Miami takes on Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl 🔥
Oregon
Sir Francis Drake’s ‘Fair and Good Bay’ was long thought to be in California. Now some experts point to Oregon
English explorer Sir Francis Drake sailed the Pacific in 1579, sacking Spanish galleons and stealing treasure, at least until his boat sprang a leak.
That’s when he found what he called a “Fair and Good Bay” in which to make repairs.
For years, Californians have claimed he landed on their shores. But a scholar at Portland State University says documents in the British Museum show the bay might well have been somewhere along the Oregon coast instead.
Whale Cove, near Depoe Bay, offers a protected beach on which to careen an old wooden ship. Oregon, Jan. 9, 2025. Courtesy of Rick Beasley
Whale Cove near Depoe Bay is a natural harbor with a protected little beach where a ship could be careened — that is, emptied and tipped sideways to expose the hull so sailors can pack gaps in the wooden planks with cotton and tar to stop leaks.
For decades there have been whispers that that’s exactly what Drake did in 1579.
“There are just these little pieces that seem like very tenuous threads,” said retired publisher Rick Beasley, who has heard all the tales.
“There’s a skiff or small boat that is buried in the sediment on the Salmon River,” he said. “There are ballast stones that are out there that divers have found.”
Retired publisher Rick Beasley in Depoe Bay, Ore., on Jan. 14, 2025. Beasley said there are indications that Francis Drake could have landed at Whale Cove: “There are just these little pieces that seem like very tenuous threads.”
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
A boy is said to have found an old Spanish coin in his mum’s garden in Newport in 1948. But it was dated after Drake’s landing. Beeswax keeps washing up in the area too. But that’s from a Spanish galleon wrecked off Nehalem.
Exactly where Drake landed on the West Coast in 1579 has been hotly debated for decades. A Wikipedia page lists more than 40 possible locations, from Alaska to Mexico.
California has perhaps the biggest claim, based on findings of old pottery and other artifacts at Point Reyes. The National Park Service even named one area Drakes Bay.
But Melissa Darby, a research scholar in the anthropology department of Portland State University, says her reading of an old document in the British Museum indicates Drake likely landed in Oregon, not California.
The manuscript, from a collection known as the “Hakluyt manuscripts,” was written shortly after the voyage by Richard Hakluyt, one of the queen’s scribes.
“Scholars have been looking at it since the 1850s,” Darby said. “But they’ve been looking at a printed version that was published in 1855. And I went to England and looked at the manuscript itself.”
In her book “Thunder Go North,” Darby says the manuscript indicates Drake sailed as far as 48 degrees north latitude, then landed at 44 degrees for repairs. That puts him somewhere like Whale Cove, near Depoe Bay, instead of Point Reyes, California.
“Thunder Go North,” by Melissa Darby.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Marco Meniketti, a professor of archeology at San José State University, said people get quite animated about this issue.
“A lot of it has to do with bragging rights, ‘We were the first!’” Meniketti said.
Personally, Meniketti thinks Drake’s descriptions of local tribes match the coastal Miwok tribe in Point Reyes, but there’s room for debate.
“[The debate] is still alive because the evidence is not 100% bulletproof,” Meniketti said.
Drake Navigators Guild points out there are about 30 websites offering what it calls fringe and conspiracy theories on the location of the bay.
Claiming land around ‘Fair and Good Bay’
Back in 16th century England, one way to make a fortune was to gather a few friends together, build a ship and send it out to privateer — that is, steal from Spanish or French ships then divide the spoils with the English crown.
So it was in 1577 that a handful of the most powerful people in England sent Francis Drake out in the Golden Hind and four other ships to sail around South America into the Pacific Ocean.
The voyages proved unbelievably successful, mainly because the Spanish were not expecting English privateers in the Pacific.
“[The Spanish] were caught unawares and unguarded. They had no cannon pointing towards the ocean,” Darby explained. Drake “just went from treasure house to treasure house along the coast. And harried all the shipping.”
Drake’s biggest haul came from a ship called the Cacafuego.
“It took a day and a half just to download all the silver bars and chests of gold,” Darby said.
