach on a North Shore Oahu High School in the early seventies. we had some phenomenal talent if you could corner all the best athletes in Hawaii on one team they'd be national champions year after year (except for one thing eligibility). Fortunately we had the mercy rule o for running up the score,but we always offered the other coach to put in our jV team who we suited up to continue an unscored game for their guys to practice..
When thinking about Oregon State I can remember the late great Demosthenes Konstandies Andrecopoulos asking me one year about our linebackers particularly two who were total animals. Coach Dee asked "can these guys get the grades and pass the SAT". Coach, I said I don't think these two guys can spell SAT. ( I think one went to ASU after JUCO.)
I 100% agree with you...but in all honesty, if we are truly trying to get better, you don't schedule this game. Neither team got better, they got what they needed...For Oregon a dress rehearsal win (that still keeps them in contention for this false FBS championship model). For PSU, much needed money and exposure. It had nothing to do with getting better. With that said, I thought Oregon looked really sharp with almost zero SIW's. We shall see how that translates to next week on the road but I like their chances if they maintain performance.
I mildly disagree with your uncomfortableness at the score. This was not Steve Spurrier running flea flickers in the 4th quarter up 50 with the starters still in.
Bo was out early in the 3rd. Even Ty was out in the 4th, and it could be argued he needed more time.
Bucky had 4 rushes. Jordan James had never had the opportunity to play this much. He needed game experience even against psu. Both of the true freshman running backs scored and got good game experience. Noah was out.
The other thing is over the last few years, this opening game was made closer by Duck errors. Aside from psu's first drive, they really didn't have any. When was the last oregon team that played that clean? I can't remember??
Anyway- maybe you don't kick the field goal- but the kicking team does need experience too. I didn't feel Lanning ran it up- more of a pretty perfect game from a team that way over matched their opponent.
I don’t blame Oregon for scoring. I also feel bad for the PSU kids. I also know PSU needs to play the game because it because it needs the money. Tricky.
Agree on the clean game...A good sign for Oregon...question is can they maintain it when someone else punches back. The season gets real now, with tough road games at Texas Tech, UW and Utah. Thankfully have SC and Colorado at home. Bo looked sharp. Love to see teams that take care of their business in playing clean (the greatest opponent sometimes is yourself).
Completely agree. My point was the last few seasons, especially in the Cristobal years, they had so many mental errors and dumb penalties. Didn't see thos yesterday. Playing clean will really help in big games if they will keep it up.
If you ever were to ask...PSU, EWSU, Montana, etc etc...All beg BCS teams to play them...the FCS level teams need the revenue. The BCS teams have to be judicious in who they play in order to spread the wealth and actually get competitive experience for their teams.
No doubt those schools beg to get those games. The entire NCAA football business model is built on how much money can be generated. Doesn't mean a team like Oregon has to play that silly game. Oregon didn't get any competitive experience on Saturday. A Ducks A team versus B team scrimmage would have been more valuable. PSU knows they can't compete... schedule a game they have a hope to win, otherwise it's a sham that allows Oregon to pad their record.
Duck alum ('64). fan since mid-50's, I just don't feel good about the Ducks any more. Did not fly my "O" flag yesterday for the first time in years. I'll still watch and hope they do well, but I think Ken Goe's reckoning will come. Never thought I'd say this, but the Beavers will be my team soon. I look forward to following a "PacWest" conference composed of western US schools. Won't bother me a bit if they aren't Power 5. Phil Knight may need to see the Ducks win it all but that's not likely. Only one team wins the national title and who remembers the others?
I'm also from the class of '64 (Stanford and one year at Oregon--grew up in Eugene). This "realignment" mess is creating results less than what we had with the regional conferences. I too am losing interest in what's become the semi-pro college football.The human element is being diminished, replaced by greed and power motives. But then, who will listen to us old farts remembering the "good old days." Or should they? Only if they want to avoid some of the experiences and lessons we learned from our trial and error mistakes.
I did a little history searching today and learned that Oregon was independent during 3 of the years I was there. Not sure I even noticed. Still went to pre-game parties and off to the game. All were at noon as I recall. Ducks went to the Sun Bowl and beat SMU at the end of that period (Who remembers the "firehouse four" backfield of Bob Berry, Mel Renfro, Larry Hill and Lu Bain?"). The Cal schools and Washington had decided they didn't need Ducks, Beavers and Cougars. Formed AAWU, Athletic Association of Western Universities. After a few years allowed them back and formed the Pac-8. And some say history doesn't repeat itself!
I do remember the "Firehouse Five." Bob Berry was a fraternity brother, the one year I attended Oregon. There were stories of Bob spontaneously drawing up plays in the huddle, and a legendary time one of those plays produced the winning touchdown. The game, and life were much simpler then...
It is nice to see Duck fans who have personal integrity and cannot align with such a corrupted program. Maybe something will change someday and UofO sports will become something more than winning at any price.
just another bitter Leaver...let it go dude. It's pretty funny you call it personal integrity when their view "might" coincide with yours...But if they disagree it's disgusting or corrupted. get a life.
Lol, did you read the article? It's a business. Alabama, Michigan, Ohio St, et al, do it. Sorry you got miffed because the conference exploded. You'll get over it
For PSU this year is the last opportunity for a payday game on the west coast. The Big 10 prohibits all "have vs have-not match ups". Who will be left for PSU to schedule? Wazzu? OSU? It's unlikely either will be in a position to pay $500,000 and may well be seeking out payday games to help their own bottom-lines.
Addition 10 minutes after first post.
JC's snapshot of PK grinning it up yesterday is all that separated UofO from OSU current predicament and brings up a question. What happens when UofO does not have PK in the stands? Mullens might want to call the Trailblazers about the difference between Jody Allen and Paul Allen.
No, not true. There is no B1G rule against playing FCS teams. The Minnesota Gophers have played the North Dakota schools several times and once even found a way to lose to NDSU (in 2011, a team which is often in the hunt for the FCS national championship).
I stand corrected. In 2017, the Big Ten relaxed the rule and allow members to schedule an FCS opponent during those seasons where they have four conference home games.
The Big 10 only outright banned FCS games from 2016-2017. They will allow existing contracts and currently they allow it if only four conference home games are scheduled (maybe 5 in the new set-up???).
Just an fyi, I believe there was an Ohio law or was "strongly suggested"-lol, that ohio state play at least 1 in state school a year. This year they play Youngstown State, they played Bowling Green in '16. Not much difference in quality, for me. I fully concur with your WSU, OSU future payouts.
any illusion of the importance of character and sportsmanship at the University of Oregon has vanished. Why should we be surprised when the administration, in their greed (and fear of being left behind) torpedoed the Pac 12 and their sister school into oblivion.
The rot, which starts at the top with John Karl Sholz and Rob Mullens has spread. It is repugnant and grotesque. I know some Duck loyalists who will not be renewing their season tickets next year and I applaud them. I applaud them for making a statement that ethical dealings and fair play are important.
I don't know man. I am a Duck fan who graduated from OSU, so of course I root for the Beavers too. I don't see it this way. If you are looking for someone to blame then direct your ire at the real source = U$C. They and they alone are the ones who set this in motion with their very LA-esque secret meetings and such.
Actually if you really want to play the blame game correctly...........then it's eSECpn and B1GFOX you are looking for.
I don't like what the Ducks had to do as much as anyone, but I also don't see them or their administration as the ones who led us to where we are.
TV money did this, and a system that truly is unfair for 90% of the teams...we are going to a 12 team playoff, there are really only 12-15 brand names that get rewarded and we've seen just about every excuse you can imagine in anointing them upward while descending other worthy teams downward. The system is only going to reward 12-15 of the biggest brand names. That isn't really a playoff, especially when those 12-15 brand names use every advantage in the system...schedule FCS, only play 8 conference games, for schools in the South, they never leave their region, then you have the whole Poll shenanigans. The Power structure did this(TV and the oligarchs) and yet they do it in a fashion where you blame everyone else instead of seeing it clearly for what it is...If you want to boycott someone, boycott the networks. I didn't watch a single FOX game or ESPN game all weekend. If you want to make a statement about who to blame, boycott the real bandits, not your school or the young men who play the game. Just my opinion and I'm sure I'll get roasted for it, but this whole agenda has been in motion for awhile and we are all to blame for it.
The cable/satellite bundle that has been the prime source of revenue for ESPN and Fox is crumbling. Where will the money come from in a few years for the kind of bloated TV rights deals like the one the Big "Ten" signed with Fox or the one the SEC has with ESPN?
Unless you're Netflix, which doesn't do live sports, streaming isn't profitable. I'm not sure that it will ever generate the kinds of bucks that the bundle concept has made available to some of these networks. By it's nature, it can't do what the bundle does that generates so much cash -- take money from people who never watch the channels.
I wonder how long it will be before the first of these rights deals suffers the same fate as we saw recently with the Diamond Sports RSNs,.
It isn't coming. The big "linear TV" contracts will be done at their expiration. Streaming subscriptions will replace them. Yes, the big programs with a national brand like Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame and USC will still have a big financial advantage under this new regime. But a team like Oregon State or Wazzu could at least have an avenue to the top if they build a brand. That is what both schools have not done, compared to say Gonzaga or Boise State, which have done a brilliant job from small market platforms, building theirs. The Ducks? They have a brand borrowed from Nike. One wonders what they will be in the future when PK is gone and future Nike leadership thinks it an anachronism to be aligned with one school
“Ethics” has nothing to do with it. Oregon did what it had to do to survive. Sorry, but had the shoe been on the other (OSU) foot, they would have done the exact same thing.
