FishDuck Article

To understand the defense that Coach Dan Lanning is bringing to Eugene, you have to first take a look back in time. For much of his career he has worked under Coach Kirby Smart, affording him the opportunity to learn from one of the best defensive minds in the business. It was his mentor that would lay the foundation for ... Read the full article here...

This year it has become abundantly clear just how broken the College Football post-season it. Between the coaching carousel, bowl games, bowl game opt-outs, and the early signing period, the month of December is complete chaos. Not every team experiences this chaos equally because any team with coaching turnover feels the stress of this time period more than others. Not ... Read the full article here...

Originally, I did not want Mario Cristobal to leave. I wrote of how I admired so much of what he did for Oregon football in so many areas, yet his offensive philosophy was beginning to turn off large portions of Duck fans. The problem was–I could not possibly see a candidate to replace him that would be as good or ... Read the full article here...

“How do we fix college football?” That’s the prevailing question just a couple of days removed from yet another all-SEC title game. The 2021 season provided more parity than usual; Michigan and Cincinnati both made their College Football Playoff debuts. But if three particular teams continue to outpace the rest of the country in recruiting, this season will be an ... Read the full article here...

The 2021 season wrapped up last night, which makes today officially the first day of the off-season. During the next eight months, we will all no doubt experience analysis paralysis of what to expect from our 2022 Oregon Ducks. There will be recruiting and transfer portal updates, getting familiar with the new coaching staff, spring football, and the hype, excitement ... Read the full article here...

This article will hopefully provide a ton of intel going into the National Championship Game, that will not only identify keys to watch for, but will also foreshadow things to look for in the Oregon defense under Coach Dan Lanning. It will also mark the GameDay thread over at the Our Beloved Ducks forum where we discuss the information below ... Read the full article here...

There’s a catchphrase I’ll miss more than any other slogan in recent memory: “Fill the Sleeves.” Of the flurry of departures from the Oregon Ducks football program over the past month, saying goodbye to strength and conditioning coach Aaron Feld had the biggest impact on me. The ever-enthusiastic mustachioed strongman was a constant source of positivity on the sidelines. I ... Read the full article here...

The Draft is one of the most important moments in the entire NFL calendar, as it allows teams the chance to scoop up some of the best talent from schools across the US. The next NFL Draft is only a few months away, taking place between the 28th and 30th of April, and there are plenty of prospects who look ... Read the full article here...

Oregon is a running back school and has produced some of the greats in both the college and the NFL, including LaMichael James, Kenyon Barner, Jonathan Stewart, LeGarrette Blount and De’Anthony Thomas. The the list goes on. We have to give credit to CJ Verdell and Travis Dye for their running ability and their strong on-field results when they have been ... Read the full article here...

Two days ago, it was announced Robby Ashford would enter the transfer portal. After countless discussions, articles, and efforts from Our Beloved Ducks’ fanbase to figure out what to expect of this team’s offense (that showed wonderful signs of life in the passing game during the season’s concluding bowl game), we see another all-time great recruit heading somewhere new. This ... Read the full article here...

One game remains to be played in the 2021 college football (CFB) season. On Monday, January 10, 2022, No. 1 Alabama will play No. 3 Georgia in Indianapolis to decide, among other things, whether Oregon will open the 2022 season against the defending national champion or the runner-up. It should come as no surprise that these two SEC behemoths are ... Read the full article here...

In the aftermath of an atrocious bowl season, I have been sensing from many Oregon fans that the Pac-12 is doomed. Many fans feel the conference missed the boat by not expanding with the remaining Big 12 teams after Texas and Oklahoma bolted for the SEC. Some think that it is only a matter of time before USC and Oregon ... Read the full article here...

My FishDuck Friends, it is my earnest hope that this message reaches Head Coach Dan Lanning and Offensive Coordinator Kenny Dillingham, as what I am writing represents the feelings and hopes of hundreds of thousands loyal Oregon fans. We want to see a return to the Oregon Brand, which consists of an offense that is high scoring and very entertaining ... Read the full article here...

