Case study · One of my own sites

The Quack Report: why I built an Oregon Ducks football site

I was going to Autzen Stadium before I could walk. My parents took me as a baby. The Quack Report is my independent Ducks site, built by one fan since March 2026.

1KBing clicks in September, up from 23 in April
444Google clicks in September, the best month from April on
158URLs in the site's sitemap, and it isn't done

Go to The Quack Report Read the story

The whole site, month by month

The last 28 days for The Quack Report: growing on Bing, fell on Google. Google -42%, Bing +54%.

September vs August+169%1.5K search clicks, from 549
Last 28 days vs the 28 before+19%1.3K search clicks, from 1.1K
Jul to Sep vs Apr to Jun+1089%2.2K search clicks, from 182

32Apr
73May
77Jun
140Jul
549Aug
1.5KSep

Google Bing Complete months only. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, data through Oct 9, 2026.

How a lifelong fan ends up building the site

I need to get something out of the way. SURPRISE: I am way too emotional about Oregon Ducks football. This has been true for my entire life. It will not be changing.

I grew up on it. Saturday afternoons in the fall were non-negotiable. The entire weekend is focused on the game. Pregaming for the full day. Watching ESPN until midnight just to MAYBE see a clip of the game I just watched live. College gameday every chance we got. Constant drives from Portland.

SO. MANY. MEMORIES. USC 2009 Halloween night. Stanford comeback. Being in AZ to watch Cam and Auburn beat us in the Natty. List goes on and on.

The Mariota years wrecked me

You come out a person who checks spring practice reports in March like they contain classified intelligence. You come out a person who has opinions about defensive line rotation depth. You come out a person who builds entire websites about it.

That’s what being a Duck is. You know the glory is real because the pain is real. You can’t separate them.

From my post introducing the site, published March 16, 2026.

From one schedule page to a full site

There’s no version of my life where I don’t eventually build a website about this.

I build websites. That’s my job. I think about how information should be organized so people can actually find what they’re looking for. I cannot turn this off. It runs in the background constantly.

It started as “I’ll just make a schedule page.” My post on March 16, 2026 put it plainly: It is 109 pages now. It is not done. On 2026-10-11, the live sitemap listed 158 URLs, with 12 games on the 2026 schedule and 28 player profiles.

The schedule, the roster and depth chart, injuries, recruiting and the program's history, all in one place. If you check spring practice reports in March like a normal person, this site is for you.

Counted on thequackreport.com, 2026-10-11: homepage cards, main menu and sitemap.

Did anyone come? Yes, on game days

Google clicks rose every month from April to September. Bing dipped once, in June, then climbed. September was the biggest month on both: 444 Google clicks and 1K Bing clicks.

How much of September came from one Saturday? 187 of September's 444 Google clicks came on Sat, Sept 5, the opener against Boise State at Autzen. On 18 of September's 30 days, Google sent fewer than 10 clicks.

On Sept 5: 187
On the other 29 days: 257

How I measured it. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, daily totals summed by month, pulled 2026-10-10 and 2026-10-11. The 2026 season started in September. These numbers can't separate the season from anything changed on the site.

Then I built a game

Google traffic follows game days. Steady readership between games does not show up in this data yet.

The Pokémon Lineup lets a fan pair real Oregon Ducks with Pokémon partners, get a team score, and send the link to a friend to see if they can top it. It went live in October 2026, in the middle of the season.

It's the most fun I've had on any site, and it's also strategy: a fan site lives or dies on whether people come back, and a game they share with friends gives them a reason every week.

Build a lineup

It never rains at Autzen Stadium.

The evidence

Autzen Stadium from the upper stands, a sea of yellow and green under a cloudy sky — Autzen Stadium on game day.

Google Search Console performance chart for thequackreport.com over six months: 725 clicks and 107K impressions, flat until a single tall spike in early September — **725 clicks in six months, with one tall spike on the September opener.** Google Search Console, Performance, Apr 10 to Oct 10, 2026. Screenshot captured October 11, 2026, cropped to the totals and the chart; the query and page lists stay private.

Bing Webmaster Tools AI Performance chart for thequackreport.com: 17.2K citations over three months, rising from late August with a peak in late September — **17.2K citations in Copilot answers, growing through football season.** Bing Webmaster Tools, AI Performance (Microsoft Copilot and partners), the last three months. Screenshot captured October 11, 2026, cropped to the totals and the chart; the query and page lists stay private.

Hayden Schuster smiling in the stands at Autzen Stadium at sunset, holding a drink — Me, in the stands at Autzen.

Autzen Stadium at night with GET LOUD on the scoreboard — A night game.

Field-level view of a night game at Autzen Stadium under the lights — From field level.

Fans rushing the field at Autzen Stadium at night after a win — Rushing the field after a win.