Good teams win games and lose games, but truly great teams always find a way to win. This does not mean Oregon is a great team, but they are on their way to greatness. Oregon is currently 3-0, and as fans, we haven’t felt good about any of those three wins. Against Stanford, Oregon turned the ball over twice and …
A subject of great debate with Oregon fans, Bruin boosters and even the sports media has been whether the Chip Kelly offense that he began in Eugene will work at UCLA. I can give reasons in both directions, and I will do so here while providing an ultimate conclusion, a prediction on the level of success Chip Kelly will have …
Some of you must think I’m off my rocker, as Chip Kelly is known for great success through his extraordinary 46-7 tenure in Eugene. Yet he made some mistakes that prevented him from winning the National Championship; mistakes that were not football related. The question on my mind: will he repeat these blunders at UCLA? Did he learn and grow from these …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out It’s incredible and yet it’s still surprising. Beating Georgia State, 61-28, using a generous helping of second, third and fourth stringers just wasn’t enough blood for too many fans. What seems to be forgotten is that September 19 is still fairly early in the season. We’re still only half way to the selection committee’s first way-too-early declaration …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out In a gag-me-with-a-spoon move coming from two time zones away, ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg dished up an unappetizing morsel about the professionalism of Jim Mora and the UCLA football program. Mora, it seems, runs his organization like an NFL team. Since Rittenburg went to Northwestern and is currently rumored to be living just outside Chicago, he is a good …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out My first direct contact with a big-time football coach came in fall of 1966 when John Robinson — then an assistant at Oregon — blessed us incoming freshmen swimmers with a pep talk. It was all about what a great athletic family the Ducks were. With a fist waving in the air, Robinson declared that when you …
It is a great year to be a Ducks fan, am I right? Especially for the fans that have been dedicated through the harder times. I cannot even begin to describe how proud I am of our men not only from tonight but from this season all together. Here is a short recap of this years season for our Ducks: …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out To nobody’s surprise, the present four-team playoff system is proving to be at best a Band-Aid to stop the bleeding until a real solution is in place to crown a national champion in Division I-A football. Right or wrong, there seems to be a semblance of consensus over the top three teams, but it’s a train wreck …
Since the previous week featured so much condemnation and in-fighting among Duck fans, a win over a ranked UCLA team was just what the doctor ordered to settle down some heated feelings. It appears that it isn’t just Duck fans who have trouble getting along when their team is losing. UCLA coach Jim Mora blessed us with quite a show …
Arizona started the upset bus, and the state of Mississippi took over from there. Many had their top four penciled in for the playoffs, but after today they can just throw that list out. Thursday night, Duck fans were left to wonder when it will be their year, while Alabama fans are still learning to grasp the feeling and emotions …
There are those Duck fans with the attitude that anything less than a three touchdown win is just unacceptable, and they are heaping criticism on the Duck coaching staff. Some even go so far as to say that the only reason Oregon beat WSU was a favorable non-call on pass interference toward the end of the game. One writer even …
As spring ball is about to start, the nation still has its eyes turned toward March Madness. It has been the most exciting two days the tournament has seen in years. Not a single perfect bracket is left. Watching the underdog win and move on is always exciting. I am really pulling for a “Cinderella” team to win it all. The …
