Here are the facts. Oregon’s defense has significant problems. Losing to Oregon State was both unacceptable and embarrassing. And the Ducks are underperforming considering the amount of talent they’ve acquired in recent years. Here’s another fact. Oregon is just a few wins away from repeating as Pac-12 champions for the first time in nearly a decade. Fans have every right …
This year’s initial College Football Playoff rankings were bound to be the strangest, for obvious reasons. In a year marred by uncertainty, it was anyone’s guess as to how the committee would weigh factors such as the number of games a team has played, strength of schedule and even games lost due to unavailable players. Although the Ducks were considered …
Read options, designed quarterback runs, multi-level RPOs, numerous deep passes … are we sure the team that wore green and yellow at Autzen last Saturday was Mario Cristobal’s Oregon Ducks? The Ducks’ offense still has the same ground-and-pound mentality that head coach Cristobal loves, but for the first time in a while, Oregon’s offense feels … creative. It has only …
Which team will be the fourth seed in the College Football Playoff? That’s the biggest question circulating among college football pundits and analysts right now, even though the season hasn’t even begun for a handful of Power Five teams. Perhaps a more relevant question is: does it even matter? This past Saturday confirmed that three teams — Clemson, Ohio State …
Kayvon Thibodeaux wasted no time justifying his five-star recruiting rating. As a true freshman in 2019, he established himself as one of the premier pass rushers in the Pac-12, and he saved his best effort for last, as the underdog Ducks took on the College-Football-Playoff-contending Utah Utes in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Thibodeaux wrecked the Utes, finishing with 2.5 sacks …
CJ Verdell took his share of criticism for a solid but unspectacular 2018 season. As a freshman, Verdell was a capable ball carrier, rushing for over 1,000 yards and averaging just over 5 yards per carry. But considering he ran behind arguably the best offensive line in the country, those numbers were a bit underwhelming. Things were different in 2019, …
Marcus Mariota is undoubtedly the greatest quarterback to put on an Oregon Ducks jersey. He took the country by storm in his three collegiate seasons, carving up defenses with a blend of blazing athleticism and pinpoint accuracy. He became Oregon’s first and only Heisman trophy winner in his final season, and he nearly led the Ducks to a long-awaited national …
NFL scouts have a difficult job. They spend countless hours studying film, conducting interviews and doing research on hundreds of draft prospects. Even then, after all of their legwork, some of the most respected scouts miss on their evaluations fairly often. Sometimes, finding future NFL talent is little more than a guessing game. However, once in a blue moon, a …
Few things have impacted the game of football like the spread offense. The revolutionary concept of spreading the field to dictate the box count and to get athletes in space wasn’t widely accepted by the football community at first. But now, it’s the base offensive system for nearly every team at every level. With offenses rarely employing multiple running backs …
Of all the great Oregon Ducks football teams of the early 2010s, the 2012 team might have been the greatest. In Chip Kelly’s final season as head coach, the Ducks’ hyperspeed, spread-option offense was at the peak of its powers. For all but one game, Oregon was arguably the best team in college football. But a slip up against Stanford …
College football coaches have to tread carefully when recruiting quarterbacks in today’s landscape. With blue-chip passers transferring at the very threat of competition, coaches do everything in their power to ensure that highly touted quarterbacks not only commit to their school, but also stay long enough to make an impact. For this reason, coaches generally sign one quarterback at most …
A curious trend has emerged in college football — one that’s as senseless as it is perplexing. Fans and analysts alike have become fixated on conference strength. It used to be blasphemous, but nowadays, many Oregon fans find themselves cheering on their fieriest rivals in out-of-conference or bowl games, hoping that they represent the Pac-12 well and improve its perception. …