Mario Cristobal is building something special at Oregon. He is taking a school that sits at the physical and metaphorical fringes of the College Football world and elevating it into a football power. Now, none of this would be possible without the prominent coaches who came before him: Rich Brooks, Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly, and Mark Helfrich. All these coaches …
With change comes opportunity. As Andy Avalos leaves Oregon to take the head coaching job at Boise State, there is an opportunity for Mario Cristobal to evaluate the Oregon defense and elevate the defense to the next level. Coach Eric Boles was kind enough to give us his most recent list of top five defensive coordinator candidates, which shows us …
Dear Mario Cristobal, I, like many Duck fans, have appreciated the recruiting revolution and the defensive reinvigoration brought during your tenure. The back-to-back Pac-12 Championships are a major step accomplishment for an Oregon program that bottomed out in 2016. It has been a fast rebuild back to the top of the Pac-12, and for that we are appreciative. There is …
This year was marked by an underachieving defense from the outset. However, it is worth reiterating that a great deal of the defense’s underachievement came as the result of Jevon Holland, Brady Breeze and Thomas Graham opting out. At the end of the season, though, we can say that this is the start of a new era for Oregon’s defense. Mario …
In my very first article for FishDuck, I wrote about why Oregon would be the team to save the Pac-12 Conference. I wrote that this would require Oregon getting to the playoff and making it to the National Championship Game. But this year, with all of the unexpected setbacks from COVID-19, we have to settle for a non-playoff New Years …
2020 has not been a good year for Pac-12 football, and has become a major disappointment for Oregon fans. COVID-19 has taken its toll on all of NCAA Football, but the Pac-12’s decision to start late has left the conference truly undecided heading into championship week. To complicate matters, only one team has actually played all its scheduled games this …
Oregon has yet to put a solid four quarters of play together this season. Against Cal, it was Oregon’s offense that lost the game, where in the previous week against Oregon State it was Oregon’s defense. The defense this past weekend, despite a terrible first half, put together its best performance of the season. The defense obviously needs to continue …
After four ugly games, it’s safe to say Oregon’s defense has failed on every level. Oregon has the most talented roster in the Pac-12 on paper, and when you assess each player individually, this is true. However, football is a team sport, and instead of putting a cohesive defense on the field, Oregon has eleven players just running around. A …
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 …
This is not the year we envisioned for Oregon’s offensive line. We all expected to have Penei Sewell anchor the left side this fall. However, the pandemic robbed us of the opportunity to watch Sewell dominate the line of scrimmage for one final season as a Duck, as he instead prepares for the 2021 NFL Draft. Sewell’s opt-out dramatically changed …
Marcus Mariota is the greatest Oregon football player of all time. He won Oregon its first Heisman Trophy and still holds most of the quarterback records for Oregon. Tragically, though, Mariota suffered the all-too-frequent fate of many great college players; he was drafted early by a team that had no idea what to do with him. At Tennessee, he played in …
Oregon can make the College Football Playoff in 2020 despite a a shortened season. Their path, however, is narrow, and the Ducks will require help. What Oregon has control over is two things: win and win big. Oregon cannot afford to win games by only one score this year. If Mario Cristobal and company are serious about making the playoff, …