The Classic Autzen Counter-Punch Lands Oregon at No. 2 After a early back and fourth battle, Oregon pulled away thanks to 28 unanswered points as they went on to beat the Michigan State Spartans 46-27. As reward for their signature win, the Ducks passed Alabama to secure the No. 2 rank in the latest AP poll. What does that mean? If …
Oregon getting physical? We all know that the national narrative referred to the Ducks as soft and this game went a long way to refuting it, but how? What was the game plan that Coach Helfrich used to defeat the Spartans? There is an enormous amount to cover, but today lets look at one of the staples of the Oregon …
Before getting into this week’s Three-and-Out, I have one comment that I haven’t seen anywhere else about the big MSU game: Of Oregon’s 46 points, 38 were scored by underclassmen. With Jeff Lockie looking much improved from a year ago with 11-of-12 passing against South Dakota, don’t worry about 2015. There will be life after Mariota. Now, on to the …
At some point during Michigan State’s 20-point run in the second and third quarters, I recalled a forgotten worry of many Oregon fans: “Wait, did the Ducks ever solve the ‘teams with great defenses shut Oregon down’ perception?” Turns out, they hadn’t. That had been the nightmare that had haunted Oregon for the past five seasons, that its offense looked …
It would be quite a mixed bag to be a nationally recognized TV analyst. Private flights, shocking paychecks, and tailored suits would often be overshadowed by ignorant twitter fights, unfair accusations of homer-ism, and those pesky “expert” picks gone wrong. It isn’t easy to have your opinions be so publically on the record, and you and I should be grateful …
What a great weekend of college football with so many Top-25 match ups. The PAC-12 was on center stage this weekend with key matchups for the country to watch and enjoy. While the PAC-12 was celebrating its success, the B1G will be looking on to next week after a couple of humiliating losses. All of these great matchups are something fans should …
The Michigan State Spartans were stoic after Oregon’s huge comeback victory Saturday, accepting responsibility for failure and giving full credit to the Ducks, especially Marcus Mariota. MSU Coach Mark Dantonio said “Mariota’s tough, he leads, and he creates. And that’s the difference in the football game. He created, and we let him get out of it. Probably 4 or 5 …
My friends … we are beginning our fourth year of learning together, and it is time to have “the talk” about some fundamental terms, because an understanding of them gives that next step up of learning that you and the thousands of “Next Level” readers who come to this site want. I promise that if you take the 15 seconds to understand the terms below, you will …
I had no idea what I was in for on Wednesday morning as I came into my office and began to check emails. I saw an ominous title of “Audit” and the sender as none other than the head of compliance at the investment firm I represent. Every other year he comes to Oregon on a Friday, tears files apart, and examines all that …
You would have to live under a rock to not know about the Ducks’ game this week. People all over the country have been salivating and waiting for this since the moment Michigan State beat Stanford in the Rose Bowl. But did you know that there is one other Top-25 Pac-12 match-up this week? While USC @ Stanford can’t quite …
The Philadelphia Eagles finalized their roster this week, polished their trickiest schemes in closed practices and got ready for the season to actually begin. The Eagles are 10.5 point favorites at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, led by quarterback Chad Henne. Older fans will remember Chip Kelly’s second game as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2007 when the Ducks crushed the …
While the 2014 college football season has just begun, this time also marks the second half of the recruiting season. This is the time of year that recruiting really heats up and high school seniors take their official visits to schools of interest. Oregon historically does its best recruiting during the football season after having its best recruiting preseason ever. So, …