Happy Saturday TOC Nation. This is the second installment of our (my) series on new teams in the Big Ten. I’ll take this opportunity to tell you that this will probably be the end of the series; UCLA and USC don’t have active SB Nation sites (long story), so unless I find an off-brand blog to collaborate with, we won’t hear from those schools.
Back in Oregon, Carl “Badwater” Blackwell of Addicted To Quack sat down with me for a little Q&A. I think it’s a brilliant name for their site. Here’s what Badwater had to say:
TOC: What were your initial thoughts when you heard that Oregon would be joining the Big Ten? How has that thinking changed since then? Is there sadness over the loss of the Pac 12 Conference?
CB: I’ll go through them in reverse order. Anyone who has ever been a fan of a Pac-8/10/12 team will be saddened by the end of the conference. The sad fact is that the Pac-12 failed not because of performance, or the shortcomings of the conference’s teams and sports, but because of the incompetence of university president and commissioner Larry Scott. These are the people responsible for the end of the Pac-12.
My thoughts haven’t changed since I heard of Oregon’s entry into the B1G. Oregon is a bit of an anomaly in college sports – an innovator; love them or hate them like a team. It’s interesting to me that Oregon is able to make progress in college football (and other sports) but suffers in terms of exposure and location. There are several factors at play here; however, Oregon benefits from excellent financial backing – and don’t think that Phil Knight is the only major supporter of Oregon sports – while at the same time having an outstanding athletic director who keeps the bottom line in the black. in Oregon.
The move to the Top 10 is all about exposure. That’s what the Ducks got out of this. Money isn’t an issue and doesn’t affect us the way it does USC, UCLA, and Washington. Monetarily, we are fine. Oregon’s hamstring has been a Pac-12 Network failure. It’s amazing that the Ducks were able to get the exposure they did in such an incompetent conference. The Big 10 is an opportunity Oregon will take advantage of in terms of exposure and competing at the highest level.
TOC: What do you think about the increased travel the Ducks will have to make for games? In this upcoming football season, you’ll be playing three of your former Pac 12 conference foes, but you also have road games at Purdue, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Do you think this hurts West Coast teams? For example, MSU only traveled west for one game this season while the rest of the games were in the Midwest and east coast.
CB: In terms of time and money accommodations, I don’t think travel necessarily impacts Oregon’s teams the way their Midwest counterparts do when they travel west, or in the same way as other former Pac-12 schools. will be affected. But that’s just from a sports and sports gaming perspective. I think what’s lost in this conversation is the reality of what the players on both sides are experiencing student-athlete, and academics can and will be affected by increased travel, and perhaps not as much as other sports. But performance on the court or field? Not too much.
TOC: Oregon obviously had a great season last year. How much talent from that team returns? Who will replace Bo Nix at QB? Do you think Oregon could be an instant contender in their new conference?
CB: Returning talent is only part of the equation when evaluating Oregon football’s potential performance on the field in 2024. High school recruiting has never been at a higher level here in Eugene, and Dan Lanning and his coaching staff have taken advantage of that very well. from the transfer portal since he became Oregon’s head coach.
Part of using the transfer portal this season included the addition of Dillon Gabriel, a former Oklahoma player. He will be the starter; a P5 veteran who we at ATQ expect good results from, although he will be different from Nix. Our site editor, hythloday, has no peer when it comes to film reviews and you can read his evaluation of Gabriel here: https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2024/2/7/24064192/quacking-the-roster-qb-transfer -dillon-gabriel
A number of players who were supposed to register for the NFL draft have opted to return in 2024 and try to “finish the job.” They include, but are not limited to: DE Jordan Burch, ILB Jeffrey Bassa, DBs Donte Manning and Nikko Reed, and WRs Tez Johnson and Gary Bryant, Jr. A number of OL players have moved on, but over the years the Ducks have developed their offensive linemen and have not relied on the transfer portal to replace departing linemen. Returning to OL are Josh Conerly, Jr., Ajani Cornelius, and Marcus Harper II, among many others.
Oregon football will be a contender in the B1G. There’s a lot of football to be played between now and the end of November, but the hope here is that the Ducks will make the playoffs.
TOC: Speaking of Nix, he ended up being the sixth QB taken in the draft, going 12th to Denver. What do you think of Nix’s pro prospects before the draft? Are you surprised that five other QBs preceded him? How do you feel about him landing in Denver? What are your expectations for his professional career at this point?
CB: While I don’t follow the NFL much, and prefer the college game, my general impression is that rookie QBs selected high in the draft have it tough, because they are always selected by bad teams with bad offensive lines. I think Nix is very much in favor of him being selected further in the draft, but not drastically. Denver is a great landing spot; he wasn’t expected to do the impossible from day one with a garbage offensive line. My hope is that this will help his NFL career in a way that no other Oregon QB selected at the top of the draft did – Justin Herbert notwithstanding.
TOC: Enough about football. The Big Ten is a very deep conference when it comes to basketball. Is the Ducks hoops squad ready for life in the Big Ten?
Oregon men’s basketball’s performance has been largely due to injuries. The Ducks’ last two seasons have been snakebitten by injuries, and it was especially troublesome last season. Dana Altman isn’t a future HOF coach for nothing, and the return of assistant coach Tony Stubblefield bodes well for the Ducks next season. I propose that ATQ and The Only Colors exchange a Q&A session at the start of the basketball season where we can discuss our opinions on basketball positions in more detail.
Table of Contents: Bonus Questions: What’s one thing Big Ten fans should know about the University of Oregon?
CB: The grass in Eugene really is very green. Jokes aside, when it comes to football, the Oregon Ducks didn’t suddenly appear on the college football landscape recently and only behind Phil Knight. Oregon has been on, and continues to be on, a steady trajectory since 1989, especially since 1994. Anyone who pays attention to the Ducks, even peripherally, will not be surprised that they are and will continue to be a top team in this regard. college football.
TOC thanks Badwater for his assistance with this article. Welcome to the Big Ten.
#Foe #Oregon #Ducks
