Of all the stats this weekend, the most impressive was The Duck’s 546 push-ups during No. 15 Oregon’s 81-7 beatdown of Portland State on Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. Seriously impressive. Mascots aside, the Oregon Ducks’ Week 1 showing was everything fans were hoping for and a little bit more. Scratch that — a whole lot more. In their …
The howling and post mortem accusations have ripped around for 72 hours. In times like these I go another way, pulling out a memory I’ve fixed in amber and consulted many times over the last two decades. Here’s the story. I had held a ticket to Oregon’s home game against USC in 2001, planning to fly to Eugene from my …
Despite the what-ifs and criticisms about decisions made in Saturday’s game, the outcome is a true reflection of this team. Oregon lost not because of a penalty here or a fourth-down decision there—or because the boys didn’t play hard. They lost because their defense is porous. Harsh as it sounds, this defense isn’t worthy of a playoff team, and maybe …
From a couple of bleacher bums, here’s a revelation that every Oregon head coach should consider: if you jump ship for a new head coaching position, you won’t last three years there. You can look it up. Going back through 128 years of Oregon football, not one Oregon head coach who traded up to a better gig has survived more …
The opening riff of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll song in history was written and played by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. “There’s something almost mystical about it,” Richards said of his start to Gimme Shelter. “When hit in the right way at the right moment, a cheap ride to heaven.” Say the same for the dazzling offense Kenny Dillingham …
The No. 25 Oregon Ducks (2-1) appear to have found their web-footing when it comes to a reliable and productive run game. Despite looming questions ahead of the game with the absence of Ducks starting running back Byron Cardwell due to injury, those fears were coddled and put to bed before halftime with remarkable performances from Oregon’s talented backfield. Leading …
For those still reeling from the Oregon Ducks’ 49-3 loss in Week 1 to the Georgia Bulldogs, let’s take a walk down memory lane. The anticipation amongst Oregon fans heading into the 2009-10 football season was off the charts. Mike Bellotti’s successor, offensive wunderkind Chip Kelly, was set to debut his unabridged offense in Oregon’s season opener at then No. …
A few random thoughts from a random guy in the bleachers before the season begins and we have actual football to chew over. USC’s scramoose from the Pac-12 reportedly comes with a desire to take a break from the Ducks, which at the moment means keeping them out of the Big Ten. Some Ducks fans find that outrageous, but it …
Oregon Ducks football has the opportunity to become a top-five program in the nation. In the past decade, Our Beloved Ducks football program has produced numerous top-ten picks in the NFL Draft, battled for recruiting supremacy on a national stage, and even molded a Heisman trophy winner (who will be an honorary captain next week, I might add). But we …
This past Friday, you saw 2023’s superstar QB Dante Moore commit to Oregon. While I’m ecstatic about the pickup for Our Beloved Ducks, I have some reservations about what our recruiting has said about our team recently. With recruits like these, why aren’t we winning every game against PAC-12 opponents? Now, of course, this is a huge can of worms that …
Recently in a John Canzano Mailbag article, he was asked whether or not the Pac-12 should consider expansion. Canzano’s answer was that the Pac-12 powers that be will talk about it, but probably not do anything about it. It will likely upset some fans who think expansion is the key to the Pac-12’s survival, but the Pac-12 doesn’t really have …
For the past couple weeks, I have been waiting for the enthusiasm for the Alamo Bowl to kick into high gear, but alas, I find myself still stuck in neutral. It seems the days of being ecstatic about the Ducks landing a terrific matchup in a second-tier bowl game is so 20 years ago (like the 2000 Holiday Bowl versus …