Put down that winter lawn fertilizer? Complete that final outdoor home improvement project before the weather changes? Costco it up? Take your dog on that hike you have been promising? Finally, unplug the toilet in that pesky half-bath add-on? Locate your old Groucho Marx disguise in the attic so you can “discreetly” purchase hemorrhoid cream? Or, just lounge around watching other loser teams play?
Duck fans, we are entering the Bye Week Blues.
Some ideas:
Dillon Gabriel
Gabriel gets his first NFL start this Sunday in London, with the Cleveland Browns taking on the Minnesota Vikings. Kickoff is at 6:30 a.m. PDT, so either go to bed early Saturday night (lame), or, if you are a night-owl who parties like a wildcat, stay up and have Uber Eats deliver your Egg McMuffins before you pass out at half-time.
I remember being so excited seeing Chris Miller play for the Atlanta Falcons in the late ’80s, “Yes! A Duck is a starting quarterback in the NFL!”
It was so exciting. Nowadays, it has become a bit ho-hum. We are spoiled. This Sunday we will see Gabriel, Bo Nix, and Justin Herbert starting for NFL teams. Unfortunately, it looks like Marcus Mariota is back on the bench with the return of Jayden Daniels from a bum knee.
Here is to the reaggravation of injury!
Other Games
Clemson at North Carolina
What I am calling the “Depressing Bowl.” In this new age of NIL, Clemson has fallen far from grace. Coach Dabo Swinney has not embraced the change. And, Bill Belichick, the greatest coach in NFL history, has decided to treat his retirement from pro football as one big lesson in humility.
That crazy lady girlfriend just makes it more eye-popping.
I promised Walter we’d go on a special hike if he wore this jersey last Saturday. With Oregon on a bye, do I do it this weekend? Hmmm… (photo by Spuds McKenzie)
Miami at Florida State
Mario Cristobal is in his fourth year with the Miami Hurricanes, and I see it developing in a similar manner as his fourth year at Oregon. Like in 2021, with the Ducks, he is 4-0 and has a huge win under his belt. With the Ducks that year, it was at Ohio State; this year it was against Notre Dame.
It was at this point in 2021 that he inexplicably lost on the road to a woeful Stanford team. Now, we all know how hostile things can get in Palo Alto… oh wait, never mind, I got that confused with playing at Penn State last week.
My point here is, if Mario is still Mario, he is going to blow this promising start while making blunders all along the way, and end up playing in a bowl game that is not affiliated with the College Football Playoff.
Vanderbilt at Alabama
A bit of an odd pick as many of you will not this, but I actually want Kalen DeBoer to succeed at Alabama. Which, is odd since I am an Oregon fan and I despise Alabama.
When DeBoer took over at Washington, I was prepared to not like him. I then heard him in an interview, and thought to myself, “Ah crap, I actually kind of like the guy.”
I think it is because I can relate to his easy-going, “west-coast” personality, which is in contrast to the hard-nosed, Bear Bryan/Nick Saban, “football is God,” mindset in the south.
I see a regional battle going on at Alabama, and I am rooting for the west. I am hoping DeBoer can prove to those good ole’ southern boys that you can simultaneously love football and have a hobby.
Have a good bye weekend, everyone, and as a So-Cal surfer might say, “Hang ten!”
Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: Max Unkrich
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in financial technology in SLC, Utah.
Share your thoughts about this team in the only free, “polite and respectful” Oregon Sports message board, the Our Beloved Ducks forum!
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Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.