But Drake couldn’t simply head home with his spoils. In addition to being a privateer, he was a spy. Queen Elizabeth I had charged him with finding the Northwest Passage, a sea route explorers hoped would connect the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Drake headed north. But the Golden Hind was full of plunder and sprung a leak. He had to find a protected bay to careen the ship.
Historical maps left by Drake do bear similarities to Whale Cove, Ore. But they look like several other natural bays too. Here, a print of a historic map is compared to a new online depiction, Jan. 21, 2025.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
In the official record of voyage, Drake landed at a “Fair and Good Bay” where the crew remained for six to 10 weeks, trading with locals and claiming the land.
Europeans had four requirements for a land claim back then. A flag or plaque had to be placed; a religious ceremony held; the claim had to be published; and the explorer had to have an official discussion with the Indigenous leader explaining the claim.
Darby thinks Drake misread the traditional tribal offering to important visitors.
“They gave Drake this feathered headdress and he said: ‘Oh, well they’re giving me the crown of the country.’ Well, that was a total misconception,” Darby said.
Melissa Darby at her home office in Northeast Portland, Ore., Dec. 23, 2024. In her book “Thunder Go North,” Darby puts forth the case that Francis Drake may have come ashore in Oregon — not California — in 1579.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
When Drake returned to England, he proved to be both a hero and a problem. His haul provided enough money for Queen Elizabeth to build a fleet of warships. On the other hand, England wasn’t at war with Spain, so the queen had to distance herself.
“The queen said, ‘Oh no. I didn’t send Drake out. He’s a pirate and we’re going to return the treasure to you [Spain].’ That was a ruse,” Darby said.
“The treasure never got returned.”
Most importantly for this story, Drake gave the queen the logs of his voyage, including how far north he’d travelled. The official account places the Golden Hind at 42-43 degrees north latitude. But Darby and others think the real latitude was kept secret because the country that found a Northwest Passage would make millions on a cheaper trade route to Asia.
Darby also thinks England placed the official latitude lower because it was trying to grab land.
The path to Whale Cove, just south of Depoe Bay, Ore., on Jan. 9, 2025. Some evidence suggests Sir Francis Drake careened his ship here in 1579.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
“The boundary of New Spain was right around San Francisco. So I’m sure they looked at a map and said, ‘This is unclaimed land.’ Drake didn’t see this land because he was looking for the Northwest Passage. ‘Well, we can’t leave this open so let’s just say he was down there.’”
Debate about where he landed may be heated, but some wonder whether it matters in the current era, when colonialism is largely condemned.
Many people think so, because Drake was the first British explorer to contact Native Americans on the West Coast. Also, crew member Diego was possibly among the first Black people to set foot in the West Coast.
Why people believe Drake landed in California
Darby also thinks history gives insight to the present. For example, one of the reasons the California bay has the momentum as Drake’s landing spot is that a brass plaque was found there in 1937. It was dated 1579 and said in part: “I [Drake] take possession of this Kingdom whose king and people freely resign their right and title.”
Herbert Bolton, a University of California, Berkeley, professor at the time, proclaimed it to be authentic. But a metallurgy test in the 1970s showed the plaque was probably a hoax.
Darby thinks racism was at work.
“[Californians] didn’t like the fact that Spain was claiming a lot of the history of California. And so they wanted to make the history of California a sparkling white history and so Drake was their hero,” she said.
Archeology professor Marco Meniketti also thinks Drake’s landing spot is important, because it spurred the Spanish to push their interest farther up the California coast.
“That created an impetus for Spain to start moving the Mission system further north,” Meniketti said.
The oral histories of some Native American tribes in Oregon do refer to visiting ships and wrecks. But not 400 years ago.
Finding a protective bay on which to careen a ship was problematic for explorers sailing in uncharted waters in 1579. Much of the coastline was rocky, like this site near Oregon’s Depoe Bay, photographed on Jan. 9, 2025. But nearby Whale Cove offered more promising protected beaches.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Robert Kentta with the Siletz Tribe said Drake’s sailors probably did trade during the weeks they were fixing their ship, and there are stories of swords and coins being found in Oregon — but nothing decisive. And, Kentta said, the descriptions of some Indigenous artifacts in voyage accounts give him cause for doubt.
