The Top Is a Lonely Place: The End of Dominance in College Football

David Miller Editorials

Dominance is defined as “the condition of being dominant,” and to be dominant is to “occupy or be in a commanding or elevated position.” For a team to be dominant in college football is now somewhat rare, and apparently becoming more so. Regardless of how you define dominance – including which era (No. 1 ranking in a poll or polls, BCS champion, …

Oregon to Tie The Knott Because of Nike?

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Oregon Ducks recruit Nigel Knott, a CB from Mississippi, was named the MVP of the New Orleans Nike Opening Regional. For those of you who don’t know, The Opening is a combine-like event that is hosted by Nike for high school athletes. The Opening consists of regional competitions around the country from which the top 150 recruits are selected to …

Revisiting Mariota vs Winston

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Before Oregon faced Florida State in the Rose Bowl, there was a lot of talk about Marcus Mariota vs Jameis Winston. This echoed the debate early in the year in reference to the Heisman Trophy. Now yet again, these two players are part of the same conversation – this time in leading up to the NFL Combine and eventually the draft. Much like …

Next Year’s Playoff: Ducks, Bucks, And The SEC

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Let me give you a fair warning here, I am from New Orleans, Louisiana; I live outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Outside of Oregon, the LSU Tigers are my favorite college team. I give you that qualifying statement so you’ll understand when I say that I believe the SEC is the strongest conference, top down, in college football. Part of …

Defense Wins Championships…Kind of

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

While watching the Indianapolis Colts  successfully shut down Peyton Manning and the Broncos dynamic receivers yesterday I had this awful since of Deja Vu all over again. It wasn’t until this morning that, thanks to radio hosts Walton and Johnson  of all people, I made the connection. The way Indianapolis shut down the Broncos was the same way that Oregon shut …

How Statistics Size Up the Ducks vs. Buckeyes Match-up

McKalie Bellew FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

ATTENTION ALL OREGON DUCKS FANS, TOMORROW NIGHT IS THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON. I REPEAT, TOMORROW IS THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON! Everyone, everywhere has been preparing for this matchup since January 1 and now it’s almost time for our men to take the field. In an article on cleveland.com by Rich Exner, he goes over 13 ways …

Next Men Up: Marshall and Baylis

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

As I sat in a restaurant in New Orleans last night, I’m pretty sure I was the only one beginning to seethe from watching ESPN as the the BREAKING NEWS crawl went across the screen. Then I started getting a bit concerned, as I read that Darren Carrington was not going to be able to play in the Championship Game …

Oregon Peaking At The Right Time

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Ask any football analyst and they will tell you the difference between a good team and a championship team is timing. A great team that peaks too early can wind up crumbling while a mediocre team that peaks at the right time can win a championship. Oregon however is something very rare, a great team that is peaking at the …

Five Reasons Our Ducks Will Dominate the Buckeyes

McKalie Bellew FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Fans, we are six days away from the biggest game of our season and our Ducks are the talk of the town… everywhere. We will face the Ohio State Buckeyes, who defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to advance to the title game. I watched the Ohio State game and give them props as they played a good game. I have heard …

Three Reasons Not to Underestimate Ohio State

Caleb Couturie FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Duck fans, I’m certain you were all as excited as I was when OSU took down Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. I mean, just the prospect of playing a third-string QB in a National Championship game is enough for some to already start ordering Ducks Championship T-shirts. But for now, we need to pump the brakes. Although yes, the Ducks …

Ducks Defense Wins The Day

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Contrary to popular opinion, Oregon is not just an offensive team. The Ducks definitively proved this point Thursday, showing their strength and shaking off the label of being a soft team en route to a 59-20 thrashing of FSU. Yes, they are fast, but speed and toughness are not mutually exclusive. They showed off this toughness and strength by consistently beating …