The best-laid plans of mice and men...

And Oregon Ducks football.

Just days ago, the Oregon football program had its highest-rated recruiting class in school history - No. 1 nationally according to Scout - and was set to host its most significant recruiting weekend in program history on December 15, five days before the new early signing period.

Nearly every pledge is scheduled to be in Eugene, as well as Oregon's top remaining targets.

On Sunday, amid rumors that Taggart may leave the program for Florida State University, the Ducks learned their bowl fate.

Oregon will take on Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 16.

The news was a recruiting gut punch that carried as much force as LeGarrette Blount's memorable postgame wallop back in 2009.

This weekend, Taggart addressed the possibility of a Vegas Bowl bid like a doctor laying out the worst-case scenario to a patient's family.

"We'll have to change some things up," he said. "We have a big-time recruiting weekend coming up the day before that so we'd have to cancel that. I don't want to have to do that."

In a year of early signing period unknowns, the Ducks played the new system like they were counting cards.

Oregon secured its commitments early, encouraged the vast majority to sign in December and had the nation's best collection of talent with its biggest recruiting weekend in school history still to come.

Chip Kelly to UCLA? Who cared?

Oregon's coaching staff of ace recruiters was assembled like college football's version of an Avengers movie - a cast of superheroes which helped to secure stars.

The ensemble made Kelly's past recruiting classes look pedestrian and Mark Helfrich's efforts appear negligent.

But somewhere amid this weekend's whirlwind of coaching rumors and innuendo, that momentum took a surprising turn.

With Taggart's future at Oregon in limbo, the Ducks experienced their first rumor-induced decommitment Saturday with four-star athlete Tre'Shaun Harrison, then saw their big recruiting weekend altered over a postseason scheduling conflict.

Taggart may stay or he may go, and Oregon may or may not find a solution to its new scheduling problem.

It's not time to panic - far too much is still unknown.

The plane isn't crashing, but it's clear that Oregon's near-certain historic recruiting haul is suddenly experiencing significant turbulence.

It all makes Taggart's introductory new conference advice more fitting than ever.

Buckle up.

-- Andrew Nemec

anemec@oregonian.com

@AndrewNemec