In the 2001 season, the Oregon Ducks were looking to build upon the steady success they had grown accustomed to in recent years. Coming off of a 10-2 season in 2000, the only losses coming at the hands of Wisconsin and Oregon State in the Civil War game that ultimately cost the Ducks an outright conference championship, the Ducks were …
Eight-Straight: The Streak that Made the Dawgs Bow Down
Once upon a time, there was really only one consistently successful football program in the northwest. The Washington Huskies, at times dominant, other times laughable, had stood as a power program for much of the past century. Located in the largest metropolis of our rainy corner of the continent, for years Washington seemed to have a stranglehold on the best …
DeAnthony Thomas: Was Lane Kiffin right?
In 2011 when DeAnthony Thomas commit to Oregon right before signing day, he effectively turned his back on USC and new head coach Lane Kiffin. USC fans were nervously looking at this defection as another example of Kiffin’s early failings. After all, Kiffin was hired to replace arguably the best coach in school history, and even he didn’t exactly leave …
Oregon Football: The De’Anthony Debate
After the heartbreaking loss in the BCS Championship game following the perfect 12-0 2010 regular season, The Ducks entered the offseason with some optimism, and some uncertainty. The hurt of falling just short (some would say, a wrist short) of a national championship was a sting that remained resilient for a long time waiting for the 2011 season, the return …
Oregon Football 2012: Over/Under – Defense
It’s time to take a look back at how the Oregon defense fared in 2011, and what to expect in the upcoming season. Will the defense hold up their end of the bargain, keeping up with the torrid pace of the Oregon offense? Will they be better or worse than the Rose Bowl Champion defense of last year? How many tackles will …
Oregon Football 2012: Over/Under – Offense
The Oregon Ducks further cemented their reputation for explosive offensive prowess in 2011. Nationally, when people start to talk about Oregon, the words Nike and points are not far behind…lots and lots of points. Right along with uniforms and speed, the Ducks seem to be viewed as a trifecta of all of these attributes, and for good reason. In 2011, …
Bennett or Mariota? Why it doesn’t matter
As the Oregon Ducks football team prepares this summer for the upcoming 2012 season, many personnel questions will remain unanswered, as voluntary practices and workouts will continue to go unseen for the foreseeable future, all media and the public barred from attending. We expect to be watching a few new faces on the field next fall, but no question that one of …
LaMichael James follows a record-breaking trail from Oregon to the 49ers
The day it happened was a memorable one, September 3rd, 2011. Outside, the thermometers in Dallas had been registering triple digits, a humid-but-windy true “Texas heat.” For those who haven’t had the pleasure, try to imagine the feel of standing in a wind tunnel fed by an industrial-sized blow dryer, with occasional whiffs of car exhaust and decaying plant life. …
Pac-12’s Biggest Loser: ’08 Washington vs ’11 Oregon State
No, this isn’t a feature on an offseason weight loss competition insprired by a popular TV show matching two historically feeble football rivals. Sorry if that is what you were expecting based on the title, as funny as that might be to imagine. Instead, consider this as a head-to-head battle between two of the undisputed worst teams in conference history, slugging it out for title of …
OREGON DUCKS FOOTBALL: Spring Game Take Away / Throw Away
It can be difficult to discern exactly what to make of a football team after taking in the 15th of the allotted 15 spring practice sessions. Some say that you can’t put too much into any of it, what with kickoff of the first game still four months away. Others simply can’t ignore the intrigue of how a play like a …
THE OREGON SPRING GAME: 7 Ducks You Need To Watch
Finally! We are allowed to go back inside!! The Annual Oregon Spring Game is upon us. Yes, you read that right, we are now just mere HOURS away! Congratulations to all of you fellow Duck fan “survivors.” As my good friend “Fitz” likes to say, we have survived the “Dark Age.” This of course comes after one of his other token phrases, “Welcome …
Oregon Ducks Football: Good Cop/Bad Cop with the 7 Toughest Matchups in 2012
The line between a team achieving a 12-2 dream season and an 8-5 “rebuilding year” is probably much narrower than many of us would like to admit. If the Oregon Ducks are fortunate enough to win a 4th consecutive Pac-10/12 conference crown in football this coming year, there are sure to be some close calls along the way. Arizona in …