SI Cover Photo

[TheRef]

Says Oregon may beat the SEC this year. Agree or Disagree?

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[Dawg61]

Agree but I'm thinking we'll see Oregon vs FSU for the title this year. LSU has Bama wrecking plans

[CadaverDawg]

All they are doing is giving Bama bulletin board material and making them hungry. I bet Oregon wishes they would chill out a little with the comments about taking down the SEC.

The media has been doing this shit for what, 7 years now, but to no avail. This is making me hope even more that the streak continues

[slickdawg]

Agree but I'm thinking we'll see Oregon vs FSU for the title this year. LSU has Bama wrecking plans

If Oxford Mettenberger sticks around, Bama wins by 20.

[hailmari]

I've tuned into the Paul Finebaum Show a few times here lately, and doing so has me hoping like crazy Oregon plays Bama for the NC and just runs all over them. I appreciate the laughs those Bama fans provide by calling in on that show, but they really need to be humbled.

[Vandownbytheriver]

I don't care who beats Bama, I just want it to happen. I have a friend who grew up in Oklahoma and one who grew up in New Albany that are "huge Bama fans." Neither one went to school there or attend games. I hate those sons a bitches with a passion.

[AROB44]

All they are doing is giving Bama bulletin board material and making them hungry. I bet Oregon wishes they would chill out a little with the comments about taking down the SEC.

The media has been doing this shit for what, 7 years now, but to no avail. This is making me hope even more that the streak continues

I agree 1000%

[Jack Lambert]

I thought Oregon was goin to do the same to Auburn but Auburn whipped them. Bama has too much talent and a much better coach. Saban himself is worth 15 points per game. Their coach is living off of what chip kelly cheated in bringing in. Saban will just out coach him and as far as LSU they will not beat Bama.

[Duke Silver]

I thought Oregon was goin to do the same to Auburn but Auburn whipped them. Bama has too much talent and a much better coach. Saban himself is worth 15 points per game. Their coach is living off of what chip kelly cheated in bringing in. Saban will just out coach him and as far as LSU they will not beat Bama.

Interesting choice of words for a 3 point victory

[msstate7]

Oregon might wanna worry about Stanford first.

[Bubb Rubb]

I want Alabama to drop one as much as the next guy, but it ain't happening. Not outside of conference, anyway. FSU would have a better chance than Oregon, but even that isn't much of one. Just my opinion.

[msstate7]

I think Alabama continues this year, but next year Ohio st takes em down. Ohio state will be formidable next season with Braxton miller as senior

[dawgs]

I thought Oregon was goin to do the same to Auburn but Auburn whipped them. Bama has too much talent and a much better coach. Saban himself is worth 15 points per game. Their coach is living off of what chip kelly cheated in bringing in. Saban will just out coach him and as far as LSU they will not beat Bama.

hmm, last second FG ftw after one of the luckiest runs in CFB history means auburn "whipped them"? looked like a close hard fought game to me. also, i don't remember a lot of folks saying oregon was going to win, auburn was #1 in the human polls and the BCS.

and if you don't think saban/bama cheats, then i got some ocean front property in arizona to sell you. in the last couple years off the top of my head, there's been bama players getting high end suits and doing advertisement for a tuscaloosa men's wear shop, agents giving players flights and shit, and the s&c coach "loaning" players money. but yeah, it's only oregon that cheated, so **** them.

[curmudgeon]

Interesting choice of words for a 3 point victory

Yeah, that was one of the best BCS title games ever. Oregon was a play away from winning that game.

[Vandownbytheriver]

Why do people want the other SEC teams to win? I've never got that. I want everyone of them to lose everything. All the time. How can you be loyal to a conference that continually ****s us over?

[civildawg]

This^^^

The SEC could give a rats ass about us. I hope the SEC never wins another championship unless it's us or spurrier at USC. The only reason I say USC because they were just as bad as us history wise until they got a good coach. If you dont think we can ever win at MState then look at South Carolina. They were horrible for alot of years

[dawgs]

I want Alabama to drop one as much as the next guy, but it ain't happening. Not outside of conference, anyway. FSU would have a better chance than Oregon, but even that isn't much of one. Just my opinion.

f$u has a better chance because? seems like they are the new kid on the block int he title discussion, so everyone is on the f$u train this year without any real rhyme and reason to it. mariota is better and more seasoned than winston. winston is due to have his mariota 2012 stanford game performance. oregon's D is every bit as good as f$u's too, f$u gives up 4.2 yds per play, and oregon gives up 4.3 yds per play, good for 5th and 7th in the country. but oregon averages 3 takeaways per game and a +1.6 turnover margin per game, good for 5th and 4th in the country, whereas f$u averages 2.7 takeaways and a +1.3 turnover margin, good for 27th and 7th in the country.

