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1 of 1- bedupivi
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Offline - Registered: 12/30/2019
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A Brief Look At Oregon's Non-Conference Games
Montana State Bobcats
2024 Record 15-1
MSU lost to North Dakota State in the Championship game 35-32.
They are the real deal and once again they are picked to win the Big Sky Conference.
Going back to Oregon's first game last season against the Idaho Vandals,
the Ducks led 17-14 with 9:45 left in the 4th quarter. An Oregon TD with 5:36 left in the game gave Oregon a 24-14 victory. I don't want to see that happen
again. MSU will come ready to play.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
2024 Record 0-9 conference 3-9 overall
They are picked once again to being on the bottom in a 16 team league.
Comments provided by Alex Kirshner
One scary thing: Mike Gundy has always, always, always, had a bounce-back in him when things have looked bleak in Stillwater. If he has one now, it's harder than ever to see.
One exciting thing: Going 0-8 in the Big 12 last year means forfeiting your right to have something "exciting" highlighted in the next season's preview. The Pokes' QB situation is a complete unknown with Zane Flores and Hauss Hejny battling it out, but it's better than trotting out Alan Bowman, Garret Rangel and company for another season.
Player to watch: Nose tackle De'Marion Thomas had 14 run stuffs last year at Vanderbilt. Oklahoma State's defensive line had injury problems and even bigger performance ones. Ideally, Thomas would help elevate the run defense from one of the worst in the sport to respectability.
It would appear the Ducks could sleep-walk through this but the game is played on the gridiron, not on paper.
Oregon State Beavers
2024 Record 5-7
ESPN predicts OSU will win 6/7 games this season.
Make no mistake, this is the Beavers "Super Bowl". Beating the Ducks and losing all their other games would make their season. I've talked to some Beav fans and they have said they would be happy to beat Oregon and lose all the other games. Some fanbase! Let's hope Oregon is fired up for this game.
- Phil
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Online! - Registered: 12/29/2019
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Re: A Brief Look At Oregon's Non-Conference Games
I definitely didn't think and realize Montana State was that good. The Ducks certainly better play better than they did last year.
I'm really not that worried about the Beavs anymore. I know it's their biggest game of the year. It's just that this isn't the same team without much talent and Jonathan Smith anymore. That's certainly not the attitude the Ducks should take of course. Their fans are always such a jaded spiteful group. Like most Ducks fans I'm happy for them if the win in other sports or their team does well. Conversely they despise us and wish the worst for the Ducks.
- Jiffy Jeff
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- From: Sherwood, OR
- Registered: 12/30/2019
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Re: A Brief Look At Oregon's Non-Conference Games
MSU has a very, very good dual threat QB that can stretch the field and extend plays. Containing him is the key. While the playbook may be a bit vanilla for this game, I hope they decide to take some downfield shots and allow Moore to Moore to build some confidence and rapport early.
It was not terribly long ago that Gundy was the Lanning of the game. Hot young coach with the soundbites (FAT!) and the deep pocketed benefactor and wins to boot. Today, Gundy has taken a contract/pay cut in exchange for time to right the ship. His back against the wall, he will have a few surprises in store if he wants to save his job.
Civil War is at an ebb, which sucks for Beaver fans, but also Duck fans who want to see a competitive game and win to brag about. Kudos for doing what they can to preserve the series, hopefully the CFB politics/portal/NIL and more realignment can lift this program back to being a top 40 program.