Oregon and Georgia...Can either make the "LSU LEAP"?

OldDevilDawg

OldDevilDawg

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Are these the 2 CFB teams that have the potential to make the type of giant leap that LSU made last season?

For Oregon:

Cristobal has made great strides with his coaching hires and his recruiting. This isn't the Oregon we remember. The wide open offense of Chip Kelly is just a memory. Cristobal has shored up his defense, and has put together a strong offensive line.
Earlier this year, he hired Bryan McClendon away from South Carolina to become his WR coach. McClendon has vast experience at all levels of coaching, up to and including being "Interim HC" for UGA's bowl game following the firing of Mark Richt in November of 2015. McClendon's ability as a recruiter is second to none and he's in line to put together Oregon's best WR haul in Duck's history in 2021.
Then Cristobal went out and hired Joe Moorhead as OC. While he might be seen as a failure as Mississippi State HC when he was fired after just 2 seasons, Moorhead has been a great offensive mind his entire coaching career.

Just some of the numbers:
- In 2011 Moorhead was named HC at FCS Fordham University, where he inherited a 1-10 team. in 2012, he finished 6-5, and 2013 he opend the season with 10 consecutive wins.
- On December 12, 2015, Moorhead was named the offensive coordinator for the Penn State football team. During James Franklin's first two years as head coach (and prior to Moorhead's arrival), the Penn State offense averaged 335.3 yards per game in 2014 and 348.4 yards per game in 2015. While learning Moorhead's offensive system during 2016, offensive output at Penn State improved to 432.6 yards per game.

The addition of McClendon and Moorhead could be the springboard that takes Oregon to a different level.....Really fast.

For UGA:

Kirby Smart has shown a great propensity for recruiting since his arrival in Athens. No HC in UGA history has recruited at the level that Smart has over the last 4 years. Kirby has hung his hat on a great defense, a great offensive line, and great running backs. It has improved UGA's situation in the SEC and the National Title picture, but UGA hasn't gotten over the hump. What's holding UGA back? Offense.

Earlier this season, after firing James Coley, Smart went out and hired Todd Monken as OC, one of the best offensive minds in CFB and the NFL over the last decade. While Monken will have his work ahead of him, the potential is incredibly high.
UGA's offense won't just be revamped, it has to take place during a painful turnover. UGA lost 4 offensive linemen from last season's starters. Both tackles were #1 draft picks. The loss of Sam Pittman as OL coach was a big loss, but Kirby brought in former Ole Miss HC Matt Luke quickly as his replacement. Luke immediately signed 7 offensive linemen in the 2020 recruiting class. The 2 deep o-line is still gonna be filled with former 4 and 5 star recruits.
Bring in graduate transfer Jamie Newman who has been listed among the top 5 Heisman possibilities for 2020 and transfer JT Daniels, former 5-star from USC, the QB room looks to have all of the tools necessary for Monken to work with.
Sugar Bowl MVP George Pickens could be the best WR in the nation for his sophomore year. Injuries hurt UGAs WR corps last season. The 2020 recruiting class brings in 3 of the top 10 WRs in the nation to shore up a weakness that hurt UGA last season.


UGA will have, one of, if not the best, defenses in the nation this season when they return 8 starters from the best scoring defense in CFB last year.


This could be a really interesting season for both the Ducks and the Dawgs.
 
Duckboy33 said:
I think Oregon will be set up better in 2021 than 2020. A lot of new lineman and new QB this year and week 2 Oregon plays Ohio State.
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I could say the same for UGA. But at the same time, I see a situation where both have a strong defense. That could be the foundation needed for the offenses to mature.

The offense has potential for a great leap because of head coaching decisions in hiring along with available talent. Can the great talent gel quickly enough to take that "LSU leap" given the hiring moves made during the off season? Ones that obviously intend to bring substantial moves into the current philosophy of CFB? While the setbacks from Covid-19 as it pertains to practice and reps, have definitely put a damper on the possibilities, I can't think of any 2 other teams that have the potential for breaking the glass ceiling.

