Whether or not the Ducks season is saved for an early November start, pushed back to spring 2021, or staggers erratically with fits and starts of games, Ducks Football is likely to suffer a blow from COVID-19 impacts that will take some years to recover from. As hard as it may be for fans to swallow, 2020 sports has entered …
It was mid-autumn in Eugene, 2002, and a cold breeze blew up through the bleachers from the Willamette River, sending chills through Duck football fans packed into the newly expanded and upgraded Autzen Stadium. It was only halftime and the score was 38 Oregon, 7 Stanford. Oregon had just come off two back-to-back losses, one from USC and the other …
No, the title to this article is not a typo, and no, the sky is not falling. Chip Kelly’s Blur Offense was once the pinnacle of innovation, but that was so 15 years ago. There’s a limit to how fast an offense can be run, and offenses across the country have reached that limit. It is now the dawn of …
If you’re like me, the return of the NFL season this past week was a refreshing change from the doom and gloom of 2020. And if you bleed green and yellow, you probably wished former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert had taken a few snaps for the Los Angeles Chargers against Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. Ducks …
Many fans feel unsettled by the lack of football in Autzen this fall and see this as a “cop out” season for the Pac-12 board, a “cowardly move” to avoid lawsuits. Missing out on some of our best players’ last seasons at Oregon may seem disappointing now, but head coach Mario Cristobal has prepared for this. Sure, the Ducks have …
After two weeks of intermittent college football play, we find ourselves at the first in-season reflection point of 2020. Albeit without Our Beloved Ducks on the field, it’s a point that us fans are all seeing in different perspectives. Without Pac-12 football and the Ducks playing this Fall, what are your takeaways from the games you’ve seen thus far? Any …
It’s my birthday today. And while I am not a big birthday person (after 21, do any of them really matter?), it would have been a nice gift for our Ducks to be 2-0. This, of course, would have meant a gigantic victory over Ohio State, which would have gifted me the right to rub it into the faces of …
Monday afternoon, Oregon football kicked off the week with more bad news. All-American offensive lineman Penei Sewell has decided to forgo the 2020-2021 football season and enter the NFL Draft. Although this move makes sense for Sewell and was expected, it’s still a big blow. Sewell closed the door on his illustrious Oregon career, going down as one of the …
In January 2013, following Chip Kelly‘s departure to the NFL, Oregon elected to do what they had done for decades by hiring offensive coordinator, Mark Helfrich as head coach. Nevertheless, an interesting question lingers: What if the Ducks had instead selected defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti as the lead man? I think most are happy with the Ducks’ current state, but would …
One good thing about an extended off-season is we get to learn more about the new offense Coach Joe Moorhead has brought to Oregon before seeing it in action. Okay, not exactly a great consolation prize: we want to see it now! Hey, I’m just trying to make lemonade here. Today’s flavor: coach Moorhead’s ISO play. The ISO–or as some …
Even when considering the weight of a global pandemic, did the Pac-12 schools take the easy way out for the 2020 season? Was the fear of lawsuits just too much for the brave leaders of the Pac-12 to deal with? Yes, I’m talking to you Larry Scott. With the advantage of a little hindsight, you have to ask yourself what …
There is a little known fact about the original Olympians: they were paid! You read that right. These athletes were not “amateur” in the purist sense, and neither are today’s college athletes. The hard truth a lot of people don’t want to accept is that amateurism in college athletics is a myth, and, really, this isn’t a new argument. However, some …