“Drake’s journals even talked about the basketry being decorated with feathers, which is a very Central Californian coastal tradition, which has never been practiced here as far as I know,” he said.
The actual location of Drake’s “Fair and Good Bay” may never be decisively confirmed. There is a rumor that the original voyage logs still exist somewhere among the British crown’s private papers. But the truth is probably that they were incinerated in 1698, when Whitehall Palace in London burned to the ground.
FILE – A replica of Golden Hind in London on Dec. 26, 2005.
courtesy Pikelet68 via Flickr / Flickr
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ATLANTA — Oregon’s options for who to rotate in at safety and nickel in the Peach Bowl are finite, but not inexperienced.
Peyton Woodyard has 22 tackles and an interception as a backup this season. The sophomore is the next player behind starting deep safeties Dillon Thieneman and Aaron Flowers and could also play nickel behind Jadon Canady in the Peach Bowl against No. 1 Indiana.
Woodyard was UO’s only freshman defensive player not to redshirt last season. Though he fell behind Flowers and Lopa prior to the season, he’s still prepared to play a significant role, which could come in Friday’s College Football Playoff semifinal.
“You’d have more concern if you had a guy that wasn’t preparing like he wasn’t a starter,” defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi said. “But that’s the way he prepares. I’ve got the faith that we’re not going to put somebody out there that we don’t trust. … I don’t think if he’s out there competing for us, I wouldn’t hesitate one bit to put (him) out there.”
No. 5 Oregon lost Kingston Lopa and Daylen Austin to the transfer portal since the start of the playoff.
Walk-on Zach Grisham (44) and Woodyard (30) have the most snaps at nickel behind Canady and Austin. Woodyard has played 171 snaps this season, but just one in the Orange Bowl when Canady came out for a play. He played three snaps at deep safety during the October 11 game against Indiana.
Grisham has nine tackles in 11 games, splitting time between defense and special teams. He came in for the last defensive play in the Orange Bowl.
Lupoi called Grisham “an absolute baller” for the effort he brings to the field.
The Ducks may need to rely on one or both for a few snaps in the biggest game of the season.
“(Woodyard) brings a lot of range and he’s really smart,” Flowers said. “A really vocal leader. Great tackler. I feel super comfortable playing out there with him. Zach, he’s a man of the game. He knows every position; he knows star, safety. He’s really quick, really good man coverage.”
No. 1 Indiana (14-0) vs. No. 5 Oregon (13-1)
- When: Friday, January 9
- Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
- Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: You can watch this game on DIRECTV (free trial) or with Sling (a Sling day pass to watch this game and more is just $4.99). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
Two powerhouse matchups. One step away from the national championship.
After a longer wait between games in the first two rounds of the College Football Playoff, we should have two fantastic games in the semifinals, and Vegas thinks so, too.
Miami (Fla.) and Ole Miss go head-to-head fresh off their stunning upsets over Ohio State and Georgia, respectively, in the quarterfinals. Indiana and Oregon, meanwhile, will meet up in the Peach Bowl in a game that I’m really excited about.
So, let’s dive into what I think will happen in each game, and who I have winning to advance to the national championship game.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 10 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 6 Ole Miss
When I first started watching film of this matchup, the first thing I thought of — and Miami fans are going to love this, because the last thing they want is me picking Miami after picking against the Hurricanes in the first two rounds — is that this Ole Miss team resembles the SMU team it lost to.
By the way, it’s an SMU team I just spent time around during the Holiday Bowl and I had a conversation with SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee about Miami. We both talked about how dominant Miami is on the offense and defensive lines — that defensive line is excellent. But one thing SMU was able to do was utilize tempo on offense. So, a quicker tempo to try and tire those pass rushers while getting the ball on the perimeter as much in the first half as possible. Once the pass rushers got tired in the second half, it was easier for SMU to play offense and and it took advantage of that.
