Three Reasons Oregon-ASU Never Became a Rivalry

Nathan Roholt Editorials

Amid the chaos following their game, the two coaches ran toward each other for a common ritual of their profession: the post-game handshake. While this interaction is normally brief and emotionally distant, after this particular game one coach, Arizona State’s Todd Graham, chose this moment to voice his contempt for the coach he was facing, Washington State’s Mike Leach. Broadcast …

Party Like It’s 1994!!

Nathan Roholt History

Had the streak against Washington ended last year, no one would have batted an eye. It would have been natural conditions for it to end: game in Seattle, the Huskies with a winning record, coming off a big win at ranked USC the week before. For the Ducks, it was the first season in nearly a decade where Oregon didn’t …

SPOILED!!

Nathan Roholt Editorials

Spoiled. Of the hundreds of words spoken on that show, it was the one that resonated. Yet, unlike most sports talk shows, that label wasn’t thrown at a player, but this time aimed at fans. Not the fans of the opposing team, either, but the very fans of the team around which the program centered. It was an episode of CSNNW’s ”Talkin’ …

2016 Will Be Oregon’s Highest Stakes Season Yet

Nathan Roholt Editorials

Twenty-one Power Five coaches won nine regular season games in 2015. Nineteen of those coaches are back with the same school this season. Of the two coaches not returning, one is Art Briles, formerly of Baylor, who was fired not for how his team’s on-field performance, but rather his team’s horrifying behavior off of it. The other nine-win coach who …

A Season in a Single Game

Nathan Roholt Editorials

Last weekend many teams across the country saw their entire season come down to a single game. USC-UCLA played for their division, Oklahoma-Oklahoma State played for a conference title, and Notre Dame-Stanford played for a shot at the Playoff. All were games for determining the success of the season for those involved. Then there was the Civil War, a game that between …

Perspective Key to Oregon’s Success

Nathan Roholt Editorials

How a season is viewed is all a matter of perspective. Regardless of achievement or outcome, if expectations are not met, it is viewed as a disappointment. Conversely, if the result exceeds expectations, it is viewed as a success. More importantly, when those successes and failures happen is just as relevant to their perception as whether or not they happen …

Paybacks — That Was For 2012: Ducks Play Spoiler to Cardinal Playoff Hopes

Nathan Roholt Editorials

When the College Football Playoff rankings were released last Tuesday, one-loss Notre Dame found itself among the top five, creating a stir, as the Fighting Irish were ranked higher than eight undefeated and all one-loss teams, except Alabama. The inevitable, and pointlessly early arguments about Notre Dame’s ranking soon began to bubble and squeak, ignoring the fact that these debates tend …

Disaster Averted, New Hope Begins

Nathan Roholt Editorials

A lot can happen in three games. Three games ago, Oregon’s season appeared on the brink of disaster. The Ducks were perched at 3-3, and had just lost at home to Washington State, making FCS Portland State the only team from the state of Oregon to beat the Cougars this year. If Oregon couldn’t beat Washington State, who could they beat? Were …

The Perfect Quarterback for an Impossible Task

Nathan Roholt Editorials

Vernon Adams was given an impossible task — be the quarterback who replaces Marcus Mariota. Media and fans tried to temper expectations, but it was clear from early on; no one said they expected Adams to be Mariota, but secretly they were evaluating his performance based on the same standards — winning the first Heisman Trophy in school history can …

Did the Washington Game Foreshadow Arizona State Outcome?

Nathan Roholt Editorials

Even on the weeks the Ducks have a bye, college football Saturdays are great. Midseason may have a large number of teams on their bye week, and many highly-ranked teams delivered blowouts Saturday, but that doesn’t mean Saturday wasn’t filled with plenty of sneaky good games. It started with a pair of quadruple-overtime games in the first two blocks of …

The Certainty of Uncertainty

Nathan Roholt Editorials

Sitting at breakfast Saturday morning, an older Oregon fan gave me a hearty “Go Ducks!” as he walked by. Then he approached me, leaned in, and with the protracted delivery that lets one know that wisdom is about to be dispensed, he whispered, “… but I don’t think we’re going to win today.” I told him that I couldn’t say …

The Ducks Have to Know Themselves Before They Can Be Good

Nathan Roholt Editorials

There was a theme to Saturday’s game, from the pioneer uniforms to the football team reunion; much of the focus was on the past. It is understandable why that would be the concentration of everyone’s attention: Thus far, 2015 has not been a year to remember. At the halfway point of the season, the Oregon Ducks sit at a paltry …