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  3.  <title>Addicted To Quack -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>An Oregon Ducks Blog: Often Imitated, Never Duplicated, Always Fashionable</subtitle>
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  6.  <updated>2025-05-02T07:01:00-07:00</updated>
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  10.    <published>2025-05-02T07:01:00-07:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2025-05-02T07:01:00-07:00</updated>
  12.    <title>Duck Dive: Northwestern Football 2025 Preview</title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Football: Northwestern at Purdue" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Eag-Rl2YUOJMDHae5ak949Ozb6k=/0x0:5758x3839/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74061249/usa_today_24662295.0.jpg" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;Going deep with the Wildcats’ scheme, returning personnel, and unknowns&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="mSzYBL"&gt;Special thanks to David Gold, editor emeritus of &lt;a href="https://www.insidenu.com/"&gt;InsideNU&lt;/a&gt;, for joining me to discuss Northwestern’s roster on this week’s podcast:&lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="FDTXDj"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;div id="9r54Tr"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 200px; position: relative;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=RRTET6612641075" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="VK6exS"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;p id="c4uNpV"&gt;After completing the coaching staff overhaul that began in the 2022-to-2023 offseason and finally gaining access to some modern roster management tools to turn over many of the inherited pieces of the previous system, Coach Braun’s team is looking at a belated Year 1 with a stable group of coaches and schematic identity.&lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="cmEZcY"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;p id="5pIxYB"&gt;The Wildcats went 1-11 in 2022 but surprisingly surged to 8 wins in 2023 during Braun’s season as interim head coach, then encountered something of a falloff in 2024. This lead quite a few observers to wonder which of these trajectories was the illusion – is this at core a bad team with 2023’s success just being a fluke and 2024’s dip confirmed it, or was the upward trajectory with the new staff that they’d shown in 2023 the real deal and 2024 just a quick ephemeral setback and they’ll get back onto the growth curve shortly?&lt;/p&gt;
  27. &lt;p id="E6BmTs"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;p id="NMaFSq"&gt;After reviewing the film and charting data and talking with David, I’m inclined to think the latter is closer to being true, or at least, bad luck last year at certain key offensive positions had an outsized effect on the entire team and both sides of the ball while the fundamentals show they’re ready for growth if they’d just get some good luck. But Northwestern is on a pretty impressive run of bad luck at those positions, so it’s anybody’s guess if this is the year that fortune smiles on the Cats.&lt;/p&gt;
  29. &lt;p id="z6mY0I"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  30. &lt;p id="J84dSp"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  31. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="wS8X9U"&gt;
  32. &lt;h1 id="ABvJ3X"&gt;Offense&lt;/h1&gt;
  33. &lt;p id="pOJ3HN"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  34. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  35.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ij9fBhtps3HXr-Gsa9P6275c4pI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25977095/NU_offense.png"&gt;
  36.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  37. &lt;p id="duTqUk"&gt;Northwestern’s seven-year search for a stable quarterback solution continues in 2025, having last seen a reliable starter finish the season in 2018 with Clayton Thorson. For as dispiriting as the injury-riddled back-and-forth between Ben Bryant and Brendan Sullivan was in 2023, it turned out to be a local high point in the Wildcats’ recent QB history, as they finished that year with relatively respectable 128.4 and 140.2 NCAA passer ratings.&lt;/p&gt;
  38. &lt;p id="x2TBjm"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  39. &lt;p id="jsf6Zo"&gt;In 2024, both had departed and Northwestern went with transfer Mike Wright, then when he didn’t pan out, the backup #12 QB Lausch finished the year (I’d dismissed Lausch from previous tape as just a runner, but eerily &lt;a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2024/5/3/24147639/duck-dive-northwestern-football-2024-preview"&gt;David predicted both&lt;/a&gt; Wright, who hadn’t even gotten on campus at the time, and then Lausch getting the job). The passer ratings collapsed, to 99.6 for Wright and 104.8 for Lausch – multiple standard deviations below FBS median. On the season, Northwestern QBs threw 400 fewer yards, 13 fewer touchdowns, 30 fewer completions, and three more interceptions on almost exactly the same number of attempts as in 2023.&lt;/p&gt;
  40. &lt;p id="2P8NQR"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  41. &lt;p id="X0JPue"&gt;(Curiously, the passing stats I track from charting show fairly similar figures both years, but this turns out to be &lt;em&gt;entirely&lt;/em&gt; due to a single freak game performance by &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/j4enY-M4nhA?t=20"&gt;Lausch against Maryland&lt;/a&gt; — possibly the strangest Big Ten game of the year — in which he absolutely shredded the Terps’ secondary in a schematic mismatch plus a lot of scrambling which I count as called passing plays. Eliminating that game from the count causes the numbers to look as expected, a falloff by 2-4 percentage points in each category and nearly a full yard in adjusted YPT.)&lt;/p&gt;
  42. &lt;p id="rqZgn1"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  43. &lt;p id="LpfVXu"&gt;As a result of the QB situation (as well as some other personnel issues discussed below), we didn’t see much of the potential in new OC Lujan’s offense with which he’d previously led South Dakota State to back-to-back FCS championships. It wasn’t as oppressively stodgy and slow-paced as former OC Mike Bajakian’s offense, but the precision timing and constraint plays in the wide open offense just weren’t there because the QBs couldn’t execute them.&lt;/p&gt;
  44. &lt;p id="FuGgbA"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  45. &lt;p id="uxY3b0"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  46. &lt;p id="PHUTwC"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  47. &lt;p id="NQSZTy"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  48. &lt;p id="ZCcelR"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  49. &lt;p id="SUSq0T"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  50. &lt;p id="HWpMgD"&gt;That may change with the new transfer from SMU and near-certain starter, #8 QB Stone, a mid 4-star from the 2021 cycle and career 156.7 passer. Stone had an electric 2023 season with the Mustangs in Rhett Lashlee’s offense and looked to repeat it in 2024’s playoff run, but on David’s suggestion I reviewed the tape of their first few weeks and it was pretty grisly. SMU’s new offensive line was getting pushed around in the opener by Nevada (shocking given that program’s &lt;a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/football/2025/3/12/24382637/quacking-the-roster-oregon-ducks-offensive-line-transfer-isaiah-world"&gt;systemic strength &amp;amp; conditioning issues&lt;/a&gt;) and during the first three games of the season they used a planned rotation between the pocket passer Stone and the dual-threat QB Kevin Jennings. Stone had the heroic game-winner to prevent a major upset against Nevada but at halftime in the third game against BYU the rotations came to an end and Jennings had the job full-time for the rest of the year as his mobility was needed to deal with the o-line situation. Stone only came in for a couple of late garbage time reps and a goal line TD pass in a &lt;a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/football/2025/3/6/24378757/quacking-the-roster-oregon-ducks-football-tight-end-transfer-jamari-johnson"&gt;tight game against Louisville&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  51. &lt;p id="aF2wZO"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  52. &lt;p id="E9DT6b"&gt;I think David’s take that we worked out going through each of the successive units about Stone’s fit and potential for the offense under Lujan is right – if he has first and foremost the offensive line protection, and secondarily some more help than what’s already a given in terms of reliable targets, the skillset and style of play could be one of the best in the league. If the line is a repeat of the SMU situation, David told me Stone isn’t a total statue in the practices he watched, but that’s obviously not the best use of his talents.&lt;/p&gt;
  53. &lt;p id="JOkduU"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  54. &lt;p id="b9NdP4"&gt;If Stone is unavailable, Lausch returns and will probably lead a repeat performance. There are a three more young QBs in the room; David thinks that one is likely unplayable and the third string job would either go to the redshirt freshman #2 QB Boe who played a bit last year or the true freshman #13 QB Romain who was getting some second-team reps at the Spring scrimmage David attended.&lt;/p&gt;
  55. &lt;p id="wCSf10"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  56. &lt;p id="SOckvW"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  57. &lt;p id="V7S2Oy"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  58. &lt;p id="gx69bK"&gt;The running back unit used three ballcarriers last year and with no significant additions or departures it looks like it’ll be the same lineup and distribution again in 2025. #4 RB Porter will be going into his fourth year in five seasons as starter (he missed 2021 with an injury), which is nearly as amazing as the fact that in every year I’ve charted him — despite changing coordinators, offensive lines, and defensive schedule difficulties — his per-play metrics are functionally identical, 46.5% success rate and 3.9 adjusted YPC. Those are reliable if hardly spectacular numbers, and they reflect that Porter simply bullies his way through the line every time, with only a handful of chunk-yardage runs in his entire career.&lt;/p&gt;
  59. &lt;p id="D7Ipn7"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  60. &lt;p id="a7BOjB"&gt;The remaining carries were split pretty evenly between two younger backs, #6 RB Himon and #5 RB Komolafe (then wearing jersey #25). Komolafe is built like Porter and was clearly brought on to be his successor in Bajakian’s final recruiting cycle for pounding the ball in A-gap runs, but he was simply nowhere near as effective at 31.5% success and 3.5 YPC. I asked David if he thought there was a chance Komolafe would step up his game and he thought it was unlikely, and I tend to agree.&lt;/p&gt;
  61. &lt;p id="1bQq1z"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  62. &lt;p id="Q7MiY1"&gt;Himon is a change-of-pace back and on last Summer’s podcast David was raving about his future, so when he turned in a disappointing 29.5% success rate in 2024 David seemed down in the dumps about it. I actually think David had the right of it and Himon has the potential to be much more effective because of what he flashed on the few carries that were successful – even with such a terribly low success rate his average adjusted YPC still hit the FBS median of 4.5 (not to mention that he had some of the best hands out of the backfield on the team at 6.2 adjusted YPT), meaning that he was breaking exactly the big plays Porter never does on the occasions that he’d get through the line, he just had a harder time getting through. If the line improves — already something we’re contemplating for the passing game – Himon stands to be a major beneficiary.&lt;/p&gt;
  63. &lt;p id="Rso37R"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  64. &lt;p id="Zsc5nt"&gt;It was also an odd management choice that David and I discussed during the time when Porter’s ankle was dinged up: the staff didn’t want to give his inside runs to Komolafe (because he’s not very effective) so they gave them instead to the more productive Himon, but that’s not his wheelhouse. This is another area where if Lujan gets to open the playbook more as we saw at SDSU, with toss plays to the outside and misdirection stuff to get him into open space, Himon could really thrive.&lt;/p&gt;
  65. &lt;p id="aN30TQ"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  66. &lt;p id="qDfqk3"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  67. &lt;p id="WfEybD"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  68. &lt;p id="vkTgvL"&gt;The tight end unit has been a pretty significant disappointment all four years I’ve been charting Northwestern, and David confirmed last year that the plan was to allow the upperclassmen-tilted room to shuffle off after 2024 and restock with younger and hopefully more effective guys (he’s been quite a source of comedy on the podcast for stories about tight ends fouling up plays and costing the Wildcats dearly, blaming the previous coaching staff and evaluating the quality of any given tight end by how isolated he’s been from the last TE coach). So, that plan seemed to mostly have been followed as the longtime starters as well as one more longtime backup got their diplomas and left, while they recruited three incoming freshmen.&lt;/p&gt;
