To quote Peterman, it's hard.Ok honest question to a Hated Duck (yet HCH brethren):
Do you think the problem is and has been that all of the positives that came from Nike buying your Athletic Dept in the 90s are also the source of the negatives i.e. flying to close to the Sun and forgetting who you really are - which is a small community in a cool state and not "That team out West"? We make fun or Oregon winning the offseason, because you out-recruit us every year and it makes us jealous. But at some point, winning the off-season every year should eventually lead to winning the season. I know there have been some close ones (like when Chip Kelly changed the rules and forget to inform the rest of the country).
Indiana avoided this problem by doing it in all two years, so the country hasn't caught on to them like they have with the Uncle Phil fatigue that has gripped the nation outside of ESPN and Eugene OR.
Before you say it, we all know UW doesn't have either problem.
I don't think Oregon is doing anything wrong. That is, they're doing it the "right way" given the modern rules. Getting the best talent available is 100% what those SEC schools were doing. But now, the gap just isn't as big as it was before NIL and the portal.
What Cig did was unprecedented, by a large margin. It will be studied for years. Clearly, he and his staff are extraordinary coaches. But Cig also hand selected the best 13 players from JMU and wisely used the portal to get veteran guys to assemble one of the oldest rosters in college football history.
Looking back at the teams that have won since NIL and the portal, they've been old with a bunch of NFL guys. Washington in 2023 included. Michigan had, what, 17 draft picks? Ohio State brought back one of the most talented rosters in modern football, certainly since NIL, last year. Again, old guys.
This bodes well for Oregon next year. A bunch of dudes that were absolutely going to be drafted are coming back. Virtually the entire defensive line will be back. That’s unusual. Sadiq is one of the only studs who could have stayed but declared.
We'll see. Losing the last 2 years hasn't bothered me that much because the best teams ended up winning the natty. But losing in catastrophic fashion has most of us skeptical about Lanning's ability to win the big ones.
Next year will be a huge test. Assuming Moore stays healthy, we need to both make and play a lot better in the playoffs.