[Bullmutt]

Bama repeats for the last time in the near future.

[dawgs]

Why do people want the other SEC teams to win? I've never got that. I want everyone of them to lose everything. All the time. How can you be loyal to a conference that continually ****s us over?

i'm a case by case basis for the most part. depends on which sec team is involved and who the opponent is. hard to cheer for ND or texas, even against bama, so those kinda games i just want a good game and maybe to see the stadium fall into a sinkhole as soon as the clock hits 00:00.

[dawgs]

Oregon might wanna worry about Stanford first.

oregon didn't write the article. SI did. it's not like oregon is in the media talking about the pending national title matchup, it's just the media putting a provocative title on their CFB article for the week.

[Bubb Rubb]

f$u has a better chance because? seems like they are the new kid on the block int he title discussion, so everyone is on the f$u train this year without any real rhyme and reason to it. mariota is better and more seasoned than winston. winston is due to have his mariota 2012 stanford game performance. oregon's D is every bit as good as f$u's too, f$u gives up 4.2 yds per play, and oregon gives up 4.3 yds per play, good for 5th and 7th in the country. but oregon averages 3 takeaways per game and a +1.6 turnover margin per game, good for 5th and 4th in the country, whereas f$u averages 2.7 takeaways and a +1.3 turnover margin, good for 27th and 7th in the country.

Oregon plays in the defense-optional PAC 12. FSU is better than Oregon because of Winston. That kid is special, and to suggest otherwise is foolish. He's the Manziel-type that can take over a game. I am not a FSU fan....I don't give a rat's ass about them. But I think they are a bigger threat to Bama than Oregon. Alabama is going to take away what teams do best offensively. When that happens, you have to be able to make plays. Having Winston gives FSU a chance.

To say Mariota is better than Winston is just wrong. Mariota is good, no doubt. But Winston is a Heisman-level QB. Your "f$u" comments suggest that you just don't like them for some reason. You need objectivity. What they did to Clemson far outranks anything Oregon has done this year. And like someone else said, they still have to play Stanford.

I still think Bama will blow out both of them if it comes to that.

[Johnson85]

Why do people want the other SEC teams to win? I've never got that. I want everyone of them to lose everything. All the time. How can you be loyal to a conference that continually ****s us over?

Because we benefit financially from the SEC being dominant and it gives us the opportunity to be more competitive against teams outside the SEC. It's a double edged sword because it also makes it more difficult for us to compete within the SEC.

[TimberBeast]

Your "f$u" comments suggest that you just don't like them for some reason. You need objectivity. What they did to Clemson far outranks anything Oregon has done this year.

It's not that, he is the rebel bruiser of this board when it comes to oregon. You aren't going to find any objectivity from him when it comes to them.

[Bothrops]

The only non-conference team remotely close enough to take Bama down is Oregon. Bama would smash FSU and Ohio St. Bama would make the lineman at Baylor quit also.

[msstate7]

The only non-conference team remotely close enough to take Bama down is Oregon. Bama would smash FSU and Ohio St. Bama would make the lineman at Baylor quit also.

I think you're wrong. Winston is the best passing qb in the country. He would hurt bama's db's. There isn't a qb in the sec on Winston's passing level.

[dawgs]

It's not that, he is the rebel bruiser of this board when it comes to oregon. You aren't going to find any objectivity from him when it comes to them.

well i do have a grad degree from uo and live in portland so that's probably why.

i'd also be curious what part of my posts have been un-objective? i tend to go overboard posting stats to support myself, like the oregon D post early, and the mariota/winston comparison below.

[hailmari]

I agree. Winston is legit. FSU is the best team I've watched so far this year, just my opinion. We can't really make a "FSU hasn't played anybody" argument because Clemson has a good team (beat Georgia anyways) and aside from Texas A&M, Bama hasn't played anybody either.

They have a lot to prove to me against LSU and Auburn, both will come out ready to beat on a "down" Bama team.

[dawgs]

Oregon plays in the defense-optional PAC 12. FSU is better than Oregon because of Winston. That kid is special, and to suggest otherwise is foolish. He's the Manziel-type that can take over a game. I am not a FSU fan....I don't give a rat's ass about them. But I think they are a bigger threat to Bama than Oregon. Alabama is going to take away what teams do best offensively. When that happens, you have to be able to make plays. Having Winston gives FSU a chance.

