Where I Come From: My All-Time Favorite Oregon Duck Team

although the fall almost killed me. But I’ve never again felt like I did after the Arizona State game that year. 2001/2009 are runners-up.

2007 was fantastic, but I was there for each home game in 2001. The heartbreak of two blocked punts against Stanford, the amazing Civil War game in sleet, and then the giant middle finger to the BCS by beating up on Colorado to end the season. Just a great ride and being there for it made it more special.

2007 is arguably the most important season in Duck history. Even though we ended up going to the Sun Bowl, we are hearing recruits today, 3 years later, say how they want to be the next Dixon.

Every college football fan across the country knew what would have happened with a healthy Dixon. It was fun football to watch, even if you weren’t a duck fan. But even more importantly, it made people become fans of Duck football. The continued success of 2008, and 2009 is all predicated from 2007.

Even though we didn’t go to the Holiday Bowl, the Rose Bowl or the BCS national championship, I couldn’t help but be thankful towards Dixon for giving me the most exciting season of football.

1989, 1994, 2001, 2005 were all great building blocks to the program we have today. 2007 just might prove to be the year that made Oregon an perennial top 15 program. We’ll see what happens.

2009 will be special to me, though the feeling of it has been tarnished, as it was my first year having season tickets and the team got to stop in Pasadena and smell the roses.

the reason is simple: in 2001, we were damn good, but I don’t know if we were the best team in the country. In 2007, I have no doubt, that for a good portion of the season before Dennis got hurt, we were watching the best team in the country. And I don’t even think it was close.

.. two years come to mind: 1995 and 1998.

’95 because there was a lot of talent on that team, first- year coach MB had a really good staff, the offense was good, the D was very good, and only a loss to fucking Stanford (at home, no less) kept us out of back-to-back Rose Bowls. (Yes, you can say the same thing about losing to ASU on the road, but I prefer blaming Stanford.)

’98 because the Smith & Droughns offense was a freight train, and up until Droughns broke his leg — and exposed the lack of depth — I really thought this could be the first Oregon team to go unbeaten in conference since ’49.

That was the year I became a die-hard Duck.

We all lived through the incredible ups and downs of 2007, great write-up jtlight, but it was the following year that really made me believe the Ducks could finally take another step up from a once-every-four-years contender to a consistent contender not only in the Pac-10 but on a national level.

We were all feelin’ good about having Costa come back and take what should have been his role in the fall 2007 when Dixon went down. Then the horrible happens. Then Roper happens (both play and then injury).

Down late, on the road against a program wanting to send it’s beloved coach out on a high note, the Ducks come back and win a big one. Just when it looks like the season could catch some momentum, they lose 2 of the next 3 (BSU and USC). The USC drubbing looked bad and we were thinking, here comes another November meltdown (a la 2006).

But no, this team wins two, loses a tough one at Cal and wins out to make the Holiday Bowl. Maybe it’s because this was my first bowl game, but it was a big game and the Ducks came up huge. That 2nd half was Masoli’s greatest game until the Arizona comeback. The manage a top-10 finish and set themselves up for 2009 which is also special to me, but 2008 was what got us where we are today.

My favorite team by far. Dixon was so good that season before zona…(not gonna say any more) but what a killer year, J.Snoop was killing teams on the ground and that D was to die for if you were the other team. That season besides this year i had the worst case of OSS (Oregon Stress Syndrome) I cheered after Michigan (same day as my great grandmas funeral) and cried after Arizona (my moms birthday). It was a great season and I hope for an 07 again soon with Thomas and LMJ but with no injury.

With ’01 as the close 2nd.

1. The Dixon injury was just too painful. To go from that high to that low, it wasn’t enjoyable. Memorable, certainly. And definitely exciting to get a glimpse into where the program could go. But between the Dixon injury and the goal-line fumble against Cal, there was just too much pain

2. The UCLA game. I hadn’t seen a Ducks game in person since I moved back down to SoCal. I attended this game with my Dad and my one and a half year old son. My son cried during the whole first quarter. I cried the rest of the game.

When those are the two lasting memories from the season, it’s hard to call it my favorite Ducks team. But those are strictly personal, so I understand where others are coming from.

Joey Harrington was like my idol, and still is really. That civil war game in the pouring rain is what really sealed the deal with me for the ducks.

Mad props to the 2007 and 2008 teams.

If you asked me best team, I’d go with 2001.

