The wait for the 2021 season has not been that much different than prior years … it just feels that way. We are all so anxious to see how the team will perform after an under-performing 2020, (hampered by COVID restrictions) not having a full team present for 2020 games and finally–now having full fall and spring 2021 camps with …
The 2021 football season starts tomorrow! Yes, some teams have already played, but that is a sideshow to the main event. The early season is when most teams play their out-of-conference schedules and this is the time that these games become vital to a conference’s image. In the past five years or so, the Pac-12 has not fared well. It’s …
Anthony Brown was officially named starting quarterback a few days ago for Our Beloved Ducks in the season opener, which will be this Saturday against Fresno State. No surprise there. As fans, we’ve been clamoring over Oregon’s quarterback question all summer, so it’s nice to finally have a definitive answer from head coach Mario Cristobal on who will be leading our …
Finally, the football season is here. The roster is talented but after some dismal moments in 2020, exactly how the Ducks will perform in 2021 is a mystery. Last weekend, UCLA was the only Pac-12 team in action as they rolled 44-10 over a sub-par-to-average Mountain West team in Hawaii. This got me thinking about how the Ducks should fare …
A question I see often in the comments concerns whether Oregon will be running fast tempo this season. I am curious as to whether you think we will, or if we even need to run fast tempo and how often. We all know the story of how a former coach pulled that tactic out of the distant past and made …
We throw around a ton of stats and make our predictions, yet some fundamental ones are often bypassed. I am curious as to what your goals for the Oregon Football team in 2021 in terms of points scored and points allowed. You are also invited to give your numbers as to what you think they should be, and you think …
It is hard to believe that it has been nine years since Tim DeRuyter came to Autzen Stadium as a head coach (before he joined Cal), when he brought his Fresno State Bulldogs to Eugene to play Chip, Marcus and Oregon’s Spread Offense in 2012. Oregon raced to a 35-3 lead with 1:40 left in the second quarter, and this …
When the SEC poached Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12, it sent a shock wave through the college football world and challenged the status quo of the Power-Five Conferences. Speculation and conference realignment talk became the hot topic among college football fans, and rightfully so. Overnight, the Power-Five became the Power-Four. The Big 12, without Texas and Oklahoma, is …
The trend of receivers wanting quarterback numbers began years ago, and now has drifted to running backs. But to see Fat-Mac above with Joey Harrington‘s number–a Nose Tackle wearing a quarterback number? That is so wrong. So where did the No. 3 move to? On offense we saw Johnny Johnson III snag it, and now on defense we see that …
And I’m talking about offense. Yes, Charles Fischer isn’t the only one at FishDuck.com who has problems with Mario Cristobal’s handling of the Oregon offense. I wrote a few articles during the 2019 season, hammering Cristobal for the lack of explosiveness and his underutilization of Justin Herbert. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love everything Cristobal …
I’ve never heard as much about “a tough culture” or “being physical” from any coach at Oregon as I have from Coach Mario Cristobal. There was a feeling of toughness from Coach Rich Brooks and his Gang Green defense, but he did not preach it like we’ve heard over the last three years. Nationally known writer Steward Mandel provided some …
A phenomenon that has never included Oregon is occurring before our eyes due to recruiting skills of Coach Mario Cristobal and his staff, and I was stunned at the recent numbers illustrating this trend. It has a profound impact on the future of the conference and begins to beg the question of “whether the Pac-12 is becoming the ACC of …