Coach Dana Altman has done it again. Despite losing eight players last spring, Oregon has enough talent to win 23-24 games and enough talent that they should be a Sweet Sixteen contender. Yes, it is amazing. The Oregon roster includes Payton Pritchard, Keith Smith, Roman Sorkin and players you wouldn’t recognize if you stood next to them in the EMU. Here’s …
Protect the quarterback. It’s Football 101. It’s football gospel. If football had ten commandments it would be etched into one of two stone tablets, just like the original Ten Commandments. But apparently protecting the quarterback in Eugene has gone the way of that mysterious 3rd tablet, as illustrated by the classic Mel Brooks movie The History of the World: …
I am going to write something that is dumber than my usual. In the comments of last week’s article, I expressed my concern about the Ducks getting their butts kicked against the Cougars. It was due to the loss of Justin Herbert at quarterback and how neither QB remaining had neither the skills nor the game experience to carry the Ducks …
Coach Willie Taggart notched his first Pac-12 conference win behind a strong push from not only a much-maligned offensive line and a fierce pass rush from an improving defense, but also a host of capable replacements who were thrown into action after a succession of key injuries cast a pall on the Autzen Stadium crowd. Going into Saturday’s key match-up with unbeaten Washington State …
No one in 1965 said Cassius Clay could beat Sonny Liston, the reigning World Heavyweight champion. The odds were eight to one against the challenger, but Clay trained and thought differently, knocking his opponent out with better boxing skills and tactics. He became one of the greatest fighters of all time, better known as Muhammad Ali. This Saturday our beloved Ducks play …
It’s late in 2019, and another Oregon Ducks football season has just ended. The morning has broken gray and gloomy, rain flinging itself against the glass facade of the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex as if delivering a million tiny blows from an angry sky. Willie Taggart swivels his desk chair to look out of his rain-dappled window onto the practice fields. The …
Dominant. If the performance of Oregon’s offensive line against California had to be summed up in one word, it would be dominant. We saw flashes from the offensive line early this season and then witnessed the hiccup against Arizona State. On Saturday night at Autzen Stadium, everything came together for the guys in the trenches. Mario Cristobal has done a fantastic job …
Like the crack of someone opening the first beer at a party, the new Oregon staff is perking up ears and turning heads, giving the program a “national championship vibe.” Oregon signed a top-25 recruiting class in only seven weeks, causing a positive buzz and attracting high-caliber talent. Something has changed. That change is Willie Taggart. Early on, we discovered his amazing ability to recruit, something Eugene has …
It might seem silly to talk about dynasty the Monday after a disastrous victory against California. Just as the Ducks started to look competent on both sides of the ball, Justin Herbert, Royce Freeman, and Dillon Mitchell suffered injuries. All of this coming at a time when the Ducks are already thin at quarterback (Herbert’s backup wasn’t practicing at quarterback …
Have you ever had such conflicting feelings from an Oregon football game? Such despair at all the injuries and such pride in how the defense continues to improve in perhaps one of the greatest games by a Duck offensive line – when the team really needed it. Simply put … “I am pissed at the coaches, yet I am proud of what …
Oregon’s three-game victory bubble burst in the desert last weekend as Arizona State kicked a field goal with 2:34 left to knock off the Ducks 37-35. After impressive success in non-conference play, the offense misfired from the start and breakdowns in all phases of the game showed that coach Willie Taggart and his staff have some serious coaching to do …
One of the best running backs in the state of California the last three years has been C.J. Verdell of Mater Dei High School in Chula Vista. An all-state first team running back in California (Cal-Hi Sports), Verdell put together an impressive high school career including back-to-back 2,000-plus yard rushing seasons according to MaxPreps. In all, he rushed for 4,855 yards and …