OK, Oregon lost twice to UDub, lost twice to a coach, Kalen DeBoer, who is now 9-0 versus Top 25 opponents.
Including the three wins by a total of six points against Oregon, UW won eight games this season against bowl-eligible teams, and two wins against now No. 8 Oregon. Won on the road against No. 14 Arizona, No. 19. Oregon State, plus wins against Mountain West champion Boise State, along with Cal, USC, and Utah.
By comparison, Oregon had wins against bowl-eligible Texas Tech, Cal, Oregon State, USC, and Utah. Oregon’s wins came against a lot of teams that were once in the Top 25 but finished outside of the Committee’s Top-25. Oregon passed the Eye-Test up and until the Pac-12 champ game. Oregon never quit in the champ game, but started so badly that even though Oregon came back to take the lead, it could not stop UW’s passing game, and UW’s surprisingly good run game. You lose both LOS and you do not win football games.
By any metric, UW should be the Committee’s No.1 and playing Bama in the Rose Bowl. But, being No. 2 behind Michigan is yet another reason why Oregon and Washington are better off heading to the B1G.
I have to LOL at Canzano and others who say that Dan Lanning has a Washington problem. Three losses by nine points? (I wish that I had problems like this) Jim Harbaugh was 0-7 versus Ohio State, and Kirby Smart, although he has two back-to-back titles, he has never defeated Saint Nick and Bama in Atlanta in the Classy Car, Star Wars stadium.
The improvement in the Oregon defense was not seen in the Pac-12 Championship. (Photo by Tom Corno)
I thought for certain, (including opening the pocketbook) that Oregon would get revenge in Las Vegas. But this is not the only time I muffed it in 2023. First and foremost, I fell off of the last pumpkin wagon passing through the, sans the LA schools, Pac-10 conference. George K was going to score a media deal at least as good as the B12 deal and Dennis Dodd, Brent McMurphy, et al could take a hike. WRONG!
GK came up with a rotten Apple deal, and so long Conference of Champions, with 108 years flushed down the drain in what was ironically a great swan song. My mega bad.
OK. How did I and a lot of us OBD folk do Otherwise?
1. OREGON will go 10-2, play USC in the Pac-12 final champ game and win. Oops. The LA schools underperformed with a capital UP. The Ducks post-UW went on a tear. And the Eye Test had Oregon playoff-bound.
I am much more confident about OREGON’S chances in the B1G than the other 3 Pac-12 teams moving East. Today, DeBoer has DL’s number on the field but not when it comes to recruiting or picking the portal.
2. OREGON had no sacks against Portland State and this portends a problem.
JJ, go to your room.
3. The OREGON O-Line Will be a weak link.
Without your supper.
Lanning and Stein discuss strategy. (Screenshot from Fox Sports Video)
4. Dilly Will Be Missed.
Bo before Las Vegas was the front-runner for the Heisman, and even in two defeats, Oregon put up 30+ points. Oregon had great stats nationally running and passing the ball. More creativity at the start of the conference champ game would have been nice, but Will Stein brought Oregon back from a 20-3 deficit and he does not coach a defense that made only three stops in the game.
5. I think that DL perfectly plucked the portal.
I’m giving myself a proverbial pat on the back. How did all of those great portal studs work out for SC?
6. Bo Nix and DL will be in NYC for the Heisman Ceremony.
True this, but I think a former Pac-12 guy, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, will cop the stiff arm. But Penix closed the gap in the Pac-12 champ game.
The Oregon Brand will do just fine in the B1G. (Photo by Tom Corno)
7. The Pac-12 will not go gently into that good night.
The 9-game conference schedule once again brought on the cannibals. But Neon Deion was the talk of CFB. Caleb Williams balled out with little help. Cam Ward and his Cougars started strong before flaming out. Jedd Fisch should be the Pac-12 COY without question. And Smitty at Oregon State smartly took the last train out to East Lansing.
One heck of a season. Give Me A Win Over Liberty, with Bo wrapping up his 6th season with a win, and not the Patrick Henry goodbye.
The B1G future? I’ve just gotta wear shades and out Puddles on a B1G win line, and not a zip line.
Jon Joseph
Aiken, South Carolina
Top Photo by Craig Strobeck
Jon Joseph grew up in Boston, Massachusetts but has been blessed to have lived long enough in the west to have exorcised all east coast bias. He played football in college and has passionately followed the game for seven decades. A retired corporate attorney Jon has lectured across the country and published numerous articles on banking and gaming law. Now a resident of Aiken South Carolina, Jon follows college football across the nation with a focus on the Conference of Champions and the Ducks.