UGA has Virginia and Alabama in the first 3 weeks of the season. Both have a tough row to hoe, but you have to admit the potential for substantial improvement is higher than any other 2 teams in the country.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
I could say the same for UGA. But at the same time, I see a situation where both have a strong defense. That could be the foundation needed for the offenses to mature.

The offense has potential for a great leap because of head coaching decisions in hiring along with available talent. Can the great talent gel quickly enough to take that "LSU leap" given the hiring moves made during the off season? Ones that obviously intend to bring substantial moves into the current philosophy of CFB? While the setbacks from Covid-19 as it pertains to practice and reps, have definitely put a damper on the possibilities, I can't think of any 2 other teams that have the potential for breaking the glass ceiling.

UGA has Virginia and Alabama in the first 3 weeks of the season. Both have a tough row to hoe, but you have to admit the potential for substantial improvement is higher than any other 2 teams in the country.
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I hear ya. I like UGA and Newman and I think they are more capable of breaking through this year than Oregon. Oregon needs another cycle of recruiting to get their talent level closer to the top 3-5 teams in the country.
 
Duckboy33 said:
I hear ya. I like UGA and Newman and I think they are more capable of breaking through this year than Oregon. Oregon needs another cycle of recruiting to get their talent level closer to the top 3-5 teams in the country.
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Do they, though? Make it through the PAC and hit the CFP, anything can happen. Currently, Bama and UGA are tops in the nation with "blue chip ratio" in that they have 83% and 82% former 4 and 5 star recruits on the roster, respectively. LSU and Clemson were the finalists last season with a substantially lower percentage. Talent is great, but having the right coaching scheme and team mindset are obviously deciding factors. The addition of McClendon and Moorhead in Autzen could change the entire dynamic of Oregon football very quickly. Obviously, we are just speculating, but isn't that what the off season is for? Did you predict LSU's dominant season last year? I know, I didn't see it coming.

Also, he might not win the job, but Anthony Brown has the potential to thrive in Moorhead's offense quickly. As a 3 year starter at BC, he definitely has the talent and experience to step into Herbert's shoes as a team leader.
 
If any teams gets a year out of their QB like LSU had last year they can make a lot of noise. I don’t know much about Oregon this year, but a team with a roster like UGA has can/would win a natty with that kind of QB play.

As others have alluded to though, would the coaches turn a QB loose like Orgeron was willing to?
 
Shower Fart said:
If any teams gets a year out of their QB like LSU had last year they can make a lot of noise. I don’t know much about Oregon this year, but a team with a roster like UGA has can/would win a natty with that kind of QB play.

As others have alluded to though, would the coaches turn a QB loose like Orgeron was willing to?
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Both Moorhead and Monken have a history of slinging it. The question is, will Cristobal and Smart let them "do what they do"? I think, yes. It worked for Saban in '17 and it worked for Orgeron in '19. Hell, it's worked for Swinney his entire career as HC at Clemson. If you can't learn to stay out of the way of the people you hire, then you probably won't have the type of coaching career you hoped for.
 
I'm wondering if Penn St can make the leap. Can the dawgs do it or will they be a perpetual bridesmaid and never the bride as the saying goes?
 
OldDevilDawg said:
Do they, though? Make it through the PAC and hit the CFP, anything can happen. Currently, Bama and UGA are tops in the nation with "blue chip ratio" in that they have 83% and 82% former 4 and 5 star recruits on the roster, respectively. LSU and Clemson were the finalists last season with a substantially lower percentage. Talent is great, but having the right coaching scheme and team mindset are obviously deciding factors. The addition of McClendon and Moorhead in Autzen could change the entire dynamic of Oregon football very quickly. Obviously, we are just speculating, but isn't that what the off season is for? Did you predict LSU's dominant season last year? I know, I didn't see it coming.

