Back before Marcus Mariota, Darron Thomas, and even before Dennis Dixon, Oregon had another famous quarterback or two. Of this lot, only Joey Harrington had Oregon’s interest from birth. Born to former Oregon quarterback John Harrington, Joey’s potential was recognized immediately by his dad’s old head coach Len Casanova. Casanova sent his congratulations to his former quarterback on becoming a …
Set the way-back machine to 1951 and get your DeLoreans up to 88 MPH. We’re going back to look at a famous Duck from Oregon‘s rich history. While Oregon has had many great coaches over the years, I think we can all agree that the coolest name of them all belongs to Len Casanova. Known as Cas to his friends, he …
The College Football Playoff has seen an Oregon football program peaking at just the right time. The Ducks cruised to a 59-20 victory in the Rose Bowl, employing their famous uptempo offense to burn out the Florida State defenders and their oppressive defense to pressure quarterback Jameis Winston, generating fumbles, turnovers, broken plays, and disrupting just about every aspect of the Seminoles’ game-plan. …
The year was 1894. What were people doing in 1894? They weren’t on the internet and it’s certain that Twitter didn’t exist back then — and what about touch screen phones and GPS systems — did they exist? Nope. Technology was pretty much unheard of during that time. Most people were probably reading newspapers and using this device called the typewriter. But in …
There was a time, in the darker days of Oregon football, that Len Casanova managed to land a highly-prized fullback — Jim Evenson. He was touted as the kind of running back who could help turn a program around. Evenson was born in 1947 in Hillsboro, Oregon. Eventually his family moved to Vancouver, Washington, where Evenson would graduate from Fort Vancouver High. …
The University of Oregon has had some great football coaches throughout the ages that have all helped, in one way or another, make the Ducks what they are today. From the start of the Oregon football program to now, Oregon has had coaches that have helped shape football not only at Oregon, but all over the country. 1951-1966 In the …
A great trivia question for Duck football fans: What was the longest winning streak by a Duck team prior to their 11 straight in 2001-02 (counting overlapping seasons)? Oregon finished the 1932 season with a win over LSU in the bitter cold of Louisiana, then won their first eight games of 1933 for a combined total of nine straight games. …
It’s been awhile since Oregon has truly failed in football. Certainly, games have been lost and teams have failed to meet expectations over the years, but the simple fact is that since the early 80’s there have been few seasons when the Ducks have fallen flat. From 1984 until 2012 Oregon has had twenty-four seasons at or above .500, and …
In this edition of Oregon Unknowns we look at some lighter, lesser-known moments in Oregon History; from Bill Hayward plying ‘Oregon Water’ on unsuspecting Californians, to Len Casanova being hung in effigy and crowned King of the Campus — all in the same day. We will look at Oregon’s original no-huddle, fast-paced offense from an era that might surprise you, …
The 1963 Oregon Ducks football team finished 7-3 on the season, accepting an invitation to the 1963 Sun Bowl, where they took on the Mustangs of SMU. Led by Dave Wilcox, the Ducks were a team of over achievers, who banded together to get Len Casanova his only bowl win at Oregon. Oregon’s offense — which finished ranked fourth …
At the time they may not have recognized the impact they would have during their time in Eugene, when the young men of the 1960 football recruiting class arrived on campus at the University of Oregon. By the time they were done though the mark in history was undeniable, their achievements at the UO surpassed only by their accomplishments in …
The 1957 Oregon Webfoots were an unlikely conference champion, the scrappy ugly ducklings that overachieved proving the nation to not underestimate Oregon. Decades later, Oregon would have an encore of this in eerily similar circumstance and comparable results, but the country would never again take Oregon lightly thereafter. The Pacific Coast Conference was owned by the state of Oregon that …