To say Mariota is better than Winston is just wrong. Mariota is good, no doubt. But Winston is a Heisman-level QB. Your "f$u" comments suggest that you just don't like them for some reason. You need objectivity. What they did to Clemson far outranks anything Oregon has done this year. And like someone else said, they still have to play Stanford.

I still think Bama will blow out both of them if it comes to that.

you know mariota is a much better runner than winston right? and that manziel's running ability is what opened up the bama's D to be ripped apart right? and the passing numbers are pretty similar right?

mariota 64.4% on 225 attempts 2281 yds 20 TDs 0 INTs 178.8 QB rating 511 rushing yds 9.1 ypc 9 rushing TDs 95.5 total QBR
winston 69.9% on 183 attempts 2177 yds 23 TDs 4 INTs 205 QB rating 126 rushing yds 2.9 ypc 3 rushing TDs 92.6 total QBR

it's also absolutely laughable to act like the pac 12 is defense optional while touting an ACC QB. and you can't look at those numbers and act like winston is anything more than mariota is right now. they are both great and they are both future high NFL picks and they are both difference makers. congrats on falling for the espn fluffing though without watching a game or glancing at cursory stats, hook, line, and sinker.

[dawgs]

I agree. Winston is legit. FSU is the best team I've watched so far this year, just my opinion. We can't really make a "FSU hasn't played anybody" argument because Clemson has a good team (beat Georgia anyways) and aside from Texas A&M, Bama hasn't played anybody either.

They have a lot to prove to me against LSU and Auburn, both will come out ready to beat on a "down" Bama team.

clemson is comparable to ucla. f$u blew out clemson. oregon blew out ucla.

[msstate7]

clemson is comparable to ucla. f$u blew out clemson. oregon blew out ucla.

Clemson was much higher ranked than ucla. Clemson had already beaten an sec heavyweight (Georgia) before the rash of injuries. Clemson > ucla. Road blow out over top 5 team > home blow out over top 15 team. Not knocking Oregon, but true. Oregon has their game next Thursday night

[dawgs]

Clemson was much higher ranked than ucla. Clemson had already beaten an sec heavyweight (Georgia) before the rash of injuries. Clemson > ucla. Road blow out over top 5 team > home blow out over top 15 team. Not knocking Oregon, but true. Oregon has their game next Thursday night

ucla blew out nebraska in nebraska, and their only other loss was @stanford. clemson won't play another team on stanford's level, including uga who even when healthy had a below avg D. clemson is a top 15 team, definitely NOT a top 5 team though. they just had the benefit of starting the season ranked higher than ucla.

[msstate7]

ucla blew out nebraska in nebraska, and their only other loss was @stanford. clemson won't play another team on stanford's level, including uga who even when healthy had a below avg D. clemson is a top 15 team, definitely NOT a top 5 team though. they just had the benefit of starting the season ranked higher than ucla.

You can't reasonably discuss this bc of your PAC 12 love affair. That same Nebraska team lost to Minnesota last week BTW

[dawgs]

You can't reasonably discuss this bc of your PAC 12 love affair. That same Nebraska team lost to Minnesota last week BTW

and that uga team lost to mizzou and vandy. do you not think nebraska suffered injuries too? like to their QB who played in his 1st game back against minn and wasn't 100% or back in the flow of the offense?

i don't have a love affair with the pac 12, i am viewing this objectively, making rough comparisons in season instead of trying to split hairs between whose opponents of opponents were better and whose injuries affected them v. whose injuries didn't all during the season before we see if clemson pulls another clemson before the end of the season making the whole discussion about how good clemson is moot.

[Bothrops]

Oregon is a decent threat to Bama. FSU and Ohio St. are not.

[thf24]

I'll believe it when I see it. For the past four years, the sports has spent most of the season trumpeting that this is the year the SEC falls, with no real reasoning to base that declaration on, and picks a poster boy to ride. I don't think this year's Oregon team is significantly better than 2010's, who could only score 19 on an average SEC defense in the championship game.

[engie]

Oregon is not a threat IMO. UCLA shut them down pretty well for 2.8 quarters. Their entire gameplan can get blown up if you get pressure up the middle up front -- and play outside contain with the ends. Stanford will make this obvious in a week and a half...

