There are a lot of unknowns going into the 2021 football season for the Oregon Ducks and coach Mario Cristobal. It’s hard to tell from the spring football game so let’s look at the last serious competition, the Fiesta Bowl where tough Iowa State dominated the Pac-12 champions 34-17. Oregon’s offense, traditionally a national force, went meekly into the night, …
Oregon won the Civil War 24-10 to give coach Mario Cristobal a fine 10-2 record, but left a majority of Duck fans with less than celestial euphoria. Former All-American and Heisman Trophy candidate Justin Herbert performed as the good soldier he is at quarterback; good enough to tip the scales over an Oregon State team that refused to be overwhelmed, …
Oregon was shocked by Arizona State’s Jayden Daniels, an 18-year old freshman quarterback, who blitzed the Duck secondary for 408 yards passing, including going 5 for 5 on deep bombs. Three such bombs resulted in touchdowns, paving the way for a 31-28 win and an end to the Sun Devils’ four-game losing streak. Oregon’s defense looked lethargic, and it showed …
Coach Mario Cristobal allowed a long pass on the second play from scrimmage and it was a perfect 73-yard strike to Johnny Johnson III from Justin Herbert, and the Oregon Ducks were off and flying to their ninth-straight victory, 34-6 over Arizona. The win clinched first place in the Pac-12 North Division and a ticket to the championship game against …
Coach Mario Cristobal found out several important things in his team’s exciting win over a determined Washington State squad, one of which is that he actually has a confident field goal kicker, Camden Lewis, who came through, drilling a 26-yarder as the gun sounded for a 37-35 victory. Another observation might be how fast Justin Herbert can drive the Duck offensive …
Oregon coach Mario Cristobal had his greatest victory as a head coach and by the most satisfying means possible — a tough, resilient defense and a powerful offense that mixed creativity with hammer and tong to knock off Washington 35-31 after playing much of the game behind on the scoreboard. There were many surprised by the creative use of screen …
Oregon’s defense was tooled for the first touchdown it allowed in four games, but recovered enough to shut down Cal 17-7. Coach Mario Cristobal’s offense had to work hard to get only two touchdowns and quarterback Justin Herbert squirmed, having an off day, throwing his first interception of the season and gaining only 214 yards through the air. Herbert’s timing …
A bye week gives Oregon players time to heal and coaches time to fix problems that may have reared their heads in the first third of the season, which finds the Ducks at three wins and one loss. They should, however, be 4-0, as they gave away the opener against Auburn in the last minutes after leading most of the …
Oregon’s Justin Herbert continued to pad his passing resume with an impressive 30-of-42 attempts for 316 yards and five touchdowns and the Ducks did as expected, dominating Montana 35-3. Herbert’s first scoring toss was an NCAA record 31st straight game with a touchdown pass, although his longest completion was only 21 yards. The Duck offensive line afforded Herbert solid pass …
Coach Mario Cristobal must have heaved a sigh of relief at halftime with the Ducks ahead of Nevada 35-6. Now, all his team needed to do was “finish” the job in the second half, which they did in resounding fashion, scoring 42 points and shutting out a Wolf Pack team that scored 34 the week before against a Big Ten …
My friends, we have a treat every Wednesday during the season with an analysis of the prior game from Coach Ken Woody. It is a tremendous opportunity to learn more football from a coach who played at Oregon and coached college football for his entire career, and we welcome him back for the 2019 season. To see his prior analyses, …
Oregon fans are breathless with excitement and anticipation for football season and the opener against the SEC’s Auburn Tigers. Some have the Ducks as the favorite, others the Tigers, but this game will be won by the team whose quarterback plays the best and whose team has the best play calling. That would seem to favor Oregon at quarterback, as …