Dear Reader, the following was my response to a suggestion that all teams including Florida International, play in a postseason bowl game and a criticism of the ridiculously bloated post season. Florida International University, Bowls for everyone? All 128 schools play a post season game? An interesting idea, but if there were a players’ union or at least player representation in the decision …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out The czars who run college football must be ecstatic! With just a week to go in the regular college football season, the landscape is a complete mess. For the post-season lineup, there’s all sorts of room for drama, unfairness, passing out of unjust rewards, snubbing, hypocrisy — pretty much everything that we’re supposed to like about college …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out In a football season that has certainly had its downs, the Oregon Ducks have emerged as one of the best — if not the best — teams in the conference. A national championship is out of the picture, but a return to the Rose Bowl, while highly unlikely, remains at least a mathematical possibility. That’s something nobody …
So, I’m sitting here at my couch after watching the game, mouth agape because we actually just beat Stanford. The same Ducks who lost to the freaking Cougs at home just beat the playoff bound machine from Palo Alto. And the best part is that they did it on their terms. The Ducks ran the ball 36 times and threw …
Since the beginning of the Pac-12, the North division, crown has gone through Eugene or Palo Alto. This year is no different. Stanford has the fast track to the title game, but the Ducks are rolling as of late and are hungry to keep their Pac-12 title hopes alive. Last year, the roles were reversed; the Cardinal were having a disappointing …
With the Ducks currently on a bye week and just over half-way through the season, it is a great time to reflect on the first half of the season and look forward to the final five games. Oregon Offense Through Seven Games Despite the exceptional talent at RB and WR and a solid O-line, the struggles at the QB position have slowed …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out Duck fans saw their fondest dreams and deepest fears unfold Saturday night in a victorious offensive battle against FCS Eastern Washington. The Ducks tied the NCAA record for most consecutive games (69) with at least one touchdown pass. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only passing record involved in the Saturday night scorefest. Eastern Washington receiver Cooper Kupp broke …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out My first direct contact with a big-time football coach came in fall of 1966 when John Robinson — then an assistant at Oregon — blessed us incoming freshmen swimmers with a pep talk. It was all about what a great athletic family the Ducks were. With a fist waving in the air, Robinson declared that when you …
It is a great year to be a Ducks fan, am I right? Especially for the fans that have been dedicated through the harder times. I cannot even begin to describe how proud I am of our men not only from tonight but from this season all together. Here is a short recap of this years season for our Ducks: …
From the Visitors’ Locker Room Coach David Shaw had a simple explanation for Stanford’s 45-16 loss to Oregon Saturday night. “We played one of the best teams in the nation tonight,” Coach Shaw admitted. “We had to play a near perfect second half and we didn’t do that. Over the past few years, we’ve been evenly matched, but this game …
There was a faint hint of nervousness this evening in Eugene’s Autzen Stadium. Even the most rabid of Ducks fans worried that history might repeat itself and the Stanford Cardinal might head back to Palo Alto this evening with their third straight victory over fifth-ranked Oregon under their belts. No chance. This time the difference in uniforms — Stanford’s stolid, …
If I hear ESPN’s Ted Miller (God bless him) refer to Stanford as “Oregon’s kryptonite” one more time, my head may explode – you know, like the planet Krypton. The problem here is that Miller’s analysis is distressingly superficial – disappointing in a writer normally given to scrupulous accuracy, so much so that I’m normally prepared to ignore his annoying …