"But they would have done it, too!" A common, juvenile claim made when someone knows they've done they ugly, and desperately wants to feel better about it.
Sour grapes. I do know it’s a common response. Somebody is always there to blame. But it always pays to try to find the right person to blame. In this case it’s the hired commissioner and ALL the college presidents who let this happen, not the fans (like me) or the players and their coaches.
Bottom line, if the Ducks hadn't stealed away to the Big 10 literally in the wee hours with UW, we'd have a Pac-10 today. (With adding the San Diego, as planned.) Everyone else was ready to put pen to paper for a several year commitment that fateful Friday morning. We would not be in this fiasco where we are now, period.
I don't think anyone is blaming Duck fans like you for this travesty, BTW.
And not sour grapes. Just severe sadness and disappointment. I honestly expected a whole lot better of Duck leadership, frankly. It's always a gut punch to see ugly character stuff like that when you thought better of someone.
That Apple deal was a terrible idea and would have killed the Conference and all the teams in it. Oregon did what it had to do and as much as it sucks that OSU got left behind, Oregon had to do what was best for our University, nobody else’s.
LOLOL...hmm nothing about USC or UCLA OR THEIR PRESIDENTS & AD's collusion, Nothing about Colorado, or UW, or Arizona, or ASU...Only Oregon...as if (just like every bitter Leaver) Oregon concocted this entire event and demise of the PAC 12 to spite the LEAVERS! ...You just can't make this up folks...this total bitterness and anger has ALWAYS been pervasive in Leavers...they just now are displaying it in public under the guise as being upset about the conference...and under that umbrella of blame Oregon for EVERYTHING.
The $20 million deal would have been $10 Million LESS than the commissioner had promised to deliver; it was all paid subscribers rather than mainline TV; and required teams to sell subscriptions; a bad and risky deal. The Ducks did what they had to do for the University of Oregon. Their FIRST responsibility is to do what’s best for their university, not try to salvage every other school. Blame ALL the presidents and the commissioner who were asleep at the wheel, not just Oregon.
LOLOL...she calls that a "juvenile claim"...yet says nothing about the sophomoric, disgusting nonsense thrown out by her fellow Leaver fans. hypocrisy is not a virtue.
Bullcrap. The Ducks did NOT have to pull the pin, and they are the ones who did. There was a deal with Apple that would have paid, net travel costs the 9 remaining PAC12 teams the same as the B1G deal. There WILL be no big payday for the Ducks in 2030 because FOX and ESPN are in serious financial trouble, done in by their own greed and over-paying for content. So, all your rationalizations to make your guilt go away you can ditch. Those of us who follow sports know better.
All your doing with this rhetoric is making the rest of us who want to move on and root for the Beavers look like a bunch of spoiled brats who had our ice cream taken away. We need to put on our big boy pants and find a way forward and stop trying to blame everyone else for our problems (especially Phil Knight and Oregon who have done way more for this state when it comes to sports and sports branding then OSU has ever done).
Wow Brian.......says the guy showing a lot of grace with a comment like this. I am embarrassed to be associated with you, if you are truly even a Beaver fan.
Accurate. John Karl Scholz, Oregon's president for 30 days drove the shiv in the backs of the 8 other schools who were committed to staying. Scholz was 30 days from his 9 year tenure at Wisconsin...and thought Oregon simply by association would turn into a Wisconsin, Northwestern or Rutgers by being in the Big Ten. Scholz is a dipwad...but USC kicked the first domino, Kliavkoff was asleep in his basement, the Chancellors and Presidents didn't have a clue how to handle the negotiations, and like any other huge calamity, there was a lack of leadership and smarts in many quarters. But no mistake - and I'm a Ducks fan, have been for years - Oregon shoved the final knife into the heart of this conference.
Even John in a previous column said that was not true...even IF EVERYTHING went perfect with Apple Streaming, it was a huge stretch (by GK) that the media pay out under Apple's plan streaming would even come close to $30 million per team (ESPN's offer). It was closer to $20.
I'm going to believe your post wasn't directed at my comment about Scholz and his dip-wad idiocy. If I'm wrong, and your post IS directed at me, please let me know...I'll have plenty more comments.
LOL! "a dubious defense". And so what am I defending? Nothing. There is no defense for what the Ducks did to the PAC12. End of story.
For those who say Oregon had no other choice, I say BS. If what I say were the alternatives you want to characterize as "if and but", well, that is the nature of showing alternatives. It is called in logic a "conditional". If this, then that. Not a defense, just a clear option that was not elected for whatever reasons of greed and ego.
yes yes...lets ALL 10 remaining programs go down the drain with GK's horrible plan of everyone taking a $10+ million dollar hit annually for 6 years, because we should all be our little brothers keeper! That's about as dumb & ridiculous a thought as I've seen, and there are plenty of them in here. What was keeping OSU from doing the same??? Money? prestige? Brand? History? allegiance? loyalty? LOLOL don't make me laugh. In make believe land if OSU was somehow in Oregon's position, they'd have left when USC/UCLA did. But circumstances dictated that they were chained to the conference. No one believes for a hot new York second that OSU would not have done what Oregon did. It's just that OSU fans just love playing the victim.
Keep telling yourself over and over "Oregon State would have done the same" as it obviously assuages your guilt and makes you feel better. And it was not a $10M per year delta. Don't lie to yourself and everyone else. Apple had $25M on the table the day Oregon bailed for the B1G. You will get $30M there. Travel will cost an additional $10M per year, it is estimated. So Oregon and Washington have lost $5M per year for their disloyalty and lack of integrity. But then the Ducks are made of people like you. So what would we expect?
Hard to disagree more. To 'survive'? - neither Oregon, UCLA or USC had to make those moves to survive. They did them out of greed, pure and simple. They jumped ship, abandoned their teammates in the PAC12, scurried away like deserters!
More sour grapes. If GK had managed it right, recognized the various university concerns, it could have been salvaged. But instead, he clearly failed, mislead everyone about the “great deal that would be worth the wait” that he peddled to the presidents and the media…until the eleventh hour which was clearly nothing even close to what he promised.
What does OSU have to do with this???? Stick to the general topic of a HS 5A top team matched up with a freshman hs team...about the same ability level.
So as their conference crumbled around them, they had a moral obligation to bouy a sinking ship?
This is all preventable if USC had said, at a meeting, we are exploring a move to the BiG, which will net us Xx in impact. We provide 50% of the media value, and we should have a conversation.
Clemson — despite their few years on top — is struggling to stay on top of the heap — because top athletes want to play top athletes.
I’m a Duck fan, but actually looking forward to the Beavers taking a step down.. it will give me a team to love that competes for and can win the “Natty” but also a team to love that gets to play for a meaningful thing as well - conference status and championships, while no longer being forced to compete day in and out with teams that are operating like National Championship programs. (USC, UO, UW)
I have respected you and your opinions in the past but you're going beyond the pale now. "the rot"??? "repugnant and grotesque" got any other "colorful" descriptions of your former rival???? Then you describe (fictional people who agree with you) as ethical and applauded for fair play....Some of you Leavers give weirdo Bob M. Johnson a run for his money. Any real beaver fan would know who Bob M. Johnson is or who beavermobile was.
This comment is now deeply buried and is more of a personal note between us. A lot of Duck fans are squirming because they are not comfortable with how this played out. Actually the words I used fall short in describing what Oregon did to materially damage Oregon State. If the shoe fits wear it and the shoe fits. Only your conscience can allow you to recognize this.
You act like the Beavers never play these games....and if you're honest, the Beavers do the same thing if the tables are turned. Does realignment suck....yes. the blame lies more with the university presidents and the California schools that werent transparent. But is all water under over your dam at this point.
Lots of resentment here, made up largely of sour grapes or angst. I have a different focus, John. PSU players showed grit and class in the game. Nobody thought this was going to even be close. But there was PSU on a national stage, holding their heads high with no quit to be seen. And can we stop blaming the Ducks for the demise of the PAC? That table was set long ago by the networks and stupidity. You can thank USC and UCLA for the death blow. Oregon just played the cards that were dealt.
Blaming Oregon for its success is foolishness. In what sport is less than full effort encouraged? Blame the game (the current state of college football) not the player.
I don't see anyone on here, besides you, giving props to PSU and they deserve it.
They didn't quit, they didn't complain after the game. Hell even Coach Barnum, was like damn, that is a national title contender team and everyone they face is going to have a lot of weapons to deal with. He didn't complain like so many of you on here. That's because he has class and is situationally aware........unlike so many of you bitter Beavers on here.
So this is going to be the Duck mantra the next several years "bitter Beavers". I love the projection. The very same people who stabbed their "rivals" in the back are now blaming the victim. Appropriate and expected.
Wrong. I am a Beaver fan calling you all out for being bitter Beaver's and making the rest of us look bad. Yeah, I am a Duck fan too, as I grew up going to Autzen, but I graduated from OSU.
Acting like victims and such will not get us anywhere, just make us look bitter and weak.
Thanks for the heaping load of sanctimonious condescension and self righteousness. It's a bad look. Knight School just kicked OSU's athletic department over a cliff and into a tar pit andyou call people bitter for not just saying, "well, I understand what you think you had to do Phil, why don't we just keep playing nice like nothing happened and when our team is not able to recruit on par with Knight School, we should just give them a nice easy 40 mile drive, or come to their place and graciously take a PSU-esque ass kicking and not get "bitter" about how that turned out or how Knight School made it so.
Sanctimonious condescension and self righteousness???.......oh please, get a grip. Phil Knight did not do shit to us. Our president is the one who went along with Larry the Cable Guy as our commissioner for years while Canzano and thousands of us fans cried foul and the OSU president did nothing.....in fact they backed him up.
