As Oregon fans, we have been spoiled over the years with exciting and high-powered offenses. In the best of those years, the offense was paired with what could be described as a “bend but don’t break” defense. Oregon was not a recruiting power during the Kelly-Helfrich era and therefore did not have the talent to put together a dominating, lock-down defense. Well, …
Pretty stunning, wasn’t it? All the booing in Autzen, and over so many plays. This wasn’t about your typical disagreement with the coach over going for it (or not) on 4th down, or an occasional bad play call. This was a venting by the Autzen faithful. Frustrations with Coach Mario Cristobal have been simmering with a minority of fans over …
In football in general, the quarterback is the most important player on the field. He is the only player, besides the center, who has the ball in his hands on every snap. As a result, he is the leader and the face of the offense. When a team needs an offensive spark, it is often up to the QB to …
Did you know that Alabama freshman cornerback Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry signed an endorsement deal with, wait for it, Kool-Aid? Yup. It’s a new era of college football. For the first time ever, collegiate athletes are able to receive financial compensation for their name, image and likeness, or NIL, opening up a flood gate of cash for advertising and endorsement deals. Let’s be …
I cannot recall such a different vibe that I receive from Oregon fans going into this Cal game, as it is so unusual coming out of a bye week. Fans hope to see the team that played so well at Columbus, but are fearful of seeing the Ducks play down to their opponent. Cal is likely the weakest opponent remaining …
Despite losing to Stanford this past week, Oregon still has a legitimate shot to make the College Football Playoff this year. I know many of you may assume it’s time to pump the breaks on this notion, and as we have talked about at FishDuck for a fair bit now, the Oregon community buzz is falling away from the program …
The Mario Cristobal blocking priority is PHYSICALITY, drive blocking, or the “Mano-a-mano,” the I’m tougher than you emphasis as an offensive priority. “We’re blocking straight ahead we’re going to drive you backward!” Nothing says this more than the Plodding Pistol Plunge, as we fans have seen too much “tougher” and not enough “smarter.” Coach Cristobal wants to be physical, thus Oregon …
It’s amazing how a team that is 4-1 feels more like 1-4. Oregon has played horribly against lesser competition and superbly against one high-quality opponent. The 1-4 feeling comes from knowing how good this team could be, yet the Ducks are not playing up to their potential. Before the season began, I wrote how the Ducks should go 11-1 this …
It is a common discussion over the years for Duck fans–which quarterback do you want to see playing? The current controversy brought about by subpar-play of Anthony Brown has ignited the Oregon message boards hot with discussion, although only the Our Beloved Ducks forum is a safe place (for free) to post your thoughts. I was discussing this quarterback situation …
Targeting penalties are ruining college football. These well-intentioned fouls have sucked the enjoyment out of the game. The penalty is too subjective, punishment too harsh. Something’s gotta change. Every team has experienced a questionable targeting call. Last week, the No. 8 Oregon Ducks had two targeting penalties in their loss to the unranked Stanford Cardinal, including one joy-killing penalty during …
A study passed along to me indicates that I have been operating the Our Beloved Ducks forum in a similar way to what occurred in a research setting involving baboon behavior. Our OBD results have been matching what was in the findings, and what has occurred in the wild. Pretty surprising and unexpected, yet let’s see whether it’s just coincidence …
We have already seen some crazy ups and downs this season, and the injury bug has not been remotely kind to this year’s Oregon team. It has taken star players out of multiples games, such as Kayvon Thibodeaux, or ended seasons (Justin Flowe and CJ Verdell), and it has even taken coaches off the sideline with Joe Moorhead missing the …