We have seen the Ducks’ defense start to come together as the season progresses and the players get comfortable with the system that Defensive Coordinator Don Pellum has overhauled in the last year. This Saturday the Ducks will face a unique challenge in the Utah Utes who use two different quarterbacks. While this might sound like an inability to pick …
Tony Washington Always “Checked In” During Practice
Last Saturday, the Ducks finally defeated Stanford — the team that killed the Ducks’ past two seasons. Plus, Oregon completed this task in an emphatic fashion, annihilating the Cardinal 45-16. The Ducks are currently getting back into their groove after experiencing a heartbreaking loss to Arizona earlier in the season. Now, next up are the Utah Utes, who have the …
Ducks Pressing Their Advantage Against Stanford
Stanford is a very good football team this season, don’t let the 5-3 record fool you. Yes, they have lost to USC, Notre Dame and ASU this season but those are not schools that anyone scoffs at. Over those three losses Stanford allowed an average of 14.3 points per game, about two points more than they have allowed on average …
Why the ESPN-SEC Conspiracy is Nonsense
The release of the first playoff rankings for 2014 saw three of the top four spots being taken — not surprisingly — by SEC West teams, and the other by the unbeaten defending national champion Florida State Seminoles. It also saw its fair share of fan conspiracy theories, especially from those fan bases whose team is currently on the outside …
College Football Playoff Committee Rankings
The College Football Playoff Committee has released its first rankings. It goes as follows: 1) Mississippi State 2) Florida State 3) Auburn 4) Ole Miss 5) Oregon 6) Alabama 7) TCU 8) Michigan State 9) Kansas State 10) Notre Dame It’s SEC West heavy at the top, but that was expected. Keep in mind that most of these SEC teams still …
Parallels Run Deep Between Oregon and UCLA
Oregon and UCLA were considered the favorites in their respective PAC-12 divisions going into the 2014 season. Now, a little over a month into the season, the loser of the Saturday contest between the two teams may have to kiss college football playoff aspirations goodbye. As far as the similarities go between these two teams, though, that is just the …
Three Mental Approaches to Oregon’s 2014 Schedule
On paper, the Ducks are a lock. Ranked No. 4 in the initial Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the AP poll, Oregon seems to control its own destiny in its bid to participate in the inaugural College Football Playoff. However, any casual fan of college football knows that there is no way some coaches, pundits, and computers can even come close …
As Inaugural College Football Playoff Season Commences, Ducks Timing Is Perfect
When the four-team College Football Playoff was formally approved by the NCAA in June 2012, teams, analysts and fans alike rejoiced in the reformation of the BCS — a system which had been previously criticized for not being fair to all teams. The Playoff, which runs through the 2025 season, reduces the likelihood of a deserving team getting left out of …
College Football Nation: How Do the Gators Do It and Penn State Tweets
With the NCAA trial all finished up and media days about to begin, the news was a little slow this week. The news in the college football world might be slow but it is never dull. It will really pick up when you put a bunch of coaches and players in front on a microphone for media day. Great news …