Oregon
Oregon thumping Michigan left little doubt Ducks belong as college football’s No. 1
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Oregon’s Rob Mullens and Michigan’s Warde Manuel, now colleagues in the Big Ten, found themselves sharing an Uber after a meeting of the league’s athletic directors. The conversation turned to Manuel’s role as chairman of the College Football Playoff committee, a job Mullens had in 2018 and 2019.
The chairman’s job is to go on TV and condense the sentiments of everyone in the room into a coherent message. When controversy ensues, as it inevitably will, the chairman is the one who takes the heat.
“You’re representing 13, but you become the focal point of angry fans,” Mullens said with a chuckle.
Picking the teams who will play in the inaugural 12-team CFP is going to be a pressurized process with plenty of room for debate and second-guessing. When the committee releases its initial rankings Tuesday night, there should be one obvious and easy call: Oregon at No. 1.
The Ducks rolled Michigan 38-17 on Saturday to improve to 9-0. This isn’t a great Michigan team, as its 5-4 record suggests, but Oregon still made a statement by walking into the Big House and thumping the reigning national champions.
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Top-ranked Oregon remains unbeaten with road win at Michigan: Takeaways
Oregon received all but one first-place vote in last week’s AP Top 25, and the gap between the Ducks and everyone else has only widened since then. No. 2 Georgia struggled to pull away from Florida due to three interceptions from quarterback Carson Beck. No. 3 Penn State lost another top-five matchup against No. 4 Ohio State, a team Oregon beat three weeks ago.
The Ducks don’t have many weaknesses, as Michigan saw firsthand Saturday. Oregon is good on both lines of scrimmage and won the battle up front. The Ducks have a tough running back in Jordan James and weapons on the outside in Evan Stewart and Traeshon Holden, though an injury to wide receiver Tez Johnson was cause for concern.
The player who brings it all together is Dillon Gabriel, the most unflappable quarterback in college football. Gabriel threw for 294 yards, completed 22 of 34 passes and also ran for a 23-yard touchdown. Some of Oregon’s biggest plays happened because he was able to feel pressure and evade it while keeping his eyes downfield. Michigan didn’t sack him once, which means Oregon effectively neutralized the strongest part of Michigan’s team.
“I think everybody in the nation needs to recognize what kind of quarterback we’ve got,” coach Dan Lanning said. “He’s a really, really special player.”
Michigan couldn’t keep up, and that wasn’t a surprise to anyone who has watched the Wolverines this season. Michigan is basically the same team it was in Week 2, when the Wolverines lost by 19 to Texas. Davis Warren has been solid in his return to the starting quarterback role, but aside from cutting down on turnovers, the Wolverines haven’t shown much improvement from the start of the season until now.
The running game has regressed, as Kalel Mullings was held to fewer than 20 yards on the ground for the second game in a row. The defense hasn’t gotten markedly better, and now that the injuries are adding up, it’s not realistic to expect the light will come on in the final month of the season.
Oregon finished with 470 total yards to Michigan’s 270. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
When Warren regained the starting quarterback job, the message was that Michigan didn’t need him to be Superman. Except, well, it kind of does. Or at least it did on Saturday if the Wolverines were going to have any shot at upsetting Oregon. Warren played turnover-free football and threw two touchdowns, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with the high-powered Ducks.
“The No. 1 thing that’s asked of us is to win the football game,” Warren said. “That’s just what it comes down to. As an offense, we’ve got to start faster.”
Two plays from Saturday’s game showed why Michigan, in addition to being limited at a few key positions, is losing the strategic battle, too. One was Gabriel’s 23-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw. Gabriel said the Ducks noticed on film that Michigan likes to play lots of games with its defensive line, with players switching rush lanes after the snap. If players aren’t in the right gaps quickly enough, it can leave a hole in the defense. Gabriel spotted one of those holes and glided into the end zone.
“The touchdown run was something we’d been setting up,” Gabriel said. “(It was) just an advantage, a check we wanted to get to. Guys up front handled the games really well. We talked about that QB draw, expecting games.”
