We all know the Ducks are capable of posting ridiculous offensive numbers. However, one thing the team has yet to accomplish in the modern era is entering the realm of triple digits.
Recently, Oregon has gained national attention for its explosive, high-scoring offense. Over the last three years, the team has averaged nearly 50 points per game on the way to three straight BCS bowl berths.
Oregon’s modern entertaining offense was perhaps at its high point towards the beginning of the 2010 campaign when the Ducks posted 72 points on their way to a shutout victory over New Mexico. This was without the suspended starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and Heisman candidate LaMichael James.
Two weeks later the Ducks shutout Portland State 69-0 at home again. The New Mexico victory was tied for the second-biggest win in school history, and the Portland State blowout ranks fourth.
Despite this ridiculous dominance, however, the two outrageous point totals were still barely half of the school’s largest victory of all-time.
Kenjon Barner rushed for 147 yards and 5 total touchdowns in the Ducks’ 2010 win over New Mexico.
The 2010 blowouts can be viewed as a symbolic centennial celebration of Oregon’s most decisive win ever.
On October 22, 1910, nearly exactly 100 years prior to the New Mexico and Portland State games, the Oregon Webfoots racked up 115 points on Puget Sound.
Making the win even more impressive was the fact that they did it in shutout form.
To put the game in historical context, the 1910 team, coached by William Warner, had opened the season with a 16-6 victory over a squad made up of Oregon alumni, played only five total games on the season, and hosted their home matchups on Kincaid Field.
Few statistics were recorded a century ago, so there are not too many details from the Puget Sound shellacking that survive to this day. Nonetheless, a game like this was bound to see the creation of some unbreakable records.
Duck fans are currently elated in anticipation of the running back Thomas Tyner’s arrival, a 5-star stud from right here in Oregon.
Tyner received a lot of national buzz this past season when he recorded 644 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns… in one game.
Now, imagine if Tyner repeated that performance on the FBS level upon his arrival in Eugene. Even a 10-touchdown day would only tie the single-game mark set by Charlie Taylor of Oregon in 1910.
On that day against Puget Sound, Taylor set a precedent that even Oregon’s recent series of elite backs such as Jonathan Stewart, LeGarrette Blount, LaMichael James, and Kenjon Barner were unable to come close to.
The Oregon back accounted for 60, more than half mind you, of the team’s 115 points, a single-game school record.
His 10-rushing touchdowns also, obviously, remain a school record. To put it in perspective, even in the 72-0 win over New Mexico, Kenjon Barner recorded “only” five total touchdowns.
Obviously there is much to be said for the difference in the game between now and 1910. Most players are bigger, faster, stronger, and more specialized, making it harder to gash through Division I defenses. High-scoring teams like Oregon will also often take their foot off the gas in the second half if they are up big.
Nonetheless, Taylor’s performance was the best single-game show Oregon football has ever seen, at least according to the numbers, and the win over Puget Sound remains the most decisive of all-time.
Based on Tyner’s performances in high school and the shootout nature of Oregon football, perhaps Duck fans will get a glimpse in the next few years of what Taylor’s accomplishments really looked like just over one hundred years ago.
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Joey Holland graduated from the University of Oregon in 2013, majoring in History. He played several sports in high school, though football remains his passion. He has yet to miss a single Oregon Ducks home football game during his time in Eugene. Joey has written previously for Bleacher Report and Football Nation.
Joey welcomes your feedback.