Let’s be honest. If Mario Cristobal were returning to Eugene for a fifth season, this time of year would be pretty drab. After four years, Oregon football fans finally knew what to expect from the Miami native and they weren’t necessarily SUPER STOKED about what they were seeing. Looking back, the hopeful justifications in the run-up to a new season ... Read the full article here...

Like so many of you–I had to tune into the Playoff Semi-Final to watch our new coach, Dan Lanning, work with his defense in his second-to-last game as a Georgia Bulldog. It was amazing to watch Michigan being held to only three points until late in garbage time, and if there was ever a defense that passed the “eyeball test,” ... Read the full article here...

In the last five years Oregon has seen two head coaches leave for their dream jobs. Willie Taggart didn’t even finish coaching the entirety of his first season at Oregon before he jumped at the opportunity to coach at Florida State. Mario Cristobal left after the Pac-12 Championship game after leading the program for four years. Both names prompt angry ... Read the full article here...

Two-back sets look to become a big part of the Oregon offense under Coach Kenny Dillingham’s guidance. This is a tactic that Coach Dillingham is accustomed to, serving under Coach Mike Norvell since his days with the Arizona State Sun Devils. The offenses that Coach Dillingham has previously coached have used two-back personnel in a variety of unique ways. Today, ... Read the full article here...

College football’s postseason is in a state of crisis. Bowl games have become almost entirely irrelevant due to opt outs, transfers and coaching changes. Even the most intriguing matchups on paper lose their luster, as the roster teams field in bowl games hardly resemble the ones they’ve fielded the rest of the season. In the past, today’s matchup between Oregon ... Read the full article here...

For the past couple weeks, I have been waiting for the enthusiasm for the Alamo Bowl to kick into high gear, but alas, I find myself still stuck in neutral. It seems the days of being ecstatic about the Ducks landing a terrific matchup in a second-tier bowl game is so 20 years ago (like the 2000 Holiday Bowl versus ... Read the full article here...

Have three terrible business decisions have dropped the Pac-12 from significance to college football (CFB) irrelevancy? STRIKE 1 – The Rose Bowl In 1902 the first bowl game was played on New Year’s Day (NYD) in Pasadena California in association with the City of Pasadena’s traditional Rose Bowl Parade. Michigan played Stanford in the East-West Bowl Game. Michigan defeated Stanford ... Read the full article here...

Going down memory lane with the Ducks undoubtedly brings about tons of mixed feelings. Many exciting things have happened since the beginning of their football journey in the modern era, and to pick eight highlights has been challenging. This is a team with a lot of history and stories behind them. From their rough beginnings filled with losses and unmemorable ... Read the full article here...

Tis the season for 2022 NFL Draft declarations—and many of the Oregon Ducks top players won’t be sticking around for another year. So far, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Devon Williams, Mykael Wright have declared their intentions to enter the draft in spring. At the moment, news of Mario Cristobal‘s departure has occupied most of Ducks headlines, along with the news that Auburn’s ... Read the full article here...

Most of the focus in football is placed on the star power positions like quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and standout defenders. As a result, in this new era of the transfer portal and NIL, most of the funds go to these star players. These are the players who make up the bulk of each school’s 85 scholarships. There are three ... Read the full article here...

The transfer portal has given Oregon another quarterback who has had struggles in the past and is pushing for a chance at playing in the NFL. Bo Nix I feel is more complete as a quarterback than Anthony Brown is (or was at this respective stage of his transfer), there’s just one major issue I have with Our Beloved Ducks’ ... Read the full article here...

The arms race in college football, (CFB) has passed the point of the absurd. Case in point, Michigan State coach Mel Tucker who in three seasons has compiled a record barely over .500 and in 2022 will be paid over $9M per season. Another case in point is the case of Mario Cristobal, a head coach with a record of ... Read the full article here...