The Pac-12 Conference is in a nose dive. And the announcement on February 11 that Colorado (CU) head football coach, Mel Tucker, was leaving CU for Michigan State likely evidences that the dive has reached terminal velocity. You know what I think? It doesn’t matter what I think, especially when compared to the thoughts of the people cited below and …
Sports have been around for a while. Cavemen probably competed against each other by throwing rocks against trees. “Hey Og, see that squatty little tree way over there? I’ll bet you five clams that I can hit it and you can’t!” But since that was before recorded history, we can only guess about Og, the rocks, the trees, and any …
The success of the 2019-2020 season has jacked up the stoke level for Oregon football, and yet many questions loom. The Ducks replace four starters on the offensive line, a four-year starter at quarterback, and an offensive coordinator who left to be head coach at UNLV. Sure, there’s a stable of young studs returning, and we can expect them to …
Oregon’s now-former offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo took us on a bit of roller coaster ride this year. While his offensive play-calling was at times boring and predictable, at others it looped and zoomed with the excitement of a Disneyland thrill ride. Extending his tenure to coach the Rose Bowl game, Arroyo came California Screamin’ out of the chute, engineering a …
Football teams at any level want to build their roster around a quarterback, the most important position in the game. This is especially true in recruiting at the collegiate level. The Oregon Ducks 2019 early signing period is only a few weeks away, and they have a commitment from a good one in Mount Si High School signal caller Cale …
The Oregon Ducks signed a stellar class of offensive linemen in the 2018 recruiting cycle. It is an imposing group of five young men averaging 6-foot-6 and 340 pounds, recruited from several states including Utah, California, and even Pennsylvania. But one of these is an Oregon-native and life-long Duck fan in Dawson Jaramillo. Dawson played at Lake Oswego High School (enrollment of about …
There’s a buzz building in Eugene. The Ducks have gotten off to a 3-0 start, and are welcoming College Gameday back to Eugene for the first time since 2014. Fans and prognosticators alike are beginning to jump on the Oregon bandwagon, and many have the Ducks pegged as a sleeper for a conference championship or even a playoff berth. There’s good …
What does “It’s better to be lucky than good” mean? And how does this statement apply to Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens? In 2016 Mullens parted ways with Mark Helfrich after two disappointing seasons, and embarked on Oregon’s first true head football coaching search in decades. He eventually found Willie Taggart, and whether Taggart sank or swam Mullens (and his …
Picture this: you sit down with your loved ones around the TV to watch your favorite show. You’re all snuggled in as the episode starts, but soon everything looks familiar, too familiar. It’s at that moment you realize you’ve seen this episode before. This is how I felt watching the first quarter of Oregon vs. Bowling Green. I’ve seen it …
The Oregon Ducks’ blistering recruiting pace has put college football teams across the country on notice. Currently, the Ducks’ 2019 class ranks fifth in the country and first in the PAC-12. And they are in great position to land some of the top remaining prospects. Much praise has been given coach Mario Cristobal and his staff for the job they’ve done so …
Life is full of uncertainty. Our lives take unexpected twists and turns, hence the need to assess Risk with personal and collective choices. So it also is with Oregon’s football program. Risk definitions: A situation involving exposure to danger. The possibility of suffering loss or harm. Any event that could compromise organizational assets. The probability of threat, loss, defeat and …
The National Championship Finals Two Teams, Four Teams, Six Teams or Eight Teams??? Who Should Play in the Bowl Games? How many teams should be in the National Championship Finals after the five-game National Playoff? We could experiment with several options: (Note: When I refer to “undefeated” or “one-loss”, etc. teams, I’m referring only to their records in the National …