(Not) The Negative One(s)

Noah Smith FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

“It’s a crisis just how you like it. The same drama in a different disguise. I’m bound to walk with a target on my back. At least I’m ready for another attack.” “The Negative One” -Slipknot So outside of football I also rather enjoy heavy metal so these lyrics from Slipknot’s new album made me chuckle while reading about how …

An Analysis of the Resilient Buckeyes

Rory Davidson FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Thank god for the College Football Playoff. The Ducks would have been left out of the national championship if the BCS system was still being used; the same goes for Ohio State. In the first year of the playoff, it has already been proven that the BCS was a faulty system. Next thing you know, the playoff is going to …

NCAA Lack of Planning Gives Ohio State Unfair Edge for Championship Game

Paul Jones FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

ESPN’s Brett Murphy reported Wednesday that Ohio State is granted unlimited practices, due to the fact that their classes do not begin until Monday, January 12th. This is based upon different academic schedules between the two universities, as the University of Oregon operates under quarters, and the Ohio State University has a semester schedule.  Murphy, in his article, wrote: “Because …

Jimmy Fallon Lets the Real Experts Decide Who Will Win the National Championship Game

McKalie Bellew FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

As we come closer to game day, the analysis of who will win the National Championship game becomes more and more intense. Every sports analyst, reporter and sports fanatic spew out their reasons as to who will win come Monday January 12 and why. When it comes to sports, especially football, I think it is safe to say that most …

No Hate For Ohio State, The Old BCS, And Expanding The Playoffs

Paul Jones FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

I can’t hate Ohio State University. I’ll admit, it was pretty easy with FSU — they gave Oregon fans, and college football in general, plenty of ammunition over the course of the 2014 season, but Ohio State? – naw. The Buckeyes are a team who have faced similar adversity to the Ducks. Key injuries, early season loss, Heisman contender, and …

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 …

Is Ohio State an Oregon Wannabe?

Randy Morse FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

“The mind,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer once famously quipped, “is a fragile thing.” I was thinking of that Meyer quote the other day as I watched the post-Sugar Bowl press conference. Specifically when the Buckeyes coach reacted to the news the Oregon Ducks had thoroughly cleaned Florida State’s clock earlier that same day in the Rose Bowl. A …

The Time Is Now for Mark Helfrich

Omar Garibay FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Remember when Chip Kelly took over the Oregon program? Many didn’t know what to expect. How would the program and its fans react to a new coach? After 14 seasons of Mike Bellotti, who is the winningest coach in Oregon Ducks football history, and who built the Ducks into a college football powerhouse, one thing was certain: Kelly had enormous shoes …

Our Uncle Phil

What Do You Think About These Natty Uniforms?

Jason Selby FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

So, it was announced a few weeks ago that Oregon chose to go with the all green uniforms for the Rose Bowl, since the three other teams in the College Football Playoff all shared red as a common color. Most people expected Oregon to go with some mix of green and yellow for its uniforms in the National Championship against Ohio State next …

Ohio State Preview: Recruiting to Performance

Adam Kruse Editorials

Looking ahead to Ohio State, the Ducks are obviously up against a solid team and a historic program. How did Coach Urban Meyer assemble this team? How did the pavement-pounding days on the recruiting trail translate into a title game experience? The rich history of Ohio State ranges from coaching great Woody Hayes to seven Heisman winners: Les Horvath (1944), Vic …

The Spread Offense: The Oregon, Urban Meyer Connection

Noah Smith Analysis

On January 12th, do not be surprised if you feel like you’re seeing double. Urban Meyer’s love of the spread option offense has been widely documented ever since his days at Bowling Green and then at Florida. Some people even claim that Meyer invented the read option play that we love to watch our Ducks run (Rich Rodriguez would dispute that claim). Regardless of who invented it, Meyer …

How The Mighty Have Fallen: SEC, Pac-12 and Ranked Bowl Games Review

Caleb Couturie FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Oh how the mighty have fallen. West Coast football fans have been saying it for years, but finally the SEC took an undeniable turn and it wasn’t in an upward direction. The storied “powerhouse” conference saw it’s least successful bowl season in years among ranked teams, of which it led the nation with seven. When the final bowl game with a …