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 …

Oregon Peaking At The Right Time

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Ask any football analyst and they will tell you the difference between a good team and a championship team is timing. A great team that peaks too early can wind up crumbling while a mediocre team that peaks at the right time can win a championship. Oregon however is something very rare, a great team that is peaking at the …

Ducks Team Effort Puts Away FSU

Max Thornberry FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The University of Oregon Ducks’ dominance of the Florida State Seminoles in last night’s Rose Bowl forced the country to sit up and pay attention to what is happening in Eugene. Interest was piqued when Oregon made it to the national championship game against Auburn in 2010 and now they have returned looking faster and stronger than ever. Oregon successfully …

Thursday Reaction: Ducks Appear Unstoppable

Caleb Couturie FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Score, force a turnover, repeat. That seemed to be the game plan in what was perhaps the most exciting, yet simultaneously shocking, half of football I’ve ever seen in my young life. The Ducks steamrolled Florida State, utilizing a second half where Oregon scored 34 unanswered points and FSU turned the ball over on five of six straight drives. It was …

Top Three Reasons Why Oregon Beat Florida State

Austin Willhoft FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

What a statement! As a Duck fan, this was by far the best performance I’ve seen from Oregon this season. They showed the college football world, along with all their doubters, that they indeed have the power to beat any team that poses a challenge to them. In this case, the Seminoles came into the 101st edition of the Tournament …

Oregon vs Florida State: 200 is the Magic Number

Nik Brownlee FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

At 2 p.m. today, the Ducks will play in the 101st Rose Bowl game against the Florida State Seminoles. “The Granddaddy Of Them All” has multiple storylines this year: a matchup of Heisman winners in Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, traditional powerhouse Florida State facing off against the modern day power Oregon, east coast vs west coast, the come-from-behind Seminoles …

We All Know Grasu Wants to Play, But Will He?

Austin Willhoft FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

With only two days left until the commencement of the 101st Rose Bowl, the Ducks have been utilizing the last couple of days to recap their game plan come kickoff. This especially includes sharpening things on the defensive side of the ball  in order to stop “Famous” Jameis Winston from controlling the game. On the offensive side, one of the …

Thomas Tyner to the Rescue? A Ducks Fan Hopes So

Randy Morse FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

OK Thomas: from one Oregonian to another, man, I need your help. Specifically, I need you to help Royce Freeman, Byron Marshall, Kenny Basset and Marcus Mariota run roughshod over the Florida State defense in the Rose Bowl this Thursday. It’s personal, Thomas. Do it — for me! Top photo by Kevin Cline

Five Important Aspects of Tonight’s Civil War Game

McKalie Bellew FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It’s game day and the anxious butterflies in my stomach are going crazy! Not only is it the last game of the regular season for our Ducks but it’s the Civil War game. I have heard people say that this is not a rivalry game but I can’t think of any reason it wouldn’t be, and it seems to be …

Could Injuries Affect Oregon’s Hopes of Reaching the National Championship?

Austin Willhoft FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

During last Saturday’s game against Utah, the Ducks suffered some significant injuries to some key players. Cornerback Ifo-Ekpre Olomu left early in the game with a bad toe injury, while center Hroniss Grasu went down with a devastating knee injury late in the game. However, the most serious injury that occurred was that to tight end Pharaoh Brown, who was eventually …

Some Key Aspects of the Oregon vs. Utah game

Austin Willhoft FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

That’s right Duck fans, tonight is the night! The No.17 Utah Utes will host the No.4 Oregon Ducks in a highly anticipated showdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. Going into this matchup, the Utah Utes possess a dominating defense similar to Stanford’s; they lead the country in sacks with 4.88 per game. On the other hand, the …