FishDuck Article

After playing two great quarters last week against the UCLA Bruins, the Ducks put together a more complete game on Saturday against the Colorado Buffaloes. Granted, a weak Colorado team is not the best measuring stick, but the Ducks appear to be turning into the team that Oregon fans thought they should have seen from the start of the season, ... Read the full article here...

Admit it…with the way the offense was scoring on Saturday with the crowd roaring and all the explosion plays–it felt like the “Good Ol’ Days,” didn’t it? I was feeling an excitement and a particular twinge with it, and realized that I had not felt that in a long time. What was it? Then it hit me; this was how ... Read the full article here...

It was the hit heard around the sports world. In 2009, the Oregon Ducks had just lost 19-8 at Boise State. In Chip Kelly’s first year as head coach, it was a difficult loss on national television for the Ducks, who were coming off a huge Rose Bowl win the previous year. Postgame emotions were running high, to say the ... Read the full article here...

My FishDuck Friends–this is the official Colorado GameDay Thread for discussion before, during and after the game. As before, addressing any negative in the game is fine, but let’s not be venting on other Oregon fans. Thanks. Now let’s look at what happened at the end of the UCLA game with all the quotes in one place (below) and discuss ... Read the full article here...

For the last two games, OC Joe Moorhead has called the game from the box rather than the sideline. This has corresponded with a significant change in Oregon’s passing offense, as the past two weeks have also come with the best two games for QB Anthony Brown. Brown still has a long way to go in terms of becoming a ... Read the full article here...

Here at FishDuck, we’ve been tough-but-fair with our team. This season has been a “mystery” in many instances with the ups and downs of a youthful team, which couldn’t fit in more perfectly with a season than Halloween. The underlying question of that mystery is gauging how much of the young talent we have that’s been realized already, and how ... Read the full article here...

Oregon’s trip to Los Angeles was the perfect opportunity for all of the Mario Cristobal skeptics to say “I told you so.” Chip Kelly and his Bruins run one of the more creative offenses in the country, with wild run-blocking schemes, plenty of tempo and a wide variety of formations. Cristobal — on the other hand — has become infamous ... Read the full article here...

For two quarters on Saturday, the Ducks played like the team fans knew they could be. There was rhythm, flow, and the wide receivers were heavily involved in the offense. Meanwhile, the defense was stuffing the vaunted UCLA rushing attack. The Ducks outscored the Bruins 27-3 during the second and third quarters, which brought on flashbacks of their monumental, early-season ... Read the full article here...

Is this the most mysterious Oregon football team you have ever followed? So much talent, yet so much of yet unrealized. Coaching errors that are egregious, but some great coaching that brought about victories seen in the national spotlight. Key players hurt, but new stars are emerging … and I am trying to figure out seven games games into the ... Read the full article here...

I’m a muttering-mass-of-protoplasm again after a Duck game, but this time to the positive. When I watch something so emotional to me, and yet filled full of factual items to ponder–it takes me longer at my Greybeard-age to process it. Today I wish to discuss the intriguing components of yesterday’s game, while on Monday I wish to reappraise the season ... Read the full article here...

This is the official GameDay thread for discussing the game with UCLA before it begins, during and after the game ends. Yours-truly will have a game reaction article on Sunday, and an Opinion-Editorial article on Monday, so let’s have some fun pondering it all. I regard this game to be a tough match-up for the Ducks because of how well ... Read the full article here...

Mario Cristobal will be Oregon’s head coach in 2022. The only way this doesn’t happen is if he opts to leave for another program, which is highly unlikely. Fans are conflicted in how they feel about Cristobal because he is an amazing off-season coach, routinely “winning” the off-season in terms of recruiting and hiring. With each of these off-season wins ... Read the full article here...

The Oregon Ducks offense has been consistently good at running the ball through the first half of the 2021 football season. They are one of just two teams to rush for at least 180 yards in each of their games while averaging 210.3 yards per outing. They have done so with a great stable of running backs, and an offensive ... Read the full article here...

Mario Cristobal has led the Oregon Ducks to back-to-back Pac-12 Championships. He has accumulated more talent than any coach before him in Eugene. And this year, his Ducks are still very much alive in the College Football Playoff race. All of these statements are undeniable. So is this one: The Oregon Ducks are a massively disappointing football team right now. ... Read the full article here...

I bet most Americans will agree that football is one of the most popular sports they look forward to every season. No wonder why a lot of new football leagues are founded, like the XFL, and football betting is an ever-growing industry in this football fanatic nation. Meanwhile, when talks about football begin, it’s impossible not to mention the National ... Read the full article here...

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, ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...

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 ... Read the full article here...