Well, Ole Miss can do that. I think Trinidad Chambliss is a better quarterback than SMU’s Kevin Jennings. Ole Miss can run the ball with Kewan Lacy. The Rebels can get on the perimeter and Chambliss can create. He’s wonderful at creating. He was so good against Georgia, buying time, showing off his strong and accurate arm.
So, at first blush, I liked Ole Miss in this game and the question for me was whether it would be able to hold up at the line of scrimmage. But that’s not the main question for me with this game. The main question of this game is who is coaching for Ole Miss? I cannot believe we’re in this situation where the head coach of a team playing in the semifinal is saying, “Well, I don’t really know what’s going on with the offensive coaching staff.” Are we kidding? What in the world is going on? In what world are we operating?
This is what I find so frustrating about this situation. This moment is meant to be so special for the players. It should be about Chambliss, Lacy and all these players who’ve put themselves in a position to win the national championship. Yet, they’re not being given the best possible opportunity to do that. This is not a coach’s moment.
Now, we’re talking about whether Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is back to game plan for the offense? I think Weis should’ve stayed at Ole Miss in the first place, but he followed Lane Kiffin to LSU and is still working with the Rebels through the CFP. Weis proved that he can call plays and that he doesn’t need to be under Kiffin in the win over Georgia. But now we’re sitting here and we don’t know what’s going on with Ole Miss’ offensive coaches. They should be there to build, implement, execute and call the game plan. It’s not just about who’s there on Thursday, it’s about who’s there the last seven or eight days. What should’ve happened in this situation was Kiffin allowing those coaches to remain in Oxford in a full capacity until the end of Ole Miss’ CFP run.
Miami takes down Ohio State, Indiana rolls Alabama, Georgia stunned by Ole Miss & Oregon advances
Because of that, it has made me rethink what I believe will take place in this game. What I know about this game is that Miami has something that it can rely on, and it’s at the line of scrimmage on both sides. The offensive line with tackle Francis Mauigoa and the run game with running back Mark Fletcher Jr. have allowed Miami to not put quarterback Carson Beck in a position where he needs to throw the ball on third-and-long. How many times was he able to pick up a first down on a first-and-manageable? He had huge pickups with his feet, and he hasn’t needed to throw the ball 150 yards so far in this playoff. If Miami can control the tempo and line of scrimmage in this game, it’ll have a great chance to win this game.
On the flip side, it’s about corralling Chambliss if you’re Miami’s defense. If he can create, who knows how many points Ole Miss can score? This is a very good Ole Miss offense and it’s led by a quarterback who can force a lot of problems.
What do I think is going to happen? The quickest way to be defeated is to be distracted, and Miami fans, I’m sorry to do this to you, but I’ve got to go with the Canes.
Pick: Miami (Fla.) 30, Ole Miss 24 (Miami -3.5)
Peach Bowl: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Indiana
This is going to be one heck of a game, and we’ve already seen these two teams go head-to-head. We saw Indiana beat Oregon in Eugene in an incredible game that was tied in the fourth quarter before the Hoosiers pulled away with an incredible drive from Fernando Mendoza.
Let me talk a little bit about Indiana. You’re here because you love this sport like I do, but there are things that can be frustrating and there’s one thing that’s frustrating with this Indiana team. There’s an overlooking of Indiana that’s happening right now across the country. The reason I know that is that Indiana’s résumé is the best résumé in all of college football, without a doubt. Indiana’s the most tested team in the country. The Hoosiers are 14-0 and have handled everybody. They have only given up more than 15 offensive points one time this year, and that was in a game on the road against Penn State. Indiana has only given up more than one touchdown in two games. This is the team that’s so sound, mistake-free and just absolutely bludgeoned Alabama.
Oregon faces Indiana in a Big Ten CFP semifinal 🔥
If you listen to some of the loudest voices, you get a sense that they think anyone can win the national championship. But if this Indiana team had any other logo, we would all be talking about whether this is the best team we’ve ever seen in college football. Yes, I know I’ve been guilty of this as well with the way I talked about Ohio State earlier this season, but no team in the history of our sport has ever gone 16-0. Granted, that’s a scheduling thing, but Indiana has a chance to do that and it’s been one of the great defensive teams we’ve had in a long time.
