Every week I create video blogs (vlogs), a free-form discussion of current events with Oregon sports and what’s new with FishDuck.com. It’s a little off-the-cuff, perhaps slightly pretentious, somewhat rambling, and hopefully entertaining. This video log series has been posted on my youtube channel from the beginning, but going forward will be posted on FishDuck.com as well…so kick back, relax, …
The Ducks cram for a final: UCLA comes to town Friday with the Rose Bowl at stake
In a short week everything’s accelerated: Sunday is Monday, with no days off. On Friday, Oregon faces a team they have every reason to overlook. The Ducks are 30-point favorites against UCLA, a team they beat 60-13 last year. The Bruins coach just got fired. Last weekend, they got blasted 50-0 by the USC Trojans in the Coliseum, a team …
Beating the Beavers never gets old
It wasn’t quite the same feeling at Autzen Stadium on Saturday as in classic Civil Wars past. The crowd was enthusiastic about the 49-21 win, but not necessarily at the stadium’s raucous peak. And understandably so: Instead of clinching a conference championship and January bowl birth by beating the Beavers, as has happened the last two seasons as well as …
Ducks own the state — as they usually do
The gap is how wide? Well, digest these numbers put up by Oregon against Oregon State on Saturday: 39 first downs, 102 offensive plays, and 671 total yards. How wide? Six sacks of Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion, along with two interceptions. How wide again? Few Oregon regulars were on the field with a quarter to go. They would have …
FishWrap Friday Game 12 Preview: OSU @ Oregon
It’s civil war time everyone, time for records to go aside, and let the two teams go at it. The stakes are high for Oregon: win, and Oregon goes for the Roses next Friday. Lose, and it’s Alamo bowl. Let’s get cracking with the analysis. [tubepress video=”TGpv-kHLfek” embeddedWidth=’534′ embeddedHeight=’314′ title=”false” length=”false”] Predictions: Oregon’s offense played only one quarter …
DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
The Civil War. It’s a game that, more often than not through history, had been of little more than regional interest. Had there been a GameDay back then, it wouldn’t normally have come to Oregon. Some years the Ducks and Beavers put on their border skirmish with little on the line save for Willamette Valley bragging rights and the winner’s …
Time runs out on Ducks
Sometimes Mighty Mo-men-tum needs a little extra time to complete its journey. The expanse can be that far and wide. As Oregon learned the hard way Saturday night. The No. 4-ranked Ducks roared from far behind only to come up short 38-35 against Southern California in a college football thriller at Autzen Stadium that is sure to be remembered for …
USC at Oregon preview: Can the Ducks create “Fright Night 3” for USC?
Tradition in the PAC 8/10/12 begins with the USC Trojans. They’ve won 11 national championships, 24 Rose Bowls, 18 PAC-10 championships and 7 Heismans. Before the Ducks rolled them for 613 yards and 52 points in 2009, the Men of Troy had gone 14-3 in Top Ten matchups since 2001. In their last three, they are 0-3, all losses with …
FishWrap Friday Game 11 Preview: USC @ Oregon
Well, well, well, how the tables have turned. A few years ago, it would be Oregon trying to pull of the upset in this matchup, now, it’s all in favor of the Ducks, while USC is bringing a banged up, distempered and frustrated team into Autzen. We’ll just leave the talking to the surfer boy himself, Matt Barkley: “Autzen was …
Pondering Our Passion
Under normal circumstances the 9 A.M. Big Ten game doesn’t hold much interest for me. Usually I would spend Saturday morning sleeping in, taking a leisurely shower, and maybe taking the wife out for an early lunch, before settling in for hours of college football. The Ducks play a lot of late afternoon and evening games nowadays, so I have plenty of time to warm up by rooting against OSU or the Purple Plague before our game. Last Saturday wasn’t normal circumstances, though. Penn State v. Nebraska was must see college ball.
Tales from the stat sheet: De’Anthony Thomas’ Oregon career off to an historic beginning
De’Anthony Thomas is not the next Reggie Bush. He’s not the next anyone. He’s the first De’Anthony Thomas. Which makes him one of the most exciting and dynamic open-field runners you will ever see. In space, as the announcers like to say, with one man or a couple of defenders to beat, he often makes them look helpless, a blur …
Speedy Ducks dominate Cardinal
Something strange happened to Stanford on the way to flexing its muscle and piling up 246 yards of total offense in the first half Saturday night against Oregon. The Cardinal never held the lead. That’s a problem against the Ducks. A very bad problem. Trail for long and the chances of catching up are about as good as keeping Phil …