Game Day: National Championship Edition

Omar Garibay FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The day that we’ve all been waiting for is finally here, and the first ever college football playoff championship game will make history. It was a tough road for the Ducks and while injuries to multiple key players and an early season loss to the Arizona Wildcats caused some Oregon fans to throw in the white towel, that loss and those …

The Moment We Have Been Waiting For

Jason Selby FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Well, the time has finally come. Get your chairs ready, your popcorn popping, and make sure you have fresh batteries in your remote. Tonight is the biggest day in Oregon sports history, and you have the opportunity to watch history be made. Yes, we played in the 2011 National Championship Game against the Auburn Tigers, but with no disrespect to the Tigers, …

Offense Wins Championships

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out It used to be that the teams that specialized in getting those three-and-outs were the ones that won championships: offense wins games – defense wins championships. No offense, but times have changed. Tonight’s national championship game will pit two of the country’s top offensive teams against each other, while the top defensive teams sit at home, watch …

An Editor, Two Teams and One Dream

Natalie Liebhaber FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

“We just have to put our heads down, work hard, play our best and take one game at a time. Then we’ll look up at the end of the year and see where we’ve landed,” says every college football coach at one time or another, usually during an early- or mid-season interview. As an avid fan of two teams, I …

How Statistics Size Up the Ducks vs. Buckeyes Match-up

McKalie Bellew FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

ATTENTION ALL OREGON DUCKS FANS, TOMORROW NIGHT IS THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON. I REPEAT, TOMORROW IS THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON! Everyone, everywhere has been preparing for this matchup since January 1 and now it’s almost time for our men to take the field. In an article on cleveland.com by Rich Exner, he goes over 13 ways …

(Not) The Negative One(s)

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

“It’s a crisis just how you like it. The same drama in a different disguise. I’m bound to walk with a target on my back. At least I’m ready for another attack.” “The Negative One” -Slipknot So outside of football I also rather enjoy heavy metal so these lyrics from Slipknot’s new album made me chuckle while reading about how …

A Season For the Ages

Tyler Robinson FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Stadiums of 50,000-100,000 people are regularly jam-packed. Giant parades are thrown for the team that wins it all. Is there anything like sports? Can you think of any other event that can bring a whole city or state together? You can’t. For whatever reason, sports hold a special place in the hearts of so many different people. When we put …

“Injured” Ducks to Play in National Championship Game

Dave Kensler FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

This season has been amazing on so many levels for the Oregon Ducks, but one of the most overlooked aspects of it might be their response to injuries. Yes, it’s a common phrase that “injuries are part of the game of football.” However, if we take a step back and look at the key impairments over the entire season, I bet …

Grasu Thankful For The Opportunity To Play In The National Championship Game

Omar Garibay FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

He stood on the sidelines as a redshirt freshman, and unlike many other first-year players, he had experienced a magical season. First it was one win, then it was another, and as the weeks and months progressed, his team kept on winning. The magical ride that he was on was memorable, not only for himself and his teammates, but for …

The Ducks Just Keep Getting Better

Max Thornberry FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Monday’s National Championship Game pits the Heisman winning quarterback, Marcus Mariota, who is averaging 294 passing yards per game against the nation’s fourth most efficient pass defense. Similarities between the two fast-paced offenses have been drawn but the Buckeyes will have to stop Mariota and the offense if they want their points to mean anything. While the speed of the offense …

Chip Kelly Update: Front Office Thunderdome

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

For the first time ever in his head coaching career, Chip Kelly’s season ended when the regular season did. It’s got to be killing him, as proud as he no doubt is that his Ducks destroyed Florida State and are heading into the National Championship Game favored by a touchdown. As I’ve said before, he’s Moses, unable to enter the …

Oregon Ducks vs. Ohio State: An Historic National Championship

Jordan Ingram FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The College Football Playoff has seen an Oregon football program peaking at just the right time. The Ducks cruised to a 59-20 victory in the Rose Bowl, employing their famous uptempo offense to burn out the Florida State defenders and their oppressive defense to pressure quarterback Jameis Winston, generating fumbles, turnovers, broken plays, and disrupting just about every aspect of the Seminoles’ game-plan. …