Charles Fischer

In the early season, and especially after the Penn State game....Oregon was the toast of college football. The buzz about the team, Dante Moore--all of it was now much worse than I realized at the time. It is hard to not get full-of-yourself with that kind of fawning media attention. Even though we were used to the spotlight last year...Our Beloved Ducks are not accustomed to being in cross-hairs of national media the way a few teams such as Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State are. It is routine for them, while Oregon is still a little thrilled to be spoken of so dearly. Now...the attention on Oregon has faded almost as fast as viable HC candidates for Beavis. Well OK, not that much. But you get the idea; in the Tuesday ESPN Playoff Projection for next week--multiple pundits predicted that Oregon will drop in the Playoff standings, with a danger of not even being in the projections, as anything below 11th puts you out. (The Group-of-Six get the 12th spot) And frankly...our remaining schedule is tough, but not enough to impress--even if we win them. So already I can sense millions of CFB fans writing off the Ducks, and I think this is the perfect scenario that puts a-chip-on-our-shoulder. It can inspire our players to improve beyond what anyone could project for Oregon. It's happened before! Agree? The media has no use for us now...

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025 CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK AND FIELD | @OregonTF Big Ten Sweep in East Lansing The Men and Women of Oregon are the 2025 Big Ten Cross Country champions. EAST LANSING, Mich. — Oregon swept the team titles at the 2025 Big Ten Cross Country Championships Friday morning at the Forest Akers Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich. The Women of Oregon successfully defended their Big Ten title from a season ago while the UO men won their first conference title in cross country since 2008. Individually, the Ducks also collected a pair of titles with first-place performances from Abdel Laadjel for the men and Diana Cherotich for the women. Friday is the first time Oregon has swept conference team and individual titles in the same season since 1988. It’s also the first team sweep for Oregon since 1995. With Friday’s efforts, Oregon has now won 29 conference cross country titles—17 men, 12 women—in program history. Laadjel is the 10th Oregon man to win a cross country title and Cherotich becomes the ninth UO woman to run to an individual crown at a conference meet. Dating back to the indoor meet this past winter, the Men of Oregon have won three-consecutive Big Ten team titles while the Women of Oregon also secured their third Big Ten title. Oregon has now won six of eight conference titles in cross country and track and field since joining the Big Ten. How It Happened: Leading from the first 1K split of the race, the UO men placed eight inside the top 20 including first-team performances from Laadjel, Michigan native Evan Bishop in fourth place and Aiden Smith in sixth overall. The Ducks placed five on the All-Big Ten Second Team—spots 11 through 20—with Benjamin Balazs (12th place), Connor Burns (13), Simeon Birnbaum (17), Tayson Echohawk (19) and Jack Meier (20). Meier also earned a spot on the all-freshman team. Laadjel is the Ducks first conference champion on the men’s side since Edward Cheserek won four in a row from 2013-16. Laadjel (23:11.6) held a spot inside the top four at every split point and over the final 1K ran clear of the field, crossing seven seconds ahead of runner-up Riley Hough of Michigan State. Oregon snapped Wisconsin’s seven-year run of Big Ten cross country titles. In the second race of the day, the Women of Oregon turned in a record-breaking collective effort with a meet-record 18 team score. The Ducks put their top six inside the top nine of the women’s 6K. Cherotich led the team’s 1-2-3 finish with her winning time of 19:31.3, followed by teammates Juliet Cherubet and Silan Ayyildiz in second and third, respectively. The previous Big Ten meet scoring record of 22 points was set by Wisconsin in 1985. Dalia Frias was Oregon’s fourth runner across the finish line, good for a fifth-place finish. This is her first cross country season since 2022. Mia Barnett matched her seventh-place showing from a year ago while Anika Thompson was a career-high ninth place. Big Ten Championships Results MEN (top 5) 1. Oregon – 36 | 1-4-6-12-13 2. Michigan State – 68 | 2-3-16-23-24 3. Wisconsin – 90 | 8-9-10-30-33 4. Michigan – 100 | 11-14-15-26-34 5. Washington – 135 | 5-20-29-37-44 1. Abdel Laadjel – 23:11.6 4. Evan Bishop – 23:28.2 6. Aiden Smith – 23:32.7 12. Benjamin Balazs – 23:44.0 13. Connor Burns – 23:44.9 17. Simeon Birnbaum – 23:55.4 19. Tayson Echohawk – 23:56.0 20. Jack Meier – 23:56.3 39. Jeffery Rogers – 24:17.3 61. Sergio Del Barrio – 24:35.1 75. Anthony Fast Horse – 24:46.9 77. Michael Mireles – 24:51.8 WOMEN (top 5) 1. Oregon – 18 | 1-2-3-5-7 2. Penn State – 78 | 4-8-12-25-29 3. Northwestern – 96 | 13-14-17-24-28 4. Washington – 103 | 11-15-19-22-36 5. Michigan State – 147 | 6-31-33-37-40 1. Diana Cherotich – 19:31.3 2. Juliet Cherubet – 19:46.2 3. Silan Ayyildiz – 19:47.8 5. Dalia Frias – 19:57.0 7. Mia Barnett – 20:10.8 9. Anika Thompson – 20:13.4 26. Ali Ince – 20:38.0 69. Katie Clute – 21:28.6 79. Allura Markow – 21:37.5 99. Landen LeBlond – 21:58.3 143. Hannah Seubert – 22:49.7 -- . Ella Thorsett – DNF Up Next: The postseason continues Nov. 15 with the NCAA West Region Championships in Sacramento, Calif. The top-two teams automatically advance to the NCAA Championships (Nov. 22).

