Feature photo – commons.wikimedia.org Good morning, Ducks, or as they like to call us in Corvallis, “Cheaters that hold every dadgum play!” This is the second in our three part series about fall (Is August fall? Then I slept through summer.) practice for the schools in the Great Northwest. Last week we touched on Washington State. Today we visit Oregon …
Pac-12 Emmy Awards Announced
Good morning, Ducks! The Pacific 12 Conference uses this slow time of the year to announce it’s annual Emmy Awards for conspicuous and substantial achievement in football. The award’s inaugural presentation was after the 2009 season when Pete Carroll’s Trojans won their first Pac-12 Emmy. This year’s winners spanned the width of the conference, proving that the gift of quality …
Is the Spread Offense Doomed?
First it was Nick Saban, then Florida coach Will Muschamp. Now, the latest high-profile coach to bash the spread offense is new Arkansas coach Bret Bielema. Three successful, smart, influential coaches, all of whom are calling for rule changes to slow down the spread offense and give defenses a better opportunity to substitute, get a breather and avoid injury. So …
Give Thanks to the Little Guys
For every Marcus Mariota, there is a Dane Ebanez, J.R. Maffie and Axel McQuaw. For every first-round draft pick there are scores of players who come to practice every day, hitting the trenches and working just as hard as the stars. Yet these players pass quietly through the hallowed halls of Oregon with little or no acclaim, sometimes without scholarships …
Oregon Unknowns: The Last Bad Years
It’s been awhile since Oregon has truly failed in football. Certainly, games have been lost and teams have failed to meet expectations over the years, but the simple fact is that since the early 80’s there have been few seasons when the Ducks have fallen flat. From 1984 until 2012 Oregon has had twenty-four seasons at or above .500, and …
Aliotti’s Zone Coverages Keep Wildcats’ Pass Game in the Kitty Carrier
In the Fiesta Bowl, even though the Ducks began closing down the running game in the first half, Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein piled up short completions to his receivers, most notably former Duck Chris Harper. As the Cats converted first downs via short completions again and again in the first half, I could almost hear the collective groan from Duck fans: …
PAC-12 Basketball: Simply Ducky
It is good to be a Duck right now! The University of Oregon football program has been in the Top 10 for a few years now, and because of that people all over the country think of football when they think of Oregon. Now it seems like Oregon’s men’s basketball team is going to give their fellow Duck athletes some competition as they …
Oregon Unknowns: The Year Rich Brooks Resigned
This new Friday series are the OREGON UNKNOWNS, where we look at interesting aspects about our beloved Ducks that few fans know about. 1980 was a bizarre year. 1979 had seen the Ducks rebound from some less-than-stellar years, and they were expected to contend for the Pac-10 title. Instead, scandal rocked the conference before the season began. Oregon was found …
Quack Attack on the PAC
Can I just say how insanely happy I am as a Duck fan to see the men’s basketball team doing so well? The team is 16-2 and undefeated at home. They have upset some major players in the college basketball world and have garnered the attention of fans all over the country for their splashy wins. The Ducks’ only two …