When Oregon learned of its potential bowl opponents, there were several interesting candidates. Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin each would have been fine choices. But there’s no question that the Redbox Bowl committee struck gold when they matched the high-flying Ducks with their familiar cross-country foe, Michigan State, for their third meeting in five years. The rubber match won’t be for a spot in …
In a previous analysis I discussed Oregon’s Run-Pass Combo. In this follow-up analysis, I will look at how the Ducks use the same strategy to attack defenses by focusing on a single player. With the Duck offense, any defender can be the focus of an offensive play. Tendencies, leverage and spacing are all key points that coaches ponder when calling a specific play. In the …
I had no idea what I was in for on Wednesday morning as I came into my office and began to check emails. I saw an ominous title of “Audit” and the sender as none other than the head of compliance at the investment firm I represent. Every other year he comes to Oregon on a Friday, tears files apart, and examines all that …
Michigan State played Stanford in last year’s Rose Bowl, to the dismay of the Duck faithful. However, in doing so, they showed their defensive formula for slowing down the Cardinal’s Heavy 2 runningback offense. I will start by saying that Michigan State did give up 162 yards rushing to Stanford, coming on 36 carries. However, a lot of those plays came …
When the four-team College Football Playoff was formally approved by the NCAA in June 2012, teams, analysts and fans alike rejoiced in the reformation of the BCS — a system which had been previously criticized for not being fair to all teams. The Playoff, which runs through the 2025 season, reduces the likelihood of a deserving team getting left out of …
From Video It was a critical point in the rise or fall of Oregon football. The Ducks had clawed their way out of mediocrity (or worse) to gain berths in two high profile bowl games, lost them both and then fallen back to two mediocre five-loss seasons in a row. Would our Ducks backslide to the truly bad old days of two-win seasons, …