Exactly a decade ago to date, Oregon travelled to Berkeley to take on the California Golden Bears on a warm 78 degree afternoon in Strawberry Canyon. The high-flying #5 Ducks were 5-0 and coming off a huge win at Arizona, while the deflated Bears were sitting at the cellar of the Pac-10 at 0-5 and just looking for a win. …
It was one of those days where by the end the masses can do little more than shrug and lament, “what else could possibly happen?” A game where the improbable and unfathomable becomes commonplace, where those who walked out early would regret it for a lifetime. A game that would be talked about for years to come, and for those …
Turnovers are a can of football whup-ass. They are psychologically demoralizing and statistically devastating. Les Miles thinks it’s the most significant statistic to predict victory. The Mad Hatter’s football sanity is often questioned, but one thing remains certain: you can’t score without the ball, either by keeping it or taking it away. Turnovers deflate the crowd, demoralize the sideline and …
For those of you outside of the Willamette Valley—the final warm days of summer ended about two weeks. We have the cool mornings with the occasional overcast day as the leaves are just beginning to turn on the trees. It feels like fall now, and the electric atmosphere of a night game at Autzen confirms it.
Sometimes you have to take a step or two in reverse before eventually taking, sometimes several, steps forward. Such has been the case with the Oregon Ducks offense after Jeff Tedford left his role as offensive coordinator in Eugene to take the head coaching job in Berkeley. During his tenure at Oregon, The Ducks took large strides. The offense under his guidance …
Never has Autzen been so quiet. Never so somber. As Oregon Duck star running back LaMichael James rolled back and forth on the ground near the west end zone on Thursday night, his elbow a complete mess, the 58,796 on hand for the California game did some squirming of their own. The tortuous image of James’ arm bending backwards was …
Each week at my other Duck football website, The Duck Stops Here, we identify our keys to game prior to each Oregon matchup. Here’s a look at Oregon’s grades in game 5. Give LaMichael James a chance to be great James had a Heisman-worthy game with 30 carries for 239 yards, and the fat kids living the dream paved the …
As programs look to fill their rosters with new recruits, every year inevitably teams ponder whether or not to consider adding transfers to their ranks. Some come from junior colleges, some from other schools. Sometimes it is due to academics, or disciplinary reasons, or the opportunity for playing time that makes student-athletes pursue alternate choices in their education and football …
Exactly a decade ago to date, Oregon traveled to Tucson, Arizona to take on the Arizona Wildcats. Holding an advantage record 14-9 overall against Arizona, Oregon was only 5-8 in Tucson; many (including ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit) were predicting an upset by Arizona. Oregon would go on to prove Herbstreit dead wrong. On a warm Arizona Desert evening, the Ducks came …
Cal’s defense did a number on the Oregon offense last year, and we already covered how Cal did that here, so now it’s time to see if Cal will do that again. Everything starts and ends with Cal’s ability to win the battle along the line, and by extension, stopping LaMichael James. I say that because stopping the run forces Oregon …
Call Chip Kelly The Granite Fox. Like Rommel before him he has a gift for commanding men, for onslaughts and misdirections, for stratagems that bedevil and mesmerize a superior force. Rommel took 3-star men and materials and extended a war until he ran out of gasoline and had to haul tanks to the front on rail and by horse and …
It was Saturday, September 29, 2001. Slightly over ten years ago to date, Oregon traveled to Logan, Utah to conclude its non-conference portion of their season in only their third-ever match against the Utah State Aggies. Oregon came in as the highest ranked visitor to ever play in the history of Romney Stadium, and the Aggies were ready to prove …