It is a distraction. If the bookies knew, then the locker room knew. No way around it. It did affect the offense, just by knowing. It is the new world order (chaos) of college football. Love it or hate it, it is a new wrinkle for sure.
FWIW, it think it hit the ducks last year too with the Miami rumors.
It is a distraction. If the bookies knew, then the locker room knew. No way around it. It did affect the offense, just by knowing. It is the new world order (chaos) of college football. Love it or hate it, it is a new wrinkle for sure.
FWIW, it think it hit the ducks last year too with the Miami rumors.
I think the Miami thing was a bigger impact... Mario physically left his team. He was the head coach and it signaled to the roster that the rest of the season wasn't the focus.
I certainly agree that Mario had a bigger impact. But it isn't like we are talking a GA, or even a position coach. KD was given most of the credit for their wins this season. Something like that does have an impact on the team.
All that said, the blame for the Beaver loss, if there should be any, needs to be squarely on the defense.
It is a distraction. If the bookies knew, then the locker room knew. No way around it. It did affect the offense, just by knowing. It is the new world order (chaos) of college football. Love it or hate it, it is a new wrinkle for sure.
FWIW, it think it hit the ducks last year too with the Miami rumors.
I think the Miami thing was a bigger impact... Mario physically left his team. He was the head coach and it signaled to the roster that the rest of the season wasn't the focus.
Mario left the team halfway through the Season when he knew he was leaving
I certainly agree that Mario had a bigger impact. But it isn't like we are talking a GA, or even a position coach. KD was given most of the credit for their wins this season. Something like that does have an impact on the team.
All that said, the blame for the Beaver loss, if there should be any, needs to be squarely on the defense.
I agree that he could be a distraction even if he, personally, was not distracted. Good point.