Kevin Cline If you ever have the opportunity to watch a big Ducks game in a backwoods South Carolina bar on $1 beer night, I highly recommend doing so. Unless you’re wearing an Oregon jersey and the team happens to get beaten like a rented mule. In that kind of situation, you’d probably meet this guy named Mo (or as …
Kevin Cline The next three months should be an exciting time for fans of Oregon football recruiting. With national signing day approaching, the Ducks are looking to round out their class with some elite players. While smart money is on Helfrich and company to put together a group that can rival the 2012 and 2013 classes, there is still a …
Kevin Cline Great teams make good teams look average. After last night, there’s no doubt that Oregon is a great football team. The Ducks beat the UCLA Bruins, 42-14, in a game that showed the nation they’re more than just an offensive juggernaut. After Saturday night, those left questioning Oregon’s championship credentials are few. With all due respect to Coach …
Kevin Cline Oregon’s 2014 recruiting class keeps getting better. It might not end up a large class, but it will be talented, very talented. Fans shouldn’t concern themselves with team recruiting rankings, since as I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, those rankings are biased against teams with effective roster management like Stanford and Oregon. To recap, quantity (class …
from video Ten years is a long time. A gloriously long time. On Saturday afternoon, the Oregon football team capped a decade of dominance against their most hated rival, the Washington Huskies. The Ducks controlled the game and won convincingly, 45-24. While watching the game yesterday afternoon, it was hard not to think about “The Pick.” Arguably the most iconic moment …
Kevin Cline If you’re expecting Oregon to finish high in the recruiting rankings this year, then prepare to be disappointed. Last week, I went against popular opinion and explained why I thought Oregon would be taking a relatively small 2014 recruiting class. Now it looks like they might take an even smaller class than I suspected. On Tuesday, Justin Hopkins …
Kevin Cline Those expecting the Ducks to finish high in this year’s recruiting rankings should think twice. While the quality of recruits should be high, the quantity may not be. Oregon’s recruiting got off to a hot start but then quickly slowed, with very little activity in the past couple of months. Expect that to change in October, but nonetheless, …
Kevin Cline Mark Helfrich may have just coached his third game at the helm of the Oregon Ducks, but Saturday was his inauguration. A national audience watched the Ducks overwhelm and dismantle the Tennessee Volunteers 59-14, looking every bit the No. 2 team in the country. Not many fans and pundits nationwide looked at big wins over Nicholls and Virginia …
There is no debate: in college football, nothing is more important than talent. The overwhelmingly positive correlation between talent and winning says it all. While many factors go into becoming a successful, winning program, no other has as much of an impact as talent. There’s a reason coaches take recruiting so seriously. This week, we look at the four most …
Last week, we looked at #12 through #9 of the Pac-12 Talent Rankings. This week, we profile four more squads. Below is an explanation of our tier-system used to compile the data: Tier-E: 5-star rating by at least one service Tier-1: 4-star rating by at least two services Tier-2: 4-star rating by one service Tier-3: 3-star rating by at least two services …
Kevin Cline Last week, we looked at the significance of talent and recruiting rankings. This week, we begin counting down to the most talented roster in the Pac-12. Below is an explanation of the tier-system used to compile the data: Tier-E: 5-star rating by at least one service Tier-1: 4-star rating by at least two services Tier-2: 4-star rating by …
“Recruiting rankings don’t matter”. Typically, this is said by fans after their favorite team picks up a commitment from a two or three-star player who is “underrated”. So, is it true? Do recruiting rankings act as a good predictor of on-field success? I defer to Matt Hinton, who wrote a great five-part series called “Star Power.” A part of the …