It's dumb and juvenile to continue to spew this hatred and bitterness and it makes us look weak and pathetic. Grow up, grow a pair and let's find solutions and stop blaming the UofO for our problems. Lest our problems become of our own making.
Back at it I see, answer the question... where did you get the name Leaver? You seem to pick a fight with anyone and everyone that has a different POV. Why do you insist controlling everyone here? Your lack of knowledge of the Apple+ deal after John explained it is detail is laughable.
Though doth protest too much, me thinks. The alternative, relevant tern I used was "angst," not blame for scoring, and I was primarily reacting to the unhappy Beaver fans who were commenting. At the same time, you said, "I’m a little uncomfortable with any football game that has “81” on one side the scoreboard." Sounded like angst to me. Thanks for responding.
What?! LOL! Those are some serious hallucinogens you are taking. PSU showed grit and class? How can getting blown out by 71 points be anything but pathetic. Grit? That they did not all get carried out on stretchers? I love Ducks and their rationalizations to cover their lack of integrity
So anyone facing daunting odds should just give up or walk away? Nobody forced PSU to take this game. But they showed up and did so with class. You could take a lesson from Barnum. Whining is not an attractive trait.
Ken Goe this morning offered a useful object lesson for what PK, Mullens, Lamming and UofO athletes can expect for 2024 and beyond. The University of Nebraska jumped out of the Big 8(12,X) and into "The Big Ten". UofN has scuttled along in the bottom third of the standings in nearly every sport.
University of Nebraska also just had 90K people show up for a women's volleyball game. Maybe it has not been such a "tragedy" for UN athletes. I am sure those big television paydays from Big Ten Football contracts helped them pull this off (and a great Volleyball program).
It was an event. It didn't matter who the opponent was. Nebraska could have playing Lamar. as a member of the Southland Conference, and done the same thing.
Tragedy is your word. UNL football is mired as a middle pact team in the Big 10 with or without minor sports in Memorial Stadium. Volleyball Day was designed as a one-off to set the record. Good for them to promote another sport instead of football or basketball. Volleyball has historically done well as a fan favorite at UNL.
UNL makes a very different case about the benefits of Big 10 membership. Their take is it has led to improvement in research and scholarship.
I thought Goe's column was outstanding. BTW - the Big Ten had no impact on Nebraska's volleyball program or their level of excellence. Nebraska is a volleyball state - a powerhouse and has been for years. The team they played in that record-breaking attendance of over 92,000 fans was from Omaha. Yeah, Omaha, Nebraska...not a thing to do with the Big Ten.
Difference is twofold - Oregon has already demonstrated it can play with the best of the BiG, and has the great equalizer in Phol Knight. Nebraska took a half share of revenue for a decade, which I think is an extremely overlooked component of their success/failure.
Oregon and Washington will receive half shares at $30 million, with one-year, $1 million increments until 2030, before earning full shares in the next television deal in fall 2030. True UofO is 11-6 against Big 10 (2000-present) and 4-4 against SEC. Big difference compared to UNL? Maybe
Honestly, as a die hard Duck, I do compare us to Nebraska often. My opinion is that Oregon is always 3 seasons from becoming Nebraska … but without the history and 100+ sold out stadium.
No natural recruiting, and a long ways from anywhere else.
exactly...remember the last two years of Mark Helfrich, then Taggart??? it can all change very quickly if Oregon football is not forever vigilant. Nebraska is Lucky in the sense there is only ONE major school, and no NFL teams in that state, so they can survive due to the fact the fans have no where else to go. In Oregon...there are a ton of other things to do in Oregon ( the Ocean, the Mountains, the desert, lakes, rivers, hiking, biking etc. etc.) if the fans choose not to use their time & money for college football. And the casual sports fans are fickle, they'll turn away in a heartbeat.
If college football is going to aggregate itself into super conferences that are basically semi-pro leagues financed by TV money then they have to stop beating up on smaller schools as tune ups for the real season. It is like the NFL preseason only these nothing schools need to stop pimping themselves out for a few hundred thousand dollars. In fact let these 60-75 super schools play only amongst themselves in a meaningful way to find out their national champion, which is all it is now about.
The worst of the worst is the SEC which plays teams that are more like high school and manages to not only schedule 4 patsies, instead of the 3 most other conferences do, but makes sure they play one towards the last week of the season so their players get a bye week in effect.
Just another example of how far the sport has fallen...beating some FBS school or MWC school, which will now include a neutered OSU and WSU next year, proves zilch so get over yourselves Ducks and Trojans.
Here’s the problem with this -- it’s how a lot of FCS schools and some G5 schools find their athletic department.
Kent State in the MAC is a good example of this. Last year in out of conference they had to play Georgia, Washington, and Oklahoma all in the first three games.
No contender would ever schedule that for their OOC, and yet Kent did that to take home $5.2 million combined from those games. That went straight back in to the athletic coffers for all the other sport. That money matters even more for FCS schools like Portland State and Eastern Washington.
Take the money games away and watch as a lot of these FCS programs, and possibly G5 schools, fold up
There are better ways to revenue share than scheduling payday games which are boring and get players hurt. I agree with the goal of revenue sharing. So the NCAA needs to work on that in a way that does not trip anti-trust laws. This should have been done 20 years ago, when TV / media money became such a large factor in football and basketball
Esp since EWU is broke. I'm sure PSU is doing better with enrollment than EWU. At one time PSU had more students than UO or OSU. PSU athletics does need the guarantee games to fund their program. Also sure the SEC or non western-Big Ten teams could offer buy games at a higher payout but at that point travel concerns eat up the profit. When they play schools in the PNW, and to a lesser extent CA, or a neighboring state like NV or UT, they could bus if needed. No overnight travel needed if PSU plays UO/OSU or UW/WSU (for WSU provided the game isn't an after dark event).
No apologies needed. I get it and out here our patsies tend to be UC Davis, Sac State, etc. My problem is that the SEC had taken advantage of this more than anyone. By beating up 4 patsies, each school only needs to win 2 conference games and suddenly they are bowl eligible, plus they use it to get a bye week when everyone else is playing rivalry games. It really is moot now as the whole college football landscape has become semi-pro ball that rents its name from the university.
Sadly I expect WSU and OSU to become more like Portland State once they enter the MWC, although FresNose State, Boise, and SDSU have stepped up. It is also possible you will see many of these lower rung schools give up football in the next 10-20 years for many reasons from CTE to relegation as cannon fodder for the Fox-Disney League.
In CA the FBS UC's like Berkeley love playing UC Davis because they don't have to pay that much, it's a game of local interest with a slight attendence bump vs non local FCS teams, UC Davis doesn't have to stay overnight (1 hr drive) and it's basically an accounting move to transfer funds to a fellow UC.
Cal State schools like SJSU or Fresno enjoy playing Sac State or Cal Poly for the same reasons. Game of local interest, the visiting school gets more value for their money. I'd rather have $400k if my travel costs are essentially gas money and the cost to pay the bus company (which I'm probably paying to get to the airport anyway) than $700k at an SEC school with probably a return of $250k after travel costs and not getting the network benefit of alumni in the host school's area.
Trust me I know about the SEC -- it’s BS that it’s happened since the BCS era. The ACC has it too though and that’s why it’s been the SEC or Clemson that’s won the natty 8 of the last 9 years
Wow!! Dead-nuts on @GlennBenson. I could not write this better. Yes, even in the MWC the Beavers will be completely outmanned just like Boise State was yesterday against the Huskies, or worse. When Boise State found a way to contend nationally, several years ago, it was before the NIL and transfer portal which has upended football and made a super-league possible. One correction: The Super-league will not be 60-75. At the next contraction, it will be nearer to 30 schools. Big12, ACC along with PAC2+MWC are likely to be resignated.
Even though I am a Cal fan, my dad grew up in Spokane and was a lifelong WSU fan and what's not to like about OSU. Smith and the scrappy Beavs against the mighty Nike U? I always pull for those two schools. This is all do depressing!
I'm wondering what will happen within the Super Conference. Borrowing from "Animal Farm," all teams will be equal but some will be more equal than others.
Since sheer greed seems to reign in the college football domain, how long will it be before Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, and a small handful of others decide that the "lower classes" in that association don't deserve the same money. Those teams will eventually become almost as non-competitive as the schools relegated to some minor status by virtue of being left out of the SC.
You are exactly right, Bruce. It will be like the NFL with no salary caps and no TV revenue sharing. Dallas would be No. 1 every year. All the money will gravitate to the handful of most successful national programs with large natural audiences (to attract ad-driven viewership $$ or subscriptions). Who gets all the 5 star athletes now? That is who will get them in the future. I track recruiting over a couple decades and the same 6-7 schools get the majority of 5 stars (there are only 30-40 per year). They also get most of the 4 stars (there are 250 per year). You know the names: Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, LSU and Texas. That is it. Even though in the Big 10 for as long as it has existed, Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State never get a whiff of the consistent success of Michigan, OSU and now Penn State have over the decades. They are relegated to the 2nd tier forever. I expect a future realignment to exclude that 2nd tier, including UCLA, Washington and Oregon, who have never been able to recruit like the top tier (few if any 5 stars) and probably can't outbid them for NIL players, either (5 star = $million NIL contracts).
With all due respect, the only "logic" in college football today (and tomorrow) is the money trail.
Nothing else matters...nothing. It's the reason I'm going to watch a little less of it, but all of it with a jaundiced eye - I cannot stand hypocrisy. At least the NFL doesn't pretend academics are important...or their athletes' travel and general welfare is a priority. The NFL admits it's about money and they don't shy away from being mercenaries. The Chancellors/Presidents of colleges and universities are condescending and hypocritical, assuming we'll believe they have the best interests of students as their priority. However, their actions don't show it.
