Exactly a decade ago to date, Oregon travelled to Berkeley to take on the California Golden Bears on a warm 78 degree afternoon in Strawberry Canyon.  The high-flying #5 Ducks were 5-0 and coming off a huge win at Arizona, while the deflated Bears were sitting at the cellar of the Pac-10 at 0-5 and just looking for a win. …

Sometimes you have to take a step or two in reverse before eventually taking, sometimes several, steps forward.  Such has been the case with the Oregon Ducks offense after Jeff Tedford left his role as offensive coordinator in Eugene to take the head coaching job in Berkeley. During his tenure at Oregon, The Ducks took large strides. The offense under his guidance …

Never has Autzen been so quiet. Never so somber. As Oregon Duck star running back LaMichael James rolled back and forth on the ground near the west end zone on Thursday night, his elbow a complete mess, the 58,796 on hand for the California game did some squirming of their own. The tortuous image of James’ arm bending backwards was …

Each week at my other Duck football website, The Duck Stops Here, we identify our keys to game prior to each Oregon matchup. Here’s a look at Oregon’s grades in game 5. Give LaMichael James a chance to be great James had a Heisman-worthy game with 30 carries for 239 yards, and the fat kids living the dream paved the …

Exactly a decade ago to date, Oregon traveled to Tucson, Arizona to take on the Arizona Wildcats.  Holding an advantage record 14-9 overall against Arizona, Oregon was only 5-8 in Tucson; many (including ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit) were predicting an upset by Arizona.  Oregon would go on to prove Herbstreit dead wrong. On a warm Arizona Desert evening, the Ducks came …

Cal’s defense did a number on the Oregon offense last year, and we already covered how Cal did that here, so now it’s time to see if Cal will do that again. Everything starts and ends with Cal’s ability to win the battle along the line, and by extension, stopping LaMichael James. I say that because stopping the run forces Oregon …

Call Chip Kelly The Granite Fox. Like Rommel before him he has a gift for commanding men, for onslaughts and misdirections, for stratagems that bedevil and mesmerize a superior force. Rommel took 3-star men and materials and extended a war until he ran out of gasoline and had to haul tanks to the front on rail and by horse and …

Simply put, it was ritual. The sports writer sat and watched the college football game or practice. Took notes. Watched some more. Gulped some coffee. Chatted up the guy next to him. Took a trip down the hallway. Composed the first few graphs of the story. Observed some more. Wrote down a few questions for afterwards. Then hurried off to …

Last year, against Cal, a team that gave up 48 points to USC, and 52 to Nevada, Oregon, who hadn’t been held under 40 all season scored a mere 15 points, and 8 of those came off of a punt return. It was one of the most painful victories you could possibly watch. To fall from such a high level of …

Like their coach, Duck fans have become perfectionists.  Chip Kelly, asked on Sunday about the Oregon running game, which rolled up 415 yards on Arizona after 416 yards on Missouri, and Kelly responded in his clipped New England interview voice that it could be better. The Ducks won by 25 on the road in the conference opener, and most Duck fans, …

If you needed any further proof of the thrashing Oregon was dealing Arizona on Saturday night, all you had to do was scan the stands in the second half, where there were more empty seats than not. A school record 288 yards rushing from LaMichael James will do that to foes and their followers. So will ringing up 35 points …