Also, he might not win the job, but Anthony Brown has the potential to thrive in Moorhead's offense quickly. As a 3 year starter at BC, he definitely has the talent and experience to step into Herbert's shoes as a team leader.
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I didn't see LSU having the season that they did but their overall talent level is a lot better than Oregon's right now. Oregon's best bet is either Shough or Brown have a Heisman quality season. I think it will take that kind of effort to make Oregon a National Championship team in 2020.

I think you're right about McClendon and Moorhead. I think Oregon will be a legit national championship contender very soon. I just don't think the talent is quite there right now. Gotta give them a few more years to bring in some more blue chip guys.
 
LyquidMetal said:
I'm wondering if Penn St can make the leap. Can the dawgs do it or will they be a perpetual bridesmaid and never the bride as the saying goes?
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It really depends on assistant coaches. Imagine what would have happened in Happy Valley if Moorhead had stayed with Franklin. Franklin does a good job at finding the right coaches, his new OC this year will be former Minnesota OC Kirk Ciarrocca who led that Gopher offense to better than 34 points per game last season. He spreads it out and slings it with 2 WRs last year over 1000 yards. It's up to the Penn State administration to commit to keeping them. That costs money. As a Bama fan, you understand that. I understand it as a Dawg. Cristobal knows it at Oregon and apparently, the Ducks administration is ALL IN.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
It really depends on assistant coaches. Imagine what would have happened in Happy Valley if Moorhead had stayed with Franklin. Franklin does a good job at finding the right coaches, his new OC this year will be former Minnesota OC Kirk Ciarrocca who led that Gopher offense to better than 34 points per game last season. He spreads it out and slings it with 2 WRs last year over 1000 yards. It's up to the Penn State administration to commit to keeping them. That costs money. As a Bama fan, you understand that. I understand it as a Dawg. Cristobal knows it at Oregon and apparently, the Ducks administration is ALL IN.
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A stable staff is important. Saban has done a good job with all the turnover, but it does tell after awhile. I just hope we have a season and see how things go.
 
LyquidMetal said:
A stable staff is important. Saban has done a good job with all the turnover, but it does tell after awhile. I just hope we have a season and see how things go.
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We'll have a season, but it's gonna be unlike anything you've seen in your lifetime. I see a situation where games will be cancelled on a weekly basis. We have no idea what games will be played week to week. I'd be shocked if any team in the nation actually plays every game on their regular season schedule. Conference Championships will be hit or miss. Bowl games......some will happen, some will not. We have no idea how the CFP will end up. It's gonna be a really weird situation. Just my opinion.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
We'll have a season, but it's gonna be unlike anything you've seen in your lifetime. I see a situation where games will be cancelled on a weekly basis. We have no idea what games will be played week to week. I'd be shocked if any team in the nation actually plays every game on their regular season schedule. Conference Championships will be hit or miss. Bowl games......some will happen, some will not. We have no idea how the CFP will end up. It's gonna be a really weird situation. Just my opinion.
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It may be your opinion, but it is one shared by a lot of people. Gonna be different for sure.
 
I dont think Kirby will let the offense open up and that's what it will take....complete nudity
 
LSUdude said:
I dont think Kirby will let the offense open up and that's what it will take....complete nudity
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That right there is where I quit reading. :LOL:


Seriously, though, why would you say that? Do you think he wasted the time, effort, and money hiring Monken just to interfere with his expertise? Do you think Kirby and UGA are that stupid? Monken could be HC at 2/3s of the D1 schools in the country. Why would he even contemplate taking the job if he wasn't assured he would have absolute control of his offense?
 
8
OldDevilDawg said:
That right there is where I quit reading. :LOL:


Seriously, though, why would you say that? Do you think he wasted the time, effort, and money hiring Monken just to interfere with his expertise? Do you think Kirby and UGA are that stupid? Monken could be HC at 2/3s of the D1 schools in the country. Why would he even contemplate taking the job if he wasn't assured he would have absolute control of his offense?
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You asked if they could make the leap, I gave the reason why I dont think they will.

Next time just make a statement that UGA will make the leap
 
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