Well said, MW. The Ducks need to run plays too. They certainly didn’t try to run up the score. Should they lie down? Of course not. Mike Wilbon says “ we run the plays. If you don’t like it, stop ‘em.” Want someone to blame? Look to those who set the schedule.
Simply put. PSU athletics has been on life support for years. Gone are the days of Pokey Allan. PSU has no true home field. Traveling to Hillsboro hurts them. Case in point... when PSU played Western Oregon a couple years ago, Western fans out drew them at the game. The city of Portland sadly has fallen into disrepair and homeless encampments around the once proud university has perpetuated it. Portland Public Schools could have partnered with PSU on the remodel of Lincoln High’s field to support both PSU and Lincoln.... but no ineptitude as usual in the PPS and front office at PSU remained. I predict that once Barnum is done with his tour of duty.... there will be a void in the Big Sky with PSU dropping football. Central Washington is poised to step into that void with the upgrades they have done. Western Oregon is making their capital improvement plans. PSU used to be a “dude” on the block that you had to contend with. Sadly... without the ease of student interaction at games and a plethora of other issues out of their control... PSU without doubling down on athletics is looking for like a city college in the future that has few to no athletics left. Which is sad, they could be great again. I remember when they were!
PSU in general has been on life support. I recently partnered with them on a project and found out just how tough things have gotten for them since the pandemic.
Shoot..........the entire city of Portland seems on life support at times. I used to work downtown. Got lucky and was approved for remote work, but I still go downtown once every quarter or so. It's not looking good for commerce down there.
Yes, there have a been a few times that I am walking around my office downtown and thinking......I should not be here right now. Definitely hoping society can get things back together again.....but not going to hold my breath.
As with most transactions involving the Schmucks, it was dishonorable. I wish their solution to their impending travel woes was to move east. This state doesn’t need them any more.
With comments like this I think this state doesn't need you anymore Ron. The Oregon Ducks are Oregon, and have been for a long time. If you don't like it then it seems you are the one that should move along.
Phil Knight (an actual Oregonian, which you are likely not) and the University of Oregon have done a lot more for sports and sports branding in this state than OSU. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who graduated from OSU in the 90's. The bitter Beaver look is not something I think we should continue to promulgate in any form.
I got kicked out of Oregon State, so I could be bitter. But, for crying out loud, it was my fault - Oregon State didn't screw me, I screwed myself. I'm a Ducks fan and have been for decades, but don't make statements that Oregon has "done a lot more for this state than OSU." First of all, you don't know that. Secondly, there are more important things than college football (like a trillion things more important) and OSU has made great contributions in engineering, research, Nobel Prize winners, the list could go on forever. Both Oregon and Oregon state have done a great job making incredible contributions...I have no idea how anyone can say either school has "done a lot more for this state" than the other. No idea.
You're not wrong Rich. I apologize, my bad, I should have caveated it with sports and branding in the state of Oregon. I am grateful to OSU and the degree I got there, it has helped me a lot in my life. I just wasn't clear in what I was referring to and thankfully you called me out on it so I could clarify.
CJ, when you caveat your comment with sports and branding you are absolutely correct - no question about it. Sometimes the written word leaves something to be desired - I know from firsthand experience.
I could not agree more with your statement now that I clearly understand it...thanks for the clarification.
Other than UO Nike has done little for the state of Oregon. All of their manufacturing is done in low cost Asian factories which I have toured. The company threatened to move HQ to Idaho but they were given more incentives to stay in Beaverton.
There is great interest in getting uncle a National Championship, time is fleeting. The UO baseball team was resurrected after the Beavs won their most recent Baseball Championship.
UO started their baseball team after OSU won their first national championship. They have won at least 2 since then. Not a Beav or a Duck, just wanted to point that out.
Phil Knight was born in Portland, Oregon. But my guess is he has definitely put some time in down in California as well........as many of us Oregonians have.
great post Ron. Dishonorable is the perfect word to describe what is going on over there in Eugene. Can any duck fan wear the Green and Yellow (or whatever color they decide to go with on game day) with pride these days?
Yep, we can still wear it with pride. There were 42,000+ of us cheering for the Ducks yesterday. This was not the players or the coaches decision to jump to the B1G, it was a matter of survival due to total incompetence in the hiring commissioners of the PAC-12. As for the players, coaches and fans, the Duck will still do his pushups, the motorcycle will still roar, the fans will cheer too loud for the opposing team to hear their QB, and the announcer will always say “It never rains in Autzen Stadium.”
I will never abandon my team due to nationwide changes in the football landscape that has little to do with players and fans who relate to their favorite team. GO DUCKS!
Chips a “Beaver Believer” he can’t stand the Ducks. In his perfect world all Duck fans would boycott the Ducks & support OSU. Every comment of his is how classless, arrogant & dishonorable the Ducks are. A lot of us didn’t support the implosion of the PAC-12. I will not blame the players or the coaches of the ducks. I will continue to support them & if that makes me deplorable in his or anyone else’s eyes so be it. Apparently John’s article makes too much common sense for some.
Yeah, I was uncomfortable with the score too John, and yet, Oregon didn’t try to run up the score, they simply played football. No trick plays…no bombs after the mid-2nd quarter. They needed to get better too and the only way was to let their guys play. I mean they didn’t even start all of their 1’s at the beginning of the game. They started their Oregonians as much as possible, even if they would t have normally started. I’m not accusing you of roasting the Ducks here, you’re not. This is just one of those things. Actually this wasn’t as bad as the Nevada game a few years ago, it just….was.
1. These "exhibitions" should not count towards any bowl ranking points at all.... 2. With a 30+ lead early in the second quarter. You could always quick kick on first down. have the QB throw with the off hand. Run your Def Nose Guard at FB. Line up Line backers at wide outs...Are you really getting 'reps' when you are lined up against a much inferior opponent? If there is no 'mercy' rule. What IS the point. It would have been much more interesting had Lanning played his 2s and 3s at the beginning of the game, gone down 3 touchdowns perhaps, and then seen if his 1's could win the game in the second half.
Totally agree. ten or more power teams crushed their opponents... not a competition. Why not call them what they are pre-season games. Imagine if the NFL, NBA, NHL counted those games? Ridiculous.
The Oregon AD initiates and schedules those FCS games. It is pretty pathetic a number of top ranked teams do the same to pad their year end stats and wins. Have some class Oregon, and quite scheduling teams you will whip no matter how you play.
The truth is Portland State needs that game too. The reality
How much would a top marketing / PR team cost Oregon State to build a brand for its athletics program? This will be the year to do it when the entire country feels terrible about what is happening to a Top 20 program (I have been reading articles saying as much from all over the country). This is much more important than a new weight room or fancier features on the stadium. If the Beavers had a national brand like the Ducks, they would not be in this situation. Could they get a great marketing team for $1M per year? Money well spent if they could. Use some of that PAC12 money to pay for it. Or ask those funding the NIL partnerships to fund it. Invest in the future.
Unfortunately, brands aren't built in 1-2 years. It takes many years, especially if you're tucked away in the Pacific Northwest. And by then, there will be a super conference and everyone else. Oregon State will be with "everyone else" such as Purdue, Iowa State, and Missouri.
I agree about how long it takes to build brand (I am in marketing / sales) but no time like the present to start. The Super Conference already exists on paper and the Beavers are no where near being included. Just look at the annual recruiting ranking for a clue to who is and isn't a Top 30 program. The Beavers run 40-50 now (were 60-70 before Smith). Oregon runs 10-20 and so will be part of a Super Conference if it includes 30 teams. But we don't really know the mechanics of such a league and I don't think it gets started until 2030-32 at the expiration of the current FOX and ESPN contracts. The Beavers won't have a chance if they don't get started now. Coach Smith has got them into the Top 20 with 50th talent by the recruiting services. What could he do with Top 20 talent?
I get it. Payday games have been around forever. If you were always an FCS team then maybe that is how you pay your bills. Sad for the players, however, since they want to compete and can't against an overwhelming foe (I never dreamt about my HS football team taking on an NFL team; maybe a nightmare, though). It seems there are better ways to share the pie so that smaller programs get a cut in a more civilized way. And I never want to see the Beavers taking payday games if the worse comes to pass, though that is what Ducks fans want to see and have said as much. They would love the Beavers taking payday games against the Ducks in a few years after recruiting dries up and the Smith coaching staff is gone
Portland State does this every year, so as John said, “ they both got what they wanted. “
This is how they finance their athletic dept.
For that money, I’d wrestle an Olympian, knowing exactly what will happen. No one forced PSU to schedule.
PSU needed the money. Oregon needs the game. So the game is played.
At least they aren’t scheduling those “cupcake” games in week 10-11 like the SEC does.
And I don't begrudge prostitutes what they have to do to survive. Same diff.
Do the hard thing and think beyond your sore feelings. Oregon’s non conference games have been hard matchups. Georgia, Ohio State, and even next weekends game against Texas Tech.
Yea so many of these comments are just so emotionally driven...like a jilted lover. The SEC juggernauts beat up on patsies every year too.
Unless you want the Oregon legislature to provide funding (from tax dollars) to PSU for their athletic department, they will have to continue to rely on paycheck games. Several years ago a couple of Oregon legislators even talked about passing a law that would require Oregon and Oregon State to schedule PSU, so there was a guarantee of financial support to the smaller in-state
school.
I don’t blame Oregon for scoring.
