That’s right, it doesn’t. Mario Cristobal could hire a young reincarnation of Sean Payton, Lincoln Riley or Bill Walsh. Ya know, hire the next offensive “genius.” But, if that chosen one is only allowed to coach with one hand tied behind his back, then, it doesn’t matter. Oregon will not become elite. Oregon will not win a National Championship. It’s time …
My friends, on Mario Cristobal‘s coffee table in his office in the Mo Center is a big book about Oregon football history that was written by Brian Libby, a professional writer who contributes a guest article from time to time to FishDuck.com. He gives us a perspective that few can, with his incredible knowledge of Our Beloved Ducks. He is …
Dana Altman has always been known for his motion offense, and his matchup zone defense. However, this season the Ducks are not employing as much of those schemes as they have in years past. The main reason for this is personnel. Installing an offense and defense can be difficult with nine new players. Offensively, Altman’s scheme is typically a four …
There’s no doubt 2019 was a special year for Oregon football. Most expected the Ducks to be Pac-12 title contenders, but not many foresaw a 12-win season and a victory in one of the wildest Rose Bowls in recent memory. But as great as the ending to Oregon’s season was, we can’t forget the journey. The 2019 Ducks never failed …
Oregon’s “smash mouth” offense was put to the test in the 2020 Rose Bowl. The Ducks produced only 204 yards of total offense due to Wisconsin aligning one or two more defenders than Oregon could block when running the inside and outside zone read. Yet Oregon was able to adjust the assignment of one player in the backfield, producing all …
Justin Herbert looked like a legitimate Heisman candidate in leading Oregon to a nail biting 28-27 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. In a season that at times seemed disappointing, the stars aligned and Herbert was allowed to show his stuff. Along with a courageous, tenacious defense, Herbert was the difference in the Ducks hard-fought victory. There were many …
The next time Justin Herbert takes a snap in live-action will be in the National Football League. There has been much speculation on where Herbert will land in the draft, with some mock drafts having him in the top ten, while others have him as the successor to Tom Brady. Regardless of where he ends up, he possesses the pocket …
Oregon started the 2020s right, beating Wisconsin 28-27 on January 1st in front of a massive crowd of more than 90,000 screaming fans. The Ducks started the previous decade in the Rose Bowl as well, falling to Ohio State. The following year they lost the BCS National Championship to Auburn, before finally getting their first bowl win of the 2010s …
What a season it was for our mighty Oregon Ducks. The Ducks went 10-2 in the regular season and then continued their dream season with wins in the Pac-12 championship and Rose Bowl. The success of the 2019 Oregon Duck football team relied not only on talent, but on the players’ genuine desire to play for one another. The 2020 …
Oregon fans are undoubtedly on cloud nine after the Ducks’ exhilarating, down-to-the-wire victory against Wisconsin in an instant Rose Bowl classic. After the potential program-changing victory, the arrow is definitely pointing up in Eugene. But as the dust settles and we look back at the season as a whole, it’s apparent that Oregon kept a pretty big weapon under its …
We know that Mario Cristobal is still relatively new as a head coach in a Power-Five conference, and many of us have sputtered about his learning curve. Strategies and tactics that many of us “Greybeards” have watched over the years with other coaches seemed to be either unknown or ignored by this coaching staff. Now granted, going from 7-6 to …
By almost all metrics, Oregon shouldn’t have walked out of Pasadena with a victory. They had 118 fewer yards, 21 fewer plays and almost 17 fewer minutes of possession time than Wisconsin. The Badgers ran for 70 yards more than the Ducks. But metrics don’t really tell the story of a football game, and the Ducks didn’t lose. Turnovers Justin …