DUUUUCKS 9/4/2026

2 Timothy 1:13-14 (King James Version)

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

The Oregon Ducks start their season this Saturday and I have a season ticket to watch the team I dreamed of when I would ride my bike down to Autzen and watch the team get blown out every game in front of an empty stadium. The years in the Bottom 10 every year while the faithful continued to have hope as they watched 2 yards and a cloud of dust football.

You just dreamed that one day Oregon would have just one of the athletes that graced the sidelines of the Underachievers of SC or a QB like Elway to finally win once in a while. Now the team is the one everyone dreamed of with every position filled with some of the top athletes in the country bringing speed, speed, speed to the field.

Being someone who enjoyed Hayward field and the beauty of track the positions which I will be watching is Wide Receiver. Most Eugene track fans saw dozens of world record runs and every track Gold Medalist in the world run there. This FB team has two or three of the fastest players in the country and on a team loaded with sprinters a couple stand out even among them.

Keep your eye on one who may not get many snaps but Gatlin Gun Bair may be the fastest kid on the field. Out of HS in Idaho he was the state 100-meter champion running a 10.15 which is world class speed and he wasn’t even the star in his family. His brother is the college National Decathlon Champion who runs for the Ducks track team. Gatlin is still faster in the sprints but what a pair of athletes. You can bet they are teaching the Gatlin Gun how to run faster and he will become one of the fastest in the country when they get done with him. It’s called Tracktown USA for a reason.

The other speedster is Dakota Moore who was tearing up the books until he hurt his knee last year as a freshman, but everyone in Autzen is looking forward to the Moore/Moore show, Dante Moore to Dakorian Moore who has another gear on the field that will bust for TDs.

The main WR is Evan Stewart who again is a speedster with strength to match and can hurt DBs in a ton of ways. He too can break a TD from anywhere on the field, what talent. In the day any Duck fan would faint if one of them signed with Oregon and there are six who can break the field at any given time.

What you will not see on the cameras is the team is almost all Christians and so are the coaches. They keep it low key for obvious reasons, but before every game as they chase the Harley down the field they will end kneeling in the East endzone praying for five minutes before the game. The Endzone will be covered with players making a public display in front of the crowd to what is really important to them that day and every day, their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of them will proclaim it after the game as they pray in a circle midfield and especially Dante Moore the QB.

There are high expectations for this team and the town of Eugene to bring home a championship and they know there have been disappointments in the past. The MVP of the team is Josh Bidwell the Chaplain for the team who has brought more athletes to Christ than can be imagined with his wonderful testimony of struggles before making it to the pros as a punter. To miraculously make the Green Bay Packers only to find you have cancer throughout your body the next day and eventually return to the Packers is a miracle only God can perform and did. He and his wife’s faith never wavered which is the story.

He is a regular guest speaker at Athey Creek Men’s Group and I actually watched him play when he was a punter for the Ducks. Most do not know that against the Mutts when Kenny Wheaten had The Pick to turn Oregon around Bidwell was the MVP of the game. He had the most incredible punts in that game to keep Oregon in it and would have lost it without him. A couple of snaps were over his head and made great catches and boomed them fifty yards to pin back the Pups.

This team is a witness to God’s grace and mercy throughout the team and community. Pray for them that they can turn this University to Christ with their humble attitude and love for each other and the school. To think in a tiny town in the middle of the American outback you have one of the top teams in the country where CFB is centered 3000 miles away and they come here to play in this tiny stadium in a nowhere town that lives and dies Ducks. Unbelievable.

For the Forest Gump of Oregon athletics and especially FB this is a dream come true whether they win or lose it doesn’t matter, its just winning is a whole lot funner than losing; this is a chapter I thought would never be written. Now I get to write and witness this chapter of Oregon. Bring on the Broncs.

Pray for Revival in Eugene