We lose recruits to other schools all the time, as you KNOW USC outbid the Ducks often. The narrative about uniforms has been around 25 years, and then the narrative about Oregon being "finesse," and not physical, and now the popular narrative is "fully-funded NIL." Opposing Coaches--It Must Be Tough.

Not Me....

Oregon is EVERYWHERE! My "ex" has relatives in this town...

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2025 OREGON WOMEN’S GOLF | @OregonWGolf ATLANTA – The Oregon women's golf team closed out its fall season with a win on the national stage on Wednesday, defeating defending national champion Northwestern in the championship match of the 2025 East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club. Facing the Wildcats in a rematch of last spring's NCAA semifinal, the No. 5 Ducks put together a dominant 4-1 victory to earn the program's first-ever win at the East Lake Cup while making their third appearance in the last four years. It was the 12th win all-time under head coach Derek Radley, and first of the 2025-26 season. "Incredibly proud of our team for what they've accomplished this week," head coach Derek Radley said. "The East Lake Cup is one of the most prestigious events in college golf and it really feels like postseason competition when you're out there on the course. To finish first in stroke play and then put together two wins in match play, including today against the reigning national champions, that's not easy to do and I'm really impressed with the way our ladies carried themselves throughout the tournament. "We had to battle through some tough weather conditions and I thought they did a tremendous job of making adjustments where we needed to while also sticking to our game plan. This is an awesome way to close out our fall season and I am so excited to see what the spring brings for this group." What it Means: The East Lake Cup is an invitation-only event featuring the final four teams from the previous NCAA Championships, and the entire tournament is broadcast live on Golf Channel. That experience on the national stage against elite competition has proven valuable for Oregon in recent years as the Ducks have reached the semifinals or better three times since 2022, and this UO team became the first to take home the title. How it Happened: Play was moved up into the early morning due to incoming weather conditions, and the Ducks sent true freshman Sophie Han out onto the course first to set the tone against Northwestern's Ashley Yun. Han did just that, taking a 1 up lead through eight holes before winning the next two to get to 3 up. A par at No. 13 got her to 4 up, and she clinched a 5&4 victory with a birdie at No. 14 to put a board on the board for Oregon. The Wildcats answered with a quick point of their own as Dianna Lee defeated UO freshman Shyla Singh, 5&4. Sophomore Tong An, who had the dramatic win in extra holes last spring to send Oregon into the semifinals against Northwestern, battled throughout the morning with Hsin Tai Lin. An pulled even with a birdie at No. 8, and then won the next two holes to get to 2 up. An was 2 up with three to play before Lin came roaring back with back-to-back wins to even the match going to 18, but An drained a par putt to win the match, 1 up, and give Oregon a 2-1 advantage. Junior Kiara Romero was last out on the course for the Ducks, but for the second day in a row clinched the match with a comfortable victory. Playing against Megan Meng, Romero won the first hole and never trailed en route to a 3&2 victory to seal the title for the Ducks. Romero's lead got as large as 4 up through seven and never got back down to 1 up after the second hole. Sophomore Suvichaya VInijchaitham won her match as well against Arianna Lau to finish off the 4-1 team victory. Like Romero, Vinijchaitham won the first hole and never trailed. #5 Oregon 4, #21 Northwestern 1 Sophie Han (UO) def. Ashley Yun (NU), 5&4 Tong An (UO) def. Hsin Tai Lin (NU), 1 up Shyla Singh (UO) def. Dianna Lee (NU), 5&4 Suvichaya Vinijchaitham (UO) def. Arianna Lau (NU), 1 up Kiara Romero (UO) def. Megan Meng (NU), 3&2 Up Next: Oregon's spring season will begin on Feb. 1-3 at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

I'd Handle it Just Fine...

