Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out: Winston, Bruins and Ducks

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

There are those Duck fans with the attitude that anything less than a three touchdown win is just unacceptable, and they are heaping criticism on the Duck coaching staff. Some even go so far as to say that the only reason Oregon beat WSU was a favorable non-call on pass interference toward the end of the game. One writer even …

Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out: The Greatest Blunders of 2013

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It was a long, long time ago that I first saw a team totally snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. Unfortunately, the team doing it was our own beloved Oregon Ducks. As I say, it was long ago, so I may be mistaken on a detail or two. Anyway,  the way I remember it, the Ducks were down …

Mike Merrell’s Three-And-Out: Where Have All the Villains Gone?

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Before getting into this week’s Three-and-Out, I have one comment that I haven’t seen anywhere else about the big MSU game: Of Oregon’s 46 points, 38 were scored by underclassmen. With Jeff Lockie looking much improved from a year ago with 11-of-12 passing against South Dakota, don’t worry about 2015. There will be life after Mariota. Now, on to the …

Mike Merrell’s Three-And-Out: Nick Aliotti Was Right

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I know. He was fined. It was not politically correct. It was even against the rules. But it was honest, and it was the truth. Just as Nick Aliotti intimated (well, spouted off, actually), during garbage time of last year’s Oregon/Washington State game Wazoo coach Mike Leach should have been working on his running game instead of scoring two passing …

Mike Merrell’s Three-And-Out: Teams Ready to Take a Dive

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Three-and-Out opens with a look at teams I predict will underachieve in 2014. Does my opinion mean anything? Well, here is a link to my hex on three teams for 2013. To sum it up for those of you in too much of a hurry to read the link, the teams I predicted would not meet preseason hype last year …

This is “THE” year? Not So Fast My Fine Feathered Friends …

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Many Duck football fans have it in their heads that 2014 is a do or die year. After all, the Ducks stand to lose possibly the best player in college football in Marcus Mariota, along with All-Americans center Hroniss Grasu and cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. But while 2014 appears to be a high-opportunity year, the talent expected to be return for …

Ted Miller, Einstein, Receivers and Relativity

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

In a June 27 analysis, ESPN’s Ted Miller rated Oregon’s receivers as “We’ll see.” Ted awarded “Great shape” to receivers for Stanford, Arizona, WSU, USC, ASU and the Berkeley Bears. UCLA, Utah, Washington, OSU and even Colorado got “Good shape.” That left only Oregon to receive the dreaded “We’ll see.” Einstein and I disagree. Just as the theory of special …

Devon Allen Bursts into the Limelight (Race GIF Below!)

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Devon Allen didn’t “just” win the NCAA championship in the 110-meter hurdles. First off, there is no such thing as “just” winning at this level. You’ve got to be an absolute stud to pull it off. Next, there’s the little detail that he also broke the meet record. How big of a deal is that? Well, the previous meet record …

Women’s Golf Sinks Stanford-Northwestern Football Tilt

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Chicago, Ill. September 3, 2015 — Saturday’s matchup between last year’s Pac-12 Northern Division runner-up Stanford and Northwestern has been canceled due to Stanford’s refusal to cross union picket lines that were established when the Northwestern Organization for Growth of Immense Revenues for Labor in Sports (NOGIRLS) voted to strike. In a complex chain of events, a Seventh Circuit federal …

SEC ‘Gauntlet’ Missing Lower Teeth

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Those from the lower right corner of the country would have us believe that the fabled SEC gauntlet provides no rest for the weary warriors, as they battle their way through one formidable SEC foe after another.  Top to bottom, the SEC is just the toughest thing going in college sports, or so the story goes. The SEC’s recent decision …

Should Targeting Be a Felony?

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We all love rock ’em, sock ’em football, but with all the recent concern for player safety, we need to give thought to just what can be done to make the game safer for the players.  Basically there are only two ways to do this: more protective equipment and further regulating the conduct of those involved in the game. You …

The Heisman: Just Say NO!

Mike Merrell Editorials

With the 2013 football season behind us, the hype for the 2014 Heisman has begun, with Marcus Mariota at or near the top of the list.  My reaction is simple: Just say NO! It’s not that Mariota doesn’t deserve consideration for the Heisman.  Quite the contrary, it’s the Heisman that doesn’t deserve consideration from Mariota, or any of the other …