So no, this isn’t a wide-open playoff. Indiana and Oregon are the odds-on favorites to win it all by a wide margin because of how tested they’ve been. That’s specifically the case for Indiana, which beat three teams that played in the CFP quarterfinals. No other team can say that. This team stands on business as the best team in college football.
To that end, there are four tight games Indiana has played this year. If you’re Oregon, you’ve got to mimic those tight games. Oregon understands that blueprint because it played in one of those games. The blueprint isn’t simple, but in every one of those games, a few things happen. One of them is attacking Indiana’s strengths and making it work to succeed. The first area I would go after is Indiana’s run game. In all four of its close matchups, Indiana ran for less than 4 yards per carry. You have to do that just to remain in the game. When Indiana is able to run the ball efficiently, it’s almost unstoppable on third down. Indiana had the No. 1 third-down offense in college football because it’s in short-yardage situations.
Second, Oregon has to find a way to score in the red zone, and I’m not talking about field goals. One of the things that goes unnoticed with Indiana is how elite its defense has been and how strong its red zone defense is. Indiana is No. 1 in the country in red zone touchdown percentage against at 26%. It’s a low number that we haven’t seen in several years. Oregon was 0-for-3 in scoring red zone touchdowns in the first matchup.
Indiana adds Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh from the transfer portal 👏
Lastly, Oregon has to play cleanly against this Indiana team. Indiana plays clean and doesn’t make mistakes. Indiana is ice-cold, no mistakes, to quote Ice Man from “Top Gun.” Maybe we should start calling Curt Cignetti Ice Man because Indiana is phenomenal at limiting penalties and turnovers. Indiana posted the third-fewest penalties per game this season and has only committed eight turnovers so far. Indiana’s turnover margin is plus-18, which is tied for first in the nation.
Those are three things Oregon needs to do just to be in the game late. Even then, that might not be enough because Indiana might be the most clutch team in college football. The Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza, was clutch in all four of Indiana’s tight wins this year.
This Oregon team is no slouch, though. What Dan Lanning has built at Oregon can’t be overstated. Oregon is 38-4 in the last three years, losing to Washington twice (played for national championship in 2023), Ohio State (won national championship in 2024) and Indiana earlier this year. This is a great program that’s deep and strong at almost every position. It just happens to be going against a team that’s suffocatingly good.
Indiana dominates Alabama, Are they the new powerhouse of college football?
When Oregon’s offense gets its chances, quarterback Dante Moore has got to capitalize. Oregon can’t have mistakes and miscues. Lanning is going to have to manage a really great game because if you miss a chance against Indiana, there’s a good chance the Hoosiers are going to win the game.
If there’s one team that can do it, though, it would be Oregon. If you take away sacks, Oregon ran the ball for 4.8 yards per carry in its first matchup against Indiana. That’s the best way to protect Moore. We saw Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson struggle against Indiana when their respective teams didn’t run the ball efficiently and early in down sets.
I can talk all day about this game, but I’ve got to make a pick. I’ve got Indiana winning and covering, although this will be a phenomenal game.
Pick: Indiana 27, Oregon 21 (Indiana -4.5)
Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him @joelklatt and subscribe to “The Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.
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Ehis Etute scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Oregon scored the last 14 points to beat No. 21 Southern California 71-66 on Tuesday night.
Oregon (14-3, 2-2 Big Ten) scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter but USC answered with a 8-0 spurt and led 66-57 with 4:46 to play. Etute scored the next three points and Ari Long then hit three straight 3s. Katie Fiso capped the scoring with a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left. Londynn Jones missed a 3-pointer for the Trojans to end it.
Long and Fiso combined for 17 fourth-quarter points and Etute added seven points to go with five boards.
Fiso finished with 14 points. Long and Mia Jacobs chipped in with 11 apiece for the Ducks.
Kara Dunn scored 21 points for USC (10-5, 2-2). Jazzy Davidson added 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Dunn scored 12 points with a pair of 3s in the first quarter as the Trojans jumped out to a 23-9 lead and led 37-21 at the break.
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Oregon: Hosts No. 15 Michigan State on Sunday.
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