The Mike White situation, as recently described in the R-G, immediately brought to mind a similar situation with the women’s basketball program, when Jody Runge was dumped after the 2000-2001 season. In both cases, there were communication breakdowns between the athletic directors (Bill Moos, Rob Mullens) and the coaches, with the fallout resulting in many unhappy U of O fans. Prior …
Both Oregon men’s basketball teams played this weekend. On Thursday against Arizona, you saw the one with heart that ran down every missed shot and made the extra passes to create easy shots. That team won. On Saturday, the team full of “athletes” couldn’t shoot the ball into a swimming pool. Horrific shooting — again — 26% in the second …
Since the National Championship game, college football analyst Joel Klatt has been making the sports talk-show circuit (Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless and The Herd with Colin Cowherd). He shared some amazing insights on both shows about the game — specifically, about several differences between the Clemson and Alabama football programs. Klatt shared a statistic that might warm long-time …
You needn’t have been clad from head-to-toe in Duck gear, hoisting locally-brewed libations, and screaming at a wide-screen (or the field) to have noticed a pond-change in the 2018 Duck football team’s persona. Actually, it shouldn’t take any deductive or visual attention at all— the new head coach, Mario Cristobal, was very clear: the Ducks needed to get bigger, stronger, …
Oregon’s offense underachieved in 2018. The offensive unit had a variety of issues throughout the season, and those issues were alarmingly prevalent in the Redbox Bowl against a feisty Michigan State defense. Although the Ducks earned a hard-fought victory, it wasn’t because of their offense, which struggled to establish any sort of rhythm throughout the game. Oregon finished with a …
It’s a wonderful time to be an Oregon Ducks fan. Justin Herbert and nine other starters are set to return on offense, so 2019 could be a special season. But what will it take for the Ducks’ talented trigger-man to take the Ducks to the next level? Let’s explore the qualities and attributes that make a great quarterback, and see if Oregon’s …
The Oregon women’s basketball team is marching toward a Pac-12 title and a high NCAA tournament seed. Meanwhile, we’ll call what the men’s team is grinding through the learning year. As if being riddled with injuries and lacking a number one scorer isn’t enough, Oregon’s lack of experience is now showing up as they fail to to close out late leads …
Oregon will be in the 2019 playoffs, as some of us here have been talking about 2019 since early in the 2017 season. We discussed how after a steady rebuild, and if Justin Herbert came back for his senior season, we’d have a chance to play for championship. Given the performance of 2018, and the level of player and coaching …
I forgive you for thinking that the Ducks would return to glory in 2018. I forgive you for thinking that they would be Crist-o-ballin’ back to the Rose Bowl or maybe even the playoffs. And I forgive your twitter hyperbole and article comments of anticipatory grandeur, despite the fact that it was delusional to expect such a drastic turnaround in …
It was billed as the biggest National Championship Game since the legendary meeting between USC and Texas in 2006. The unheard of fourth straight postseason matchup between Alabama and Clemson had all the makings of an instant classic. The field was littered with future NFL draft picks. The opposing quarterbacks were among the best in the sport. And head coaches …
A flurry of controversy began as soon as the announcement broke that Justin Herbert would return to the Oregon Ducks for his senior season. Many fans seemed to support the return and viewed it as an opportunity for him to further his development and play alongside his younger brother. However, there exists a subset of folks who believe turning down the …
Let’s continue to take a look at the state of the Pac-12 Conference, as there have been some recent developments over the past couple of weeks. (Related articles: “Has Larry Scott Sunk Pac-12 Football?” and “Larry Scott and the Pac-12’s Problems.”) Pac-12 Officiating Strikes Again We all know about the bashing that Pac-12 officiating has received over the years. All of it, well-deserved. It …