From The Locker Rooms: Double Duty Addition

Josh Hall FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Pasadena, Calif. —  Welcome to a sunny, special addition of FishDuck.com’s “From The Locker Room.” Due to UCLA players taking longer in their locker room postgame than a twelve year old daughter getting ready for school in the morning, the FishDuck reporter on site was able to gain insights from both the UCLA and Oregon perspectives. Obviously after this contest …

One Team, One City, One Love. Go Ducks.

Ashley Young FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

If you are looking for an explanation as to why the Ducks lost, you’ve come to the wrong place. Likewise, if you are looking for someone to point a finger at, again, turn around now. I know, probably not the best way to begin this article, but I have a lot to say with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. …

Arizona Wildcats: “Lightning Strikes Twice”

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Arizona Wildcats upset Oregon for the second year in a row Thursday night, and coach Rich Rodriguez was exultant after the game. “I don’t know if anybody picked us. … Not on the road. Lightning doesn’t strike twice. In fact, [the end of] our video we showed our guys last night actually showed a guy getting hit by lighting …

Opponent Analysis: Preventing the Wildcats’ Big Play

Rory Davidson FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Thursday is known as “upset day” in the Pac-12. Be wary of Thursdays! Oregon State shocking No. 1 USC comes to mind. So does Washington surprising No. 8 Stanford in 2012. And, of course, there was Stanford’s takedown of the Ducks last year (sorry for reopening that wound). But these are just a few of the upsets that have occurred on …

Bye Week Comes at a Fortunate Time for Injury-Decimated Ducks

Will Denner FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Ducks narrowly escaped Pullman, Wash. with a road win against the Washington State Cougars last Saturday on a day that will be remembered as “Survivor Saturday.” Along with Florida State, Alabama, and Oklahoma, the Ducks faced an opponent inferior on paper, yet all four of the nation’s top teams legitimately looked like an upset was very much in the …

Top 5 Reasons Why Your Oregon Ducks Will (or Won’t) Be National Champions This Season

Riley Bushnell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

National Champions! It’s the label that everyone associated with the University of Oregon football has long been waiting to use. It narrowly escaped their grasp in 2011 (thanks a lot, Michael Dyer), and also recently with the Bowl Championship Series system fiasco in 2001 … but this year it’s looking like it could all come together. We all were watching Saturday …

Embrace the Uncertainty

Nathan Roholt FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

What will the 2014 season look like? After eight months of speculating, the first part of that question will be answered this Saturday. Those outside of the Oregon program seem certain everything will be just resemble the Ducks we’ve seen much of the past five seasons; the favorite in the Pac-12, and a contender for a playoff spot come January. …

Who “Won” the Summer?

Steven Holstad FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

As a college football season, this is the worst time of the year. We haven’t had football in months, and our patience has run thin in anticipation. Spring games are fun and all, yet they are like giving a sip of water to someone who hasn’t had a drink in days: It’s just not enough. The only news that has …

Like It or Not, the Pressure Is on for Mark Helfrich

Jack Heffernan FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

After just one season in which his team posted an .846 winning percentage, Mark Helfrich is under significant pressure from many fans who doubt his ability to lead the Oregon Ducks to a national title. Such is the life of a head coach of a perennial top-ranked program. The intense scrutiny is nothing new for Helfrich, who inherited the impossible …

Scott’s Turf: Unacceptable Behavior

Scott Reed Editorials

Last fall, during a game at Autzen Stadium, I witnessed a moment I am most embarrassed about; the booing of a college player. Has there ever been a more maligned player in Oregon history than Alejandro Maldonado? Criticism of players is fair game in my opinion; it is what we do. But as George Wrightster told me last week, it’s …

The Past Is the Past: How Chip Kelly Comparisons Are Useless

Steven Holstad FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

For Oregon football fans, the past season has been a unique time. For starters, in the last season of the BCS era, Oregon’s incredible four-year streak of playing in BCS bowls was snapped. It was also the first year for new head coach Mark Helfrich. While he had the best debut season ever for an Oregon coach, some fans still …

As Inaugural College Football Playoff Season Commences, Ducks Timing Is Perfect

Will Denner FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

When the four-team College Football Playoff was formally approved by the NCAA in June 2012, teams, analysts and fans alike rejoiced in the reformation of the BCS — a system which had been previously criticized for not being fair to all teams. The Playoff, which runs through the 2025 season, reduces the likelihood of a deserving team getting left out of …