Once again, the B1G and the Pac-12 have moved in lock-step. This time in the two conferences’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the B1G and Pac-12 powers-that-be made the very difficult decision to take a big (no pun intended) financial hit in order to err, if they err at all, on the side of their student-athletes’ safety. No fall …
Oregon’s Football Success Boils Down to a Single Play?
What if the Ducks’ success boiled down to a single play? Let me take you back to a moment that changed the trajectory of Oregon football. It was the fourth quarter. No. 6 Oregon trailed No. 8 Wisconsin 27-21 in the Rose Bowl game. Quarterback Justin Herbert already had two first-half rushing touchdowns but struggled to find his passing rhythm. …
Oregon Rose Bowl Matchup: 2012 vs 2020
Oregon started the 2020s right, beating Wisconsin 28-27 on January 1st in front of a massive crowd of more than 90,000 screaming fans. The Ducks started the previous decade in the Rose Bowl as well, falling to Ohio State. The following year they lost the BCS National Championship to Auburn, before finally getting their first bowl win of the 2010s …
Metrics, Schmetrics: Ducks Win Rose Bowl!
By almost all metrics, Oregon shouldn’t have walked out of Pasadena with a victory. They had 118 fewer yards, 21 fewer plays and almost 17 fewer minutes of possession time than Wisconsin. The Badgers ran for 70 yards more than the Ducks. But metrics don’t really tell the story of a football game, and the Ducks didn’t lose. Turnovers Justin …
Oregon and Pac-12: Is it TIME TO ABANDON SHIP?
If Pac-12 Football were listed on the NYSE, I am certain that investment guru Charles Fischer, among a host of others, would rate this stock not as a sell, but as a sell now! As happened to the Soviet Union union during the Ronald Reagan era, the current college football (“CFB”) arms race has the Pac-12 is being spent into oblivion by conference foes …
Why Ducks Fans Should Root for Thomas Tyner As a Beaver
“Once a Duck, always a Duck.” And, “It’s not like he went to the Huskies.” Those are the first two things that came to mind when I heard Thomas Tyner was going to graduate, transfer to Oregon State and resume his football career for a year. The former all-everything back at Aloha High School and former Duck says he’ll be …
Time for Pac-12 Football to Have the Best Bowl Schedule
With new state of the art NFL stadiums coming to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, it’s time for the “Conference of Champions” to be the champions of the college football bowl season. The Pac-12 and its less than stellar bowl tie-ins, long the ire of Pac-12 fans, especially when compared to the SEC and B1G, finally has an opportunity to vastly improve …
The Path to Glory Is Covered in Blue-Blood
There’s been a lot of grousing about preseason rankings and critics. When did Ducks fans develop such a thin skin? Rather than pound the table, I say bring it on. To the national pundits we’re known as the Blur or Track Town, USA. Speed may impress, but it doesn’t always earn long-term respect. We hear it all the time. They …
Perspective Key to Oregon’s Success
How a season is viewed is all a matter of perspective. Regardless of achievement or outcome, if expectations are not met, it is viewed as a disappointment. Conversely, if the result exceeds expectations, it is viewed as a success. More importantly, when those successes and failures happen is just as relevant to their perception as whether or not they happen …
Put Down Your Pitchfork: Oregon Born, Duck Raised, Husky Alumnus?
Put down your pitchfork. I’m not your enemy. I’m a Duck fan just like you. I was born in Roseburg, raised in Eugene, and have always been a Duck fan. I understand that the term “Husky alumni” is anathema to you, that you may not even like Huskies as a breed of dog, that the color combination of purple and …
The Sweetest Duck Victories
Every win is a good win, but there a few in recent memory that stand head and shoulders above the rest. Some particular characteristic that made the victory extra special, extra satisfying. A few games that bring a smile to your face whenever you remember them. Many others have made such lists about the Ducks, but this article will look …
Shock and Awe — The Oregon Ducks’ Football Hangover Effect
Everyone knows that Oregon goes fast. Duck football is synonymous with speed and tempo and heaps and heaps of points. This article, however, will delve into the mental aspect of the uptempo pace the Ducks have favored is seasons past, as experienced by the Ducks’ opponents. I want to know if there is a hangover effect from playing the Ducks. Before we go …