Before Andy Avalos introduced his brilliant defensive schemes last fall, Oregon’s glaring weakness was its inability to defend players in space. Ducks defenders often looked like ghosts pursuing pac-men all over the football field. Former defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt shored up some of the weaknesses, but it was Avalos who put a stop to the flow of embarrassing big plays …
Both the Oregon Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams had big weekends, as the Lady Ducks won the Women’s Pac-12 Tournament, and the men clinched the regular season title. Oregon becomes the first Pac-12 school to have a three-peat: football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball all won Pac-12 regular season championships. The women became champions in Las Vegas in typical fashion. …
Following the Ducks’ 80-67 victory over Stanford on Saturday night at Matthew Knight Arena, the Oregon men’s basketball team has lived up to preseason hype once again. For the third time in five years, Oregon head coach Dana Altman has cobbled together a winning squad to claim the outright Pac-12 regular-season title. But it didn’t come easy. At times throughout …
It started when Mario Cristobal and his football team obliterated Utah in the conference championship game in December, putting a bow on the careers of Justin Herbert and Troy Dye. Next came Kelly Graves and the women’s basketball team, who made the in-conference competition look like a bunch of mid majors. Third and finally we saw Dana Altman and Payton Pritchard clinch the men’s conference title …
The Pac-12 Conference is in a nose dive. And the announcement on February 11 that Colorado (CU) head football coach, Mel Tucker, was leaving CU for Michigan State likely evidences that the dive has reached terminal velocity. You know what I think? It doesn’t matter what I think, especially when compared to the thoughts of the people cited below and …
In what as a whirlwind in the later half of February, Oregon seemingly appears to have settled in for the 2021 recruiting cycle. While the departure of cornerbacks coach Donte Williams stings on multiple levels, Oregon brings home a former member of the flock in that of up and coming position man Rod Chance. After spending last season in Minnesota …
After turning around a program that seemed lost in 2016 to winning both a Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl, Justin Herbert seemed to have done everything to impress scouts and cement his NFL Draft status. His great size, poise in the pocket and “rocket arm” were all attributes that tantalized NFL front offices. However, despite all of his accolades, Herbert …
Dana Altman is known for his spread offense and his match-up zone defense. While the offense gets adjusted every year to fit personnel, the defense has remained the same and is a key to Oregon’s success. Altman’s zone defense is different than most generic 2-3 zone defenses that teams face. It uses a lot of man-to-man principles to cover holes and …
This past weekend the Oregon women’s basketball team played their last two regular season home gamesand took the opportunity to celebrate seniors Minyon Moore, Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard along with departing junior Satou Sabally. While also clinching the Pac-12 regular season title, it was a true celebration. Not only for the team, but the two sell-out crowds who were …
If LSU’s championship run in 2019 taught college football fans anything, it’s that the game has changed. While age-old foundations such as winning the line of scrimmage and playing good defense remain important, so too is having elite, game-changing talent at the skill positions (running back, wide receiver and tight end). The best teams have offensive playmakers across the board …
Sure, I’m guilty of more Mario Cristobal–Marcus Arroyo 2019 offensive coaching bashing. But it’s March and we’re in draft season, so it’s a damn fair question. No doubt, QB Justin Herbert was coached down in his final two years at Oregon. Various college football analysts and NFL Draft experts have expressed this. Just on Friday, FishDuck.com’s own Brent Pennington cited …
Sports have been around for a while. Cavemen probably competed against each other by throwing rocks against trees. “Hey Og, see that squatty little tree way over there? I’ll bet you five clams that I can hit it and you can’t!” But since that was before recorded history, we can only guess about Og, the rocks, the trees, and any …