  69. &lt;p id="MvcxyJ"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  70. &lt;p id="LSSaI8"&gt;However, none of the five returning tight ends have gotten any playing time in anticipation of the transition to 2025, and both David and I are at a loss to find anything to recommend them … one has been injured a lot, another is the backup longsnapper, a third has been on the team for five years and done nothing, and the last two are sophomore mid 3-stars. David’s pick is #18 TE Magee, I’ll go with #85 TE Schaller because he looks bigger.&lt;/p&gt;
  71. &lt;p id="VL7HiD"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  72. &lt;p id="rTI153"&gt;The only transfer into the unit at this point is #88 TE Lines, who I am astonished still has eligibility as I think Northwestern is his sixth school and I remember charting him at Arizona in 2021 (David pointed out he actually has two years left due to the NCAA’s Pavia waiver, which floored me). That Arizona season was Lines’ only mildly productive one, in which he got 10 catches for a little over a hundred yards. David denied it when I asked since there are already nine TEs in the room, but my gut still tells me Northwestern would be in the market for another portal TE later this Summer.&lt;/p&gt;
  73. &lt;p id="6Vnj4D"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  74. &lt;p id="spjgmk"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  75. &lt;p id="AIA8zc"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  76. &lt;p id="S351X8"&gt;The Wildcats lose their top two wideouts who represented about 70% of meaningful receiver targets: Bryce Kirtz who’d been a solid contributor for all four seasons I charted and AJ Henning who for the last two seasons has clearly been the most talented guy in the room since Malik Washington a couple years ago (who transferred to Virginia for his final season and was drafted by the Dolphins). Another ~10% apiece went to then-redshirt freshman #3 WR Covey and redshirt junior CJ Johnson; Covey returns although David noted he’s been fighting the injury bug, while Johnson hit the portal.&lt;/p&gt;
  77. &lt;p id="WeZSD0"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  78. &lt;p id="Sx8WJX"&gt;Stone will have one obvious target to throw to, #17 WR Wilde who was South Dakota State’s top receiver with over a thousand yards last year and previously worked with Lujan in Brookings. David said the connection with the 6’2” outside receiver looked strong in the practice he observed. He also said that #10 WR Ahumaraeze should be penciled in as a starter, coming off of missing virtually all of last season with an injury, although while I figured that at 6’4” he’d play outside, practice reports have had him in the slot while Covey has been the other outside receiver.&lt;/p&gt;
  79. &lt;p id="N2QmQi"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  80. &lt;p id="ugTWVx"&gt;It may be that those three are what the solution is in the Fall but it’s difficult to parse since we have so little data on any of them at Northwestern, or what the alternatives might be. Everybody else in the room is a freshman with zero field time except one (and that’s minimal): low 3-stars #87 WR Grove and #80 WR Eligon, #19 WR Wagner who came in as a walk-on, two mid 3-star prep recruits #82 WR Blueitt and #14 WR Enongene, and mid 3-star Stanford transfer #20 WR C. Farrell who redshirted last year.&lt;/p&gt;
  81. &lt;p id="vhzq7c"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  82. &lt;p id="H3DeYV"&gt;It’s very unusual to play such a tall guy out of the slot and if they want a more traditional configuration, it’s hard to pick out where their shorter slot man would come from – Farrell, Grove, and Wagner are all listed as 5’10” or 5’11” and interestingly it was Wagner, the walk-on, whom David said the staff was highest on. I think it’s possible the Wildcats may be looking in the portal for some more experienced slot receiver help later this Summer.&lt;/p&gt;
  83. &lt;p id="2tolUQ"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  84. &lt;p id="bsmZEN"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  85. &lt;p id="4sN219"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  86. &lt;p id="9vT8V0"&gt;The offensive line situation was quite a lot to sort through at the end of the 2023 season, between several injuries, a lot of action into and out of the portal, and the clear need to make some moves to improve performance. I’m pretty happy that David and I nailed the starting lineup — with the notable surprise of a position flip of a longtime starter — but it lasted for all of a month into 2024 before injuries knocked out two starters for the entire season and another for a couple of games, causing a substantial amount of shuffling and subbing in several linemen we’d written off or not even mentioned, and the predictable consequences to how well the line held up.&lt;/p&gt;
  87. &lt;p id="WgX9Ie"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  88. &lt;p id="2zCYbT"&gt;The Wildcats got the two tackles they wanted to play all season, #72 LT Tiernan as expected on the left where he’s been since 2022, and on the right was the surprise of moving the center for the last few years, Ben Wrather, over to tackle. He’d never really graded out well on my tally sheet as an interior lineman and I don’t think he was much of an athletic fit for Lujan’s offense as a tackle either, but at least he stayed healthy all year. Tiernan returns and should have his LT spot again, while Wrather has graduated.&lt;/p&gt;
  89. &lt;p id="6yKp3x"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  90. &lt;p id="Vw0IAX"&gt;The third starting lineman who played most of the year was Josh Thompson, who’d taken over at RT a few games into the 2023 season for that year’s original starter who was benched for poor performance. Thompson wasn’t a massive improvement but we figured he’d stay as a starter in 2024; he did but at RG instead. He got banged up and missed a couple of games midseason, being replaced, somewhat shockingly, by then-true freshman #62 RG Oratokhai for a couple of games against teams with elite d-lines. Thompson has transferred out but Oratokhai returns.&lt;/p&gt;
  91. &lt;p id="qRrw3G"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  92. &lt;p id="un1Zef"&gt;The two starters who got hurt early and missed the rest of the season but return in 2025 are #74 LG Herzog and #69 C Bailey. Herzog was in the position we expected, it’s not really certain what his injury issue is but David said it was the kind of thing that kept flaring up and rather than aggravating it they chose to take the redshirt and let him come back healthy the next year. He was replaced by Cooper Lovelace, a former Juco who’d ridden the bench at USC for years and I’d dismissed because I figured if he were playable then USC — who needed a viable guard even more than NU did — would have used him by now. Lovelace wasn’t great in my first time seeing him ever but he was better than some of the things I’ve seen in LA.&lt;/p&gt;
  93. &lt;p id="GQuUol"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  94. &lt;p id="8C0aae"&gt;Bailey has followed OL coach Boyle to every stop and played guard for him there, from Kent St to Colorado and now Northwestern, so starting wasn’t a surprise but at center was. He tore his ACL against UW in week 4 and was replaced for the rest of the year by #65 C Carsello, who was even worse as a center than Wrather during an experimental switchout back in 2023 so we hadn’t considered him, and he picked up in 2024 where he left off the year before.&lt;/p&gt;
  95. &lt;p id="E41UnT"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  96. &lt;p id="feBa1C"&gt;Everyone except for Thompson and Wrather returns (Lovelace hit the portal shortly after David and I recorded), including three guys we’d talked about last year as potential backups — #64 OL Birsa, #73 OL McGuire, and former Texas Tech starter #61 OL Keeler — but who didn’t play at all. The fact that the staff moved Wrather out of position and went to poor performers Carsello and Lovelace plus a true freshman when injuries started piling up rather than any of those backups is a good indication of their perceived playability.&lt;/p&gt;
  97. &lt;p id="7w5wTD"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  98. &lt;p id="Aqehrw"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  99. &lt;p id="siBC6S"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  100. &lt;p id="GFGbHn"&gt;They’ve taken three transfers who might play — #60 OG Beerntsen from South Dakota State, #63 OT Gray from Liberty, and #75 OL Lewis from Minnesota — and a fourth after David and I recorded, mid 3-star redshirt freshman Talan Chandler from Mizzou whom I think will continue to develop. The first two are multi-year starters at RG and RT and it seems clear that they’ll slot right in to those spots; each individually are obvious fits for the offense with Beerntsen working under Lujan previously and Gray playing in a &lt;a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2023/12/29/24018265/duck-tape-film-analysis-of-liberty-football-2023"&gt;modern veer scheme&lt;/a&gt;. Lewis has a peculiar history, he was an experienced backup in 2022, started every game at RG in 2023, was moved over to start the first two games at RT last year, then RG in the third game, then he seems to have been demoted to backup where he played the rest of the season … an odd trajectory for a lineman who doesn’t really have substantially different grades than the rest of the Gophers’ line. David thinks Lewis is going to be the 6&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; man, ahead of the rest of the returning backups, which seems like good analysis to me.&lt;/p&gt;
  101. &lt;p id="kBMhRR"&gt;So that adds up to Tiernan at LT for the fourth straight year, Herzog at LG and Bailey at C again assuming they’re healthy, the experienced transfers Beerntsten at RG and Gray at RT, and the transfer Lewis as the 6&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; man ahead of all the other returners despite his weird history because it seems the staff has zero confidence in anybody else.   &lt;/p&gt;
  102. &lt;p id="9sUrEi"&gt;Northwestern’s offensive line has been a messy situation for a long time. In 2025 it looks like they’ll have the starting lineup they want with everyone in a position he’s supposed to be playing, and it’s hard to believe that they’ll be as or more unhealthy than they were last year, which means they &lt;em&gt;should&lt;/em&gt; be substantially ahead of where they’ve been lately. But there are still a number of risks to putting an actually good product on the field – the two projected starters on the left side are Bajakian offense guys, Bailey and Herzog are coming off injuries and we don’t know at what point they’ll truly be at 100%, starting multiple portal linemen empirically creates its own issues in gelling the unit together, and the backup situation does not inspire confidence if there’s even a single problem … and neither David nor I could remember a season when NU’s line didn’t encounter a significant problem.&lt;/p&gt;
  103. &lt;p id="YYHPGJ"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  104. &lt;p id="4bJ60A"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  105. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="wnZsVB"&gt;
  106. &lt;h1 id="x61450"&gt;Defense&lt;/h1&gt;
  107. &lt;p id="q0IsM4"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  108. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  109.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/L0ioBJMKaCkMlSEKoKl1ZbAE2dk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25977093/NU_defense.png"&gt;
  110.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  111. &lt;p id="lcxjVH"&gt;Northwestern’s steady defensive improvement overall and in each of the six categories I track from charting for the seasons leading up through 2023 seemed very clearly tied to their stability and continuity – the same system, retaining and promoting DC McGarigle from his LB coaching spot as the one survivor of the total staff change, very little roster turnover, and a clearly planned pipeline of player development from redshirts to backups to multi-year starters. That was all set to continue into 2024 and indeed the underlying elements did — notwithstanding a bit of unfortunate injury news at a couple of spots, although they were situated just fine in terms of depth to handle it — and so it seemed a safe bet that the Wildcats would take another incremental step forward to become a top-20 defense in F+ advanced statistics.&lt;/p&gt;
  112. &lt;p id="82TEj4"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  113. &lt;p id="SFQFGE"&gt;Instead they slid by about 25 ranks, falling in most of the metrics I track as well as their success rates in most of the down &amp;amp; distance categories I’d pointed out as critical benchmarks of progress in last year’s preview. I think there are a few personnel hardships here but at worst they’d explain a failure to improve, not backsliding. David’s suggestion on the podcast was to examine defensive fatigue factors, because that’s really the main change between 2023 and 2024 – getting rid of the slowpoke Bajakian offense but not substantially improving their offensive performance or conversion rate meant they were going 3 &amp;amp; out and putting the defense back on the field much faster, and we both saw a defense that was doing well at the beginnings of games but running out of gas quickly.&lt;/p&gt;
  114. &lt;p id="OF0JsD"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  115. &lt;p id="FeLXT8"&gt;Even a rudimentary statistical analysis confirms that this is the right answer (there’s insufficient data and it’s too noisy to include 4&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; quarters as they frequently run into garbage time; this is typical for time-series analyses in football):&lt;/p&gt;
