OK had a couple days to reflect and come down off the ceiling from the loss on Saturday. In looking at the numbers, it was a remarkably even game in terms of yards both passing and running, Oregon with a slight edge on both.  And its not at all bad to take a loss in a situation like this, I think it increases urgency and will lead to more necessary changes than if we squeaked out a close win.

My concern, however, is just how much pressure is now on this team for the Penn State game.  At this point, that game is absolutely essential to have a chance for the conference title game.  With a loss, we still have a likely low seed playoff birth (assuming we win out) but it would further feed the narrative of Ryan Day losing in big games.  So far he has handled PSU well but this year looks like it will be the biggest test in his tenure as head coach.  And I do have some concerns about this team and staff wilting under pressure.  Against Oregon there were several of occasions that we could have scored to go up by 2 TD's and start to impose our will on the game but did not.  

Am I putting too much emphasis on this game?  I am even at a point of calling it a make-or-break point in Ryan Day's career here.  Win, and we are on track to get back to Indy for a rematch with the Ducks as a top 2-3 team in the country.  Lose, and its looking like a 9-10 seed in the playoffs (at best) with zero momentum.