This one good (??) thing this silly realignment mess has done is to speed up the timetable for what we all know is coming -- the eventual creation of the "The Super Conference" (TSC) with somewhere between 24 and 32 teams. (We can have fun speculating on which teams will be in it.)
When that happens, TSC teams should only play each other, except for one "tune up" game that won't count in the standings or be considered for anything else. That's what the Oregon-Portland State game was. That game foreshadows what games between TSC teams and even those other current FBS teams that don't make the cut, let alone FCS teams, will look like. The difference in resources will simply be too great for teams like an Arizona, or Cal, or NC State, or an Arkansas to be competitive..
That is exactly correct. There are limited funds for all the NIL and media contracts. Since the NCAA has not seen fit to regulate revenue sports, market forces will drive the outcome and then Super-League will drive towards the smallest size that generates the most global viewers with the most compelling competition, just like in pro sports. The NFL, NBA and MLB have demonstrated over the past 50-60 years that number to be around 32. Just like there is one AAA team behind each MLB team there will be one Super-League team behind each NFL team. They might even develop formal affiliations so that NFL teams draft HS players to the college team with which they affiliate. They can then allocate funding towards the NIL program. Baseball has been like this for decades, with cooperation between college baseball and the pros (rules around the draft with "slotted" contracts).
100% Bob
You hit the key element there there's running up the score because you out match them so much in talent that even when you put your Walk-Ons at 3rd stringers in they're still going to score up. Then there's the we're ahead by six touchdowns and we're going to throw post patterns all night. that's the Lavell Edwards close the gates of Mercy run up.
I was an assistant coach on a North Shore Oahu High School in the early seventies. we had some phenomenal talent if you could corner all the best athletes in Hawaii on one team they'd be national champions year after year (except for one thing eligibility). Fortunately we had the mercy rule o for running up the score,but we always offered the other coach to put in our jV team who we suited up to continue an unscored game for their guys to practice..
When thinking about Oregon State I can remember the late great Demosthenes Konstandies Andrecopoulos asking me one year about our linebackers particularly two who were total animals. Coach Dee asked "can these guys get the grades and pass the SAT". Coach, I said I don't think these two guys can spell SAT. ( I think one went to ASU after JUCO.)
I 100% agree with you...but in all honesty, if we are truly trying to get better, you don't schedule this game. Neither team got better, they got what they needed...For Oregon a dress rehearsal win (that still keeps them in contention for this false FBS championship model). For PSU, much needed money and exposure. It had nothing to do with getting better. With that said, I thought Oregon looked really sharp with almost zero SIW's. We shall see how that translates to next week on the road but I like their chances if they maintain performance.
I mildly disagree with your uncomfortableness at the score. This was not Steve Spurrier running flea flickers in the 4th quarter up 50 with the starters still in.
Bo was out early in the 3rd. Even Ty was out in the 4th, and it could be argued he needed more time.
Bucky had 4 rushes. Jordan James had never had the opportunity to play this much. He needed game experience even against psu. Both of the true freshman running backs scored and got good game experience. Noah was out.
The other thing is over the last few years, this opening game was made closer by Duck errors. Aside from psu's first drive, they really didn't have any. When was the last oregon team that played that clean? I can't remember??
Anyway- maybe you don't kick the field goal- but the kicking team does need experience too. I didn't feel Lanning ran it up- more of a pretty perfect game from a team that way over matched their opponent.
I don’t blame Oregon for scoring. I also feel bad for the PSU kids. I also know PSU needs to play the game because it because it needs the money. Tricky.
Agree on the clean game...A good sign for Oregon...question is can they maintain it when someone else punches back. The season gets real now, with tough road games at Texas Tech, UW and Utah. Thankfully have SC and Colorado at home. Bo looked sharp. Love to see teams that take care of their business in playing clean (the greatest opponent sometimes is yourself).
Completely agree. My point was the last few seasons, especially in the Cristobal years, they had so many mental errors and dumb penalties. Didn't see thos yesterday. Playing clean will really help in big games if they will keep it up.
Sounds right to me. The joke is that the game was ever on the schedule.
If you ever were to ask...PSU, EWSU, Montana, etc etc...All beg BCS teams to play them...the FCS level teams need the revenue. The BCS teams have to be judicious in who they play in order to spread the wealth and actually get competitive experience for their teams.
No doubt those schools beg to get those games. The entire NCAA football business model is built on how much money can be generated. Doesn't mean a team like Oregon has to play that silly game. Oregon didn't get any competitive experience on Saturday. A Ducks A team versus B team scrimmage would have been more valuable. PSU knows they can't compete... schedule a game they have a hope to win, otherwise it's a sham that allows Oregon to pad their record.
Duck alum ('64). fan since mid-50's, I just don't feel good about the Ducks any more. Did not fly my "O" flag yesterday for the first time in years. I'll still watch and hope they do well, but I think Ken Goe's reckoning will come. Never thought I'd say this, but the Beavers will be my team soon. I look forward to following a "PacWest" conference composed of western US schools. Won't bother me a bit if they aren't Power 5. Phil Knight may need to see the Ducks win it all but that's not likely. Only one team wins the national title and who remembers the others?
I'm hearing from others like you as well. Eugene has become Whoville.
Chip, I think you meant "Whoreville"...
Brilliant!
I'm also from the class of '64 (Stanford and one year at Oregon--grew up in Eugene). This "realignment" mess is creating results less than what we had with the regional conferences. I too am losing interest in what's become the semi-pro college football.The human element is being diminished, replaced by greed and power motives. But then, who will listen to us old farts remembering the "good old days." Or should they? Only if they want to avoid some of the experiences and lessons we learned from our trial and error mistakes.
I did a little history searching today and learned that Oregon was independent during 3 of the years I was there. Not sure I even noticed. Still went to pre-game parties and off to the game. All were at noon as I recall. Ducks went to the Sun Bowl and beat SMU at the end of that period (Who remembers the "firehouse four" backfield of Bob Berry, Mel Renfro, Larry Hill and Lu Bain?"). The Cal schools and Washington had decided they didn't need Ducks, Beavers and Cougars. Formed AAWU, Athletic Association of Western Universities. After a few years allowed them back and formed the Pac-8. And some say history doesn't repeat itself!
I do remember the "Firehouse Five." Bob Berry was a fraternity brother, the one year I attended Oregon. There were stories of Bob spontaneously drawing up plays in the huddle, and a legendary time one of those plays produced the winning touchdown. The game, and life were much simpler then...
It is nice to see Duck fans who have personal integrity and cannot align with such a corrupted program. Maybe something will change someday and UofO sports will become something more than winning at any price.
just another bitter Leaver...let it go dude. It's pretty funny you call it personal integrity when their view "might" coincide with yours...But if they disagree it's disgusting or corrupted. get a life.
Lol, did you read the article? It's a business. Alabama, Michigan, Ohio St, et al, do it. Sorry you got miffed because the conference exploded. You'll get over it
Corrupted? Please elaborate, this should be fun!
100% !!!
Typically, one is a fan of a football team, not a conference...
For PSU this year is the last opportunity for a payday game on the west coast. The Big 10 prohibits all "have vs have-not match ups". Who will be left for PSU to schedule? Wazzu? OSU? It's unlikely either will be in a position to pay $500,000 and may well be seeking out payday games to help their own bottom-lines.
Addition 10 minutes after first post.
JC's snapshot of PK grinning it up yesterday is all that separated UofO from OSU current predicament and brings up a question. What happens when UofO does not have PK in the stands? Mullens might want to call the Trailblazers about the difference between Jody Allen and Paul Allen.
No, not true. There is no B1G rule against playing FCS teams. The Minnesota Gophers have played the North Dakota schools several times and once even found a way to lose to NDSU (in 2011, a team which is often in the hunt for the FCS national championship).
I stand corrected. In 2017, the Big Ten relaxed the rule and allow members to schedule an FCS opponent during those seasons where they have four conference home games.
The Big 10 only outright banned FCS games from 2016-2017. They will allow existing contracts and currently they allow it if only four conference home games are scheduled (maybe 5 in the new set-up???).
Just an fyi, I believe there was an Ohio law or was "strongly suggested"-lol, that ohio state play at least 1 in state school a year. This year they play Youngstown State, they played Bowling Green in '16. Not much difference in quality, for me. I fully concur with your WSU, OSU future payouts.
The Viking players, quite frankly, have class. Caring for the unfortunate is a noble thing to do.
any illusion of the importance of character and sportsmanship at the University of Oregon has vanished. Why should we be surprised when the administration, in their greed (and fear of being left behind) torpedoed the Pac 12 and their sister school into oblivion.
The rot, which starts at the top with John Karl Sholz and Rob Mullens has spread. It is repugnant and grotesque. I know some Duck loyalists who will not be renewing their season tickets next year and I applaud them. I applaud them for making a statement that ethical dealings and fair play are important.
I don't know man. I am a Duck fan who graduated from OSU, so of course I root for the Beavers too. I don't see it this way. If you are looking for someone to blame then direct your ire at the real source = U$C. They and they alone are the ones who set this in motion with their very LA-esque secret meetings and such.
Actually if you really want to play the blame game correctly...........then it's eSECpn and B1GFOX you are looking for.
I don't like what the Ducks had to do as much as anyone, but I also don't see them or their administration as the ones who led us to where we are.
