This year’s Rose Bowl is a momentous occasion for everyone involved. The teams are fighting in the inaugural College Football Playoff, FSU is attempting to keep a 29-game winning streak alive and defend a national title, and the Ducks are fighting for their first national title in school history. Naturally much of the burden and attention is falling onto the …
We are only six days away from watching our Ducks run on the field in Pasadena, CA to face the Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl. All of the players got to go home to spend some time with their families last week and then departed to California on December 25. Although I am sure that this upcoming semi-final …
What defines a winner for the coveted Heisman Memorial Trophy? Obviously, tons of factors play into the decision such as a player’s character on and off the field. For the third time in college football history, two winners of the Heisman Trophy will face one another in hopes of earning a spot in the National Championship Game. The 101st edition …
Everyone understands Marcus Mariota is, to borrow baseball great Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “the straw which stirs the drink” in terms of whether the Oregon Ducks will beat Florida State and advance to the championship round. Yet we all realize too, that other players on both sides of the ball will need to elevate their level of play. These are …
Florida State defensive coordinator Charles Kelly has quite a task in front of him in the upcoming playoff game. First off, he’s got to prepare for a somewhat unusual offense from Oregon; a high-speed, relentless attack that, oh by the way, happens to be led by Heisman Trophy winner, Marcus Mariota. It may be the offense that gets most of …
The Florida State defense has made it clear as blue sky that they are not afraid of Oregon quarterback and Heisman winner Marcus Mariota. It seems the Rose Bowl game against the No. 2 Ducks is just another day against another Heisman winner. Clearly, it’s not. Seminole head coach Jimbo Fisher has been utilizing Florida State track star and scout team quarterback John Franklin III …
If you’re a college football fan–and you are, obviously, or you wouldn’t be reading this–the 2015 Rose Bowl has it all: great teams, great coaches, great players, clashing to determine who’s going to get a shot at all the marbles on January 12th. But what about the venue? What about the stadium? If ever there was ever a case of …
Royce Freeman and Marcus Mariota have been the talk of the sports world leading up to the first college football semi-playoff game. The Ducks’ offense thrives on being able to run the ball in order to control the pace of the game as well as keep pressure off of Mariota. However it is the receivers that are going to do …
The Philadelphia Eagles were openly discussed as a Super Bowl contender and ranked in the NFL’s top 4 after thrashing Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. The 9-3 overachievers were led by backup QB Mark Sanchez, an NFL laughingstock since his infamous “Butt Fumble” two Thanksgivings earlier, suddenly looking like the league’s most improved player. Then they played Seattle at home, the …
Oregon doesn’t use its long snappers — true freshman Tanner Carew and redshirt freshman Connor Johnson — as much as other teams in college football use theirs. The long snapper is a specialist center, a hired cannon that is accepted as its own skill position within special teams. It is a job that requires repetition above anything else, and dedication of countless hours to develop muscle memory, form, …
It may be a sad realization Duck nation, but Marcus Mariota is not coming back. If he were to do so for some reason, he’d be making the biggest mistake of his life. Mariota is coming off not only the best season of his career, but perhaps one of the best years in College Football ever. The redshirt junior accounted …
Along with a berth in the first college football playoff, the Heisman — with this year’s recipient being Oregon’s own Marcus Mariota — has cast the spotlight on the “team that could” from the upper left hand corner of the country. So how will this affect Oregon football’s 2015 recruiting class? Mariota bringing the statue back to Eugene should make …