2020 has not been a good year for Pac-12 football, and has become a major disappointment for Oregon fans. COVID-19 has taken its toll on all of NCAA Football, but the Pac-12’s decision to start late has left the conference truly undecided heading into championship week. To complicate matters, only one team has actually played all its scheduled games this …
Oregon has yet to put a solid four quarters of play together this season. Against Cal, it was Oregon’s offense that lost the game, where in the previous week against Oregon State it was Oregon’s defense. The defense this past weekend, despite a terrible first half, put together its best performance of the season. The defense obviously needs to continue …
Tyler Shough has not been as impressive as some fans had hoped. He looks inaccurate at times, he sails passes and struggles mightily under pressure. Unlike Justin Herbert, who was only criticized before the draft for… inaccurate passing, sailing throws and struggling under pressure. Oh, maybe Herbert was just better at throwing for a lot of yards? Nope, Shough averages 277.8 …
Since the Oregon Ducks’ (3-1) disappointing loss to the Oregon State Beavers (2-2) last week, I’ve been seeking a palate cleanser. As fans, we are often reduced to rambling complaints, wild speculation, midnight arguments with complete strangers and drastic calls to action (fire Helfrich!). Guilty as charged. But every once in a while, we have been known to have some …
After four ugly games, it’s safe to say Oregon’s defense has failed on every level. Oregon has the most talented roster in the Pac-12 on paper, and when you assess each player individually, this is true. However, football is a team sport, and instead of putting a cohesive defense on the field, Oregon has eleven players just running around. A …
If there was ever a year in which the Oregon Ducks would not play up to snuff, 2020 is that year. This year brings about plenty of baked-in excuses as to why a team like Oregon might not play up to its lofty expectations. Lack of a full off-season, several key starters sitting out, and a shortened season that just …
Losing sucks. It makes players and coaches miserable, demoralizes fan bases and eliminates teams from the College Football Playoff conversation. Given that Oregon has never ended a season without a loss, Duck fans everywhere are fully aware of this fact. Losing has never felt good, especially to the Beavers. Especially when the Ducks should be so much better than their little …
Honestly Ducks fans, I was planning on writing a much different article today. Don’t worry, there will always be time for spitballing nicknames for Oregon’s offensive line (Mario’s Manhandlers?) Right now, it’s gut-check time. Following the Ducks’ (3-1) heartbreaking 41-38 loss to the Oregon State Beavers (2-2) on Friday night at Reser Stadium, I came to a realization: The Beavers …
Good teams win games and lose games, but truly great teams always find a way to win. This does not mean Oregon is a great team, but they are on their way to greatness. Oregon is currently 3-0, and as fans, we haven’t felt good about any of those three wins. Against Stanford, Oregon turned the ball over twice and …
Of course, I hope I’m wrong. The Ducks have (for the most part) dominated the Beavers over the past decade, so like any green-blooded Oregon fan, I’d like to see the carnage continue. But the Ducks have played with fire so far this season by slipping and stumbling past supposedly lesser opponents in Stanford, WSU, and UCLA. A revamped offense …
A few weeks back, I wrote about the possibility of seeing a specific play from Coach Brennan Marion’s highly praised GoGo offense. Though we’ve yet to see the Oregon Ducks implement the two-back look of the GoGo, we did get to see Coach Joe Moorhead’s take on the Mesh Wheel concept against the Washington State Cougars with the kind of results …
This is not the year we envisioned for Oregon’s offensive line. We all expected to have Penei Sewell anchor the left side this fall. However, the pandemic robbed us of the opportunity to watch Sewell dominate the line of scrimmage for one final season as a Duck, as he instead prepares for the 2021 NFL Draft. Sewell’s opt-out dramatically changed …