Two things Oregon fans will hear about the Ducks that make no sense

In a 21-day layoff between games the pundit and podcast class has to fill a lot of dead air. The College Football Playoff season is the absolute peak of viewership and readership, so the sport's self-appointed experts get busy pontificating or get busy lying, which leads to some real howlers where Oregon football is concerned.

"Oregon can't develop quarterbacks."

This one is particularly absurd, stemming from interest by Dylan Raiola and Sam Leavitt in an Oregon offer should Dante Moore move on to the NFL after the season.

First, it's the current condition of college football. The last four Heisman winners have all been transfers, and seven of the last ten quarterbacks to win it have been transfers. Ohio State won the national championship with transfer quarterback Will Howard and of the teams that made the 2025 playoff, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, Miami, Ole Miss and Tulane all have a transfer quarterback, while JMU's Alonza Barnett III beat out UNLV transfer Matt Sluka.

In fact, the Ducks have been superb at developing or resurrecting the careers of their signal callers. Kenny Dillingham and Will Stein developed Bo Nix into a first-round draft pick-- his career was on the scrap heap after three years at Auburn. Dillon Gabriel had nearly lost his job to Jackson Arnold at OU; Stein showcased him to become a third-round draft pick. Dante Moore had a disastrous freshman year at UCLA; now he's projected to be a first-round draft pick and possibly No. 1 overall.

Before that, the Ducks had Kellen Clemens, Dennis Dixon, Darron Thomas, Justin Herbert and Marcus Mariota, all home-grown quarterbacks developed within the program. The last three won a Rose Bowl; the last two became No. 1 draft picks.

Any smart coach uses both the portal and high school recruiting to find players. Dan Lanning and his staff are constantly evaluating team needs and prospect strengths, looking for fits and traits, at quarterback and everywhere else.

Dante Moore says his decision hasn't been made yet, and as it becomes public, the Ducks will evaluate and make a decision on their next quarterback. It could be that Oregon's next great passer is already on campus, either Austin Novosad or Akili Smith Jr.

If they go to the portal, they'll find a dog. Oregon remains among the most attractive destinations for a transfer quarterback, with a three-time Joe Moore Award finalist offensive line and a boatload of talented wide receivers, a strong running game and defense.

"Oregon struggles sometimes to stop the run"

This howler came from "The Cover 3 Podcast," and it is pure bunk. The Ducks rank No. 20 nationally in run defense, allowing 107 yards per game, 15th in yards per carry at 3.1 yards per attempt.

In November they held Minnesota and USC to 62 and 52 yards rushing, six different opponents to less than 3 yards per carry. Only Northwestern and Washington rushed for more than 150, and in those games they limited the passing attack to 135 and 129 yards.

This is a very good defense, particularly strong in the middle with tackles Bear Alexander and A'Mauri Washington and the Causcasian Collision Unit, linebacker Bryce Boettcher and safety Dillon Thieneman, who have combined for 171 tackles. The Ducks are No. 6 in the country in yards per play defense at 4.16, and they played their best ball in November while playing a deep rotation.

The Ducks haven't struggled to stop anything, although USC's Jakobi Lane and Makai Lemon were a test. They still struck blows in that game with two interceptions and a sack. In particular Teitum Tuioti has been an underappreciated playmaker with 13.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Great teams peak in the playoffs. The Ducks are showing signs of doing just that with Dakorien Moore, Gary Bryant Jr. and Evan Stewart back at practice. Now all they need is for Matayo Uiagalelei to throw his first-round draft pick switch in the season's biggest games.

This is a focused team with all the weapons it needs to be tough in the playoffs. They can build momentum with a high-energy first-round win against James Madison, a good football team in an unfortunate spot.