Oregon
How Oregon Ducks Football Can Earn ‘That Team Out West’ Moniker
The Oregon Ducks are officially members of the Big Ten Conference, and with that comes expectations as well as ridicule.
This past week, the Ducks announced a new four-part documentary series titled “That Team Out West”. The project will be in the style of Hard Knocks, following Oregon through fall camp and telling the stories of players and coaches on and off the field.
If you’re new to the Big Ten’s history, like most in Ducks Country are for a number of things, “That Team Out West” is modeled on the heated rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan. Former Buckeye coach Woody Hayes coined the phrase “That Team Up North” so he would not have to say the word “Michigan”.
So how can Oregon successfully become “That Team Out West”?
First, you have to put up with the ridicule of trying to force something.
Hayes lived the hate he had for Michigan, something that Ohio State fans have had for the Wolverines for more than a century. Simply walking into the league and declaring yourself something won’t get the respect, or hate, needed for such a title, especially in the era of social media.
https://t.co/QW9gbU9Dzv pic.twitter.com/U4rGFjgH6l
— Woody (@woodyVSworld) August 2, 2024
Next you have to win against the traditional powers. It does not matter that you’ve beaten Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State in your most recent matchups. You have to win now.
All of three of those programs are on the schedule this season: Oct. 4 vs Michigan State, Oct. 12 vs Ohio State, and Nov. 2 at Michigan. There’s also the likelihood of seeing one of these team’s again in the Big Ten Championship. Taking the league crown another piece of beating the traditional powers.
Winning against the traditional powers won’t be enough if you’re not taking care of business at home. Three other programs are “out west”, so you not only have to beat them, you have to dominate.
Oregon plays Washington annually going forward, and USC and UCLA are on rotations. Over the next five seasons, Oregon will play these three programs 11 times. It is not an understatement to say that the Ducks need to win nine or more of those games. Domination out west is the only way to get the rest of the league to think solely of you when it comes to success from the west coast.
Finally, you have to get that elusive national championship. Making the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed and 13-0 but not winning it all will not go anywhere for the teams back east as they can always point to that goose (duck) egg next to national titles, just like in the social media post above.
The only thing keeping Oregon above Purdue, Indiana, and Northwestern in the eyes of the league is the 2014 Heisman Trophy win by Marcus Mariota. Everyone else either has a national championship or multiple Heisman winners.
Flashy uniforms and a high powered offense? Zero national titles. That’s the reputation to overcome.
All the Heisman Trophies and claimed National Titles in the new-look @bigten 🏆🏆🔥
Which team has the best shot at adding a National Title or Heisman trophy this season? pic.twitter.com/jDnCE6AaSe
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 2, 2024
Be thick-skinned, beat the traditional powers, dominate the west coast, and get that coveted national championship. If Oregon is serious about becoming “That Team Out West”, and not just producing a gimmick from the new kid on the block, it all begins this fall.
The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
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