In 2010, it took 12 wins, 6,986 yards of total offense, 37 takeaways, 49.6 points per game and 2,790 pushups for the Oregon Ducks to make it to the national championship game against Auburn. With August now upon us, it is hard not to draw comparisons between the 2013 squad and its nearly undefeated 2010 counterpart in anticipation of what …
The Seven Wonders of the World – The Pyramids, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the statue of Zeus at Olympus – were built with grandeur in mind. Move over Zeus, Phil Knight, Nike magnate and Oregon philanthropist, also thinks big. His latest wonder is a 100,000 square-foot temple to football, a $68-million dollar edifice intended to take Duck football to …
Football Recruiting News Oregon’s marquee pre-season commitment is undoubtedly running back Royce Freeman (4-Star/Imperial, CA/Rivals250). Nonetheless, Head Coach Mark Helfrich & Co. remain vigilant and are hot on the trail of another 2014 speedster; all-purpose back Tony James (4-Star/Gainesville, FL/Rivals250). A master of motion plays, James models his game after another player with his namesake; former Oregon tailback LaMichael James. …
feature photo courtesy of Amazing Moments What is it about sports? What is this drive humans have to want to cheer on a team? Few fans personally know any of the players on their favorite team, so it isn’t as if there is a personal connection to cheer for. So why? Why do fans invest so much time, money, effort …
Sanctions. You either love them or hate them. We love them when the teams we hate get leveled by them, and hate them when teams we love get the same treatment. Ironic, isn’t it? But there is something inherently unfair about the way sanctions are carried out, no matter what team we are rooting for. I began thinking of this …
“Recruiting rankings don’t matter”. Typically, this is said by fans after their favorite team picks up a commitment from a two or three-star player who is “underrated”. So, is it true? Do recruiting rankings act as a good predictor of on-field success? I defer to Matt Hinton, who wrote a great five-part series called “Star Power.” A part of the …
When someone mentions the Oregon Ducks, most people think of a fast-paced explosive offense that leaves defenders in a whirlwind searching for their own jock straps as the band strikes up “Mighty Oregon” and the Duck starts doing pushups. Lost in the offensive storm is a secret scarcely ever uttered east of the Oregon-Idaho state line: Oregon has a nationally prominent defense as well. While there are some …
What a week for college football. I saw so many football highlights of hard hits this week on television that I thought the season was already here. The biggest debate this week was who should be ejected for certain big hits over the last few seasons? Of course the controversy was South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney from last year’s Outback Bowl. …
The names of the top Oregon offensive players since 2010 are easy for even casual Ducks fans to rattle off: James, Barner, Mariota, De’Anthony, Darron Thomas, Maehl, Tuinei, Paulson, Lyerla. Others can certainly be put on that list, but those nine are probably the most recognizable. Receiver Josh Huff doesn’t get quite as much hype as those guys, and while …
We as football fans like to have things laid out neatly in front of us. In order to predict what will occur in the coming season, we like to be able to know what we are going to see before we see it. We want to conceptualize what will happen on the field and who will do it. We like …
Three days of good weather in a row has brought the smell of barbecue into my yard. And that’s a good thing. Eating is more than something that I do to fuel the body and stay alive. It’s an art form and a never-ending quest. In 1998 I made a discovery on a drive to San Diego. On the way …
Practices are about to start at Oregon, and the season is just over a month away. I have been driving myself crazy with anticipation for this year. It got me thinking about which games I am most excited for. Which games are the “must watch” games for me this season. So of course, Fishduck.com happens to be the perfect outlet …