  116. &lt;p id="thDgu3"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  117. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  118.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/m-5l_rpZPLEyqa8QsCTI6xCo0sA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25977091/NU_def_by_qtr.png"&gt;
  119.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  120. &lt;p id="oAeoyw"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  121. &lt;p id="QsUDsB"&gt;This means a couple of things for Northwestern. First is that, assuming the offense performs better on the other side of the transition to modernity, 2024 would be the low point for the team overall since that was the year they were getting the worst of both worlds – a tired defense from no longer holding the ball but no scoring benefit to pay it off. Second, my usual statistical tools for evaluating the defense are less useful, as an overriding factor of which the defense has no control is probably the primary thing affecting their performance. I’m left to subjective evaluation from watching film and predictive models inferring performance from large datasets – how well have guys like these done in similar circumstances, compared to how these guys looked on tape.&lt;/p&gt;
  122. &lt;p id="hweSWD"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  123. &lt;p id="kT7DNO"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  124. &lt;p id="SdArC7"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  125. &lt;p id="CQkKxy"&gt;The defensive tackles used a relatively even five-man rotation in 2023 and only lost one of them, so I was expecting a straightforward balance in 2024 with some younger players working in as deeper backups. Instead they wound up playing seven guys in what seemed like sporadic order and I needed David’s help sorting the timeline – it turns out a combination of a rash of injuries with some younger guys looking to be much better than some older holdovers and so had jumped the queue scrambled playing time around. The upshot is that, according to David, the two tackles who are departing, RJ Pearson and Hank Knez, were both lower impact players pulled into the rotation by necessity despite Pearson having some of the most playing time in the unit.&lt;/p&gt;
  126. &lt;p id="Q4MX72"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  127. &lt;p id="70oQGM"&gt;The other five return, including one I’m sure will be a starter in 2025 because he was highly productive in 2023 and is an upperclassman, #90 DT Bastone, but he had his playing time limited by an injury in 2024. I think that’s probably also true of #95 DT Story, who’s been a solid contributor in every game for each of the last three seasons. However, David argued that if he’d stayed healthy then #55 DT Roberts, who’s been playing but on a limited basis since he was a true freshman in 2023, would have taken Story’s spot. The fourth tackle who figures for the main rotation in 2025 is #15 DT Flakes, who’s essentially had a just-behind-the-starters job for the last two seasons though that was also obscured by the injury situation last year.&lt;/p&gt;
  128. &lt;p id="Y8lF7Y"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  129. &lt;p id="LAQAGe"&gt;David argued that #54 DT Gant, despite getting a pretty substantial amount of play since his true freshman season in 2023, is likely to continue to be behind the primary four in the rotation and had only gotten pulled up due to injuries, which matches up with his grades on my tally sheet. That’s also his assessment of the journeyman transfer #94 DT Jackson from Utah State, who’s been a career backup with the Aggies and at Charlotte before that, and the prep recruit #56 DT Mayne who was on campus for Spring ball but is likely undersized still.&lt;/p&gt;
  130. &lt;p id="4AaCeI"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  131. &lt;p id="v7Min0"&gt;At any rate, the Wildcats’ DTs should have plenty of depth if they get tested again by the injury bug and are returning a lot of experience. It’s a bit difficult to assess the actual talent here because fatigue hits this unit the hardest and that intersects with four of the five returners playing fewer than eight full games in 2024, but it looks far from an outright embarrassment and may be a real strength if they all stay healthy and get back on the development curve the pre-2024 trajectory indicated.&lt;/p&gt;
  132. &lt;p id="UPtxRL"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  133. &lt;p id="DILtxc"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  134. &lt;p id="gdozc4"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  135. &lt;p id="Ztjexk"&gt;The star of the defensive end unit figures to be #91 DE Hubbard again, going into what’ll be his fourth straight season as a member of the primary rotation since his redshirt freshman year in 2022. He’s been the leading havoc stat producer during meaningful play on my tally sheet for the Wildcats by a wide margin for each of the last two seasons and I expect that to continue.&lt;/p&gt;
  136. &lt;p id="eorAwt"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  137. &lt;p id="ZJRiYh"&gt;Northwestern had played six guys in the 2023 rotation at end, lost one at the end of the year, and kept the returning five in the rotation in 2024 without adding any of the freshmen. I thought it was clear from watching their tape from the last two years that of guys not named Hubbard, there was a stark divide in production and grades between the seniors / grad students vs younger, more talented guys. David essentially confirmed this and said the program was letting the older players age out due to fidelity, which has happened this offseason.&lt;/p&gt;
  138. &lt;p id="uJG70J"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  139. &lt;p id="uji1XJ"&gt;The Wildcats return high 3-star #47 DE Kilbane from the 2023 cycle and low 4-star #4 DE Saka from 2022 who have a couple years experience; David and I both expect them to take another step forward in 2025. They’ve taken no transfers here, it’s three redshirt freshmen and three true freshmen all of whom are mid 3-stars and none of whom have any playing time. It would have been nice had the Wildcats staff laid some groundwork in advance for this room in 2024 but as it is we’re left to guess the pick for the fourth rotational guy; David went with #44 DE ​​​​Campbell because Coach Braun recently said some kind words about him in a press conference, which is as good a reason as any.&lt;/p&gt;
  140. &lt;p id="2cRJ1c"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  141. &lt;p id="R2f08F"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  142. &lt;p id="cbBkbD"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  143. &lt;p id="Mr7F8d"&gt;To hear the Big Ten commentators talk about Northwestern’s linebackers for the last four years, you’d think they’ve been on a run of nothing but All-Americans. While I think McGarigle has clearly been doing a great job teaching sound assignment football, I’ve found the constant effusive praise of the unit overall difficult to square with my tally sheet as I’ve been less impressed with the athleticism here in terms of sideline-to-sideline mobility, flowing to the play with square shoulders, and especially pass coverage, and I think there’s a reason none has been drafted since Anthony Walker a decade ago.&lt;/p&gt;
  144. &lt;p id="SgydYy"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  145. &lt;p id="QkHODx"&gt;At the MIKE spot should be returner #37 LB Uihlein. They lose the starting WILL for the last three years, Xander Mueller, as well as the primary backup, Greyson Metz, to graduation, and the fourth guy in the rotation, redshirt sophomore Kenny Soares, has transferred out. This room had a surprising number of bodes in it last year, with two more covid super-seniors graduating without ever playing, plus a 2024 recruit, Qayvier Johnson, no longer appearing on the roster for reasons I haven’t been able to determine.&lt;/p&gt;
  146. &lt;p id="yHlvRN"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  147. &lt;p id="Cv3dVO"&gt;The Wildcats also had another low 3-star true freshman from last cycle who redshirted, #32 LB M. Smith, and a low 4-star from the 2023 cycle, #42 LB Glover, who returned to Northwestern from Ohio State after leaving when the previous staff was fired but who hasn’t played yet at either school. They’ve added a mid 3-star prep recruit this cycle, #38 LB Veldman (although he’s so tall I wonder if he’ll switch to DE when he bulks up), and the portal addition is Purdue’s starting middle linebacker for the last two years, #14 LB Y. Karlaftis.&lt;/p&gt;
  148. &lt;p id="Rr5l2b"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  149. &lt;p id="6FqnhX"&gt;The obvious path forward, which David confirmed, is to simply plug Karlaftis into Mueller’s spot. I think they’d get more of the same, as I’ve been pretty &lt;a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/football/2024/10/17/24272439/duck-tape-film-analysis-of-purdue-2024-oregon-ducks-football"&gt;down on him with the Boilermakers&lt;/a&gt; and I don’t see how the change of scenery will make a difference (I was surprised that David agreed with my take, I was expecting some violent pushback but maybe that Medill temperament is worth its reputation). In my opinion the Wildcats’ shot at juicing the performance here is new blood, the most likely candidate being Glover if he’s made significant progress in the offseason. I pressed David about the program culture and if the staff would recognize that kind of playable talent if it were there to deviate from planned seniority - he said yes, they’re not hidebound and they want to win with the best available backers, so if we don’t see Glover (or anyone else) then it’s a reasonable inference that he’s in fact not ready to go.&lt;/p&gt;
  150. &lt;p id="nNo0Z3"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  151. &lt;p id="MJwyzz"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  152. &lt;p id="7GJL2h"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  153. &lt;p id="4Tji3D"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  154. &lt;p id="DGQrNZ"&gt;Of the five starters in the secondary, Northwestern loses Coco Azema to graduation, Theran Johnson who transferred to Oregon, and Devin Turner who transferred to Baylor. Azema had been a starter since 2021 but missed some time each previous year with injury and also moved between safety and nickel, which resulted in more meaningful rotational time for other DBs over the years. Johnson and Turner were both backups in 2022 and starters for the last two seasons, at outside corner and deep safety respectively. There was also an injury to the projected starting corner opposite Johnson, #7 CB Adeyi, just before the 2024 season began (David told me Adeyi had unfortunately broken his leg, which was news I wasn’t able to find).&lt;/p&gt;
  155. &lt;p id="Ryn7Sz"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  156. &lt;p id="09hE7t"&gt;As a result, some guys have gotten earlier playing time than they otherwise might have. Adeyi’s last-second replacement was a redshirt freshman in 2024, #13 CB Fussell, and &lt;a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/football/2025/4/18/24409988/quacking-the-roster-oregon-ducks-cornerback-transfer-theran-johnson"&gt;close statistical evaluation of the tape&lt;/a&gt; showed his side of the field was getting picked on a lot more than the upperclassman returning starter opposite him for obvious reasons. The deep safeties had already broken in #6 DB Fitzgerald back in 2023 due to Azema’s situation so he was fine in 2024, but redshirt freshman #21 DB Walters at times looked lost to me when he was put in as relief.&lt;/p&gt;
  157. &lt;p id="kRrKtD"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  158. &lt;p id="pmK1l9"&gt;The corner situation for 2025 seems like it’ll wrap up cleanly as just a delayed version of what it would have been in 2024 if not for the injury – Adeyi gets the starting spot he should have as a backup who graded out well in 2023, Fussell keeps his starting job and hopefully performs a bit better with incremental improvement (especially now that the heat is off), and modestly talented backups #23 CB Shivers and #12 CB E. Smith will continue to occasionally see the field.&lt;/p&gt;
  159. &lt;p id="fDBWjP"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  160. &lt;p id="Pmro4w"&gt;David told me that #2 DB F. Davis, who started his career at Clemson in 2020 as a high 4-star recruit and has bounced to UCF and Jacksonville State since then, will probably take the nickel spot and has intriguing speed on the field. He said that behind Davis looks to be #9 DB B. Turner, who got a lot of run as a backup on the outside with middling grades on my tally sheet last year, which is interesting because he has more of a cornerback’s build and this position is better understood as a hybrid safety, so we’ll see how that plays out.&lt;/p&gt;
  161. &lt;p id="XbOsCA"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  162. &lt;p id="QKI9vV"&gt;Fitzgerald will likely keep his job at one of the deep safety spots, but I was interested to see how it would go between Walters and Memphis grad transfer #0 DB Coffey for the other spot. I had figured that Northwestern brought him in to take Walters’ job away after an unsatisfactory 2024, but David thought otherwise and that it’ll be Walters’ position after some understandable growing up from his first season, with Coffey as the rotational guy as needed. I had it marked down as an intriguing Fall camp battle … then two days after David and I recorded, Coffey bailed again and flipped to Purdue, so I suppose it’s Walters after all. Shows what I know.&lt;/p&gt;
  163. &lt;p id="x8QMn6"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  164. &lt;p id="gJSrLp"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  165.  