TV money did this, and a system that truly is unfair for 90% of the teams...we are going to a 12 team playoff, there are really only 12-15 brand names that get rewarded and we've seen just about every excuse you can imagine in anointing them upward while descending other worthy teams downward. The system is only going to reward 12-15 of the biggest brand names. That isn't really a playoff, especially when those 12-15 brand names use every advantage in the system...schedule FCS, only play 8 conference games, for schools in the South, they never leave their region, then you have the whole Poll shenanigans. The Power structure did this(TV and the oligarchs) and yet they do it in a fashion where you blame everyone else instead of seeing it clearly for what it is...If you want to boycott someone, boycott the networks. I didn't watch a single FOX game or ESPN game all weekend. If you want to make a statement about who to blame, boycott the real bandits, not your school or the young men who play the game. Just my opinion and I'm sure I'll get roasted for it, but this whole agenda has been in motion for awhile and we are all to blame for it.
The cable/satellite bundle that has been the prime source of revenue for ESPN and Fox is crumbling. Where will the money come from in a few years for the kind of bloated TV rights deals like the one the Big "Ten" signed with Fox or the one the SEC has with ESPN?
Unless you're Netflix, which doesn't do live sports, streaming isn't profitable. I'm not sure that it will ever generate the kinds of bucks that the bundle concept has made available to some of these networks. By it's nature, it can't do what the bundle does that generates so much cash -- take money from people who never watch the channels.
I wonder how long it will be before the first of these rights deals suffers the same fate as we saw recently with the Diamond Sports RSNs,.
It isn't coming. The big "linear TV" contracts will be done at their expiration. Streaming subscriptions will replace them. Yes, the big programs with a national brand like Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame and USC will still have a big financial advantage under this new regime. But a team like Oregon State or Wazzu could at least have an avenue to the top if they build a brand. That is what both schools have not done, compared to say Gonzaga or Boise State, which have done a brilliant job from small market platforms, building theirs. The Ducks? They have a brand borrowed from Nike. One wonders what they will be in the future when PK is gone and future Nike leadership thinks it an anachronism to be aligned with one school
All depends on what PK does with his will and trusts. He could leave a trust for Oregon, that can keep on providing plenty of financial support.
“Ethics” has nothing to do with it. Oregon did what it had to do to survive. Sorry, but had the shoe been on the other (OSU) foot, they would have done the exact same thing.
Maybe, maybe not. But they didn't, did they?
"But they would have done it, too!" A common, juvenile claim made when someone knows they've done they ugly, and desperately wants to feel better about it.
Sour grapes. I do know it’s a common response. Somebody is always there to blame. But it always pays to try to find the right person to blame. In this case it’s the hired commissioner and ALL the college presidents who let this happen, not the fans (like me) or the players and their coaches.
Bottom line, if the Ducks hadn't stealed away to the Big 10 literally in the wee hours with UW, we'd have a Pac-10 today. (With adding the San Diego, as planned.) Everyone else was ready to put pen to paper for a several year commitment that fateful Friday morning. We would not be in this fiasco where we are now, period.
I don't think anyone is blaming Duck fans like you for this travesty, BTW.
And not sour grapes. Just severe sadness and disappointment. I honestly expected a whole lot better of Duck leadership, frankly. It's always a gut punch to see ugly character stuff like that when you thought better of someone.
That Apple deal was a terrible idea and would have killed the Conference and all the teams in it. Oregon did what it had to do and as much as it sucks that OSU got left behind, Oregon had to do what was best for our University, nobody else’s.
LOLOL...hmm nothing about USC or UCLA OR THEIR PRESIDENTS & AD's collusion, Nothing about Colorado, or UW, or Arizona, or ASU...Only Oregon...as if (just like every bitter Leaver) Oregon concocted this entire event and demise of the PAC 12 to spite the LEAVERS! ...You just can't make this up folks...this total bitterness and anger has ALWAYS been pervasive in Leavers...they just now are displaying it in public under the guise as being upset about the conference...and under that umbrella of blame Oregon for EVERYTHING.
The $20 million deal would have been $10 Million LESS than the commissioner had promised to deliver; it was all paid subscribers rather than mainline TV; and required teams to sell subscriptions; a bad and risky deal. The Ducks did what they had to do for the University of Oregon. Their FIRST responsibility is to do what’s best for their university, not try to salvage every other school. Blame ALL the presidents and the commissioner who were asleep at the wheel, not just Oregon.
It’s hilarious that you actually believe that’s how it went down.
Jean, great post and analogy. You nailed it.
LOLOL...she calls that a "juvenile claim"...yet says nothing about the sophomoric, disgusting nonsense thrown out by her fellow Leaver fans. hypocrisy is not a virtue.
WTF is a Leaver? Are you referring to the teams that abandoned the PAC12 for TV dollars?
Bullcrap. The Ducks did NOT have to pull the pin, and they are the ones who did. There was a deal with Apple that would have paid, net travel costs the 9 remaining PAC12 teams the same as the B1G deal. There WILL be no big payday for the Ducks in 2030 because FOX and ESPN are in serious financial trouble, done in by their own greed and over-paying for content. So, all your rationalizations to make your guilt go away you can ditch. Those of us who follow sports know better.
All your doing with this rhetoric is making the rest of us who want to move on and root for the Beavers look like a bunch of spoiled brats who had our ice cream taken away. We need to put on our big boy pants and find a way forward and stop trying to blame everyone else for our problems (especially Phil Knight and Oregon who have done way more for this state when it comes to sports and sports branding then OSU has ever done).
Mature post and positive thinking. Won't be well-received around here.
If you had any grace you would say nothing. That you try to deflect says a lot about you
Wow Brian.......says the guy showing a lot of grace with a comment like this. I am embarrassed to be associated with you, if you are truly even a Beaver fan.
Brian is way past not having any grace, he's been in the gutter for a long time.
Accurate. John Karl Scholz, Oregon's president for 30 days drove the shiv in the backs of the 8 other schools who were committed to staying. Scholz was 30 days from his 9 year tenure at Wisconsin...and thought Oregon simply by association would turn into a Wisconsin, Northwestern or Rutgers by being in the Big Ten. Scholz is a dipwad...but USC kicked the first domino, Kliavkoff was asleep in his basement, the Chancellors and Presidents didn't have a clue how to handle the negotiations, and like any other huge calamity, there was a lack of leadership and smarts in many quarters. But no mistake - and I'm a Ducks fan, have been for years - Oregon shoved the final knife into the heart of this conference.
Blah blah blah. You are doing nothing to help any of this with this kind of crap man. What the hell is wrong with you?
yeah...sure you are.
That's a flat out lie. get your facts straight...
Even John in a previous column said that was not true...even IF EVERYTHING went perfect with Apple Streaming, it was a huge stretch (by GK) that the media pay out under Apple's plan streaming would even come close to $30 million per team (ESPN's offer). It was closer to $20.
I'm going to believe your post wasn't directed at my comment about Scholz and his dip-wad idiocy. If I'm wrong, and your post IS directed at me, please let me know...I'll have plenty more comments.
Mr. McMorris,
Much of your argument for Oregon staying is based on “if, and, but” reasoning. Rhetorically a dubious defense.
LOL! "a dubious defense". And so what am I defending? Nothing. There is no defense for what the Ducks did to the PAC12. End of story.
For those who say Oregon had no other choice, I say BS. If what I say were the alternatives you want to characterize as "if and but", well, that is the nature of showing alternatives. It is called in logic a "conditional". If this, then that. Not a defense, just a clear option that was not elected for whatever reasons of greed and ego.
yes yes...lets ALL 10 remaining programs go down the drain with GK's horrible plan of everyone taking a $10+ million dollar hit annually for 6 years, because we should all be our little brothers keeper! That's about as dumb & ridiculous a thought as I've seen, and there are plenty of them in here. What was keeping OSU from doing the same??? Money? prestige? Brand? History? allegiance? loyalty? LOLOL don't make me laugh. In make believe land if OSU was somehow in Oregon's position, they'd have left when USC/UCLA did. But circumstances dictated that they were chained to the conference. No one believes for a hot new York second that OSU would not have done what Oregon did. It's just that OSU fans just love playing the victim.
Keep telling yourself over and over "Oregon State would have done the same" as it obviously assuages your guilt and makes you feel better. And it was not a $10M per year delta. Don't lie to yourself and everyone else. Apple had $25M on the table the day Oregon bailed for the B1G. You will get $30M there. Travel will cost an additional $10M per year, it is estimated. So Oregon and Washington have lost $5M per year for their disloyalty and lack of integrity. But then the Ducks are made of people like you. So what would we expect?
Hard to disagree more. To 'survive'? - neither Oregon, UCLA or USC had to make those moves to survive. They did them out of greed, pure and simple. They jumped ship, abandoned their teammates in the PAC12, scurried away like deserters!
More sour grapes. If GK had managed it right, recognized the various university concerns, it could have been salvaged. But instead, he clearly failed, mislead everyone about the “great deal that would be worth the wait” that he peddled to the presidents and the media…until the eleventh hour which was clearly nothing even close to what he promised.
What does OSU have to do with this???? Stick to the general topic of a HS 5A top team matched up with a freshman hs team...about the same ability level.
Read Chip Hilton’s original comment to this string. My comment was a reply to him.
So as their conference crumbled around them, they had a moral obligation to bouy a sinking ship?
This is all preventable if USC had said, at a meeting, we are exploring a move to the BiG, which will net us Xx in impact. We provide 50% of the media value, and we should have a conversation.
Clemson — despite their few years on top — is struggling to stay on top of the heap — because top athletes want to play top athletes.
I’m a Duck fan, but actually looking forward to the Beavers taking a step down.. it will give me a team to love that competes for and can win the “Natty” but also a team to love that gets to play for a meaningful thing as well - conference status and championships, while no longer being forced to compete day in and out with teams that are operating like National Championship programs. (USC, UO, UW)
I have respected you and your opinions in the past but you're going beyond the pale now. "the rot"??? "repugnant and grotesque" got any other "colorful" descriptions of your former rival???? Then you describe (fictional people who agree with you) as ethical and applauded for fair play....Some of you Leavers give weirdo Bob M. Johnson a run for his money. Any real beaver fan would know who Bob M. Johnson is or who beavermobile was.
