The Greatest Prank EVER Pulled on Charles “FishDuck” Fischer

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

I had no idea what I was in for on Wednesday morning as I came into my office and began to check emails. I saw an ominous title of “Audit” and the sender as none other than the head of compliance at the investment firm I represent. Every other year he comes to Oregon on a Friday, tears files apart, and examines all that …

Pac-12 Saturday Game Slate: It’s raining … Top-25 match-ups?

Pat Pannu FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

You would have to live under a rock to not know about the Ducks’ game this week. People all over the country have been salivating and waiting for this since the moment Michigan State beat Stanford in the Rose Bowl. But did you know that there is one other Top-25 Pac-12 match-up this week? While USC @ Stanford can’t quite …

Chip Kelly Update: Here Goes Nothin’

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Philadelphia Eagles finalized their roster this week, polished their trickiest schemes in closed practices and got ready for the season to actually begin. The Eagles are 10.5 point favorites at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, led by quarterback Chad Henne. Older fans will remember Chip Kelly’s second game as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2007 when the Ducks crushed the …

Oregon Football Recruiting Analysis: Who is Knocking on Oregon’s Door?

Jason Fowler FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

While the 2014 college football season has just begun, this time also marks the second half of the recruiting season. This is the time of year that recruiting really heats up and high school seniors take their official visits to schools of interest. Oregon historically does its best recruiting during the football season after having its best recruiting preseason ever. So, …

Ducks Welcome a Rather Drab and Dingy Michigan State Squad

Kim Hastings FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

That is not an insult. It’s really a compliment. I admire Michigan State University. The Merriam-Webster definition of Spartan is “marked by simplicity, frugality or avoidance of luxury and comfort.“ And they take the definition seriously. The school motto, translated into English, means: See what I mean? But Michiganders as a group of sports fans are to be admired. After all, they …

Opponent Analysis: How to Combat the Spartans

Rory Davidson FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The excitement for Duck fans is rising by the hour, as they get ready to welcome one of the biggest non-conference regular season games in Duck history! It is the first Top-10 match-up of the college football season, and will have an immediate impact on the inaugural College Football Playoff picture. Both Oregon and Michigan State are appearing regularly in analysts’ playoff predictions; …

College Fantasy Football Leagues: The New Drug

Caleb Couturie FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Starting Thursday night, you cling to the edge of your couch screaming for your fantasy team player to score a touchdown. You shoot up out of your seat and jump around every time your starting defense picks off the opposing quarterback. You curse and yell when you watch your No. 1 running back fumble the ball on the goal line. The …

Recruiting Update: Time Will (Marvell) Tell

Mark Flores FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Football Recruiting Commitments This past weekend’s 62-13 bludgeoning of South Dakota came complete with a “Quack” from one of the west coast’s top preps. Tabbed athlete Malik Lovette (4-Star/Redlands, CA/Rivals250) committed to Mark Helfrich and Co. prior to Oregon’s Saturday night romp, further stacking speed with likes of fellow commits Taj Griffin (4-Star/Powder Springs, GA/Rivals100) and Travis Waller (4-Star/Anaheim, CA/Rivals100). News …

Ready to Take the Lead: One-on-One With Keanon Lowe

Ashley Young FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Let’s take a moment to re-live the Oregon vs Cal game from last season. We all remember the rain, right? In one of the wettest games in Autzen history, the Ducks marched onto a 55-16 victory over the Golden Bears. There is one play in particular that needs to be recognized. It was the first quarter, Marcus Mariota swung out …

Royce Freeman Embraces Oregon’s Straddled Triple Option

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Analysis

There were plenty of surprises in this game to please even the most ardent fan, but for me — the most satisfying was watching new freshman running back Royce Freeman run Oregon’s Straddled Triple Option as if he were a senior and following his offensive line for years. His part of the play is the Inside Zone Read option, and most …

Playoff & Pac-12 Update: The Wait is Over

Steven Holstad FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It’s finally – finally! — football season! As the first weekend of college football wraps up, don’t expect any major changes when it comes to rankings, especially at the top. However, expect one major theme to be consistent with all top programs, there are still kinks to work out, and there is still work to do. Florida State Let’s start with the …

The Unveiling of Royce Freeman

Nathan Roholt FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

With the Ducks revealing little in anticipation of next week’s non-conference pièce de résistance, it was two true freshmen left to dominate the storylines from Saturday’s game: The Unveiling of Royce Freeman Kickoff wasn’t until 7:30 Saturday night, but the texts came early in the morning: “Is Royce going to live up to the hype?” Of all the question marks that …