  166. </content>
  167.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/5/2/24421255/duck-dive-northwestern-wildcats-football-2025-preview"/>
  168.    <id>https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/5/2/24421255/duck-dive-northwestern-wildcats-football-2025-preview</id>
  169.    <author>
  170.      <name>hythloday1</name>
  171.    </author>
  172.  </entry>
  173.  <entry>
  174.    <published>2025-05-01T13:00:00-07:00</published>
  175.    <updated>2025-05-01T13:00:00-07:00</updated>
  176.    <title>Big Ten Tournament Recap: Tennis and Men’s Golf</title>
  177.    <content type="html">  
  178.  
  179.    &lt;figure&gt;
  180.      &lt;img alt="Syndication: Florida Today" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WWAXtWEOsjls0849moJyEARdLGg=/483x0:4757x2849/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74060146/usa_today_25988824.0.jpg" /&gt;
  181.        &lt;figcaption&gt;TIM SHORTT / FLORIDA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  182.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  183.  
  184.  &lt;p&gt;Men’s golf will prepare for NCAA Regionals, while men’s tennis’ season ends in the Big Ten Tournament.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2 id="lDasxD"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Men’s Golf: Big Ten Championships&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  185. &lt;p id="6fK8im"&gt;The Ducks finished a solid season with a strong showing a brutal course at the the Baltimore Country Club. First place UCLA finished +2 overall, and no team finished at par or under on a rough weather day 3. Oregon finished in fourth place at +15. Greyson Leach led the way at -4 individually, finishing tied for runner up as an individual. If he can manage seven birdies during the post-season he would tie the all time Oregon record.&lt;/p&gt;
  186. &lt;p id="2jUbGd"&gt;The Ducks will begin post-season play the Auburn Regional on Monday May 12.&lt;/p&gt;
  187. &lt;div id="SltwgG"&gt;
  188. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  189. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ career   for Greyson!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/iwxS8lE4O9"&gt;pic.twitter.com/iwxS8lE4O9&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Men's Golf (@OregonMGolf) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonMGolf/status/1916654171971002590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 28, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  190. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  191. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  192.  
  193. &lt;/div&gt;
  194. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="BxuXve"&gt;
  195. &lt;h2 id="MtsSIj"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tennis: Big Ten Championships&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  196. &lt;p id="F7HauG"&gt;The women’s tennis team closed out the season on April 20 with a season ending win over Nebraska to close out a 2-11 Big Ten campaign. Finishing 15th out of 18 programs they did not get an invitation to the &lt;a href="https://bigten.org/wten/tournament/"&gt;conference tournament&lt;/a&gt;, but Tilde Jagare did pick up post-season accolades.&lt;/p&gt;
  197. &lt;div id="S5LB9D"&gt;
  198. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  199. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Playing the game the right way. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Congrats to Tilde for being named our &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/bigten?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@bigten&lt;/a&gt; Sportsmanship Award winner   &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/AmFTBcoxEN"&gt;pic.twitter.com/AmFTBcoxEN&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Women's Tennis (@OregonWTennis) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonWTennis/status/1915066193251283306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 23, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  200. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  201. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  202.  
  203. &lt;/div&gt;
  204. &lt;p id="oAKELq"&gt;The men’s team finished the regular season 5-8 in conference, good enough for 9th place and a spot in the qualifying round of the &lt;a href="https://bigten.org/mten/tournament/"&gt;Big Ten Tournament&lt;/a&gt; where they were eliminated 8th place Illinois. The Ducks fell into an all-too-familiar pattern by losing the doubles point 2-1. Facing a deficit against a higher seed in singles play, Oregon surrendered three of the first four matches and were eliminated 4-1. Clement Lemire was up in his third set 5-0 and Paris Pouatcha was about to begin his third set having come back to win his second when the meet was called. In the end only Vlad Brezau was able to put up a point for the Ducks, defeating Tyler Bowers of the Illini 6-4, 7-6. &lt;/p&gt;
  205. &lt;p id="3aLIO8"&gt;Though the tennis season is now concluded, there were post-season honors for Lenn Luemkemann.&lt;/p&gt;
  206. &lt;div id="HTRwQg"&gt;
  207. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  208. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;All-Conference honors for Lenn   &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/Qsa3WmXWbe"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Qsa3WmXWbe&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Men's Tennis (@OregonMTennis) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonMTennis/status/1915473976606024015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 24, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  209. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  210. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  211.  
  212. &lt;/div&gt;
  213.  
  214. </content>
  215.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/5/1/24420689/big-ten-tournament-recap-oregon-ducks-tennis-and-mens-golf"/>
  216.    <id>https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/5/1/24420689/big-ten-tournament-recap-oregon-ducks-tennis-and-mens-golf</id>
  217.    <author>
  218.      <name>tristanh314</name>
  219.    </author>
  220.  </entry>
  221.  <entry>
  222.    <published>2025-05-01T07:01:00-07:00</published>
  223.    <updated>2025-05-01T07:01:00-07:00</updated>
  224.    <title>Duck Tape: Oregon 2025 Spring Game</title>
  225.    <content type="html">  
  226.  
  227.    &lt;figure&gt;
  228.      &lt;img alt="Syndication: The Register Guard" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5xcRozmWIVpymLZCp_b0Nnsapr0=/0x115:4277x2966/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74059471/usa_today_26023570.0.jpg" /&gt;
  229.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  230.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  231.  
  232.  &lt;p&gt;Reviewing the film of the Ducks’ spring scrimmage.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="6nxy0N"&gt;Oregon’s Spring Game scrimmage between the “Fighting Ducks” (white jerseys) and “Combat Ducks” (black jerseys) is the only opportunity the general public has to observe the football team during the off season. This makes it valuable for analysis as we can see what positions players are practicing at and compare them to their teammates in direct competition. This allows the scrimmage to serve as a snapshot into how the coaching staff is managing their roster, and to where strengths and weaknesses of the team lie.&lt;/p&gt;
  233. &lt;p id="3Ghek7"&gt;With that said, this scrimmage was far from game conditions. In the format the Ducks use, each position group is split between the two teams to create as much competitive balance as possible. Substitutions are frequent as coaches want players up and down the depth chart. This means that offensive linemen are often playing next to teammates they don’t usually work next to in other scrimmages. Combined with very vanilla play calling on both sides of the ball and frequent changes at quarterback and the defense usually appears to have the edge on the offense at this time of year.&lt;/p&gt;
  234. &lt;p id="SoNQu5"&gt;With these factors in mind, I haven’t organized this film review the same way I did them during the regular season. I have created film clips for each position group (two for the quarterbacks, see below). Given that any successful play by one member of the team means a failed rep for another, I have also only organized “positive” plays for each position group (again, except quarterbacks). I have attempted to emphasize players who have played few or no previous meaningful snaps for Oregon. This means most of the clips I have included are transfers and returning players who are likely to see increased playing time this Fall.&lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;p id="zBSiv7"&gt;As with both of the developmental player review articles I published earlier this year (&lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/e/24136813"&gt;offense&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/e/24152346"&gt;defense&lt;/a&gt;), because the plays below aren’t during competitive games these clips should be considered &lt;em&gt;illustrative&lt;/em&gt; of what the players are capable of and &lt;em&gt;not representative&lt;/em&gt; of how they will perform during the regular season.&lt;/p&gt;
  236. &lt;p id="y1vmhM"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  237. &lt;p id="ioJLEk"&gt;With Dillon Gabriel now doing a revival of “&lt;a href="https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/cleveland-browns-2025-draft-class"&gt;The Odd Couple&lt;/a&gt;” in Cleveland, the most pertinent question for the team going into 2025 is whether former 5-star UCLA transfer Dante Moore or former 4-star Austin Novosad will take over at quarterback. Most observers have assumed that Moore, a former starter in Westwood, is the front runner. The Spring game gave no reason to think otherwise, but he certainly demonstrated areas to work on over the summer. Below is a sample of both successful and unsuccessful plays by Moore at quarterback.&lt;/p&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="cmeQvi"&gt;(Reminder – you can use the button in the lower right corner to control playback speed)&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;div id="cgCdGf"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XD5G8zIQG0c?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  240. &lt;ol&gt;
  241. &lt;li id="BWURpL"&gt;(0:00) - Moore has an excellent pocket to work from on this play and takes advantage of single coverage on #13 Dickey lined up as the Z-receiver at the stop of the screen. It’s a touchdown with an accurate throw, but for some reason Moore seems to give the ball an extra pat and it sails long on him. Note how much distance he gets here despite the minimal movement in his lower body. &lt;/li&gt;
  242. &lt;li id="3aHe22"&gt;(0:10) - Moore successfully diagnoses the coverage and knows that Sadiq will be one-on-one running a corner route from his H-back spot to the offense’s right. Though he loses his balance and allows a big completion the DB, #21 Flowers, shows off his impressive recovery speed to catch up and tackle Sadiq to limit the damage.&lt;/li&gt;