This comment is now deeply buried and is more of a personal note between us. A lot of Duck fans are squirming because they are not comfortable with how this played out. Actually the words I used fall short in describing what Oregon did to materially damage Oregon State. If the shoe fits wear it and the shoe fits. Only your conscience can allow you to recognize this.
You act like the Beavers never play these games....and if you're honest, the Beavers do the same thing if the tables are turned. Does realignment suck....yes. the blame lies more with the university presidents and the California schools that werent transparent. But is all water under over your dam at this point.
"sister school"??? Get a life.
Lots of resentment here, made up largely of sour grapes or angst. I have a different focus, John. PSU players showed grit and class in the game. Nobody thought this was going to even be close. But there was PSU on a national stage, holding their heads high with no quit to be seen. And can we stop blaming the Ducks for the demise of the PAC? That table was set long ago by the networks and stupidity. You can thank USC and UCLA for the death blow. Oregon just played the cards that were dealt.
Blaming Oregon for its success is foolishness. In what sport is less than full effort encouraged? Blame the game (the current state of college football) not the player.
Totally agree.
I don't see anyone on here, besides you, giving props to PSU and they deserve it.
They didn't quit, they didn't complain after the game. Hell even Coach Barnum, was like damn, that is a national title contender team and everyone they face is going to have a lot of weapons to deal with. He didn't complain like so many of you on here. That's because he has class and is situationally aware........unlike so many of you bitter Beavers on here.
So this is going to be the Duck mantra the next several years "bitter Beavers". I love the projection. The very same people who stabbed their "rivals" in the back are now blaming the victim. Appropriate and expected.
Wrong. I am a Beaver fan calling you all out for being bitter Beaver's and making the rest of us look bad. Yeah, I am a Duck fan too, as I grew up going to Autzen, but I graduated from OSU.
Acting like victims and such will not get us anywhere, just make us look bitter and weak.
Thanks for the heaping load of sanctimonious condescension and self righteousness. It's a bad look. Knight School just kicked OSU's athletic department over a cliff and into a tar pit andyou call people bitter for not just saying, "well, I understand what you think you had to do Phil, why don't we just keep playing nice like nothing happened and when our team is not able to recruit on par with Knight School, we should just give them a nice easy 40 mile drive, or come to their place and graciously take a PSU-esque ass kicking and not get "bitter" about how that turned out or how Knight School made it so.
Sanctimonious condescension and self righteousness???.......oh please, get a grip. Phil Knight did not do shit to us. Our president is the one who went along with Larry the Cable Guy as our commissioner for years while Canzano and thousands of us fans cried foul and the OSU president did nothing.....in fact they backed him up.
It's dumb and juvenile to continue to spew this hatred and bitterness and it makes us look weak and pathetic. Grow up, grow a pair and let's find solutions and stop blaming the UofO for our problems. Lest our problems become of our own making.
I'll keep this simple. Winners make the most of what they have. Losers blame everyone else and complain about what they don't have.
Here's to a great season for the Beavers, starting today, and to the good that may follow.
Bingo! Simple is always the best way. I should have never tried to reason with hatred and bitterness I guess, that was my mistake.
Play that "victim" card Chuck.
just calling a spade a spade...if you walk like a bitter Leaver, and talk like a bitter Leaver, and act like a bitter Leaver...you're a bitter Leaver.
Back at it I see, answer the question... where did you get the name Leaver? You seem to pick a fight with anyone and everyone that has a different POV. Why do you insist controlling everyone here? Your lack of knowledge of the Apple+ deal after John explained it is detail is laughable.
Nobody blamed Oregon for scoring. In fact, I made that point. Thanks for reading.
Though doth protest too much, me thinks. The alternative, relevant tern I used was "angst," not blame for scoring, and I was primarily reacting to the unhappy Beaver fans who were commenting. At the same time, you said, "I’m a little uncomfortable with any football game that has “81” on one side the scoreboard." Sounded like angst to me. Thanks for responding.
What?! LOL! Those are some serious hallucinogens you are taking. PSU showed grit and class? How can getting blown out by 71 points be anything but pathetic. Grit? That they did not all get carried out on stretchers? I love Ducks and their rationalizations to cover their lack of integrity
So anyone facing daunting odds should just give up or walk away? Nobody forced PSU to take this game. But they showed up and did so with class. You could take a lesson from Barnum. Whining is not an attractive trait.
Don't take a game where it is no game because you have no chance. That is the option
Ken Goe this morning offered a useful object lesson for what PK, Mullens, Lamming and UofO athletes can expect for 2024 and beyond. The University of Nebraska jumped out of the Big 8(12,X) and into "The Big Ten". UofN has scuttled along in the bottom third of the standings in nearly every sport.
University of Nebraska also just had 90K people show up for a women's volleyball game. Maybe it has not been such a "tragedy" for UN athletes. I am sure those big television paydays from Big Ten Football contracts helped them pull this off (and a great Volleyball program).
It was an event. It didn't matter who the opponent was. Nebraska could have playing Lamar. as a member of the Southland Conference, and done the same thing.
Tragedy is your word. UNL football is mired as a middle pact team in the Big 10 with or without minor sports in Memorial Stadium. Volleyball Day was designed as a one-off to set the record. Good for them to promote another sport instead of football or basketball. Volleyball has historically done well as a fan favorite at UNL.
UNL makes a very different case about the benefits of Big 10 membership. Their take is it has led to improvement in research and scholarship.
I thought Goe's column was outstanding. BTW - the Big Ten had no impact on Nebraska's volleyball program or their level of excellence. Nebraska is a volleyball state - a powerhouse and has been for years. The team they played in that record-breaking attendance of over 92,000 fans was from Omaha. Yeah, Omaha, Nebraska...not a thing to do with the Big Ten.
Difference is twofold - Oregon has already demonstrated it can play with the best of the BiG, and has the great equalizer in Phol Knight. Nebraska took a half share of revenue for a decade, which I think is an extremely overlooked component of their success/failure.
Oregon and Washington will receive half shares at $30 million, with one-year, $1 million increments until 2030, before earning full shares in the next television deal in fall 2030. True UofO is 11-6 against Big 10 (2000-present) and 4-4 against SEC. Big difference compared to UNL? Maybe
Honestly, as a die hard Duck, I do compare us to Nebraska often. My opinion is that Oregon is always 3 seasons from becoming Nebraska … but without the history and 100+ sold out stadium.
No natural recruiting, and a long ways from anywhere else.
exactly...remember the last two years of Mark Helfrich, then Taggart??? it can all change very quickly if Oregon football is not forever vigilant. Nebraska is Lucky in the sense there is only ONE major school, and no NFL teams in that state, so they can survive due to the fact the fans have no where else to go. In Oregon...there are a ton of other things to do in Oregon ( the Ocean, the Mountains, the desert, lakes, rivers, hiking, biking etc. etc.) if the fans choose not to use their time & money for college football. And the casual sports fans are fickle, they'll turn away in a heartbeat.
If college football is going to aggregate itself into super conferences that are basically semi-pro leagues financed by TV money then they have to stop beating up on smaller schools as tune ups for the real season. It is like the NFL preseason only these nothing schools need to stop pimping themselves out for a few hundred thousand dollars. In fact let these 60-75 super schools play only amongst themselves in a meaningful way to find out their national champion, which is all it is now about.
The worst of the worst is the SEC which plays teams that are more like high school and manages to not only schedule 4 patsies, instead of the 3 most other conferences do, but makes sure they play one towards the last week of the season so their players get a bye week in effect.
Just another example of how far the sport has fallen...beating some FBS school or MWC school, which will now include a neutered OSU and WSU next year, proves zilch so get over yourselves Ducks and Trojans.
Here’s the problem with this -- it’s how a lot of FCS schools and some G5 schools find their athletic department.
Kent State in the MAC is a good example of this. Last year in out of conference they had to play Georgia, Washington, and Oklahoma all in the first three games.
No contender would ever schedule that for their OOC, and yet Kent did that to take home $5.2 million combined from those games. That went straight back in to the athletic coffers for all the other sport. That money matters even more for FCS schools like Portland State and Eastern Washington.
Take the money games away and watch as a lot of these FCS programs, and possibly G5 schools, fold up
There are better ways to revenue share than scheduling payday games which are boring and get players hurt. I agree with the goal of revenue sharing. So the NCAA needs to work on that in a way that does not trip anti-trust laws. This should have been done 20 years ago, when TV / media money became such a large factor in football and basketball
Esp since EWU is broke. I'm sure PSU is doing better with enrollment than EWU. At one time PSU had more students than UO or OSU. PSU athletics does need the guarantee games to fund their program. Also sure the SEC or non western-Big Ten teams could offer buy games at a higher payout but at that point travel concerns eat up the profit. When they play schools in the PNW, and to a lesser extent CA, or a neighboring state like NV or UT, they could bus if needed. No overnight travel needed if PSU plays UO/OSU or UW/WSU (for WSU provided the game isn't an after dark event).
Sorry meant this for Bob M., but probably applies to your comment as well
No apologies needed. I get it and out here our patsies tend to be UC Davis, Sac State, etc. My problem is that the SEC had taken advantage of this more than anyone. By beating up 4 patsies, each school only needs to win 2 conference games and suddenly they are bowl eligible, plus they use it to get a bye week when everyone else is playing rivalry games. It really is moot now as the whole college football landscape has become semi-pro ball that rents its name from the university.
