Football Mysteries: Player Names, Home Team Losses and Inter-conference Play

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out More so than most years, this college football season has produced much which, on the surface, just doesn’t make a lot of sense: home teams frequently losing, hardly anybody staying undefeated, a log jam of one-loss teams that threatens to be impossible to sort out, and yes, even players’ names. Making sense of players names, home team …

Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out: Damnation, Redemption and Hope

Mike Merrell FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Since the previous week featured so much condemnation and in-fighting among Duck fans, a win over a ranked UCLA team was just what the doctor ordered to settle down some heated feelings. It appears that it isn’t just Duck fans who have trouble getting along when their team is losing. UCLA coach Jim Mora blessed us with quite a show …

One Team, One City, One Love. Go Ducks.

Ashley Young FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

If you are looking for an explanation as to why the Ducks lost, you’ve come to the wrong place. Likewise, if you are looking for someone to point a finger at, again, turn around now. I know, probably not the best way to begin this article, but I have a lot to say with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. …

Ducks Run Defense Will Be the Difference Maker of the 2014 Season

Rob Liggins FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Having a Heisman-hopeful, such as quarterback Marcus Mariota, is always exciting for a team. However, the timeless saying “Defense wins Championships” has been proven correct time and time again. With that being said, the Duck defense — which is arguably the best it has been since the departure of Defensive Coordinator Nick Alliotti — is possibly what could finally land …

Friday Night Lights to College Gameday

Ashley Young FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Imagine walking into Autzen Stadium for the first time on a Saturday afternoon. What do you experience? Are you overwhelmed by the sixty thousand fans screaming “O?” Do you feel lost in a sea of green and yellow jerseys? Or are you intimidated by the opposing team? These consuming feelings are pressed upon young freshmen each new season. Going from a top …

Oregon Football: Six “Other” DLs to Watch in the Spring Game

Josh White FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Oregon Ducks football team is scheduled to play its annual Spring Game on what should be a picturesque Saturday inside Autzen Stadium.  And with it, the 2014 season will be officially under way. And, like every season, another batch of seniors have graduated, which leads to a bunch of question marks heading into the Spring Game coming up on Saturday.  Some of the …

Draw the Line

Steven Holstad FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Peppered with talent, various levels of success, and featuring a new man calling the shots, it’s time for Oregon’s defensive line to draw the proverbial “line in the sand.” We’ve all heard the knocks on Oregon’s teams over the past few seasons, critics talk about their perceived lack of physicality; if you slow the game down, their neon jerseys just …

In Defense Of: The Duck Defensive Line

Casey Fluegge FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Gone from the 2013 Duck D-Line are such stalwarts as Wade Keliikipi, Taylor Hart and Ricky Havili-Heimuli.  All very good players who will be missed, but the cupboard isn’t bare.  Though some fans panicked at Oregon’s inability to close on a couple of highly regarded D-Lineman on LOI day, there remains much to look forward to from the Duck’s DL …

Oregon’s Superior Defensive Techniques School the Bruins

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Fish Reports

from Video We heard from ALL the coaches after the game about the extraordinary job done by our defense to hold UCLA to a couple of short-field scores, but HOW did they do it?  Offensive players expressed their gratitude at how our “Green Wall” kept us in the game until they could get things untracked.  At FishDuck.com, we have not …

2013 Breakout Players

Sam Arney FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

With the season still a little over two months away, all of the talk that’s going on is the release of the Oregon sanctions and those entailed. Of which I am very satisfied with the outcome. But I thought I would take this time to distract myself by making some predictions on who I think will be some of the …

Ducks Zone Blitz Attack De-Claws the ‘Cats Deep Passing Game

Sean Goodbody Fish Reports

Early in the Fiesta Bowl, Collin Klein and the Kansas State offense had success with short throws to help put together some lengthy drives.  My article last week described how the Duck defense stuffed the K-State option game when it counted in the first half, helping Oregon score three unanswered times to build a comfortable lead.  Once the Ducks began piling on points, …