This is the time of year where all the Pre-season awards land upon Duck football players. The number of those named has grown impressively over the years with the superb recruiting of Coach Mario Cristobal. But would you actually bet that each of the hyped players comes through with an outstanding season to confirm the early awards? Some, I believe …
Jon Joseph‘s article yesterday got me to pondering about the whole, “income-for-the-college-athlete” situation, and I recalled how last summer at this time–players in the Pac-12 were making a number of demands and the discussion was going to include a piece of the athletic pie (budget) going to them. Then COVID cancelled the season and it all was forgotten, but at …
There are many fans who look on this year as a “crossroads” point for Oregon Football. Are the Ducks going to begin showing the impact of three prize recruiting classes? Will Coach Mario Cristobal prepare his team to beat all opponents with less talent? Will the offensive attack be truly turned over to Offensive Coordinator Joe Moorhead? Can Oregon improve …
I’ve often wondered what Athletic Director Rob Mullens was expecting of Oregon’s offense when he announced Mario Cristobal as head football coach in his news conference (Featured Photo above) in December, 2017. I assume he was told what I thought I heard from news sources at that time, that Cristobal explained how the Ducks would, “get tougher in the trenches, …
The Ducks have made a big change in a subtle way that could mark the gradual decline of the Pistol formation at Oregon! This change was evident in the Pac-12 Championship, but not in the Fiesta Bowl, yet materialized again in the Oregon Spring Game. I refer to how the Inside Zone out of the Shotgun is now being run, …
The Spring Game was certainly a coming-out party for quite a number of freshmen, as we were all impressed with the new players in Robby Ashford, Ty Thompson, Dont’e Thornton and Troy Franklin. I also loved what I noted of the receiving and blocking of the new Tight Ends in Terrance Ferguson and Moliki Matavao, yet another player caught my …
I have noted a ton of respect for Coach Jonathan Smith and the emerging offense at Oregon State among those who comment on this site. I also give Coach Smith kudos for what he accomplished as Washington’s offensive coordinator. After licking our wounds from last year’s game with the Beavers, and considering the underperforming Oregon offense, is it time to …
Say it isn’t so! Taggart can’t have outscored Cristobal! That cannot be right because if it is, the decline of the Oregon offense under head coach Mario Cristobal is even more frustrating to many of us Greybeard-age Duck fans. Full disclosure up front: this is a critical analysis article that will contain both facts and opinions. If your personal self-worth …
Trust me, the title is not “Bait-and-Switch,” and you will need to hear me out on this. First of all, we have not done a single “bait-and-switch” type title in nine years; in the early days of the site I did not know better and made that mistake. Now, all our titles tell Google what the article is about and …
When the whole Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) issue materialized in the media … didn’t you just cringe when you first heard about it? I was thinking about how “this could be the beginning of the end of college athletics” when considering all the unintended consequences, and of all the ramifications that did come to mind. This sounds like a mess, and unfortunately–it …
FishDuck writer and frequent commenter Jon Joseph pondered aloud recently if Oregon just shouldn’t go with Ty Thompson, mortgaging the present in hopes of a payoff over the next two years. Whew! That is intriguing, as there are those at this site who see Oregon as a potential playoff candidate this year. Our best chance in Columbus, these folks say, …
It seems obvious now that Athletic Director Rob Mullens has done a tremendous job at Oregon, but a few years ago this site was in a veritable melt-down as many wanted to see him gone. “He doesn’t know how to hire good people” and “he is just a bean-counter” are the type of phrases written in emails to me and …