Sadly I expect WSU and OSU to become more like Portland State once they enter the MWC, although FresNose State, Boise, and SDSU have stepped up. It is also possible you will see many of these lower rung schools give up football in the next 10-20 years for many reasons from CTE to relegation as cannon fodder for the Fox-Disney League.
In CA the FBS UC's like Berkeley love playing UC Davis because they don't have to pay that much, it's a game of local interest with a slight attendence bump vs non local FCS teams, UC Davis doesn't have to stay overnight (1 hr drive) and it's basically an accounting move to transfer funds to a fellow UC.
Cal State schools like SJSU or Fresno enjoy playing Sac State or Cal Poly for the same reasons. Game of local interest, the visiting school gets more value for their money. I'd rather have $400k if my travel costs are essentially gas money and the cost to pay the bus company (which I'm probably paying to get to the airport anyway) than $700k at an SEC school with probably a return of $250k after travel costs and not getting the network benefit of alumni in the host school's area.
Trust me I know about the SEC -- it’s BS that it’s happened since the BCS era. The ACC has it too though and that’s why it’s been the SEC or Clemson that’s won the natty 8 of the last 9 years
Wow!! Dead-nuts on @GlennBenson. I could not write this better. Yes, even in the MWC the Beavers will be completely outmanned just like Boise State was yesterday against the Huskies, or worse. When Boise State found a way to contend nationally, several years ago, it was before the NIL and transfer portal which has upended football and made a super-league possible. One correction: The Super-league will not be 60-75. At the next contraction, it will be nearer to 30 schools. Big12, ACC along with PAC2+MWC are likely to be resignated.
Even though I am a Cal fan, my dad grew up in Spokane and was a lifelong WSU fan and what's not to like about OSU. Smith and the scrappy Beavs against the mighty Nike U? I always pull for those two schools. This is all do depressing!
I'm wondering what will happen within the Super Conference. Borrowing from "Animal Farm," all teams will be equal but some will be more equal than others.
Since sheer greed seems to reign in the college football domain, how long will it be before Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, and a small handful of others decide that the "lower classes" in that association don't deserve the same money. Those teams will eventually become almost as non-competitive as the schools relegated to some minor status by virtue of being left out of the SC.
The "Super Super Six" Conference?
You are exactly right, Bruce. It will be like the NFL with no salary caps and no TV revenue sharing. Dallas would be No. 1 every year. All the money will gravitate to the handful of most successful national programs with large natural audiences (to attract ad-driven viewership $$ or subscriptions). Who gets all the 5 star athletes now? That is who will get them in the future. I track recruiting over a couple decades and the same 6-7 schools get the majority of 5 stars (there are only 30-40 per year). They also get most of the 4 stars (there are 250 per year). You know the names: Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, LSU and Texas. That is it. Even though in the Big 10 for as long as it has existed, Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State never get a whiff of the consistent success of Michigan, OSU and now Penn State have over the decades. They are relegated to the 2nd tier forever. I expect a future realignment to exclude that 2nd tier, including UCLA, Washington and Oregon, who have never been able to recruit like the top tier (few if any 5 stars) and probably can't outbid them for NIL players, either (5 star = $million NIL contracts).
With all due respect, the only "logic" in college football today (and tomorrow) is the money trail.
Nothing else matters...nothing. It's the reason I'm going to watch a little less of it, but all of it with a jaundiced eye - I cannot stand hypocrisy. At least the NFL doesn't pretend academics are important...or their athletes' travel and general welfare is a priority. The NFL admits it's about money and they don't shy away from being mercenaries. The Chancellors/Presidents of colleges and universities are condescending and hypocritical, assuming we'll believe they have the best interests of students as their priority. However, their actions don't show it.
Columns like this are why I love John. The ideas really are all worth thinking about. Thanks, John.
Life is very rarely black-and-white. I think lots of things can be true.
Good one JC.
Thank you
Well said, MW. The Ducks need to run plays too. They certainly didn’t try to run up the score. Should they lie down? Of course not. Mike Wilbon says “ we run the plays. If you don’t like it, stop ‘em.” Want someone to blame? Look to those who set the schedule.
“It was a business transaction disguised as a game”
That is the best all-encompassing statement of the Present State we fans find ourselves in I’ve heard...
Embarrassing at best - vile at worst
GO DAWGS
I get why they play it.
I remember when fcs Montana beat your dogs in their paycheck game way back in 2021.
Me, too - gotta love it as in “any given day” 😎
GO DAWGS
Simply put. PSU athletics has been on life support for years. Gone are the days of Pokey Allan. PSU has no true home field. Traveling to Hillsboro hurts them. Case in point... when PSU played Western Oregon a couple years ago, Western fans out drew them at the game. The city of Portland sadly has fallen into disrepair and homeless encampments around the once proud university has perpetuated it. Portland Public Schools could have partnered with PSU on the remodel of Lincoln High’s field to support both PSU and Lincoln.... but no ineptitude as usual in the PPS and front office at PSU remained. I predict that once Barnum is done with his tour of duty.... there will be a void in the Big Sky with PSU dropping football. Central Washington is poised to step into that void with the upgrades they have done. Western Oregon is making their capital improvement plans. PSU used to be a “dude” on the block that you had to contend with. Sadly... without the ease of student interaction at games and a plethora of other issues out of their control... PSU without doubling down on athletics is looking for like a city college in the future that has few to no athletics left. Which is sad, they could be great again. I remember when they were!
PSU in general has been on life support. I recently partnered with them on a project and found out just how tough things have gotten for them since the pandemic.
Shoot..........the entire city of Portland seems on life support at times. I used to work downtown. Got lucky and was approved for remote work, but I still go downtown once every quarter or so. It's not looking good for commerce down there.
West Coast downtowns are upside down since 2020. In part because everybody went into 2021 approved for remote work...
And why would anyone want to work in a West Coast city downtown office? It is actually dangerous
Yes, there have a been a few times that I am walking around my office downtown and thinking......I should not be here right now. Definitely hoping society can get things back together again.....but not going to hold my breath.
As with most transactions involving the Schmucks, it was dishonorable. I wish their solution to their impending travel woes was to move east. This state doesn’t need them any more.
With comments like this I think this state doesn't need you anymore Ron. The Oregon Ducks are Oregon, and have been for a long time. If you don't like it then it seems you are the one that should move along.
Phil Knight (an actual Oregonian, which you are likely not) and the University of Oregon have done a lot more for sports and sports branding in this state than OSU. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who graduated from OSU in the 90's. The bitter Beaver look is not something I think we should continue to promulgate in any form.
I got kicked out of Oregon State, so I could be bitter. But, for crying out loud, it was my fault - Oregon State didn't screw me, I screwed myself. I'm a Ducks fan and have been for decades, but don't make statements that Oregon has "done a lot more for this state than OSU." First of all, you don't know that. Secondly, there are more important things than college football (like a trillion things more important) and OSU has made great contributions in engineering, research, Nobel Prize winners, the list could go on forever. Both Oregon and Oregon state have done a great job making incredible contributions...I have no idea how anyone can say either school has "done a lot more for this state" than the other. No idea.
You're not wrong Rich. I apologize, my bad, I should have caveated it with sports and branding in the state of Oregon. I am grateful to OSU and the degree I got there, it has helped me a lot in my life. I just wasn't clear in what I was referring to and thankfully you called me out on it so I could clarify.
CJ, when you caveat your comment with sports and branding you are absolutely correct - no question about it. Sometimes the written word leaves something to be desired - I know from firsthand experience.
I could not agree more with your statement now that I clearly understand it...thanks for the clarification.
Other than UO Nike has done little for the state of Oregon. All of their manufacturing is done in low cost Asian factories which I have toured. The company threatened to move HQ to Idaho but they were given more incentives to stay in Beaverton.
There is great interest in getting uncle a National Championship, time is fleeting. The UO baseball team was resurrected after the Beavs won their most recent Baseball Championship.
UO started their baseball team after OSU won their first national championship. They have won at least 2 since then. Not a Beav or a Duck, just wanted to point that out.
Phil Knight is a Californian
Phil Knight was born in Portland, Oregon. But my guess is he has definitely put some time in down in California as well........as many of us Oregonians have.
great post Ron. Dishonorable is the perfect word to describe what is going on over there in Eugene. Can any duck fan wear the Green and Yellow (or whatever color they decide to go with on game day) with pride these days?
Yep, we can still wear it with pride. There were 42,000+ of us cheering for the Ducks yesterday. This was not the players or the coaches decision to jump to the B1G, it was a matter of survival due to total incompetence in the hiring commissioners of the PAC-12. As for the players, coaches and fans, the Duck will still do his pushups, the motorcycle will still roar, the fans will cheer too loud for the opposing team to hear their QB, and the announcer will always say “It never rains in Autzen Stadium.”
I will never abandon my team due to nationwide changes in the football landscape that has little to do with players and fans who relate to their favorite team. GO DUCKS!
So it would have been more respectful of their opponent to take a knee on downs 1-3 for the entire 2nd half?
Chips a “Beaver Believer” he can’t stand the Ducks. In his perfect world all Duck fans would boycott the Ducks & support OSU. Every comment of his is how classless, arrogant & dishonorable the Ducks are. A lot of us didn’t support the implosion of the PAC-12. I will not blame the players or the coaches of the ducks. I will continue to support them & if that makes me deplorable in his or anyone else’s eyes so be it. Apparently John’s article makes too much common sense for some.
Having been on the PSU side of so many of those games in HS, that would have been the single most insulting thing you could do.
Duck fans take notice. The Beavers are for real! Maybe the Beavs will run it down the throat of Lannings defense again.