How Oregon Returns to the College Football Playoff

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

I thought it would interesting to ponder how Oregon returns to the College Playoff, and since I have already predicted it to occur, it makes sense to break down the three major components that I believe will have the most impact on the season. Below is a short video about the three components that one analyst thinks will determine Oregon’s season …

The Pac-12, Not the SEC, Will Be the Conference to Beat This Year

Caleb Couturie FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Okay, so I write for an Oregon Ducks sports blog, so what? I’m biased, that much is obvious, but there’s actual evidence that supports the title of this piece. Now that college football has finally moved to a playoff to determine a champion, the door has been opened for more teams to prove they can hang with the best, or in …

Recruiting Strategy: Helfrich Has Ducks Building Momentum Quickly

Nik Brownlee FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Things are good in Eugene these days. Not only is summer in full effect and the weather great, but the hometown Oregon Ducks are compiling a fantastic recruiting class that seems to continue to heat up as well. Last season, the Ducks finished with the No. 16-ranked recruiting class. The Ducks landed five-star defensive lineman Canton Kuamatule, the first five-star …

A Look Into How Oregon Stacks Up Against the Pac-12 North

Jason Selby FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

As a student at the University of Oregon, and a diehard fan of the Ducks, it’s frustrating to see how concerned people are with the football team heading into this season. It seems as if every fan is saying “The void that Marcus Mariota left behind might be too much for the Ducks to overcome.” Instead, people should be talking about the …

Chip Kelly Update: More Defensive Turnovers

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The typically astute Jimmy Kempski spotted an interesting number in his profile of JaCorey Shepherd, one of two cornerbacks the Eagles drafted in the sixth round: The most obvious takeaway from Shepherd’s tape is how many footballs he gets his hands on. In fact, Shepherd had more pass break-ups over the last two years than any other cornerback that was …

Recruiting Update: Linebackers Keen on Oregon

Mark Flores FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

News Oregon’s recruiting haul over the last week is becoming the stuff of legends as the 2015-16 class is shaping up to be one of the greatest in school history. Linebacker LaMar Winston’s (4-Star/Portland, Ore./Rivals250) pledge to his home-state Ducks is already creating a ripple effect along the recruiting trail as several uncommitted preps are now on borrowed time in …

Ducks Have New Rules and New Faces

Sam Felton FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

There were 6.4 seconds left in the Ducks season, and a berth in the NCAA tournament hung in the balance. It was the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament and defending champion Oregon had put its season in the hands of senior Joseph Young. Dribbling the length of the court, Young pulled the trigger from beyond NBA range and netted a game-winning basket …

Athlon’s Preseason Final Four Prediction Escapes

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out Ordinarily, when a reputable football news source publishes bowl projections or preseason rankings, you’d say the predictions were “released.” This past week, Athlon Sports published its preseason Top-25 and final four lists, and there’s no way these things were released, not even with a locked-on ankle bracelet. Athlon tabbed Ohio State, Auburn, Alabama and Baylor as its preseason …

College Football Nation Episode VI: Return of the CFN

Mark Weber FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

After a brief hiatus, College Football Nation returns. There’s a lot to catch up on, America, since the last CFN was published. We’re into July now — I hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July. It couldn’t have been much worse than Jason Pierre-Paul’s  – and there are just 52 days until the 2015 college football season kicks off. Without further ado, …

Nelson to Become Latest Two-Way PAC-12 Star

Jimmy Friedricks FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

In major Division 1 college football, it’s rare to see an athlete play both offense and defense. The reasons are quite simple: with a roster of more than 100 spots available on college football teams, players are able to become more specialized as depth increases. This allows players to get more in-depth training at a certain position, and helps prevent overuse, …

3 Ducks that are Flying Under the Radar Heading into 2015

Tyler Timm FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It’s mid-July and the time of year when college football fans are in limbo. Spring practices have been over for close to two months and fall camp is still a couple of weeks away. Fans are looking for anything to read, watch, discuss or interact with regarding college football. It is the time of year when fans dissect their favorite …