Another week of college football behind us, and more of the unbeaten have fallen. New titans emerge as we dispose of last week’s heroes, wringing out Wildcat and Tiger hopes like rags soaked in day old dishwater. How does it feel, Arizona and Auburn? Yesterday’s news doesn’t generate clicks or the mighty consumer’s eyeballs, so be gone with you until …
For the first time in the three year existence of this site — we are not doing an analysis this week. Before the days of FishDuck.com, I would simply delete the loss in the DVR and never even want to look at it again. Now I am supposed to analyze it for you, but the pain and the flood of emotions that …
Arizona started the upset bus, and the state of Mississippi took over from there. Many had their top four penciled in for the playoffs, but after today they can just throw that list out. Thursday night, Duck fans were left to wonder when it will be their year, while Alabama fans are still learning to grasp the feeling and emotions …
I predicted the scenario that happened in Pullman, on Saturday. Others were insistent that the Ducks would blow out the Cougars. But after turning on the television, the Cougs were up by seven. In my last article I mentioned that the mid-level pass defense wasn’t effective against Michigan State, so it’s only natural to think that in a game against …
Thursday is known as “upset day” in the Pac-12. Be wary of Thursdays! Oregon State shocking No. 1 USC comes to mind. So does Washington surprising No. 8 Stanford in 2012. And, of course, there was Stanford’s takedown of the Ducks last year (sorry for reopening that wound). But these are just a few of the upsets that have occurred on …
Athletic directors at major schools all over the country are paid handsomely to know what makes a great college football coach, yet time and time again we see coaches fail — sometimes spectacularly — to bring success and a winning attitude to campus. So what’s the answer? Is it recruiting ability, X’s and O’s, enthusiasm, or something else? Some coaches …
A pickup basketball game between the football coaches of the University of New Hampshire and Brown University in the 1990s was the first of many meetings between two future NFL head coaches. Then-New Hampshire running backs coach Chip Kelly and a Brown assistant coach named Bill O’Brien exchanged ideas about X’s and O’s on the first of many occasions. O’Brien was …
The Concept of Tempered Steel If you aren’t a huge science guy (I for one am not), you might mistake the process of tempering steel for hardening a metal. While increasing steel’s strength, tempering is actually all about softening a metal through the use of heat to make it more flexible. In season three of Oregon’s best quarterback in school …
These are the weekends we live for as college football fans. The drama off the field this week, however, was just as good as on the field thanks to Jameis Winston. This week showed a lot of top teams struggling for the victory while others took care of business. Let’s get into the Top-25 action from this weekend. 1. Winston needs …
There is a reason why defensive line guru Jerry Azzinaro was the one Oregon position coach who joined Chip Kelly on the Philadelphia Eagles’ coaching staff. The 3-4 defensive scheme and two-gap technique are just as important to Kelly as the fast-tempo, zone-blocking, and packaged plays. Azzinaro was Kelly’s right-hand man in installing the 3-4 as the base defense at …
OK, get your laughs in now. Joke about how terrible the Cougars are, including their defense. The usual: “My 6-year-old brother’s Pop Warner team could beat WSU.” You guys got the giggles out? Good. Now we can move on to business. Washington State isn’t the joke you may think. They have a proven head coach, Mike Leach, in his second year …
Through three glorious weeks of college football, teams across the country have had their depth tested. Look to the east and observe a USC defensive line run over by a mediocre Boston College team in a below-average ACC conference. Look to the south and see a backup quarterback carried off the field heroically on teammates’ shoulders after managing a shaky …