This is the last of a series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

Thanks to everyone for the great week of reliving some great Duck football memories, and looking forward to some new ones. Also, thanks to EA Sports for sponsoring the discussion. We wrap up the campaign with a word from our sponsor:

When you go to a particular school or grow up around college football, you are more than just a fan. It's who you are. We thought we could leverage this pride in your roots and show that "where you come from" is more than just a statement about geography. By positioning NCAA Football 11 as a game that understands this pride and is authentic to these traditions, the takeaway should be that anything that is in college football is in NCAA Football 11.

And this doesn't just include game play (though that's a huge part of it). It's rivals and mascots; it's legends and stories. It's those things that are at the very fabric of the game itself. Of course the game is great this year as well. With authentic entrances, mascots and specific offenses for each team, the term "where I come from" takes on a much larger meaning. While playing NCAA Football 11 is ultimately a great sports sim, it should also give you a sense of the pride and emotion one has for being a fan of a team they will never not be a part of.

If you've already picked up the game, leave your thoughts below. Thanks again for participating in this series, and GO DUCKS!

This is the last of a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

In our final installment of our sponsored series, we're gonna stop looking back, and take a look forward at the 2010 season. We'll take a look at both the offense and the defense. Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Offense (jtlight):

Oregon goes into the 2010 season in a bit of a strange position. Despite losing only 2 players off of the offensive two-deep, the offseason turmoil has caused many to question the effectiveness of the Oregon offense.

Unfortunately, those questions are incredibly legitimate. I honestly don't know what to expect from the Oregon offense. For most of the last 3 years, we have watched an offense that has had incredible success on the ground, led by Dennis Dixon and then Jeremiah Masoli, QBs that could make opposing offenses pay dearly for failing to respect their running ability. 

Unfortunately, that time may be over. Whoever wins the QB position, Nate Costa or Darron Thomas, will not have the speed of these previous QBs, and will be much closer to Justin Roper than Dixon or Masoli. Yet, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

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This is the fifth of a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Writing a post on memorable moments in Oregon football history prompts a very simple question: Where do I begin?

Over the past 20 years, Oregon football has been blessed with an almost endless supply of memorable moments and big plays. We'll try to cover a good number of them in this post, but be sure to leave your memorable moments in the comments.

2006 Oklahoma Sooners (jtlight)

Every college football fan knows of the infamous onside kick game, though the botched call has not tarnished my memory of the game (how the Ducks finished out the 2006 season was all the tarnishing I needed). But for emotional response at the moment, this game ranks up there with many Oregon classics, and holds a special place for me, as it was my first return trip to Autzen after a five-year hiatus (the previous game I'd seen at Autzen was the 2001 Stanford game, so after that suffering, maybe the football gods wanted to give me a good show).

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This is the fourth of a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

As our EA Sports week rolls on, it's time to talk about our favorite Ducks. What I like about this topic is that, unlike the favorite team discussion, this leads to a large variety, including some players that we may have forgotten long ago. Below you'll find our favorite Ducks, and make sure to tell us your favorites in the comments.

jtlight:

I can't say definitively that Keenan Howry was my favorite Duck of all-time (I'd have to get into some serious soul-searching to answer that question for sure), but he is without a doubt my favorite Oregon wide receiver. He's the second-leading receiver in Oregon history (getting surpassed by Sammie Parker in Parker's final game), and tied for the most touchdown catches in school history with Cristin McLemore. He could catch almost anything, and had a particular knack for those over the shoulder catches. On top of that, he was a ridiculous returner and is still the school leader in punt return yardage, while he averaged 11.7 ypr over his career. He took it to the house 5 times during his career, which helped him became score the 4th most touchdowns in school history, quite a feat for a receiver. 

But through all his accolades, what made Howry special was his smoothness. He just made everything look so easy. He was a joy to watch on a weekly basis, and you could spend a lot of time watching beautiful plays he made. And, who can forget: "Here comes Howry! He's gone! Told you he's dynamite! Touchdown!"

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This is the third of a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

As many of you know, I was a four-year member of the Oregon Marching Band.  Consequently, my tailgating story is different from many.  While I will neither confirm nor deny the drinking prowess of the Oregon Marching Band, we are not allowed to drink in uniform.  This makes game days extra painful for the Green and Yellow Garter Bands, who walk the Autzen parking lot and serenade the jovial binge drinkers football fans.  This is a short list of the drinks I have been offered and forced to turn down on Oregon game days:

• Cheap beer
• Good beer
• Really good beer
• Tequila
• A Mojito
• Jello Shots
• Moonshine
• Vodka from a Shot Ski

Tragic.  Simply tragic. 

But this past year, I had the fortune of participating in the Oregon Alumni Band, who also walks the tailgates and plays for the crowd.  The difference is, the Oregon Alumni Band does not wear uniforms.  You know what that means.  My story after the jump...

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This is the second of a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Picking your favorite Oregon team is not an easy task. Each team, and their players, will grab each person in different ways, and is endearing or intriguing for different reasons.

The '94 team was a group of hard-working overachievers that not only won the Pac-10 for the first time in 37 years, but did so in unforgettable fashion. The 2001 team had more pressure than any Oregon team in school history, yet (almost) never wavered under that pressure, coming through again and again in the final moments of games. The 2009 team, with a new coach leading the way, overcame the most embarrassing moment in school history to win the Pac-10 championship by two games (I'll always get goosebumps during Chip Kelly's post-Civil War speech in this video).

All those teams will always have a special place in my heart. But there is one that edges them out: The 2007 Oregon Ducks.

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This is the first of a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

I guess I was born an Oregon Duck fan, as I didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter. My Dad grew up in Springfield, and he and my mom met at Oregon. After marrying and spending a few years in California, my parents returned to Oregon and my Dad purchased his first season ticket in 1988.

I went to my first Oregon game in 1991. I didn't quite know what I was getting into, but I remember getting up waaaay too early on a Saturday morning to drive down to Eugene (when you're 7, that's a big deal), parking in the Chevy Chase area, and walking to the stadium. It was quite a different experience of the Autzen of today. I still remember the final score from that game, as Oregon beat New Mexico State 29-6, and I remember Ronnie Harris returning a punt for a touchdown in that game, and from that point on, the indoctrination was on. 

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