The Deep Cut is a companion piece to the Opponent Preview, in which I take a closer look at something related to the opponent, with a humorous slant.

MASCOT BREAKDOWN: THE DUCK

A note at the start: Oregon’s mascot is officially named The Duck, and not Puddles as so many would care to believe. Oregon did have a live-duck mascot named Puddles back in the 1920s, but when the current iteration came into being in the late 1940s, the Puddles name was dropped and the mascot was simply referred to as The Duck. Oregon has taken advantage of this discrepancy by occasionally selling Duck merchandise labeling the mascot as Puddles, but as of 2015:

According to two sources at Oregon who requested anonymity, so we’re going to call them senior associate athletic director Craig Pintens and assistant athletic director Andy McNamara: “The Duck is The Duck.