My favorite team was 2009, not because they were spectacular, but because they won a rare conference title after having to endure the incredible deflation of the Boise debacle. They took it in stride, united themselves amidst national embarrassment and grew with every game early on until they got their stride. That team had an opportunity to cash it in early and maybe deal the program a real setback. It didn’t do either.

The team that gave birth to 20 years of Oregon Football. I know we all say the Pick was the start but beating the pups was juts another rung on the ladder. Believing you can actually have a winning season is what this group of over achievers gave us, and wouldn’t trade that for all the BCS bowls in the world.

OK, so maybe for a National Championship.

my fav team was the year we went to the Independence Bowl. 1st memories of the team… that have now faded. so here’s the bowl game recap:

The PAC-10 Conference’s second-place team, the Oregon Ducks, entered the Independence Bowl against Tulsa as 16-point favorites. Coached by Rich Brooks, it was Oregon’s first bowl appearance in 26 years. The Ducks were 7-4 in the regular season losing three of those games by a combined 11 points. It was Tulsa’s first bowl appearance since the ’76 Independence Bowl. The Hurricane went into the game with an unimpressive 6-5 record.

Tulsa was without the services of All-America receiver Dan Bitson, who suffered numerous injuries in an automobile accident two weeks earlier. The two teams were led by a wealth of quarterbacking talent, Oregon, by Bill Musgrave and Tulsa, by T.J. Rubley. The 14th Independence Bowl was played in windy conditions and the temperature dropped to 29 degrees at kickoff.

Oregon dug themselves into a whole early with errors. Following an interception by the Hurricane, Tulsa scored first on a Brett Adams one-yard run. Oregon put together drives of 54 and 79 yards to take a 10-7 lead, the first score coming on a field goal by Gregg McCallum from 29 yards, the second on a 20 yard pass from Musgrave to Tony Hargain. A Tulsa field goal of 26 yards by David Fuess knotted the score at 10-10 with just over two minutes to play in the first half.

Tulsa took the halftime lead, 17-10, on a blocked punt by Herbert Harvey. Derrick Williams picked up the ball and raced 21 yards for the score with 22 seconds left on the first half clock. Adams added another one-yard touchdown run in the third period as Tulsa took a 24-10 lead.

Oregon scored two touchdowns in a six-minute span late in the third quarter and early in the fourth. Trailing by 24-10 late in the third quarter, Musgrave capped a 54-yard scoring drive with his second touchdown pass of the night, a nine-yard strike to junior wide receiver Joe Reitzug. The bowl’s offensive player of the game completed five of six passes for 53 yards during the key drive. Musgrave then put the finishing touches on the Ducks’ next possession with the first rushing touchdown of his career to forge a 24-24 tie.

With just over three minutes to play, an apparent Tulsa recovery of an Oregon fumble was overruled by the officials. Musgrave then led the Ducks to the Tulsa one yard line to set up Gregg McCallum’s game winning 20-yard field goal. On Tulsa’s final possession, sophomore defensive end Matt LaBounty secured the victory with a 26-yard quarterback sack with 2:12 remaining. The final score was 27-24.

Oregon’s defense played a major role in the comeback, limiting the golden Hurricane to 102 yards total offense in the second half and holding Tulsa on fourth down to set up McCallum’s winning field goal. Senior cornerback Chris Oldham picked off a pair of interceptions to earn defensive player of the game honors and linebacker Mark Kearns added 11 tackles to his one fumble recovery.

http://www.mmbolding.com/bowls/Independence_1989.htm

1994 for me. I moved back to Eugene in the Summer of 94’. I was born in Eugene but moved away as a very young lad. I always knew I was an Oregonian. I was 12 years old in 94’ and it was the first time I ever had the chance to watch every game, and I did.

I remember just before moving that summer, telling my Pop Warner coach that I was moving to Oregon and I wouldn’t be on his team the next year. He said jokingly, " what are you gonna be, a Duck?" I did what any one of us would of done and said, “Quack quack.”

I remember thinking this is what college football is all about. Before I only new first hand about Nevada football, having lived in Reno for the past 9 years. Nevada football introduced me to college football. At the time they were a newly promoted D-1A team.

So from that Nevada experience to the Rose Bowl season of 94’ hooked me into college football forever and Oregon football forever, of course.

FYI I moved back to Eugene in the Summer of 09’, coincidence?