Some notes.... Waz says that Oregon is not a portal team, that most of his players are developed from their freshman year onward. It is the high school recruits he mostly is focused on. He also said that the Ducks will have more options on the mound in 2026, and pitching will take a step up. (Good!) He stated that Dominic Hellman, and Drew Smith have stood out in fall practices. Great to hear that Smith is back for a fourth year, as he can fill in at third base, where he played before. I was not sure if he was going to return, and I sure wanted him to. The opening tournament in Las Vegas is going to be a DANDY. Oregon, UC Irvine, Arizona and Vanderbilt? Whew!

Great interview!

Tennessee elevated the fellow we thought to replace their HC, and Waz is safe for us at the moment. In the next post is more information...

Darren...your ponderings gave me indigestion from the thought of IU winning it all. But in the end...I agree with Jon's point above...

You don’t think we didn’t have lopsided wins last year? It is eight games, and that is a pretty good sample…

2024 after eight games: 35 points per game, net rushing total yards of 1337, for an average of 4.7 yards per rush. 2025 after eight games: 41 points per game, net rushing total yards of 1896, for an average of 6.3 yards per rush.

I love the change of uniforms, and while I agree that black is being overused....to suggest the woes on the field are from an excessive focus on uniforms? That notion is silly to me, and is proof that Dale was hurting for writing topics. Been there!

Alex, although I agree with your sentiments, I still have concerns that they will overcome the challenges they have ahead of them. As fans, we go from wanting landslide victories, to just any kind of win...and one point is fine! The bye week timing is perfect for players to hunker down, study, practice, and improve. Our own Big-10 weather!

As an Ol' offensive lineman....should I be learning this dance? (Now that is a bad visual image....whew!) Gernorris Wilson

Oregon 2025 average points scored per game: 41.3 points per game average (34.9 in 2024) Oregon 2025 average points allowed per game: 13.5 points per game average (19.4 in 2024) Now we have a long ways to go with the season, but it is interesting to look at. I understand the frustration with the scoring in the last game, (and vs. Indiana) but one of the many superb OBD forum members pointed out how our own penalties killed drives that would have scored points, not to mention the Special Teams TD from a fake punt called back. We should have scored more....or not? You see, that rain and wind did not creep up on the team; we heard all week of high wind gusts and downpours coming during the game. Our coaches knew that we would have ground-and-pound....and so did Wisconsin. It was a limited playbook for this game, IMHO. We need better QB play from Moore at tight-times, and better pass protection from our offensive tackles. I would like to think that with an NFL future on the line...they will be working on these elements for the last half of the season. (Six, seven or eight more games? That is my fantasy!) If someone has asked me at the beginning of the season if I would be happy with those averages at this point in the season? I would have taken both in a heartbeat. "Slinging in the Rain" (Brock Thomas)

Me too, but all I get are restraining orders...

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2025 OREGON FOOTBALL | @oregonfootball Davison Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon running back Jordon Davison was announced on Monday as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance in the Ducks' 21-7 win over Wisconsin last Saturday. Davison becomes the third Duck to earn a Big Ten weekly honor this season, joining Jerry Mixon (Defense, Week 3) and Dante Moore (Offense, Week 5). Davison led the Ducks against the Badgers with a career-high 102 rushing yards while scoring each of Oregon's first two touchdowns. It was his second straight 100-yard rushing game after going for 100 the previous week at Rutgers. Davison leads the Ducks this season with 10 rushing touchdowns, most among FBS freshmen and tied for No. 7 nationally. He is now tied for third in UO single-season history for rushing touchdowns by freshmen, joining Royce Freeman (2014) as the only UO true freshmen to rush for double-digit scores in a season. The Santa Ana, Calif., native logged his second multi-TD game of the season and has scored at least one touchdown in seven of eight games in 2025. Davison and the No. 6 Ducks (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) are on a bye this week before traveling to Iowa on Nov. 8.

Not a guru, but my opinion is that if the mesh is done as you suggest--it can be an RPO, or a play-action pass regardless of where the QB begins the play. Making the linebackers commit to defending the run is the reason for the fake, or mesh, so the passing lanes are open, IMHO. With that being said...coaches everywhere have their own terms and definitions.

And then The Athletic released their CFB rankings this morning, and moved Oregon down to No. 12. Below is their reasoning, and I can't complain... "Oregon slips a couple of spots after a surprising battle with Wisconsin, a 21-7 win in a rainstorm. I think Oregon is a really good team, but what exactly is the resume right now? Its best win is maybe Northwestern? The teams ahead of the Ducks have better accomplishments, and I can’t keep Oregon near the top five like the polls have just based on brand name. Oregon is 10th in ESPN’s strength of record, too. Go beat Iowa on the road in a couple of weeks, and things can change."