[dawgs]

Oregon is not a threat IMO. UCLA shut them down pretty well for 2.8 quarters. Their entire gameplan can get blown up if you get pressure up the middle up front -- and play outside contain with the ends. Stanford will make this obvious in a week and a half...

Oregon shot themselves in the foot. Bad snap on 1st and goal. Unforced fumble. Blocked punt. It could easily have been 50+-14 without unforced errors. Those games happen to everyone, and Oregon still hung 42 on the board. (Sometimes it's like people forget how f$u looked against BC)

And this Oregon team is better than 2010. Much better D that helps set up the offense. Top 10 draft pick QB instead of an undrafted QB. Better, more explosive WRs. The best all-everything skill player in the country. The only spot they aren't better is Marshall isn't as good as lamichael james at RB, but Marshall is still plenty good, and once DAT is over his ankle he adds explosiveness out of the backfield.

[Bubb Rubb]

clemson is comparable to ucla. f$u blew out clemson. oregon blew out ucla.

That is a joke of the highest order. UCLA isn't remotely comparable to Clemson. Clemson was #3 in the nation when they played, and already had a victory over a full-strength Georgia team on their resume.

And as for your stats comparison of Mariota and Winston, they would only be valid if they had both played the same opponents. Otherwise it's apples and oranges. If you believe Mariota is a better quarterback than Winston, you can't be helped, and you probably shouldn't be allowed to drive or operate a motorized vehicle.

[dawgs]

That is a joke of the highest order. UCLA isn't remotely comparable to Clemson. Clemson was #3 in the nation when they played, and already had a victory over a full-strength Georgia team on their resume.

And as for your stats comparison of Mariota and Winston, they would only be valid if they had both played the same opponents. Otherwise it's apples and oranges. If you believe Mariota is a better quarterback than Winston, you can't be helped, and you probably shouldn't be allowed to drive or operate a motorized vehicle.

well hell, how can we compare anyone to anyone if the only way to compare is if they played identical schedules. i'm saying mariota and winston are both 2 of the best couple of QBs in the country. you say winston is leaps and bounds better than mariota. i'll let the rest of the board tell you which one of us is being objective.

rankings are merely perceptions of a team by voters, not actually how good they are. if you think clemson would beat most of the top 10 after that f$u game, then you've lost your damn mind. clemson is an ok team that beat a uga team who had no D even when they were healthy. clemson didn't stop or slow down uga's offense, they outscored them because both their Ds are questionable at best even when fully healthy. also, did you miss the part about nebraska having injuries also? yeah they lost to minnesota (6-2 btw), but you can argue a 100% healthy taylor martinez who wasn't playing in his 1st game back plays better than he did and they win and are sitting 6-1 instead of 5-2, JUST LIKE YOU CAN ARGUE UGA WITHOUT THEIR INJURIES WOULD BE 6-1 INSTEAD OF 4-3. you can't discount nebraska's injuries while using uga's for the purpose of excusing their Ls when determining who is/was tougher. clemson has only played 1 top 5 caliber team (f$u at home), whereas ucla has played 2 (stanford and oregon, both on the road), that's the difference in ucla's 2 Ls and clemson's 1 L. that's it.

want to explain the turd f$u laid against BC? everyone bring up oregon's 28 point W over a ranked ucla team, but conveniently forgets to mention f$u's comeback and close in the 4th quarter game against a crappy BC team.

[archdog]

The way I look at it is this. Oregon could beat any NCAA team in America with only one week to prepare. Give Saban 45 days to watch tape and come up with a gameplan, that is a different story.

Oregon is quick, but Bama's athletes are better. Given tons of time to prepare, Saban's gameplan would be favored against Oregon's speed.

I personally think Oregon is the best team in the nation on 1 week turn arounds, but 40-45 days is a long time to gameplan.
Maybe our coaching staff should watch Oregon's offensive scheme for ideas.

[dawgs]

The way I look at it is this. Oregon could beat any NCAA team in America with only one week to prepare. Give Saban 45 days to watch tape and come up with a gameplan, that is a different story.

Oregon is quick, but Bama's athletes are better. Given tons of time to prepare, Saban's gameplan would be favored against Oregon's speed.

I personally think Oregon is the best team in the nation on 1 week turn arounds, but 40-45 days is a long time to gameplan.
Maybe our coaching staff should watch Oregon's offensive scheme for ideas.

we haven't seen bama prep for an oregon style offense over 40+ days though. and we know that the only offenses to really give bama trouble in the last 4 seasons or so have been offenses similar to oregon's (a&m, auburn with cam and malzahn).