So many of the “Greybeard” Oregon fans on the Our Beloved Forum recall the days in the 1970s, when both Oregon and Oregon State were equally bad. I was chatting with Mr. FishDuck and pulled him from his fun at sports betting online to ask him who, among our many coaches, changed his opinion most about the direction of the …
How Does Oregon Stack Up to Their 2020 Selves?
My last full season writing about the Oregon Ducks culminated with them winning the Pac 12, and due to the pandemic, playing in the Fiesta Bowl against Iowa State. Unfortunately the Ducks were, shall we say, uncompetitive in that game, against a team that it was perceived they had more talent than. This year the Ducks started off their attempt …
Duck Cubes: Stanford, Hurricane Cristobal, Oregon’s No-Sack Club?
— The No. 13 Oregon Ducks (3-1, 1-0) and Stanford Cardinal (1-2, 0-2) have their 86th matchup on Saturday at Autzen Stadium (The Ducks first played Stanford in 1900). Stanford holds the upper hand at 54 overall wins. Last year, the Cardinal spoiled then-ranked No. 3 Ducks’ dreams of a College Football Playoff birth, handing Oregon one of just two conference …
Mario Cristobal – When the Knives Come Out
The University of Miami hiring Mario Cristobal and bringing him home reads like a Disney feel-good story. But when we pull the curtain back, we find a toxic and bitterly divided fanbase behind the hire. Mr. FishDuck was looking at the superb line of promotional items for the OBD forum at GS-JJ, as the custom buttons and custom lapel pins …
Did the Ohio State Victory Hatch Mario’s “Miami” Plan?
Look, I know you are all rolling-your-eyes at the title, but it is the off-season and a great time to ponder all the “what-ifs,” for fun about the football program we all love. As I look into it and reflect upon it, there seems to be more than just smoke surrounding the time in question. The three major players in …
Ducks: Growing Pains, Youth Movement and Recruiting
There has been a whirlwind of activity around the Oregon football program over the past couple of weeks — so many topics and issues that it is hard to keep up. But darn it, I try my best. Here are my three thoughts of the day. 1. Nepotism To touch on Mr. FishDuck’s article from yesterday on the unfair influence …
The Changing Face of Loyalty in CFB Coaching
Loyalty for aspiring top-tier programs is dead in College Football. The desire for loyalty is commendable and brings stability to both a program and a fan base, but if the goal of a program is to win a National Championship, then loyalty shouldn’t be a factor. This doesn’t mean a school shouldn’t try to lock down its coach for as …
Mullens Takes a Mulligan, Then Makes the Right Hire
The thoughts, opinions, and hot takes of so many all over the internet over the past three days have probably left most die-hard Oregon Ducks fans’ heads spinning. I’ve spent the last 72 hours or so jotting down enough ideas on the Dan Lanning hire, the Justin Wilcox turn down, and the letter from 14 ex-players to do a dozen …
10 Takes on “The Assault in Salt Lake”
Like most Duck fans, my mind was incoherently zooming around after watching the Ducks get utterly outclassed by the Utah Utes on Saturday evening, not quite sure what we had just witnessed. No doubt, it was a butt-kicking, but how did it get to this? We try to make sense of it all, but it eludes us. I’ve had a …
Oregon’s Offense is Becoming Watchable
Mario Cristobal’s offense has been efficient enough to win, but for many fans it has not been watchable. There have been some really fun games during the Cristobal years, the 2019 Pac-12 Championship comes to mind where the Ducks ran over Utah, and we hope they do so again tomorrow. However, that game was just as much about an incredible …
Mario Cristobal is Reshaping the Pac-12
Mario Cristobal is gaining control over the Pac-12. It hasn’t always been pretty, but right now Oregon is the only Pac-12 team ranked and there are currently only three Pac-12 teams with enough wins to qualify for a bowl game. More Pac-12 teams will qualify for bowl games this year, but entering Week 11 with only one team bowl eligible …
Can Oregon Put Jimmy Lake on the Hot Seat?
It’s going to come up in tomorrow’s game against the Washington Huskies that, according to last year’s silly rules due to COVID-19, Washington “won” the North. Last year I wrote a whole article proclaiming the Pac-12 Championship game being a sham, especially if Washington backdoored its way into the game while not playing Oregon. Washington’s head coach Jimmy Lake proclaimed …