Imagine walking into Autzen Stadium for the first time on a Saturday afternoon. What do you experience? Are you overwhelmed by the sixty thousand fans screaming “O?” Do you feel lost in a sea of green and yellow jerseys? Or are you intimidated by the opposing team? These consuming feelings are pressed upon young freshmen each new season. Going from a top …
Scott’s Turf: Is Mark Helfrich a Better Recruiter Than Chip Kelly?
Is Mark Helfrich a better recruiter than Chip Kelly? That question has slowly crept into the minds of Duck recruiting fanatics as the early commitments have seemingly poured in over the last few weeks. Earlier this week, writing for Duck Sports Authority, I talked about the change in early commitments not being significantly different for the Ducks. At the time …
A Developing Rivalry: Stanford University Cardinal
The Oregon-Stanford football rivalry might not be the oldest or most polarizing, but for the last few years it has been the one with the most on the line for both teams. The rivalry is not new, only recently becoming intense enough to warrant the level of dislike and hatred between the teams and fan bases for it to be called a …
Reveling in Oregon Rivalries: Washington Huskies
Rivalries are a compelling part of all sports and play an important role in every team’s season. The Oregon Ducks have cultivated their share of rivalries; some include a storied history, while others have developed more recently. No matter how long its existence, a rivalry makes the week preceding the game that much more fun. Washington Huskies The sign in the photo above is just a …
Four Reasons You Should Go to the Spring Game
The Oregon Ducks are holding their spring game tomorrow, Saturday, May 3, at Autzen Stadium, kicking off at 11 am. The game signals an end to spring ball and brings us to the precipice of another four months or so without any football games on the tube. There are a coupla reasons to attend the spring game – I give you: 4. Position Battles When Marcus …
NFL goal helps Oregon tight end Pharaoh Brown push past tragedies
When Pharaoh Brown called his mother on graduation day, he sounded calm. Jeannetta Smith assumed her son was pulling another prank, but this one angered her. “This is not how you play,” Smith said. Brown wasn’t joking. His friend, Fred Zuber, had drowned hours earlier. He sounded calm because he was in shock. Brown, Zuber and three […]
Ducks’ Nine Getting Needed Relief!
[Ed note: The first three paragraphs reference north-of-the-Columbia River stuff — this is the epitome of “friends in low places.”] I knew it was coming, it always does, my buddy Frank and his Husky purple heart calling to give me grief over the Ducks losing their PAC-12 baseball series to the Huskies. I’ve known Frank for a lifetime, and he has …
With Bralon Addison Gone, Oregon’s Margin for Error Shrinks
Injuries happen every year, to every team. In a game as violent as football, players are injured in every scrimmage and every game. Most of the time these injuries are bumps, bruises, stingers and sprains. But the teams that contend for National Championships are either able to weather those injuries or manage to escape major injuries to key players. Oregon …
Are You the BEST Oregon Fan — or is This Guy?
Meet Josh White. Realtor, a father of two, and a die hard Oregon Duck fan. White was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon where he currently spends his free time playing golf and/or hanging out with his Family. Since he was young, he has religiously followed the Oregon Ducks. Every weekend, whether it be purchasing from scalpers or stubhub, he …
Pac-12 Power Positions: Running Backs
With months to go before the start of the 2014 football season, we’re forced to feed our football addiction by taking a look at some of the returning talent. Throughout the Pac-12 this last year, running backs dazzled fans all over the conference and kept us on our toes. Though they lost some top talent such as Ka’Deem Carey, Marion Grice, Bishop Sankey …
Rule Change Proposal Will Destroy College Football
Disingenuous, adjective: “Not truly honest or sincere: giving the false appearance of being honest and sincere.” (From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.) They should call it the Bret Bielema rule. Or perhaps the Bielema-Saban rule, since it is, in part, due to these two coaches’ influence that this rule is now being considered. For those who are unfamiliar with this proposal, …
Pac-12 Power Positions: A 12-pack of PAC-12 Fleet-Footed Wide Receivers
Months away from the start of football season, what’s a football fan to do to feed the addiction to college football than to look at the best returning players for next year. The Pac-12 has a lot of amazing talent coming back at every position for the 2014 football season, and wide receivers rightly make up a skilled part of …