  243. &lt;li id="lnyLMd"&gt;(0:25) - On this play Moore makes the right decision to throw to #14 Lowe on the short hitch, but he doesn’t get the ball out on time. Watch his head as glances briefly at RB #23 Hill in the flat. Even this slight pause gives the linebacker, #20 D. Williams, enough time to get in position for a PBU.&lt;/li&gt;
  244. &lt;li id="gEnBgB"&gt;(0:32) - Oregon’s OC Will Stein places a premium on his QB’s getting the ball out quickly. Moore shows his proficiency by releasing the pass in just about 2.5 seconds from the snap. An accurate throw to #3 Kasper on a short slant sets up third and short.&lt;/li&gt;
  245. &lt;/ol&gt;
  246. &lt;p id="weIZK9"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  247. &lt;p id="qWmwr0"&gt;In terms of errors on my tally sheet, as well as in raw statistics, Austin Novosad’s performance was very close to Moore’s during this scrimmage. It was also striking to me how well Novosad threw longer passes in this game, something we haven’t seen from him in earlier garbage time tape. I’m not ready to say definitively who will be the starter between these two. Assuming both are playing for the Ducks in the Fall I am quite confident that Oregon will have the best backup QB in the Big Ten and possibly the nation. Here are some examples of Novosad’s play at quarterback.&lt;/p&gt;
  248. &lt;div id="qZX2e2"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_k1vLfgB9Ek?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  249. &lt;ol&gt;
  250. &lt;li id="nlE2lv"&gt;(0:00) - Novosad makes a gorgeous throw to the opposite sideline here. The problem is the safety #31 Thieneman has his receiver locked down and is in perfect position to make a play on the ball. On first and ten it’s better to check down to #27 Limar in the flat and see what he can get.&lt;/li&gt;
  251. &lt;li id="5Bf3LL"&gt;(0:09) - Another first down play and Novosad throws another gorgeous pass downfield. Once again his receiver is well covered with #5 Th. Johnson in position and looking back at the ball. The receiver, #1 Dak. Moore, gets just enough separation with his arms to make the catch and get a foot down in bounds.&lt;/li&gt;
  252. &lt;li id="4L5SYE"&gt;(0:31) - Novosad makes a poor read on this RPO. When the edge defender, #29 Porter in black, crashes on the running back he should pull the ball. The tight end Grace, #44 in white, has outflanked the defender assigned to him in coverage and the offense has numbers toward the sideline, meaning the correct decision is the toss.&lt;/li&gt;
  253. &lt;li id="6hG0fD"&gt;(0:38) - This play shows impressive mental processing by Novosad to take what the defense is giving him. Boettcher, #28 in black, loops around to blitz and there aren’t enough blockers on the offense’s left to pick him up. The edge defender to the offense’s right, #10 in black Uiagalelei, has dropped into coverage but he is on the opposite side of the formation of TE Ja. Johnson, #9 in white. The overhand defender gets rubbed by the slant route and Novosad stands in the pocket to deliver an accurate throw.&lt;/li&gt;
  254. &lt;/ol&gt;
  255. &lt;p id="iMycxV"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  256. &lt;p id="QWvoFF"&gt;This past season was a strange one for Oregon’s offensive line. Early season struggles stabilized during conference play, but never reached the high standard the Ducks have set over the years and the unit fared poorly in the Rose Bowl. With a number of veteran departures the staff brought in three transfers during the off season, all in their last year of eligibility. Isaiah World from Nevada lined up at left tackle, Alex Harkey from Texas State at right tackle, and Emmanuel Pregnon from USC at left guard. Both Harkey and Pregnon performed solidly as run blockers, but Harkey was challenged by the speed of the defense’s edge rushers. World was one of the best pass blockers in this scrimmage, though he had the worst grades of any lineman on my tally sheet in the run game. Below are examples of successful play by the offensive line.&lt;/p&gt;
  257. &lt;div id="BFy3su"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iV5JS6zlEu0?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  258. &lt;ol&gt;
  259. &lt;li id="c8yDcv"&gt;(0:00) - The offense has an advantage on this play call as the corner Johnson, #5 in black, is blitzing and the defensive front is slanting to the offense’s left. The left side of the offensive line does a wonderful job taking the defenders where they want to go. On the play side the right tackle #78 Wilson keeps control of Uiagalelei #10 in black to give Limar a huge cut back lane. The RG #77 Bedford is close to a holding penalty against the linebacker, but since Limar cut back to the boundary and this is the Big Ten the refs keep their flags to themselves.&lt;/li&gt;
  260. &lt;li id="RLs6O0"&gt;(0:25) - The entire o-line is winning their blocks here, including a well executed double-and-up by the center #70 Pickard and RG #75 Pregnon. Only Straton, #38 in white, getting under the block of TE #85 Caton in black (both originally walk-ons) stops Harris.&lt;/li&gt;
  261. &lt;li id="sjRB7E"&gt;(0:34) - Take care to watch the freshman RG #55 Utu as he pulls around neutralizes the blitzing nickel defender. The left side of the line washes down the defenders on the scrimmage. The RT doesn’t eliminate the linebacker, but the freshman back #23 Hill shows off his strength and earns extra yards after contact.&lt;/li&gt;
  262. &lt;li id="btwsSa"&gt;(0:44) - Let’s get the bad out of the way first: the redshirt freshman RT #56 Ferguson loses his inside leverage and his man is the first defender to the ball carrier. The play still succeeds because the rest of the line does. At LT #76 World pulls around and takes care of the linebacker. The most impressive job has to go to center #66 Boulton and RG #79 Moala. This pair has the unenviable task of moving Bear Alexander, #1 in black at nose tackle, and then getting to the second level. Alexander won most of his reps, but on this play the young o-line got the job done.&lt;/li&gt;
  263. &lt;/ol&gt;
  264. &lt;p id="gX8ymj"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  265. &lt;p id="K0tcXo"&gt;With Evan Stewart not participating in the Spring game while recovering from an injury, none of the players on the field were a part of the primary rotation at the wide receiver position last year: R-Jr. #14 Justius Lowe saw the field when other players were unavailable, while #2 R-Sr. Gary Bryant Jr. and R-Jr. #3 Kyler Kasper were both limited by injury and only appeared in a handful of games. In the Spring game, returning Jr. #18 Kenyon Sadiq was joined by transfer R-So. #9 Jamari Johnson at the tight end position, while sophomore Roger Saleapaga was held out. A number of younger players had impressive reps, particularly R-Fr. Dillon Gresham who was the most productive pass catcher for either team. Below is a sample of successful plays from wide receivers and tight ends.&lt;/p&gt;
  266. &lt;div id="XBMzu2"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2RG6lUvXKAU?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  267. &lt;ol&gt;
  268. &lt;li id="wGVLqp"&gt;(0:00) - Nothing spectacular here, but being able to take what the defense is giving up is an underrated skill. Both tackles are struggling with the edge defenders speed on the outside, but there is no interior penetration so #11 QB Moga can step up in the pocket. He sees the CB #6 Florence (in a red contact limitation jersey) bailing deep and knows #11 McClellan will be open on a comeback. The route is well run and results in a first down.&lt;/li&gt;
  269. &lt;li id="U2nWvm"&gt;(0:07) - Moga is rolling out to the offense’s right, limiting his options. Fortunately #4 Benson has created separation at the top of his route against press man coverage and the QB gets an easy completion.&lt;/li&gt;
  270. &lt;li id="vC2nYg"&gt;(0:16) - The younger Akili Smith has to get rid of this ball quickly as the pocket is collapsing around him. The throw is well behind the intended receiver, but the freshman #81 Ploog reaches back for an impressive catch.&lt;/li&gt;
  271. &lt;li id="Exe28v"&gt;(0:31) - I had to put this play down as a negative on my tally sheet for corner #5 Th. Johnson, but I’m not sure there is much more he could have done. Novosad delivers a perfect throw. Johnson is right on #80 Gresham playing trail technique. The receiver has downfield position though, so he can use his right arm to gain just a bit of separation. Gresham extends his hands at the last possible moment for a highlight reel catch. (&lt;em&gt;Ed. note: &lt;/em&gt;This catch was maybe 20 feet in front of my eyes; Tristan is politely describing what would be flagged as a pushoff in the Pac-12, but c’est la Big Ten.)&lt;/li&gt;
  272. &lt;/ol&gt;
  273. &lt;p id="CIHxsS"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  274. &lt;p id="vuFErr"&gt;Jordan James is now a member of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers so the only returning running back who regularly saw the field during competitive play was R-Sr. Noah Whittington. He looked fully healthy after having to play himself back into shape in 2024 following a serious ACL injury in 2023. Transfer R-Jr. Makhi Hughes didn’t see many snaps in this scrimmage but his player profile is very similar to James. Other returning players were Jr. Jayden Limar (who saw limited snaps during competitive play in 2024), former Div-II transfer R-Jr. Jay Harris, and R-Fr. Da’Juann Riggs. Some examples of successful plays from the running backs:&lt;/p&gt;
  275. &lt;div id="ITL1w0"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H-g4njnCd84?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  276. &lt;ol&gt;
  277. &lt;li id="nJU5ar"&gt;(0:00) - This was an unusual two back look early in the scrimmage. Riggs, #21 in white, gets the carry as #27 Limar heads backside to try to block the edge defender. That same defender, #29 Porter, and DT #1 Alexander squeeze the lane from the offense’s left. Riggs shows impressive strength to keep his balance and force the DB #8 McNutt to make a tackle.&lt;/li&gt;
  278. &lt;li id="ZZJmQP"&gt;(0:08) - Hughes, #20 in white, is lined up in the pistol. The play is designed to go to the offense’s right, but he is forced to improvise as DTs #88 Sims and #99 Green beat their blockers to the point of attack. The only win for the offensive line is on the backside where LT #76 World takes his man to the ground. Hughes sees the cut back lane and makes lemonade out of lemons.&lt;/li&gt;
  279. &lt;li id="9EESM1"&gt;(0:16) - Harris is the ball carrier on 4th and short and shows off the skill set that could make him a short yardage specialist during the regular season. He is forced to redirect when Rushing, #47 in white, splits a double team. He side steps the defenders and keeps his momentum going forward so he can roll over the linebacker and reach the line to gain&lt;/li&gt;
  280. &lt;li id="n50r2x"&gt;(0:23) - I didn’t see much of this in the garbage time film I reviewed this past season, but one of Limar’s best attributes is his ability as a pass catcher. The QB, #10 Moga, barely beats the linebacker’s jump to get him the ball. At the safety spot #31 Thieneman gets outside leverage to force Limar back in towards the pursuit but overruns the tackle and can’t make the play himself, allowing Limar to pick up 8 yards. &lt;/li&gt;
  281. &lt;/ol&gt;
