Ducks Downed in East Lansing

Tyler Timm FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

“Revenge,” “redemption” and “heavyweight fight” were all used to describe Michigan State’s much anticipated top-10 showdown with Oregon on Saturday night. “We have lost 3 of our last 30, and we know what teams we lost to,” Spartan coach Mark Dantonio stated in an interview with mlive.com earlier in the week. The 46-27 loss a year ago to the Ducks was still very fresh in …

Ducks Look to Maintain Mojo vs Spartans

Sam Felton FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Every dedicated Duck (and Spartan) fan remembers the pivotal play in Oregon’s 46-27 comeback victory last September. Third-and-11, down by nine with little momentum and an anxious Autzen stadium looking on, Marcus Mariota miraculously evaded Spartan defenders before shoveling the ball to Royce Freeman for a first down. This determination rejuvenated the Duck spirits as they went on to score four unanswered …

Ducks Run Defense Will Be the Difference Maker of the 2014 Season

Rob Liggins FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Having a Heisman-hopeful, such as quarterback Marcus Mariota, is always exciting for a team. However, the timeless saying “Defense wins Championships” has been proven correct time and time again. With that being said, the Duck defense — which is arguably the best it has been since the departure of Defensive Coordinator Nick Alliotti — is possibly what could finally land …

Top 5 Reasons Why Your Oregon Ducks Will (or Won’t) Be National Champions This Season

Riley Bushnell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

National Champions! It’s the label that everyone associated with the University of Oregon football has long been waiting to use. It narrowly escaped their grasp in 2011 (thanks a lot, Michael Dyer), and also recently with the Bowl Championship Series system fiasco in 2001 … but this year it’s looking like it could all come together. We all were watching Saturday …

Spartans: “Oregon Adjusted, Mariota Evaded & We Lost It”

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Michigan State Spartans were stoic after Oregon’s huge comeback victory Saturday, accepting responsibility for failure and giving full credit to the Ducks, especially Marcus Mariota. MSU Coach Mark Dantonio said “Mariota’s tough, he leads, and he creates. And that’s the difference in the football game. He created, and we let him get out of it. Probably 4 or 5 …