Saturday’s loss to Nebraska has me conflicted. The optimist in me wants to look at this game as a learning experience for a young football team that will propel it forward to a satisfying, if not wholly victorious, end to the season. The pessimist has other ideas. My optimism wants to tell my pessimism to go jump in a lake. …
I admit it. I am one of those spoiled Oregon fans that others write so negatively of. I don’t just want to win … I want Oregon to win big and when they don’t, I am disappointed. However, since I began this website I’ve been able to view the Ducks through the prism of a 30-year ticket holder and one …
There is no substitute for hard work and preparation, and if anyone is the perfect Week 1 embodiment of this mantra it is true freshman linebacker Troy Dye. Dye wasted no time making an impact in his first collegiate game, loudly introducing himself to the UC Davis backfield and the yellow-clad Oregon fan base with back-to-back tackles on the fifth and …
A vast colosseum lies brooding on the banks of a wide lazy trout-filled river. Surrounded by nothing but forest and thick grass, both barely waving in a gentle breeze under azure cloud-dappled skies. Such is the vision of Autzen Stadium from the top of Skinner’s Butte on game day in the fall. A stadium, a field, soldiers marching to battle …
Summer’s perennial promise has again faded into guilt. I am not so old that summer has lost all its romance, yet every summer I grow more eager for the gift of fall: Oregon football. And as each season starts, we tend to look backwards, however briefly. Many may prefer to forget the Alamo Bowl, but in all things we must …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out In Mark Helfrich’s short tenure as the Ducks head football coach he’s taken a team to the national championship game, developed a Heisman winner and turned a dismal 3-3 start into a 9-3 regular season finish. Yet who gets the kudos as top Pac-12 coaches? Stanford’s David Shaw you can understand. Utah’s Kyle Whittingham? Well, he’s done …
ALERT: The following quotes by Defensive Coordinator Brady Hoke are NOT accurate. He stated a very polite version of what you will read, and I dramatized it to make a point. (I am known for drama … but I always back it up as you will see) Coach Hoke cleared his throat and eyed the 60-70 high school football coaches …
As summer approaches, many Duck fans await their favorite season of the year: football. The Ducks will look to bounce back strong after losing their star quarterback and key members of their coaching staff. After promoting Matt Lubick, the 2012 wide receiver Coach of the Year, to offensive coordinator and hiring ex-Michigan head coach Brady Hoke as the defensive cordinator, the team looks to build …
Charles Fischer asked me to express my thoughts about the Oregon defense and its new coordinator after spring practice. They’re almost all positive. I’ll admit I was not a Brady Hoke fan when he was hired. I wanted an “intellectual”, and I judged Brady Hoke to be a “tough-talking buffoon.” Wrong. Oh, the tough talking part was right — but …
My friends … I am excited about what I saw from the Oregon Spring Game. It has become evident to me that we are on a path that will someday take us to a National Championship. Now you know me: I am admittedly an insufferable fool for the Ducks, the classic homer fan. That said, I do have the GOC …
I was very surprised, and pleased, by what I saw at Oregon’s open practice on Monday, and my poor Duck-buddy, Gageac (as he is known on the message boards), had to listen to me drone on about it. I wasn’t planning to write about my impressions, as I assumed that other media and message board gurus would be all over what left …
As a retired high school football coach, I had the opportunity on a Thursday night (3-31) to hear Brady Hoke speak at the Oregon Coaches’ Clinic, and the next morning I got to watch my one-and-only practice of the season. I thought I would share what I noted, and what you might want to look for at the Oregon Spring Game. Some …