Today’s article is a guest contribution from Portland author/journalist Brian Libby. It was January 1, 1917. The country was just three months away from entering World War I, which had already been underway for three years. The Bolshevik Revolution was bringing Communism to the newly formed Soviet Union. Woodrow Wilson was president and Babe Ruth was still a pitcher. …
The 1958 Rose Bowl: A Recipe for Over-achievement Repeated 37 years later
The 1957 Oregon Webfoots were an unlikely conference champion, the scrappy ugly ducklings that overachieved proving the nation to not underestimate Oregon. Decades later, Oregon would have an encore of this in eerily similar circumstance and comparable results, but the country would never again take Oregon lightly thereafter. The Pacific Coast Conference was owned by the state of Oregon that …
It wasn’t all bad…
First off all, I want to commend LSU for playing a great game. Certainly everyone sporting green & yellow inside and out is disappointed in the outcome from Saturday night, but it is important and somewhat therapeutic to take a closer look at what happened and take away some positives from this weekend. It was a starting point, definitely something …
Time for Kelly and Ducks to show own adjustments
In college football, you don’t want to get a bad rap. It’ll start messing with players’ heads. It’ll be heard in recruits’ homes. It’ll infiltrate columnists’ laptops. The Oregon Ducks went underground this past week, preparing in earnest for the huge LSU matchup on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas. No. 3 vs. No. 4 in the season opener. A national …
Closed practices sound strategy, but death for a fan blog
Chip Kelly’s decision to close practices makes sense from a competitive standpoint. The Ducks are working on wrinkles, innovations and subtle changes to their offense for LSU, and with the blogosphere, Twitterverse, cell cameras and loose lips out there, no sense giving anything that Les Miles and his staff will have to adust to on the fly in Dallas. But …
FishWrap Friday Game 1 Preview: Oregon vs. LSU (Part 3: Linebackers, Chavis, and the Nickel Defense)
7 days until the season begins, and despite controversy from coast to coast, there will be football on September 3rd. In the finale of this 3 part preview, first, we will have to go back and have a painful review of the National Championship game. Let’s refute the urban myth- Oregon’s offense wasn’t totally dominated physically in this game. In …
FishWrap Friday Game 1 Preview: Oregon vs. LSU (Part 2: Almost Certainly Biased Analysis)
Well here we go, we’re under 2 million seconds (1,296,000) until football season starts, and the tension continues to build as we wait for the Ducks to take the field in Dallas. LSU Defense Let’s just jump right into it; the biggest point of debate is Oregon’s undersized offensive line against LSU’s physical and fast defensive line. The most notable …
Cantu’s Oregon career a cautionary tale in the recruiting hype
He tore the labrum in the third week of summer workouts in 2008, getting tangled up with a safety. It was never completely right after that. He greyshirted that year, enrolled Winter Term of 2009. He shined in Spring Practice, nabbing three balls for 111 yards in the 2009 Spring Game. One of Oregon’s first recruits from Texas along with …
The 1989 Independence Bowl: How Oregon Overcame Years Of Losing Thanks To An Old Pair Of Shoes
It had been a time of great suffering, 26 years to be exact, since Oregon had last played in a bowl game. There had been opportunities, but the heartbreaking trend known as “Duck-Luck” repeatedly reared its ugly head preventing Oregon from elevating itself above the mire; unfortunate injures or odd circumstance always getting in the way. For a time Oregon …
Record-Setting Night For O’Neil and McLemore Set The Stage For 1994 Rose Bowl Run
It was only one game in a season to remember for the Oregon Ducks, a time when the dream that seemed beyond reach for so many years might finally be attainable. For two teammates in particular, it was a night that permanently etched their names in the Oregon Ducks record books, while moving one step closer to the Pac-10 championship. …
King For a Week: The 7-days Jaiya Figueras Could Do No Wrong — Part 3
Part 3: Going Their Separate Ways — Friends Struggle to Succeed On Separate Paths For The First Time For friends Jaiya Figueras and Kenny Wheaton, their first couple of years at the University of Oregon had seen the pendulum swing wildly. After their redshirt season in 1993 watching their teammates struggle to win, the two roommates had spearheaded the improbable …
King For a Week: The 7-days Jaiya Figueras Could Do No Wrong — Part 2
Part 2: Jaiya Figueras: The hero’s coming out party arrives early in 1995 The 1994 season was special for the players and fans alike. The sting of losing seasons had been washed away with an improbable run to the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth. It was a huge surprise to everyone, except roommates Jaiya Figueras and Kenny Wheaton, who …
