Craig Strobeck On Saturday against the Tennessee Volunteers, the Oregon Ducks were losing. Yes, the Ducks’ football team was behind on the scoreboard. Hopes were soaring for Tennessee, as the 28-point underdogs were on top in hostile Autzen Stadium. It lasted all of five minutes and 26 seconds. The Ducks turned a 7-0 deficit into a 38-7 advantage in less …
Rafael Morán Chip Kelly’s play calling in his NFL debut was effective but not dramatic, with one striking exception. Late in the second quarter, Kelly called one of the crazier formations you’re ever going to see, perhaps for the first time ever in the pros. There were only three linemen up front, with a group of three players set wide …
Kevin Cline Football Recruiting News Oregon’s 59-10 thrashing of the Virginia Cavaliers of the ACC, solidified a No. 2 ranking amongst all three major polls and places the Ducks in the driver’s seat to play for it all, come January. Not to be overlooked in our triumph, Saturday, was the presence of several preps who took in the flash that is …
Andrew Shurtleff From a fan’s perspective, the Ducks have had a great start to this year’s schedule. They play three home games before October 1st, but don’t play any of them at home in the next consecutive weeks – which is crucial for maintaining fan stamina and spreading out the fun. Some fans may not like having an FCS team …
Andrew Shurtleff The bad news: Marcus Mariota is struggling with accuracy, the inside run game looked pretty pathetic against a sizable defensive line, Byron Marshall couldn’t find any room, offensive play calling was highly questionable and third down conversions didn’t come as easily this time around. The good news: none of that matters at this point. As one pundit put …
readthehook.com This week Oregon plays in Charlottesville, Virginia, at 12:30 pm Ducks time. The Virginia Cavaliers are coming off of a 19-16 home victory over BYU, with good performances from three marquee players. I visited Charlottesville years ago and I remember it as a town with a good number of historical attractions, an easy air about it and, though …
Kevin Cline Every elite quarterback covets a great wide receiver (not to say that Oregon’s starting receivers aren’t good enough, because we all saw how well they played last Saturday), cue fresh-off-the-boat true freshman Devon Allen. The 6-foot-0, 187 pound wide receiver from Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix, Arizona, was also one of the country’s top hurdle and sprint …
Kevin Cline Football Recruiting Visits Oregon’s 66-3 showcase victory over the visiting “whatevers” proved equally decisive on the recruiting front. Cornerback Arrion Springs (4-Star/San Antonio, TX/Rivals250) and linebacker Tui Talia (4-Star/Pleasant Hill, CA) joined Oregon’s Big Board. Offensive lineman Sam Jones (3-Star/Highlands Ranch, CO) and hybrid wide receiver Braxton Berrios (4-Star/Raleigh, NC) were in the Autzen stands, Saturday, in what could be …
Craig Strobeck Disclaimer: The Oregon Ducks played a very weak opponent on Saturday, and while the boys finally got to hit someone not wearing green and yellow, Nicholls was about as far as it gets from the caliber of opponent Oregon will face later this season. With that disclosure out of the way, Oregon did play 60 minutes of football for …
Craig Strobeck The first game for any new coach is bound to be challenging, but for the head football coach at Oregon, it has been historically very difficult. In fact, only one head coach in the last 65 years, Mike Bellotti in 1995, had won his debut game[1]. On Saturday, Mark Helfrich would try to match Mike Bellotti and do …
Craig Strobeck The Oregon Ducks demolished FCS doormat Nicholls as expected Saturday afternoon, by a score of 66-3, but the game gave the plucky Colonels some reasons to feel proud, and the Ducks’ coaches areas to improve this season. Speculation that the Ducks would pass more under Coach Helfrich proved unfounded on Saturday. For the first time in history, three …
Was it worth the wait? After spending all day on my couch watching college games, the last seven football-free months seemed to just melt away. In week one of the season we have had all the excitement a fan could ask. The week saw several FCS teams upsetting FBS squads, BCS schools losing to NON-BCS challengers and a few exciting …