The other play was Michigan’s fourth-and-5 call in the red zone when the Wolverines had a chance to pull within a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The person throwing the ball on a gotta-have-it play wasn’t Warren, who made some nice red-zone throws in the game. It wasn’t Orji, who at least plays quarterback and practices throwing the ball. It wasn’t even Donovan Edwards, who is 4-for-4 in his career as a passer. Instead Michigan had Semaj Morgan, a wide receiver, throwing to Orji in the end zone.
The reason to call that play is to gain an element of surprise. But Oregon spent time studying Michigan’s trick plays after the Wolverines used several of them last week against Michigan State, and edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei did his job by covering Orji when he leaked out of the backfield.
“We spent a lot of time on that, an inordinate amount of time,” Lanning said. “I think that’s an unbelievable play by Matayo that’s going to go a little bit unsung. We talk about farming your land. Do your job, don’t worry about farming somebody else’s land. He did a great job of farming his land on that play.”
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Oregon used the Big House to help put it on a path to becoming a Big Ten power
Great teams are prepared for everything. Mediocre teams make mistakes like lining up over the snapper on a punt, which Michigan did to give Oregon a free first down after the defense came up with a stop.
For three years, Michigan was the team that did everything right. The Wolverines are a shadow of their former selves, and it’s taken away much of the aura of playing in Michigan Stadium. The Ducks handled the environment with ease, exactly as a No. 1 team is supposed to do, and left little doubt about where they belong in the initial CFP rankings.
“It was going to take our best,” Lanning said, “but our best is good enough.”
(Top photo of Dan Lanning and Dillon Gabriel: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson, after an impressive 2025 season with the Ducks, now becomes the leader at his position following the departure of star Kenyon Sadiq to the NFL.
With an Oregon offense set to return several top stars and bring in two talents at the tight end position, Johnson looks to not only improve as a leader but build off his impressive 2025 season, in which he recorded 32 receptions for 510 yards and three touchdowns.
Here’s everything Johnson had to say during his media appearance following Oregon’s scrimmage on Saturday, with the spring game on the horizon.
Everything Tight End Jamari Johnson Said After Spring Scrimmage
What He Learned From Playing With Tight End Kenyon Sadiq:
“So many, but one is training. Everybody in this facility harps on it, and it’s just a standard here. It’s like him from last year, that man strained his guts out almost every play. I just feel like I got to do the exact same thing or even more to uphold the standard.”
Stepping Up At Tight End:
“It just changed because obviously Kenyon leaving somebody has to step up and be a leader in the room, and me being one of the older guys, it just happens to be me. I just accepted that role, and I actually kind of like it, getting these young guys going, getting them in the playbook and getting them used to college football.”
Participating Again In Spring Practice:
“It feels good coming back. Feels like I have something to prove for me personally, I feel like I haven’t really done anything in college football. I feel like this year is that year for me to show everybody what I’m about.”
On Tight Ends Kendre Harrison and Andrew Olesh:
“Both good dudes, they both got that dog in them. Andrew, he came from Penn State. He’s been coming along well, getting in the playbook. Kendre, he’s a big, tall guy, getting in the playbook too. They’ve been getting after it, man. It’s been good taking them under my wing. Hopefully, we just get going this year.”
Goals and Expectations Ahead of Spring Game:
“I’ll say one expectation that we really try to harp on in the room is just going 100 percent. That’s with your effort, that’s with knowing the plays and just giving it your all. A goal is just to get in that endzone. That’s one of the goals for the tight end room right there.”
Why He Returned to Oregon:
“Like I said earlier, to me, I felt like I haven’t really done anything in college football. That was one of the reasons, and another is I wouldn’t say I’m not ready for the NFL, but like that’s pretty much what I’m getting at, is just like I have a lot of stuff to work on that’s within footwork and hand placement, block in the run game, and route details. Getting to the right depth and just touching up everything I can so when I get to the NFL, there’s none of those problems, it’s just the big problems I have to fix.”
