What does “It’s better to be lucky than good” mean? And how does this statement apply to Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens? In 2016 Mullens parted ways with Mark Helfrich after two disappointing seasons, and embarked on Oregon’s first true head football coaching search in decades. He eventually found Willie Taggart, and whether Taggart sank or swam Mullens (and his …
Thank goodness Willie Taggart left. As soon as the rumors started to swirl that he might leave for Florida State, I started hoping he would leave. Taggart’s initial handling of the rumors indicated that he was going to leave Oregon at the first opportunity (even if that didn’t end up being FSU). That would mean instability year after year until …
This week has been a gut punch to the University of Oregon and its community. I know as well as any just how tough things have been with Willie Taggart deciding to take the Florida State head coaching position. I have defended Taggart a good number of times in my articles this season. I’ve defended his play-calling when it was …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out My first direct contact with a big-time football coach came in fall of 1966 when John Robinson — then an assistant at Oregon — blessed us incoming freshmen swimmers with a pep talk. It was all about what a great athletic family the Ducks were. With a fist waving in the air, Robinson declared that when you …
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their ultimate dilemma heading into the off-season was determining who their quarterback will be going into the future. The two best solutions to this problem: QBs Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston. But which one will they take? Ultimately, the Buccaneers are more in need of Mariota’s services than Winston’s due to two main differences on and off the …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out When the College Football Playoff Committee announced its first list of teams belonging in the final four, it seemed that the Confederacy had won the Civil War and banned everything north (and west) of the Mason-Dixon Line. Fortunately, by the time the vote counted for anything more than a weekly dose of drama, the committee had come …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out The 101st Rose Bowl was in the books. Most of the press had not yet made it to the room for the post-game conferences, so I greedily claimed a front-row seat, wanting to be as close as possible to those whom I viewed as the biggest villains in college football: Jimbo Fisher and Jameis Winston. I couldn’t …
If you’re like me, you’re still talking and smiling about the Rose Bowl. Oregon’s domination resulted in a 59-20 win, accumulating 10 Rose Bowl records in the process. With the national title game only one week away, some of those records could have a huge impact come January 12th. Below are two short lists of some of the Rose Bowl …
There are many reasons to believe Oregon will defeat the Florida State Seminoles this Thursday in the Rose Bowl, but how premature would it be to predict the game’s result based on each team’s conference records this Bowl season? Well if I did it certainly wouldn’t be pretty, because among the 11 conferences with teams playing in College Bowl games, the …
Principal’s Note: Instead of the usual analysis of Oregon, I felt it important to focus this week upon the opponent we are facing. Rory Davidson has done an outstanding job teaching Duck fans what to look for in the other team, and this week is no exception. I will be back next week, but do look for a short joint …
Last week, I listed Florida State as the biggest villain Oregon has faced in recent memory. When their pairing with the Ducks was announced for the playoff, Oregon fans rejoiced at the ultimate matchup of good versus evil. As I sat down to write this week, I was fully prepared to crank up the hate machine and fire off a …
Throughout this college football season, I have taken a great interest in the Florida State Seminoles, shockingly. They have been making headlines, but not for their usual blowout victories. Instead, Florida State has had several close calls, and fans of opposing teams are just waiting to see them lose. I knew that one day, if things turned out, the Ducks’ path would …