For those of us who are Greybeard age, we recall 30-35 years ago when Washington was a perennial power and crunching Oregon at every turn. I recall an ugly Husky fan calling to tell me to, “just combine Oregon and Oregon State, and maybe then you will have a respectable number of wins.” Good gosh, the disrespect! But what could …
Elite Recruiting Mountain Too High for Ducks’ Lanning?
I got jolted from some recent recruiting information, but it is not about the 2025 class that has an incredible Rivals 4.13 average per recruit thus far, with four Rivals 5-Star verbals. It is a rare class that is shaping up, although our national ranking is only No. 12 due to only 15 committed presently. While it is expected to be a …
Want to Win a Natty? You Better Be Blue Chip
Over the years, there have been massive upsets in the world of college football. Sports Illustrated ranks the three biggest college football (CFB) upsets. Mr. FishDuck took some time from his fun with NFL Betting to reminisce with me about these stunning games. Yet the bigger aspect in these games are the presence (or not) of Blue-Chip Rosters within the …
Dan Lanning’s Pursuit of Elite: Areas of Improvement
Recently I posted the beginning of a planned multiple article look into Dan Lanning’s goal to elevate Oregon Football from Good to Elite in the OBD forum. Today I want to begin focusing on areas of improvement, starting with the external.When I spoke to Mr. FishDuck about this topic, he took time aside from his fun at IPL betting cricket …
End the Lie: No School Recruits Itself
Let’s do away with the myth that any blue blood school simply recruits itself. It’s a lie — especially in the era of the transfer portal and NIL that we are living in today. While it is absolutely true that having an established brand makes it a whole lot easier to recruit (just look at how Oregon State is recruiting …
Oregon’s Record Recruiting Class…That Never Was
I was on top of the world as an Oregon fan in 2021, as Mario Cristobal secured the greatest recruiting class in the history of Oregon football, the best in over 100 years! It finished ranked No. 3 in the nation as you can see on Rivals, and had an astounding 19 players signed who were either 4-Star or 5-Star …
Has the Portal Solved Oregon’s FREAK Problems?
Oregon does have a freak problem with their football team. It is not a bizarre problem, but one that is unusual because of what Dan Lanning is trying to achieve at Oregon, and soon. As you may have guessed, this problem has nothing to do with using crypto in US gambling but if you have a desire, you can study …
Oregon Fans Should Brace for Lanning’s Mudslinging Strategy
All the changes to college football with the portal, NIL, conference realignment and media rights have created discussions we never dreamed of having as Oregon fans even five years ago. The change has been so rapid as to easily surpass our patience with much of it, and yet when you have movement one direction–there are equal repercussions in other directions, …
How Dan Lanning Will Trim the Football Roster to 85
I read the posts on the Our Beloved Ducks forum where the question often was, “we are way over our 85 scholarship limit–how are we going to trim anywhere from six to nine players?” Oregon has to make room for new freshmen who signed up in December and now February, but also the portal transfers. Oregon’s roster has to be …
Better Than Cristobal? The BEST First-Year Oregon HC at Recruiting: Dan Lanning
An elephant in the room for Oregon football fans was whether new Oregon head coach Dan Lanning could be the complete coach in all areas. Considering the Washington and Oregon State games–the description would be, “to be determined” as we watch his growth in 2023 as an in-game coach. For many of us though, even with the mistakes–it was an …
Dan Lanning: Best First Year Recruiting Class for ANY Oregon HC?
That is a very tall title…better than Mike Bellotti? Better than Chip Kelly or Mark Helfrich? Better than the recruiting monster Mario Cristobal? We have signings to record up through tomorrow, (the end of this signing period) and possibly in the February signing period as well. But if this is not the best–it will be one of the best first-year …
Will Ducks See Transfer Eli’jah Winston in Green-Yellow and Get the Last Laugh at USC?
Ducks fans haven’t forgotten the body punch feeling when USC flipped 4-star Central Catholic linebacker Eli’jah Winston the 11th hour before Late National Signing Day. Winston rebuffed the Ducks but now finds himself in the Transfer Portal five years later. Will Winston now in the 11th hour before fall camp starts, do a 180 degrees and like Chase Cota decide …