  282. &lt;p id="6K29z3"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  283. &lt;p id="qeiO1S"&gt;Oregon brought in three transfers in the secondary to help off set the graduation of their entire defensive backfield from last year: R-Sr. Th. Johnson from Northwestern, Jr. Dillon Thieneman from Purdue, and R-Sr. Jadon Canady from Ole Miss. There were more defensive backs that saw the field in the spring game than any other position so I won’t list them all here. Suffice to say it appeared every listed DB on the roster, except a couple of true freshmen, played at one point or another though not all of them have grades on my tally sheet. Of particular note was R-Jr. Jahlil Florence who wore a red non-contact jersey but seemed to me to be completely ignoring it. Here are some examples of successful plays by the defensive backs:&lt;/p&gt;
  284. &lt;div id="i197LU"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CdqXySut7sc?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  285. &lt;ol&gt;
  286. &lt;li id="g1Ymd4"&gt;(0:00) - Novosad has to check down on third and long because DT #1 Alexander, playing 3-tech to the offense’s right, is coming right at him. Th. Johnson, #5 in black, is all over his man and earns a PBU.&lt;/li&gt;
  287. &lt;li id="d2gpga"&gt;(0:09) - Another third and long, and more interior pressure from Alexander (the 1-tech to the offense’s right this time). In this situation a defensive back should play conservatively and make a tackle if the ball is thrown short. Lined up over the slot receiver is #24 Grisham and he does just that. He is even able to separate the ball from the receiver, but it would have been fourth down regardless.&lt;/li&gt;
  288. &lt;li id="uqQZv3"&gt;(0:18) - I could have used this play in the offensive line clips, as the black o-line entirely eliminates the defensive line. I decided to put it here because it showcases a good angle from #21 Flowers at the single high safety position to keep the runner from going any further. Note also how #6 Florence disengages from the block of #18 Sadiq and assists with tackling Whittington.&lt;/li&gt;
  289. &lt;li id="PfZY6H"&gt;(0:39) - In a real game Moore would have absorbed a big hit as he released this since the line’s right side has failed to account for the nickel defender blitzing and given #47 Purchase a free shot at the QB. The receiver, #3 Kasper, shows off his impressive catch radius and looks like he is about to reel in a touchdown. Florence is in great position in coverage, and continues to fight for the ball as the pair hits the ground, earning a break up.&lt;/li&gt;
  290. &lt;/ol&gt;
  291. &lt;p id="e0NmDo"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  292. &lt;p id="8EjCr0"&gt;On the edge of the line of scrimmage returning starters Jr. Tritium Tuioti and Jr. Matayo Uiagalelei played in the spring game. Also seeing significant snaps were R-So. Blake Purchase, R-So. Ashton Porter, and R-Fr. Elijah Rushing. Curiously, every edge player on the Ducks roster &lt;em&gt;except&lt;/em&gt; true freshman Matthew Johnson is listed as an OLB while Johnson is the only officially listed defensive end on the team. I didn’t see anything in the spring game that made me think this was anything but a quirk of the roster. Here is a sample of successful plays by edge defenders.&lt;/p&gt;
  293. &lt;div id="pwbnUS"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jFrG9HwG5EE?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  294. &lt;ol&gt;
  295. &lt;li id="yDOYSM"&gt;(0:00) - This is an interesting variation of an outside zone run with two backs off set from Novosad. Limar, RB #27, is used as a lead blocker but never gets a chance to impact the play. The middle linebacker, #23 Platt, gets credit for the tackle by making an excellent read on the play and attacking the gap. His success is set up by #29 Porter setting the edge against LT #76 World. &lt;/li&gt;
  296. &lt;li id="k80xGD"&gt;(0:07) - The black offense is running another outside zone play, this time to their right. Keep your eyes on Rushing, #47 on the edge, who holds his gap against a double team. The runner is forced to cut upfield when the fieldside LB #38 Straton cuts off his path to the sideline. Rushing is strong enough to work his way through both blockers to assist #33 Mothudi with the tackle.&lt;/li&gt;
  297. &lt;li id="398N8Q"&gt;(0:14) - The white defense is running a simulated pressure where the nickel defender rushes the passer as the two inside linebackers drop into coverage at the snap. The blitzer, Ole Miss transfer #22 Canady, meets with #17 Purchase in the backfield who has simply run past the young RT Utu. Even in a real game this play would be a sack as the QB, #15 Smith, has to step up into the waiting arms of #55 in white Ma. Johnson. Note the RG #50 in black, the freshman Manning who’s responsible for Johnson, lunging forward off balance rather than staying over his center of gravity to absorb and redirect the pass rush.&lt;/li&gt;
  298. &lt;li id="6L9F7p"&gt;(0:20) - This play is a quick throw that the edge rushers will struggle to affect. It’s still notable how Purchase’s speed once again catches the RT, this time #71 Harkey, off guard. If the QB’s first read had been taken away this would be a sack.&lt;/li&gt;
  299. &lt;/ol&gt;
  300. &lt;p id="WEBv4R"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  301. &lt;p id="CxlUdU"&gt;At defensive tackle USC transfer R-Jr Bear Alexander and returning Jr. A’Mauri Washington were joined by R-So. Terrance Green and a trio of R-Fr. in Xadavien Sims, Jericho Johnson, and Tionne Gray. Another R-Fr., Aydin Breland, was held out. At inside linebacker returning R-Jr. Devon Jackson did not suit up but Sr. Bryce Boettcher did. The only other upperclassman at ILB was Jr. Jerry Mixon. Other players who saw action were R-Fr. Dylan Williams, R-Fr. Brayden Platt, R-Fr. Kamar Mothudi, and R-So. Will Straton. Some examples of successful plays from interior defenders:&lt;/p&gt;
  302. &lt;div id="tu2d23"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNxJaadIHkQ?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  303. &lt;ol&gt;
  304. &lt;li id="bu9DoO"&gt;(0:00) - The advantage should be with the white offense on this play as they’ve called a screen pass against a 6-man pressure from the black defense. Linebacker #54 Mixon is responsible for the H-back #44 Grace in man coverage. Mixon sees the minimal feigned block and diagnoses the play immediately, arriving at the catch point a fraction of a second after the ball. He had help coming as DT #99 Green had come around on a twist and beaten the LT #76 World to be in position even if Grace could escape the first defender.&lt;/li&gt;
  305. &lt;li id="WVrWnq"&gt;(0:08) - Watch the nose tackle #77 Je. Johnson on this play. He stalemates a double team off the snap. When the center, #70 Pickard, releases to account for the linebacker Johnson then has leverage and disengages from the RG #74 Iuli to hold the runner to no gain on third and short.&lt;/li&gt;
  306. &lt;li id="lqJpjl"&gt;(0:16) - This time Je. Johnson is lined up as a 3-technique on the offense’s left. He keeps inside leverage against the left guard #75 Pregnon. On the backside of the play LB #20 D. Williams finds the gap and attacks with great speed, allowing both defenders to be in on the tackle.&lt;/li&gt;
  307. &lt;li id="gZQuow"&gt;(0:23) - On second and long the white defense is happy to risk a light box. Both defensive tackles, Je. Johnson at nose tackle to the offense’s left and #50 Green at 3-technique to the right, defeat their blocks (by guards #50 and #55, respectively). The running back, #22 Harris, shows impressive strength to drive forward for four yards.&lt;/li&gt;
  308. &lt;/ol&gt;
  309. &lt;p id="U4QJ0a"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  310. &lt;p id="Z2mCsk"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  311. &lt;p id="nZ5OXX"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  312. &lt;p id="DImIrm"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  313.  
  314. </content>
  315.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/5/1/24421425/duck-tape-oregon-ducks-football-spring-game-2025"/>
  316.    <id>https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/5/1/24421425/duck-tape-oregon-ducks-football-spring-game-2025</id>
  317.    <author>
  318.      <name>tristanh314</name>
  319.    </author>
  320.  </entry>
  321.  <entry>
  322.    <published>2025-04-30T19:24:00-07:00</published>
  323.    <updated>2025-04-30T19:24:00-07:00</updated>
  324.    <title>T&amp;F: Penn and Drake Relays</title>
  325.    <content type="html">  
  326.  
  327.    &lt;figure&gt;
  328.      &lt;img alt="Track &amp;amp;amp; Field: 115th Drake Relays" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/juwc2pzqQU5gL9VHI_NIAImXpC8=/0x0:8640x5760/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74058897/usa_today_26017299.0.jpg" /&gt;
  329.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Kirby Lee-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  330.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  331.  
  332.  &lt;p&gt;Oregon secured a win and set two records, closing out April in style. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="LxJEik"&gt;It was quite the successful closeout of the month of April for Oregon Track and Field. &lt;/p&gt;
  333. &lt;p id="ITxvbd"&gt;Klaudia Kazimierska picked up her second Drake Relays win of the weekend and Silan Ayyildiz broke the outdoor collegiate record in the mile Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. At Penn Relays, the Men of Oregon broke the school record in the 4x800 meters.&lt;/p&gt;
  334. &lt;p id="1qdutu"&gt;The UO men left Philadelphia with a pair of runner-up finishes, capping their weekend at Penn Relays with a school record in Saturday’s 4x800-meter relay. Simeon Birnbaum, Rheinhardt Harrison, Koitatoi Kidali, and Matthew Erickson combined for a time of 7:14.10, second behind Georgetown, that pulled ahead over the final strides of the shorter finishing stretch at Franklin Field.&lt;/p&gt;
  335. &lt;p id="gCA7No"&gt;Birnbaum, Harrison, Kidali and Erickson eclipsed the previous UO standard of 7:15.46 run at last year’s Penn Relays.&lt;/p&gt;
  336. &lt;p id="OCg3XY"&gt;Next up for Oregon is the OSU High performance meet in Corvallis, the Desert Heat Classic in Tucson, and the Oregon Twilight back in Eugene. &lt;/p&gt;
  337.  
  338. </content>
  339.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/4/30/24421505/university-of-oregon-ducks-track-and-field"/>
  340.    <id>https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/4/30/24421505/university-of-oregon-ducks-track-and-field</id>
  341.    <author>
  342.      <name>adamh86</name>
  343.    </author>
  344.  </entry>
  345.  <entry>
  346.    <published>2025-04-30T07:00:00-07:00</published>
  347.    <updated>2025-04-30T07:00:00-07:00</updated>
  348.    <title>Baseball Recap: #6 Oregon @ #7 Oregon State</title>
  349.    <content type="html">  
  350.  
  351.    &lt;figure&gt;
  352.      &lt;img alt="Syndication: The Register Guard" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MQguCjGiLXoPzmMjeIseFi9Dl58=/0x36:5037x3394/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74057497/usa_today_25421004.0.jpg" /&gt;
  353.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  354.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  355.  
