Grasu Thankful For The Opportunity To Play In The National Championship Game

Omar Garibay FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

He stood on the sidelines as a redshirt freshman, and unlike many other first-year players, he had experienced a magical season. First it was one win, then it was another, and as the weeks and months progressed, his team kept on winning. The magical ride that he was on was memorable, not only for himself and his teammates, but for …

TGIF. Is It Monday Yet?

Nik Brownlee FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It’s Friday, and that means only one more weekend until the championship game. I don’t know about you, but I’m freaking out a little bit, in a good way of course. Oregon has a chance to be crowned the best team in college football for the first time ever. I don’t have to tell you that this is a big …

Marcus Mariota: A Once In a Lifetime Type of Player

Omar Garibay FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The amazing thing about sports is that it brings people together. Sometimes it provides a form of escapism, and other times it serves as a form of relaxation. Eventually, however, a special player comes a long and captivates the audience unlike any other player before. Oregon football fans have had a unique experience the last three years. Not only have …

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 …

The Evan Baylis Factor?

Nik Brownlee FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

If you didn’t know his name before, chances are you probably do now. Evan Baylis, a redshirt sophomore tight end, was virtually unknown as this season began, but his Rose Bowl performance caught the attention of Duck fans. And as Oregon heads to the national title game against Ohio State, the previously unknown No. 81 might be more important than …

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 …

13 Thoughts on the Rose Bowl

Nathan Roholt FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Under the old system, this game doesn’t even happen. The BCS would have assembled a final of Alabama and Florida State, the current participants in a hypothetical bronze medal game (Wait, why isn’t there a third-place game?) instead of the finalists of Oregon and Ohio State. The Buckeyes don’t get in either under the old system, and the 2010 Rose …

Rose Bowl Exposes Lies; Jimbo and Jameis in Person

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out The 101st Rose Bowl was in the books. Most of the press had not yet made it to the room for the post-game conferences, so I greedily claimed a front-row seat, wanting to be as close as possible to those whom I viewed as the biggest villains in college football: Jimbo Fisher and Jameis Winston. I couldn’t …

7 Things Ohio State Should Know About Our Ducks Offense

McKalie Bellew FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Now that we’ve all celebrated, high-fived and clinked glasses from our Rose Bowl victory, it’s time to get back to work. Our Ducks have one more game to play this season and it’s the biggest of all… the National Championship game. Come January 12 our Ducks will be in Texas to face Ohio State. If I were Ohio State, I …

SEC Guru Says Oregon Would Beat Alabama “Oh No Doubt!”

Mike Ostrom FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

If you’ve ever seen ESPN’s SEC Contributor Paul Finebaum on ESPN, two things are crystal clear. 1. He is an SEC loyalist to the core, and 2. The Dude knows his football. For years, Finebaum has called the SEC the best conference in sports — not just football, but the best conference in all of sports. After January 1, not …

“Won Not Done.”

McKalie Bellew FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Do you smell that? It smells like roses to me. As I fly back  to the wonderful City of Eugene, I am so proud to call myself a Duck fan. I am decked out in Oregon gear (again) and ready to see what the players and coaches have to say at press conferences this week about last night’s game and …

Ducks Finally Discard Their “Soft” Label

Omar Garibay FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It’s been talked about quite a bit in recent years, and critics have always found a way to disregard Oregon’s accomplishments. Sure, as far as overall team success is concerned, the Ducks have been one of the most successful college football programs in the nation since 2009, but their inability to win a national championship has led to skepticism. Some …