“Know they self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” This quote from Sun Tzu speaks not of the past, but of the future. Likewise, the Oregon Ducks football program must not only look forward, but move forward – as a coaching staff, as a team, and more importantly, as a culture. That forward-looking and moving culture must …
Fox’s Mandel Latest to Dis on Ducks
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 …
Recruiting Update: Former In-State Talent Coming Home
Following the Civil War, Oregon got a big boost in shoring up a question mark heading into next season. Former Tigard (Ore.) star A.J. Hotchkins (3-Star/Riverside, Calif.) spent two years at the JUCO ranks following a senior prep campaign that yielded minimal interest from college programs and is now headed back to his home state with a verbal commitment to …
Recruiting Update: Murphy the Next Great Drop-End?
Before I begin … I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Big Fish himself, Charles Fischer. Without going into much detail, there are big changes coming to FishDuck.com. Almost four years ago, I approached Charles about writing about my beloved Ducks. He had a recruiting slot open, gave me a shot, and through some fine tinkering, “Recruiting Update Wednesdays” have …
If Oregon’s History Is Any Indication, Things Are Looking Up for Young Secondary
Oregon’s 4-3 start to the 2015 season is nothing to complain about. As fans, we are all lucky to have a team to root for at all, let alone a winning one. Still, it takes some getting used to watching the Ducks play without that ranking sitting next to Oregon’s logo on the broadcast scoreboard after a 98-week streak. A dropoff in …
Blame It on Marcus Mariota
There are some things that everybody who has anything to do with athletics should learn, and this holds true for athletes, coaches, friends, family and fans. Two of these things are winning with grace and losing with grace. The Ducks won this weekend, taking down Colorado, 41-24. The win was a relief after the previous week’s drubbing from Utah, but …
Fans’ Response Tarnishes a Solid Road Performance
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out Adversity develops and reveals character much more than pleasant trips to the beach. That’s just one of the inconveniences of living on Planet Earth. So when your team loses on the road by a field goal to a top five team, what do you do to show the world who you are? For too many Oregon fans, …
Oregon’s Bend-But-Don’t-Break Defense: It WORKS
You have heard the comments in the stands; heck, you may have even said it yourself! “I hate Oregon’s bend-but-don’t-break defense. I hate how we only rush three, and we give up third-and-long way too often!” Many people say that without understanding the reasoning behind utilizing the bend-but-don’t-break defense, and how it complements the Oregon offense. Let’s take a closer look …
Eight Bold Claims Eight Days Before the Season
As a student at the University of Oregon, and an avid football fan in general, I’ve been exposed to a lot of hearsay. So whether or not you agree with the claims made below, keep in mind that this is a list put together by what has come out of others’ mouths. With eight days to go until the Ducks kick …
Recruiting Strategy: Two Remaining Questions While We Wait
Fall camp is underway, and things have slowed on the recruiting trail. The Oregon coaching staff is now focused on developing the current roster in preparation for the upcoming season. We know, however, the recruiting game never fully stops in college football. Just over a month ago, the Ducks picked up verbal commits from a pair of four-star athletes in linebacker LaMar Winston (Portland, …
Ducks Look to Maintain Mojo vs Spartans
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 Miss on Another LB Recruit, but Future Still Bright at LB
Friday evening, the Ducks experienced a blow to their recruiting momentum. Highly-recruited four-star LB Bryce Youngquist committed to the Oklahoma Sooners despite saying in June there was a “90 percent” chance that he would commit to Oregon. This comes on the heels of Oregon narrowly missing on many of their top linebacker targets in the class of 2015. More recently, in addition …