Well, I got up yesterday morning with over 200 articles to read in my RSS reader. Needless to say, I didn't read them all, but here are some of the best that were there.
Well, unfortunately, the bowl system most likely won't be facing massive overhaul. And not shockingly, the reason is money. Countless bowl officials are getting absolutely rich off of their games, planning a single event. I do not understand how anyone can defend this system. It is so obviously no longer based on tradition. It is not better for academics (what an absolute joke that some use that excuse when college football is so obviously a big time business now). It is based on getting a select few (who have connections) very rich. Now, you can say you like the matchups, whatever (the matchups thus far have been absolutely unredeemable in every way). But college football, and the bowl system, is about money. The only bowl for which this is not entirely true is the Rose Bowl, and ask yourself Duck fans...If we win the Pac-10, would you rather play in the Rose Bowl, or have a shot at a national title in a playoff. I say playoff. Every winner of a major conference should get a shot at the national title.
OK, stepping down from the soapbox...
The RG has a great slideshow on the season, and what a season it was. So much excitement and so much heartbreak.
But, there is much excitement for the coming years. We have some great recruits, and a lot of great young players. We know a lot about the freshmen that had to step up this season, but Moseley wrote a bit on those who are redshirting this year.
In recruiting, Chris Harper has decommitted from Kansas State after his lead recruiter left for Maryland, so it is assumed Oregon is in the running (along with ND and Illinois). Sorry, I couldn't find the original link on that. Also, a few days before Christmas, Rickert had a good run-down on a RB JC commit we just locked up, and a DL JC commit.
Here is a good article on commit Dewitt Stuckey. Oregon hasn't had good LB's at every position in some time. It looks like that could be changing. We had one of the top LB recruiting classes last year, and we're doing well this year. Our recruiting has really stepped up in recent years, and should leave us all very optimistic for the next few years. Next year especially, our defense should be very solid.
Lastly, as you all know, Bellotti is staying, most likely for the long haul. I'm very happy about this. Consistency is a great thing, and after a few down years, Oregon has a lot to build on: Great recruiting, a good group of assistant coaches, and great players coming back.
GO DUCKS!
Update [2007-12-28 14:47:50 by jtlight]: Here is some more info on Harper's decommitment. Oregon is at the top of his list, but he will not be making any more verbal commitments. We'll know where he's going in February.