How Reps Helped Him Improve:
“It really helped me. Last year, we ran a lot of twelve personnel at the end of the season because we had a couple of injuries, but that really helped me. This year, I feel like I’m coming in rolling off the ground. It’s just so much more fluent, and those reps really helped me with the playbook. Playbook is way easier now, and I’m getting a good feel for it.”
His Leadership Traits:
“I like to get the guys going. I have a real voice on the field, and if y’all hear me on the field, I get the guys going. I wouldn’t say I’m a vocal leader, but I lead by example. Vocal leader, probably something I need to work on.”
On New Offensive Coordinator Drew Mehringer:
“It’s been different. They’re two different people, coach (Will) Stein and coach Drew. My guy’s getting us going. I’m excited for this season.”
Supporting Dakorien Moore At Track Meet:
“Yesterday, that touched my heart, man. Just all of us going out there, and it wasn’t even just for Dakorien. It was really for Oregon. It was just more for Dakorien because we see him every day. That really touched my heart, and the connection is just unbelievable. I don’t think many people are doing that for their teammates.”
Quarterback Dante Moore’s Growth:
“That guy has his head on his shoulders at all times. He’s been growing consistently, but it’s a couple of different things. I probably can’t name them right now, but he’s been having his head on his shoulders. He’s just been on the climb.”
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Oregon
Oregon man mounted a jet engine on a 60-year-old fishing boat to blast around a lake and thinks he may have set a world record
A man from Oregon has unveiled something truly crazy after he added a jet engine to the back of a 60-year-old fishing boat – and he suspects he might have broken a world record.
YouTuber Robert Maddox from CrazyRocketman mounted a pulsejet engine and its 230lbs of thrust to the back of a 1965 12-foot Sears fishing boat.
A wild juxtaposition by any standard, and the video he posted on YouTube confirms that as the diminutive boat roars away.
But did the YouTuber actually actually get the record?
How does this 1965 Sears fishing boat get its power?
The video shows the Oregon man hurling the boat around a lake, with the engine glowing behind him.
Strapped to the back of the boat is a pulsejet engine that produces 230lbs of thrust.
Pulsejet engines are smaller, lighter jet engines with combustion occurring in pulses.
Such is their simplicity that they can be made with few or even no moving parts at all.
Engines like these were used on the German V-1 Flying Bomb from World War II.
These were the Argus As 014 engines, the very first pulsejet ever to be mass-produced.
It is a smaller and even simpler version of these that Maddox has put on the back of his boat.
The funny noise they make comes from the way in which the jet makes its power.
This old boat could be a record holder
In his video, Maddox had clearly enjoyed his outing on the boat.
“Man, this boat really is super controllable,” he said, highlighting the ease with which it handles.
The video suggested there are a few niggles still to sort out on the boat.
“It was making all kinds of fuel noises, I’ve probably got a fuel pump out or something,” he added.
Yet this isn’t the end of the road for this particular project.
“I’m going to do a lot with this boat, and put a twin engine on it,” Maddox said in the video.
Given the speed of the vessel, with two pulsejet engines, this should rocket through the water.
That means another world record could be up for grabs for the Oregon YouTuber.
If there was any doubt over a world record with one engine, two engines should end the debate in an instant.
Jet engine timeline
150 AD – Hero of Alexandria invents the aeolipile, a steam-powered device demonstrating the basic jet principle
1930 – Frank Whittle successfully patents the first design for a working gas turbine jet engine
1937 – Hans von Ohain tests his first centrifugal turbojet engine prototype in Germany
1939 – The Heinkel He 178 makes the first successful flight powered entirely by a jet engine
1941 – The Gloster E.28/39 completes the first British jet flight using Whittle’s engine design
1944 – The Messerschmitt Me 262 enters combat service as the world’s first operational jet fighter
1949 – The de Havilland Comet makes its maiden flight to become the first commercial jet airliner
1958 – The Boeing 707 enters commercial service and officially kicks off the global Jet Age
1969 – Concorde takes off for the first time to pioneer supersonic passenger jet travel
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