  356.  &lt;p id="UljXmP"&gt;Your #6 &lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/baseball"&gt;Oregon Ducks&lt;/a&gt; traveled up the road to Corvallis to take on the #7 &lt;a href="https://osubeavers.com/sports/baseball"&gt;Oregon State Beavers&lt;/a&gt; for the 4th time in 5 days on Tuesday night, looking to keep the momentum going after a 3-game sweep over the weekend. The big first baseman &lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/baseball/roster/jacob-walsh/16969"&gt;Jacob Walsh&lt;/a&gt; would kick things off for Oregon with two outs in the top of the first, connecting on a solo home run to center field, and giving the Ducks a quick 1-0 lead. But the Beavs would strike back with a solo home run of their own in the bottom of the first and then take advantage of some sloppy play by the Ducks in the 2nd inning, plating a pair of runs to give them a 3-1 lead after two. &lt;/p&gt;
  357. &lt;p id="q0ywme"&gt;The Ducks would get another run back in the 3rd inning, a &lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/baseball/roster/ryan-cooney/16951"&gt;Ryan Cooney&lt;/a&gt; solo shot to center, but the Beavers would get it right back in the 4th, scoring a run on a balk, extending their lead 4-2. But that’s where things would start to get interesting for the Ducks, as they would plate three runs in the 6th (one on a &lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/baseball/roster/jeffery-heard/16956"&gt;Jeffery Heard&lt;/a&gt; hit fielder’s choice, and two more on a base hit by Cooney), and two more in the 7th inning (a Walsh double and a &lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/baseball/roster/drew-smith/16964"&gt;Drew Smith&lt;/a&gt; single), giving Oregon a 7-4 lead late in the game. The Ducks would add on another insurance run in the 9th on a Walsh grounder to 3rd base, sealing the game for an 8-4 Oregon win. &lt;/p&gt;
  358. &lt;div id="iuxH3g"&gt;
  359. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  360. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;            &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/ed3YuZmqdg"&gt;pic.twitter.com/ed3YuZmqdg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonBaseball/status/1917429030799958354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 30, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  361. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  362. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  363.  
  364. &lt;/div&gt;
  365. &lt;p id="xpnoIT"&gt;What a wild couple of weeks, eh? These Ducks have proven that they can hang with the best of the best, but they also are capable of playing down to lesser opponents. It’s all about consistency at this point in the season. With just 11 games left in the regular season, they can’t afford to drop many games if they want a good seed in the &lt;a href="https://bigten.org/base/tournament/"&gt;Big Ten tournament&lt;/a&gt;. But if they play like they have the last four games… there’s not a single team in the country they can’t compete with. &lt;/p&gt;
  366. &lt;p id="X1xRrZ"&gt;As always, ‘Sco Ducks&lt;/p&gt;
  367. &lt;p id="anaJmk"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  368. &lt;p id="y2I5Qz"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  369.  
  370. </content>
  371.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/baseball/2025/4/30/24420780/baseball-recap-oregon-at-oregon-state"/>
  372.    <id>https://www.addictedtoquack.com/baseball/2025/4/30/24420780/baseball-recap-oregon-at-oregon-state</id>
  373.    <author>
  374.      <name>ItsCrawdaddy</name>
  375.    </author>
  376.  </entry>
  377.  <entry>
  378.    <published>2025-04-29T16:30:00-07:00</published>
  379.    <updated>2025-04-29T16:30:00-07:00</updated>
  380.    <title>Baseball Game Thread: #6 Oregon @ #7 Oregon State</title>
  381.    <content type="html">  
  382.  
  383.    &lt;figure&gt;
  384.      &lt;img alt="Syndication: The Register Guard" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/S5rM5g72GycVvtFP9w6rqtV6r1A=/0x240:3408x2512/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74056624/usa_today_25421014.0.jpg" /&gt;
  385.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  386.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  387.  
  388.  &lt;p id="1fvGAE"&gt;Your #6 &lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/baseball"&gt;Oregon Ducks&lt;/a&gt; head over to Corvallis to take on the #7 &lt;a href="https://osubeavers.com/sports/baseball"&gt;Oregon State Beavers&lt;/a&gt;, looking to pick up another win after a weekend series sweep!&lt;/p&gt;
  389. &lt;p id="rANx57"&gt;Insert tweet &lt;/p&gt;
  390. &lt;h3 id="da1a0c"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When: Tuesday, April 29th  @ 5:35 PM PST&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  391. &lt;h3 id="tse9lt"&gt;
  392. &lt;strong&gt;Where: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://osubeavers.com/facilities/goss-stadium-at-coleman-field/5"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Goss Stadium&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, Corvallis, OR&lt;/strong&gt;
  393. &lt;/h3&gt;
  394. &lt;h3 id="MGCKXb"&gt;
  395. &lt;strong&gt;Watch: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&amp;amp;xs=1&amp;amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbs.com%2F&amp;amp;referrer=sbnation.com&amp;amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.addictedtoquack.com%2Fbaseball%2F2025%2F4%2F29%2F24420376%2Fbaseball-game-thread-oregon-at-oregon-state" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CBS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  396. &lt;/h3&gt;
  397. &lt;p id="ei3YnI"&gt;‘Sco Ducks!&lt;/p&gt;
  398. &lt;p id="F7cYp2"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  399. &lt;p id="d9RdX3"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  400.  
  401. </content>
  402.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/baseball/2025/4/29/24420376/baseball-game-thread-oregon-at-oregon-state"/>
  403.    <id>https://www.addictedtoquack.com/baseball/2025/4/29/24420376/baseball-game-thread-oregon-at-oregon-state</id>
  404.    <author>
  405.      <name>ItsCrawdaddy</name>
  406.    </author>
  407.  </entry>
  408.  <entry>
  409.    <published>2025-04-29T07:00:00-07:00</published>
  410.    <updated>2025-04-29T07:00:00-07:00</updated>
  411.    <title>Oregon A&amp;T Comes Up Short In The Championship Against Baylor</title>
  412.    <content type="html">  
  413.  
  414.    &lt;figure&gt;
  415.      &lt;img alt="Syndication: The Indianapolis Star" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hBenQFkUGn_c4ZbFGKSdQLVzzvg=/72x0:6495x4282/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74055577/usa_today_24871514.0.jpg" /&gt;
  416.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Brett Phelps/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  417.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  418.  
  419.  &lt;p&gt;All three of the Ducks losses in 2025 were to #1 Baylor&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="voU96Z"&gt;Oregon A&amp;amp;T made an appearance as the #2 seed in last weekend’s NCATA finals in Sioux Falls, SD. Here is how our Ducks fared over the weekend.&lt;/p&gt;
  420. &lt;h3 id="Xv8Z20"&gt;Quarterfinals vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor&lt;/h3&gt;
  421. &lt;p id="Sdyzqd"&gt;The first round of the tournament on Thursday pitted the Ducks against #7 Mary Hardin-Baylor. Oregon held the lead from the outset and built upon that for the 270.855-252.180 win.&lt;/p&gt;
  422. &lt;div id="EHa9SK"&gt;
  423. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  424. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Oregon wraps up the toss event with it's open toss heat!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NCATA25?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NCATA25&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/m2gjNAtWqA"&gt;pic.twitter.com/m2gjNAtWqA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCATA (@theNCATA) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/theNCATA/status/1915493842133938478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 24, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  425. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  426. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  427.  
  428. &lt;/div&gt;
  429. &lt;div id="i5m6L4"&gt;
  430. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  431. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Oregon's Riley Watson in the six-element pass!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NCATA25?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NCATA25&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/8OOZOchuRY"&gt;pic.twitter.com/8OOZOchuRY&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCATA (@theNCATA) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/theNCATA/status/1915499662926073990?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 24, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  432. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  433. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  434.  
  435. &lt;/div&gt;
  436. &lt;h3 id="bILIfN"&gt;Semifinals vs. Quinnipiac&lt;/h3&gt;
  437. &lt;p id="Hrl4GW"&gt;On Friday, Oregon faced #3 Quinnipiac in the semifinals. This was a far tighter competition, with the Ducks trailing by a narrow .725 margin after the Compulsory, Acro, and Pyramid events.&lt;/p&gt;
  438. &lt;p id="asRZey"&gt;The Ducks stepped it up in the second half of the meet, beginning with the Toss event.&lt;/p&gt;
  439. &lt;div id="71ebqf"&gt;
  440. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  441. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;A strong toss showing from the Ducks cuts into the lead!&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Tumbling up next!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Power?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Power&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/DpeVtSIajJ"&gt;pic.twitter.com/DpeVtSIajJ&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Acro&amp;amp;Tumbling (@OregonAcroTumb) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonAcroTumb/status/1915902562320191943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 25, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  442. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  443. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  444.  
  445. &lt;/div&gt;
  446. &lt;p id="YH1awK"&gt;Oregon took the lead in the Tumbling event and did not look back.&lt;/p&gt;
  447. &lt;div id="U8UJlD"&gt;
  448. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  449. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;DUCKS TAKE THE LEAD!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Power?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Power&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/s8ORohTCFH"&gt;pic.twitter.com/s8ORohTCFH&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Acro&amp;amp;Tumbling (@OregonAcroTumb) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonAcroTumb/status/1915911048391262687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 25, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  450. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  451. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  452.  
  453. &lt;/div&gt;
  454. &lt;p id="eSkaMy"&gt;Oregon dominated in the Team event, winning the meet 270.455-263.595, which sent the Ducks to the championship round against #1 Baylor.&lt;/p&gt;
  455. &lt;div id="J5ZozW"&gt;
  456. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  457. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Power?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Power&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/PPqHALxLfA"&gt;pic.twitter.com/PPqHALxLfA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Acro&amp;amp;Tumbling (@OregonAcroTumb) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonAcroTumb/status/1915914407869354273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 25, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  458. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  459. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  460.  
  461. &lt;/div&gt;
  462. &lt;h3 id="7UThbL"&gt;Championship vs. Baylor&lt;/h3&gt;
  463. &lt;p id="cdHZmk"&gt;On Saturday against Baylor, Oregon was competitive but trailed in all events.&lt;/p&gt;
  464. &lt;div id="iSt8Vm"&gt;
  465. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  466. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Doing what we do. &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Power?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Power&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/eYGwqsPZhr"&gt;pic.twitter.com/eYGwqsPZhr&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Acro&amp;amp;Tumbling (@OregonAcroTumb) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonAcroTumb/status/1916261405625618600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 26, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  467. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  468. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  469.  
