Oregon’s Ducks were coming off the four win, six loss 1958 season. The 1958 Ducks had been one of the great defensive teams in Oregon football history surrendering only 50 points over the course of 10 games. Unfortunately, the 1958 offense had been as inconsistent as the defense was consistent leading to most of the losses. 1959 would be Oregon’s …
FishDuck Game Review: Record-Setting Night Validates Oregon’s Position Among The Elite
For almost an entire year it was billed as this year’s version of “the game of the century.” With Matt Barkley deciding to return for his senior year, USC appeared to have the fast track to the Heisman Trophy and BCS national championship, the darlings of the off-season. Having defeated Oregon in Autzen Stadium last year, it was the Trojans …
John McKay, John Robinson, and the USC-Oregon coaching tree
In 1959, Oregon was only a year removed from its first Rose Bowl appearance in 39 years. Coach Len Casanova had, after three losing seasons to begin his tenure from 1951-54, built the Ducks into a consistent winner. Although the 1958 season had been a disappointment, with Casanova’s team going 4-6 in its conference-title defense, the team’s greatest victory that …
10-25-1997: How The West Was (barely lost for UO, but…) Won Once-and-for-all for Akili Smith
October 25, 1997 Renowned Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: deep in tradition, short on victories for past Oregon teams. In the previous 26 years, Oregon had only a single victory on Trojan Turf – the jumpstart their most improbable turnaround to the 1994 season en route to the Rose Bowl. Three years later, Oregon (coming off a great win over Utah) …
1958 – The Original Gang Green Defense
Oregon opened 1958 with a close loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl game. That game would be the final game for 11 seniors, including the entire starting backfield and most of the top offensive skill players. The 1958 season opened with a 27-0 shutout of Idaho. That shutout was the first of four shutouts by Oregon’s defense. …
The bright side of Oregon’s 1997 mid-season slump
Exactly fifteen years to date, Oregon had gone from high to a low as they watched a 3-0 season start turn into a 3-3 devastation. Two of the three losses were games Oregon was in command for the majority of the time, but lost control of at the last minute. UCLA: so close, yet so far. It was October 11, …
In 113 years of Ducks-Huskies, Oregon’s time is now
As the Ducks and Huskies get ready to renew a rivalry that began in 1900 (with a 43-0 Ducks victory), there is a lot to play for, be it for this year’s squads with bowl and championship dreams, or as another chapter in a more than century-long conflict. Perhaps more than any other program, Washington seems to represent for the …
The Ducks and the Dreaded S.I. Cover Jinx
It is one of the oldest curses in sports – the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. On par and more historic than the equally dreaded Madden game cover jinx that dictates that whichever NFL player appears on the game’s cover will inevitably get hurt the next season; for the unindoctrinated, the famous “SI cover jinx” occurs when anyone appearing on the …
All-Time Oregon Football Dream Team Defense
For most of the past two decades, Oregon’s most successful stretch in history, the attention surrounding Oregon football has been focused on the high-powered offense. In recent years, it has been easy to forget that the Ducks have seen just as many outstanding defenders. Exciting offensive players like LaMichael James and Jonathan Stewart may have spoiled fans in the modern …
Fifteen-Year Anniversary: Two Tight Wins Shape the Successful 1997 Season to Come
The 1997 Oregon Ducks football season is often overlooked in the program’s history. By the year’s end the Ducks were a bowl champion with all the makings of a finely-tuned offensive juggernaut set for big things in 98′, but it certainly didn’t start that way. Patchwork lines, first-time starters, a dual quarterback rotation, and other tinkering was the storyline of …
All-Time Oregon Football Dream Team Offense
Many long-term Oregon football fans would probably love to see Joey Harrington hand the ball off to Bobby Moore, or Gary Zimmerman open up holes for LaMichael James to run through. Well, realistically no one could make that happen, but we can bring it to life on paper. Looking back at the history of the Oregon football program, it is …
1962 Track & Field Champions: The Year Oregon’s “Tigers” Roared
Eugene today is known as Tracktown U.S.A. Nike was founded there, the hallowed track of Hayward Field is like Mecca, necessitating a pilgrimage by the world’s greatest runners to pay homage. Some of the greatest athletes have competed there. Track & Field is synonymous with the University of Oregon, its very identity defined by the glory attained on the historic …