The Ducks of Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich won the Civil War game over Mike Riley 8 straight years, including twice (2008 and 2009) denying the Beavers their first Rose Bowl invitation since 1957. As soon as Riley took the Nebraska job and the home and home with Oregon was scheduled, I am sure the date was circled on Riley’s calendar. …
To “pass” is to complete something successfully and move on. Or, one can “get a pass” meaning one didn’t fully complete the agreed requirements, but can move on, anyway, exempted from the agreed requirements. “No pass,” on the other hand, typically means one is not qualified to move on and results in a penalty or fine. In its strictest form …
With the firing of football head coach Mark Helfrich and the loss to Oregon State, one of the most difficult chapters in the recent history of Oregon Ducks athletics draws to a close. Meanwhile, the basketball season drives forward. A month into the season, the Ducks lack a win over a ranked team or a team likely to make the NCAA tournament. …
The expectations and excitement around the Oregon basketball team coming into the season was a welcome reprieve from the disaster of a football season that unfolded this fall. Many media experts picked Oregon to make a Final Four run and even win a national title. Pollsters also put Oregon in the top five of the preseason poll for the first time ever. …
Despite many columnists already proclaiming Mark Helfrich was ‘as good as gone’; despite Phil Knight long ago eschewing post game press conferences and removing himself from within 2000 miles of Saturdays ‘Civil War;’ in his Tuesday evening announcement, Oregon AD Rob Mullens stated that he did not have his mind made up regarding coach Mark Helfrich when he left Eugene for his College …
Seven days ago, I, like many of the Oregon faithful, was excited at the prospect of a team on the rise after an emotionally taxing 2016 season. On the road against Utah, the 12th-ranked team in the country, Oregon played like a team with pride and something to lose. The defense played hard and actually made more plays than they …
2016 is in the books. Should the rebuild begin under Mark Helfrich or somebody new? I would like nothing more than to wake up today and get a blaring headline that Rob Mullens has pulled the trigger and followed the University of Texas to become one of two formerly elite programs ready to rebuild. In theory, Oregon had the purse power to …
The Oregon basketball season opened with palpable excitement. Less than a week later, fans saw their Ducks get dominated by an unranked team (Baylor) and their top-five national ranking disappear. The ship appeared to be righted after a win over Valparaiso, a high level mid-major program. The Ducks took the momentum from that win and flew to Maui for the Maui Jim …
A week ago it was reported that former Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny offered his support for Mark Helfrich and yet added that the fans will have their vote, their say in the future of Oregon football coaching. It got me to thinking about all the articles written on this site, the comments and all the negatives and positives I have read …
There’s no questioning that Chip Kelly revolutionized not just the Oregon offense, but college football itself. While Mark Helfrich largely sustained that offensive success with quarterback Marcus Mariota, since he left for the NFL we have seen gradual changes to the Oregon offense. The question today, as Oregon struggles on all fronts, is, are we witnessing the demise of the …
When Dana Altman told reporters that, “Trouble is eight days from today. We have to go down to Baylor and play a game.” After a 35-point victory in the team’s final exhibition, it was as if he could see into the future. Sure enough, when his 4th-ranked Ducks traveled to Texas to take on an unranked and unheralded Baylor squad, the …
There is a massive misunderstanding by many Oregon fans concerning the demise of the Ducks’ defense, and the origins of that decline. While Oregon has well-documented misses in defensive recruiting, there are many who believe that the Ducks are largely deficient in talent on that side of the ball, thus the poor performance with little hope for reversal anytime soon. …
