Oregon’s victory over Ohio State last Saturday was not only a major win for the Oregon Ducks but also a massive win for the Alliance between the Pac-12, ACC and B1G. One of the biggest problems with the Alliance has been the lack of a premier program from the Pac-12. The B1G has Ohio State, and the ACC has Clemson, …
After the Ducks’ impressive victory over Ohio State, I couldn’t help but to go a little tongue-in-cheek by lampooning my article from last week titled “Is Mario Cristobal the Next Les Miles?“ The Ducks finally put together the type of performance those critical of Mario Cristobal (including yours truly) knew they were capable of having, but hadn’t. After three years of …
The 2016 preseason Top 25 college football (CFB) polls, including ESPN’s FPI rankings that we reviewed last week, are pounding down the Pac-12. In the four ‘big time’ polls, the putative 2016 champion Stanford Cardinal is ranked as follows: ESPN 8; FOX Sports 11; Sports Illustrated 11 and CBS 14. The Oregon Ducks are not ranked higher than 20 in any of these polls. …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out The Oregon Ducks certainly came out the “little brother” against the Utah Utes Saturday night. Being branded a little brother smarts. And no matter what happens, you will be reminded from time to time that you are the little brother. That creates a bit of an attitude that you will live by — like it or not. …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out It’s incredible and yet it’s still surprising. Beating Georgia State, 61-28, using a generous helping of second, third and fourth stringers just wasn’t enough blood for too many fans. What seems to be forgotten is that September 19 is still fairly early in the season. We’re still only half way to the selection committee’s first way-too-early declaration …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out This is the third annual preseason report on teams that I don’t think are going to live up to the hype. Why bother to read another preseason projection? So far — for 2013 and 2014 — I’m 5 for 6 in picking overrated teams. And this is the swimsuit edition. Or is that “addition” — hard to …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out The wonderful thing about August is that every D-1 football program is undefeated, so dreams of what could happen have yet to be tainted with reality. The door for pundits to put together their Top-25’s and final fours is wide open. With not a whole lot of objectivity to go on, a certain amount of subjectivity is …
I remember exactly where I was when it happened–the moment that Oregon lost the national championship game to Auburn in 2010. I was with about 30 of my fellow students in my buddy’s apartment across from Hayward Field. The Ducks lost that day, but they will get a shot at redemption in the not-too-distant future. You might have heard- Oregon will …
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 …
Having to head to class the day after watching the almighty Ducks fall to the No. 4 team in the country was heartbreaking to say the least. To make matters more interesting for some Duck fans, Oregon lost two of its key players in DE Arik Armstead and Heisman QB Marcus Mariota to the NFL Draft. It’s been one eventful …
It’s finally here fellow Duck fans, the college football playoff national championship game is today. Oregon vs Ohio State. Ducks vs Bucks. Modern vs traditional. However you choose to swing it, this game is going to be epic. As of right now, Oregon comes into the game as 5-point favorites. But according to ESPN’s college football twitter account, that might …
Well, the time has finally come. Get your chairs ready, your popcorn popping, and make sure you have fresh batteries in your remote. Tonight is the biggest day in Oregon sports history, and you have the opportunity to watch history be made. Yes, we played in the 2011 National Championship Game against the Auburn Tigers, but with no disrespect to the Tigers, …