  470. &lt;/div&gt;
  471. &lt;h3 id="JiHBVe"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Final Round Scores -&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  472. &lt;ul&gt;
  473. &lt;li id="sQfw82"&gt;
  474. &lt;strong&gt;Compulsory (Start Value 40.00) -&lt;/strong&gt; Oregon 36.425, Baylor 37.500&lt;/li&gt;
  475. &lt;li id="p9VDVd"&gt;
  476. &lt;strong&gt;Acro (Start Value 30.00) -&lt;/strong&gt; Oregon 29.050, Baylor 29.325&lt;/li&gt;
  477. &lt;li id="7LoEXz"&gt;
  478. &lt;strong&gt;Pyramid (Start Value 30.00) -&lt;/strong&gt; Oregon 29.250, Baylor 29.550&lt;/li&gt;
  479. &lt;li id="IhAtv1"&gt;
  480. &lt;strong&gt;Toss (3 heats, Start Value Oregon 29.80, Baylor 29.80) - &lt;/strong&gt;Oregon 28.450, Baylor 28.850&lt;/li&gt;
  481. &lt;li id="C7OAWN"&gt;
  482. &lt;strong&gt;Tumbling (6 types of passes, Start Value Oregon 60.00, Start Value Baylor 60.00) - &lt;/strong&gt;Oregon 56.550, Baylor 56.600&lt;/li&gt;
  483. &lt;li id="CYcYl6"&gt;
  484. &lt;strong&gt;Team Event Total - Oregon (Start Value 109.23) &lt;/strong&gt;86.630&lt;/li&gt;
  485. &lt;li id="QIWZK5"&gt;
  486. &lt;strong&gt;Team Event Total - Baylor (Start Value 109.43) &lt;/strong&gt;94.190&lt;/li&gt;
  487. &lt;/ul&gt;
  488. &lt;p id="4EacLf"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Final Team Score&lt;/strong&gt; - Oregon 266.355, Baylor 276.015&lt;/p&gt;
  489. &lt;div id="IVIjJm"&gt;
  490. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  491. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Here's Oregon in the trio tumbling pass!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NCATA25?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NCATA25&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/Q6QBlgyU8j"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Q6QBlgyU8j&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCATA (@theNCATA) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/theNCATA/status/1916273177526673468?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 26, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  492. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  493. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  494.  
  495. &lt;/div&gt;
  496. &lt;p id="vJDyhY"&gt;The Sunday competition was for the Event Finals. Individuals from all teams that competed for the event finals were selected based on their scores from Thurday’s quarterfinal round. Competitors representing Oregon were:&lt;/p&gt;
  497. &lt;p id="4moz4m"&gt;» Five-element acro:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/cassidy-cu/17016"&gt; Cassidy Cu&lt;/a&gt; and&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/angelica-martin/17013"&gt; Angelica Martin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  498. &lt;p id="NGNHB7"&gt;» Seven-element acro:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/bethany-glick/16990"&gt; Bethany Glick&lt;/a&gt; and&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/bella-swarthout/17006"&gt; Bella Swarthout&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  499. &lt;p id="4I0ujx"&gt;» Inversion pyramid:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/bethany-glick/16990"&gt; Bethany Glick&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/brylie-hoover/16996"&gt; Brylie Hoover&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/bella-swarthout/17006"&gt; Bella Swarthout&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/ashlyn-parlett/17004"&gt; Ashlyn Parlett&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/emily-rezner/17005"&gt; Emily Rezner&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/ava-gowdy/16991"&gt; Ava Gowdy&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/blessyn-mcmorris/17000"&gt; Blessyn McMorris&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/niya-hewitt/16994"&gt; Niya Hewitt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  500. &lt;p id="aryjQV"&gt;» Open pyramid:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/brylie-hoover/16996"&gt; Brylie Hoover&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/bella-swarthout/17006"&gt; Bella Swarthout&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/emily-rezner/17005"&gt; Emily Rezner&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/blessyn-mcmorris/17000"&gt; Blessyn McMorris&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/selah-bell/16983"&gt; Selah Bell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  501. &lt;p id="thaD9L"&gt;» 450 salto toss:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/emily-rezner/17005"&gt; Emily Rezner&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/ava-gowdy/16991"&gt; Ava Gowdy&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/blessyn-mcmorris/17000"&gt; Blessyn McMorris&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/alexis-giardina/16989"&gt; Alexis Giardina&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/angelica-martin/17013"&gt; Angelica Martin&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/selah-bell/16983"&gt; Selah Bell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  502. &lt;p id="3TUbmT"&gt;» Synchro toss:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/brylie-hoover/16996"&gt; Brylie Hoover&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/bella-swarthout/17006"&gt; Bella Swarthout&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/ashlyn-parlett/17004"&gt; Ashlyn Parlett&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/rachel-furlong/16988"&gt; Rachel Furlong&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/shea-barnes/16982"&gt; Shea Barnes&lt;/a&gt; /&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/emily-rezner/17005"&gt; Emily Rezner&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/ava-gowdy/16991"&gt; Ava Gowdy&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/blessyn-mcmorris/17000"&gt; Blessyn McMorris&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/selah-bell/16983"&gt; Selah Bell&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/alexis-giardina/16989"&gt; Alexis Giardina&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  503. &lt;p id="TebNDv"&gt;» Duo tumbling:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/rachel-furlong/16988"&gt; Rachel Furlong&lt;/a&gt; and&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/morgan-willingham/17021"&gt; Morgan Willingham&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  504. &lt;p id="hRig6Y"&gt;» Trio tumbling:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/briya-alvarado/17012"&gt; Briya Alvarado&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/alexis-giardina/16989"&gt; Alexis Giardina&lt;/a&gt; and&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/haley-ellis/16986"&gt; Haley Ellis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  505. &lt;p id="TOmfmq"&gt;» Quad tumbling:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/riley-watson/17010"&gt; Riley Watson&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/shea-barnes/16982"&gt; Shea Barnes&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/rickelle-henderson/16993"&gt; Rickelle Henderson&lt;/a&gt; and&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/carly-garcia/17015"&gt; Carly Garcia&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  506. &lt;p id="SF9CvM"&gt;» Aerial tumbling:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/briya-alvarado/17012"&gt; Briya Alvarado&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  507. &lt;p id="hq875R"&gt;» Six-element tumbling:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/riley-watson/17010"&gt; Riley Watson&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  508. &lt;p id="Tmeaad"&gt;» Open tumbling:&lt;a href="https://goducks.com/sports/acrobatics-tumbling/roster/morgan-willingham/17021"&gt; Morgan Willingham&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  509. &lt;p id="3AZSOH"&gt;Oregon won three of the events (by comparison, Baylor won nine individual event titles, which is the best in a season for the Bears).&lt;/p&gt;
  510. &lt;p id="G7EaMU"&gt;The Ducks won in seven-element acro.&lt;/p&gt;
  511. &lt;div id="5wkX0J"&gt;
  512. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  513. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;A 9.875 to win it!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoDucks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#GoDucks&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Power?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Power&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/LrCYLPVx4L"&gt;https://t.co/LrCYLPVx4L&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/5MJR0I5VoK"&gt;pic.twitter.com/5MJR0I5VoK&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Oregon Acro&amp;amp;Tumbling (@OregonAcroTumb) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OregonAcroTumb/status/1916522496825720903?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 27, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  514. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  515. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  516.  
  517. &lt;/div&gt;
  518. &lt;p id="pIb5QS"&gt;They also won the open pyramid championship.&lt;/p&gt;
  519. &lt;div id="wkyiur"&gt;
  520. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  521. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;With a score of 9.875, Oregon wins the open pyramid championship!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NCATA25?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NCATA25&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/qtQKElDXZe"&gt;pic.twitter.com/qtQKElDXZe&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCATA (@theNCATA) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/theNCATA/status/1916526849108177382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 27, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  522. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  523. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  524.  
  525. &lt;/div&gt;
  526. &lt;p id="440gA5"&gt;Finally, &lt;strong&gt;Riley Watson&lt;/strong&gt; picked up the six-element tumbling championship.&lt;/p&gt;
  527. &lt;div id="8Ns8gP"&gt;
  528. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  529. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;With a score of 9.775, Oregon's Riley Watson wins the six-element tumbling championship!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NCATA25?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NCATA25&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/zDjta1du3z"&gt;pic.twitter.com/zDjta1du3z&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCATA (@theNCATA) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/theNCATA/status/1916550459961102371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 27, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  530. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  531. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  532.  
  533. &lt;/div&gt;
  534. &lt;p id="3Ouoi1"&gt;All in all, Oregon had a strong season, ending with a 7-3 record, and only the 2025 champion &lt;a href="https://www.ourdailybears.com"&gt;Baylor Bears&lt;/a&gt; were able to defeat them this year.&lt;/p&gt;
  535.  
  536. </content>
  537.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/4/29/24420063/oregon-ducks-a-t-comes-up-short-in-the-championship-against-baylor"/>
  538.    <id>https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/4/29/24420063/oregon-ducks-a-t-comes-up-short-in-the-championship-against-baylor</id>
  539.    <author>
  540.      <name>The_Badwater</name>
  541.    </author>
  542.  </entry>
  543.  <entry>
  544.    <published>2025-04-28T18:48:00-07:00</published>
  545.    <updated>2025-04-28T18:48:00-07:00</updated>
  546.    <title>Softball: Ducks Dominate Notre Dame</title>
  547.    <content type="html">  
  548.  
  549.    &lt;figure&gt;
  550.      &lt;img alt="Syndication: The Register Guard" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Yvfo_N9MeM5PEbgmh8n4KPF2Jis=/0x224:5328x3776/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74055049/usa_today_25850155.0.jpg" /&gt;
  551.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  552.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  553.  
  554.  &lt;p&gt;Oregon extends its streak of not only winning, but recording nine or more runs.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="TsQNrZ"&gt;Not only did Oregon Softball extend their winning streak to five on Monday with a 10-1 victory in five innings over Notre Dame, they’ve also scored nine or more runs in all five of those contests. &lt;/p&gt;
  555. &lt;p id="QDjBce"&gt;Suffice to say, Melissa Lombardi’s squad is firing on all cylinders as the postseason draws closer. &lt;/p&gt;
  556. &lt;p id="Oox0gB"&gt;The Ducks, who pushed their overall record to 45-5, scored five runs in the first inning for the second straight day and Taylour Spencer threw four strong innings, backed by a tremendous catch by Kedre Luschar over the wall in center field that took a home run away from the Irish in the third inning.&lt;/p&gt;
  557. &lt;p id="KRxWcS"&gt;Oregon now turns its attention to a three-game series against Michigan State that starts Friday at 6 p.m. PST. The Ducks head into the weekend with a one-game lead over No. 7 UCLA for first place in the Big Ten Conference. Oregon also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bruins.&lt;/p&gt;
  558.  
  559. </content>
  560.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/4/28/24420064/university-of-oregon-ducks-softball"/>
  561.    <id>https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2025/4/28/24420064/university-of-oregon-ducks-softball</id>
  562.    <author>
  563.      <name>adamh86</name>
  564.    </author>
  565.  </entry>
  566. </feed>
  567.  

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